Abstract Rule Learning for Visual Sequences in 8‐ and 11‐Month‐Olds |
| |
| Authors: | Scott P. Johnson Keith J. Fernandes Michael C. Frank Natasha Kirkham Gary Marcus Hugh Rabagliati Jonathan A. Slemmer |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychology University of California, Los Angeles;2. Department of Psychology New York University;3. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology;4. School of Psychology Birkbeck College, University of London;5. Department of Psychology Ohio State University |
| |
| Abstract: | The experiments reported here investigated the development of a fundamental component of cognition: to recognize and generalize abstract relations. Infants were presented with simple rule‐governed patterned sequences of visual shapes (ABB, AAB, and ABA) that could be discriminated from differences in the position of the repeated element (late, early, or nonadjacent, respectively). Eight‐month‐olds were found to distinguish patterns on the basis of the repetition, but appeared insensitive to its position in the sequence; 11‐month‐olds distinguished patterns over the position of the repetition, but appeared insensitive to the nonadjacent repetition. These results suggest that abstract pattern detection may develop incrementally in a process of constructing complex relations from more primitive components. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
|
