Infants and toddlers discriminate amount: are they measuring?
Four experiments that show an early ability to encode and retain information about extent are presented. We found that infants discriminate between the heights of dowels in a habituation task. We also found that toddlers discriminate between heights on a choice task in which a target dowel is presented and removed and they then choose between the target and a foil. Until 4 years of age, however, discrimination occurs only in the presence of a perceptually salient standard. Adults do not require a perceptually present standard; they can assess extent across temporal or spatial gaps by imposing a standard (measure). The present findings indicate that infants and toddlers do not possess an adult ability to establish extent, but that they do possess a skill that provides a start point for this important intellectual achievement.
Huttenlocher
Janellen
J
Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, IL 60637, USA. hutt@uchicago.edu
Duffy
Sean
S
Levine
Susan
S
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology