Sann Coralie, Streri Arlette
Institute of Psychology, Paris Descartes University, France.
Dev Sci. 2007 May;10(3):399-410. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00593.x.
The present research investigates newborn infants' perceptions of the shape and texture of objects through studies of the bi-directionality of cross-modal transfer between vision and touch. Using an intersensory procedure, four experiments were performed in newborns to study their ability to transfer shape and texture information from vision to touch and from touch to vision. The results showed that cross-modal transfer of shape is not bi-directional at birth. Newborns visually recognized a shape previously held but they failed to tactually recognize a shape previously seen. In contrast, a bi-directional cross-modal transfer of texture was observed. Taken together, the results suggest that newborn infants, like older children and adults, gather information differently in the visual and tactile modes, for different object properties. The findings provide evidence for continuity in the development of mechanisms for perceiving object properties.
本研究通过对视触觉间跨模态转移的双向性研究，调查了新生儿对物体形状和质地的感知。采用跨感觉程序，对新生儿进行了四项实验，以研究他们将形状和质地信息从视觉转移到触觉以及从触觉转移到视觉的能力。结果表明，形状的跨模态转移在出生时并非双向的。新生儿能够通过视觉识别之前触摸过的形状，但无法通过触觉识别之前看到过的形状。相比之下，观察到质地的双向跨模态转移。综合来看，结果表明，与年龄较大的儿童和成人一样，新生儿针对不同的物体属性，在视觉和触觉模式下收集信息的方式不同。这些发现为感知物体属性机制发展的连续性提供了证据。
