Abstract
Introduction: Lines of evidence from adult psychophysics, brain imaging, and honeybee’s behavior have supported the topology theory of visual perception (Chen, 1982). Previously, we tested young infants and found an early sensitivity for topological property around 6 weeks onward. To further explore whether such sensitivity might be innate, here we investigated infants’ discriminability for topological vs. geometrical properties within 4 days after birth.
Methods: The familiarization/visual paired comparison procedures were used. 46 newborns (mean age = 2.1 days) were randomly assigned to one of the three between-subject conditions: a disk vs. a ring (topologically different but geometrically similar), a ring vs. an S-shape (topologically different, total area equated), or a disk vs. a triangle (geometrically different but topologically equivalent). The stimuli were white papers (~20° visual angle) mounted on black cardboard (41cm × 26.5cm). Each trial contained a 30-sec familiarization and a 30-sec test. Infant’s looking was recorded throughout, and novelty preferences were scored trial by trial.
Results: Results (final N=40) showed that in the disk vs. ring condition, neonates (n=14) showed a significant novelty preference for the ring (.57, p=.021) when familiarized with the disk. When familiarized with the ring, they showed a negative preference for the disk (.42, p=.077). In the ring vs. S-shape condition (n=12), infants showed a significant novelty preference for the ring (.58, p=.022) when familiarized with the S-shape. When familiarized with the ring, a slight non-significant preference for the S-shape was found (.54, p=.125). In the disk vs. triangle condition (n=14), no significant preferences were observed in either directions. In sum, an intrinsic preference for the ring might have biased the novelty response; nevertheless, the overall results suggests that the ability to process topological properties seems to be present at birth, at least for the detection of stimuli with or without a hole.
Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2013