A CRITICAL PERIOD IN MATURATION OF PERFORMANCE WITH SPACE-DISPLACED VISION.

Abstract

This research rests two specific hypotheses of neurogeometric theory that a critical period of maturation of space-displaced visual feedback in behavior occurs in childhood, and that a differential organization of inverted, reversed, and inverted-reversed visual feedback in motion will be found at the time when children are first capable of giving compensatory response to the geometric disorientation of vision. Thirty-six right-handed boys between the ages of 9.5 yr. and 13.5 yr. were tested in the different motions under conditions of normal, reversed, inverted, and inverted-reversed visual feedback. The results confirmed both main hypotheses. Ss younger than Age 12 consistently failed to perform the drawing tasks with inverted visual feedback while older Ss seldom failed. In keeping with theoretical expectations the results also showed that, when the different inverted and reversed feedback conditions could be performed, the response to the inverted feedback conditions was poorest, while that to the reversed condition was the most effective.