The influence of body position on perception of orientation in infants.
The present experiment was conducted in order to assess the relative contribution of gravitational and retinal factors in the perception of orientation in infants by studying the effect of body position on the so-called 'oblique effect'. Looking times at vertical, horizontal and oblique patterns were compared in vertical and tilted body positions in 18 infants ranging in age from 3 to 7 months. The results clearly demonstrate the influence of body position on the oblique effect: infants tested in the vertical position showed the classical oblique effect, looking longer at the principal orthogonals than at oblique patterns, while tilted infants spent more time looking at oblique stimuli congruent with body orientation. These results strongly suggest that, in infants, the oblique effect is related to retinal coordinates as determined by body position.
D003463:Cues; D006112:Gravitation; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*