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Trajectory perception and object continuity: effects of shape and color change on 4-month-olds' perception of object identity

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>06/2013
<mark>Journal</mark>Developmental Psychology
Issue number6
Volume49
Number of pages6
Pages (from-to)1021-1026
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date16/07/12
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

Previous work has demonstrated that infants use object trajectory continuity as a cue to the constant identity of an object, but results are equivocal regarding the role of object features, with some work suggesting that a change in the appearance of an object does not cue a change in identity. In an experiment involving 72 participants we investigated the effects of changing object shape and color, singly and in combination, on 4-month-olds' perception of object continuity. A change in the shape of an object while it passed behind an occluder had no effect on perception of continuity, whereas a change in shape and color led to perception of discontinuity, and a change in color led to no clear percept regarding continuity or discontinuity. These results are discussed in terms of a perceptual learning model of development of object identity.