Emergence of sensitivity to pictorial depth cues: Charting development in individual infants

Abstract Three experiments were conducted to explore the emergence of sensitivity to the pictorial depth cues of texture gradient and linear perspective. In experiment 1, an initial longitudinal study explored the emergence of sensitivity to pictorial depth information between 5 and 7 months of age. In experiment 2, a cross-sectional study with 5–7-month-olds assessed revised methods designed to study development of pictorial depth sensitivity in individual infants. Experiment 3 applied these methods to a second sample of infants studied longitudinally. The results showed that: (a) a reliable method for assessing sensitivity in individual infants has been constructed; (b) there is variability in the age at which infants begin to use linear perspective and texture gradient for perceiving depth (22–28 weeks of age); and (c) sensitivity emerges across 2–8 weeks.

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