Stimulus Variables Which Affect the Concordance of Visual and Manipulative Exploration in Six-Month-Old Infants

Abstract

In Experiment I, 26-week-old infants were repeatedly exposed to 1 object and then shown a second object that was different in color or that was different in shape and texture. During repeated exposures, infants looked at an manipulated the object less, but response latencies did not change. Looking and manipulation increased upon introduction of the novel object in the shape and texture change condition. The novel object in the color change condition elicited an increase in looking but not in manipulation. The purpose of Experiment II was to determine if the coordination of visual and manipulative exploration in the shape and texture change condition was primarily due to the new tactile information or because of the introduction of more than 1 physical change. In this experiment, the novel object differed either in shape or in texture, For both conditions, there was a decline in looking and manipulation times during familiarization and recovery of novel objects for both looking and manipulation. It was concluded that either shape or texture information is sufficient to coordinate visual and manipulative differential responding.