STUDIES IN PERCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT, III: PERCEPTUAL EXPLORATION

Abstract

85 children, from 5 to 8 years of age, were presented with structured and unstructured arrays of familiar figures and asked to name them. Results showed that the tendency to explore an unstructured array systematically increased with age. Exploration of the structured array, however, was systematic at all age levels tested. The results were interpreted as supporting the position that perceptual performance is a joint function of the child's level of perceptual development and the nature of the stimulus configuration. Additional findings were interpreted as supporting the view that patterns of visual exploration are, in effect, motor skills.