Developmental Change in Infant Categorization: The Perception of Correlations among Facial Features

Abstract

Previous studies indicated that the ability to detect correlations among attributes emerges between 7 and 10 months of age. In the present study, the generality of this developmental transition was examined. Using an infant-control habituation procedure, 48 7- and 10-month-old infants were tested for the perception of correlations among basic facial features. The developmental effects were replicated. Only the 10-month-old infants demonstrated their sensitivity to the pattern of correlation by generalizing to a novel face that preserved the experienced pattern of correlation, while showing increased attention to a face in which the pattern of correlation was violated. 7-month-old infants generalized to both test stimuli containing familiar features, regardless of the status of the correlation. Implications for face perception and the processing of categorical information are discussed.