Infants' perception of depth from cast shadows. 2006

Albert Yonas, and Carl E Granrud
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. yonas@umn.edu

Five- and 7-month-old infants viewed displays in which cast shadows provided information that two objects were at different distances. The 7-month-olds reached preferentially for the apparently nearer object under monocular-viewing conditions but exhibited no reaching preference under binocular-viewing conditions. These results indicate that 7-month-old infants perceive depth on the basis of cast shadows. The 5-month-olds did not reach preferentially for the apparently nearer object and, therefore, exhibited no evidence of sensitivity to cast shadows as depth information. In a second experiment, 5-month-olds reached preferentially for the nearer of two objects that were similar to those used in the first experiment but were positioned at different distances from the infant. This result indicated that 5-month-olds have the motor skills and motivation necessary to exhibit a reaching preference under the conditions of this study. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that depth perception based on cast shadows first appears between 5 and 7 months of age.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007223 Infant A child between 1 and 23 months of age. Infants
D008027 Light That portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared range. Light, Visible,Photoradiation,Radiation, Visible,Visible Radiation,Photoradiations,Radiations, Visible,Visible Light,Visible Radiations
D008297 Male Males
D003867 Depth Perception Perception of three-dimensionality. Stereopsis,Stereoscopic Vision,Depth Perceptions,Perception, Depth,Perceptions, Depth,Stereopses,Stereoscopic Visions,Vision, Stereoscopic,Visions, Stereoscopic
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014796 Visual Perception The selecting and organizing of visual stimuli based on the individual's past experience. Visual Processing,Perception, Visual,Processing, Visual

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