Abstract
Forty-eight preschool children were given 80 trials on a stimulus-selection task in which they could choose one of four auditory stimuli by moving a lever in one of four directions. The four stimuli varied in complexity defined by: (1) number of components in each stimulus; (2) dissimilarity of the components; and (3) the pattern of similar and dissimilar components. Analyses of selections pooled across Ss indicated that: (1) Ss preferred a stimulus with components of two frequencies to a stimulus with components of the same frequency; (2) Ss preferred a stimulus with components alternating in their frequency characteristics to a stimulus with the first two components of one frequency and the last two of another frequency; and (3) on the last trial block, Ss preferred a stimulus with four components to a stimulus with two components. Analyses of selections for individual Ss, however, indicated that: (1) few Ss showed significant selection preferences, and (2) when significant preferences were found, there were often some Ss preferring a less complex stimulus. The results were discussed within the framework of Berlyne’s (1960) formulation.
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References
BERLYNE, D. E. Conflict, arousal, and curiosity. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1960.
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HERSHENSON, M., MUNSINGER, H., & KESSEN, W. Preference for shapes of intermediate variability in the newborn human. Science, 1965, 147, 630–631.
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Duke, A.W., Gullickson, G.R. Children’s stimulus selection as a function of auditory stimulus complexity. Psychon Sci 19, 119–120 (1970). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337451
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337451