The role of symmetry in infant form discrimination.

This study examined whether infants can discriminate form on the basis of symmetrical organization when other stimulus factors are equated. 48 4-month-olds were tested in a habituation-dishabituation discrimination paradigm using vertically symmetrical, horizontally symmetrical, and asymmetrical forms. Infants discriminated vertically symmetrical forms from asymmetrical and from horizontally symmetrical ones, but they did not discriminate horizontally symmetrical forms from asymmetrical ones, nor did they discriminate asymmetrical forms from one another. This pattern of results suggests that the global organization embodied in vertical symmetry promotes perceptual discrimination. 12 additional 4-month-olds were habituated and tested with 2 vertical patterns. Their failure to demonstrate a reliable pattern of dishabituation suggests that babies respond to goodness of organization rather than to details unique to particular symmetrical patterns.