Developmental Changes in Infant Visual Preferences for Novelty and Familiarity

WETHERFORD, MARGARET J., and COHEN, LESLIE B. Developmental Changes in Infant Visual Preferences for Novelty and Familiarity. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1973, 44, 416-424. 2 experiments examined infant preferences for novel and familiar visual stimuli. In both, infants were repeatedly shown 1 pattern with novel patterns interspersed at 3 intervals in the familiarization series. In Experiment I infants 6-12 weeks of age were examined both longitudinally and cross-sectionally. Experiment II was a partial replication of Experiment I with 6-8-weekolds. Habituation to the familiar pattern occurred at 10-12 weeks but not at 6-8 weeks. Older Ss also preferred novel patterns, while younger Ss preferred familiar ones. Results from the cross-sectional design were clearer than from the longitudinal design. The findings support Hunt's (1963) 2-stage model of infant preferences.