title: Infants Perceive Three-Dimensional Illusory Contours as Occluding Surfaces.
abstract: The study assessed the contribution of stereoscopic depth cues to infants' perception of a Kanizsa rectangle as a surface that temporarily occludes a moving object. In Experiment 1, the Kanizsa figure was shifted into the foreground by enriching it with stereoscopic depth information. According to the results, perception of a three-dimensional Kanizsa figure as an occluding surface emerges between 5 (n = 16) and 7 (n = 16) months of age. Experiment 2 demonstrated that 7-month-old (n = 16) infants performed similarly to the 7-month-olds who participated in Experiment 1 if the moving object was shifted into the background. These findings suggest that 7-month-old infants respond to stereoscopic depth cues and that they exploit it to perceive subjective contours as occluders.
authors.affiliation: University of Bonn.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kavšek
authors.affiliation: University of Bonn.
authors.forename: Elmira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marks
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D003867:Depth Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005556:Form Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions / Q000502:physiology*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male