Young Infants' Perception of Object Unity in Rotation Displays

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Abstract
Much research has been devoted to questions regarding how infants begin to perceive the unity of partly occluded objects, and it is clear that object motion plays a central role. Little is known, however, about how infants' motion processing skills are used in such tasks. One important kinetic cue for object shape is structure from motion, but its role in unity perception remains unknown. To address this issue, we presented 2‐ and 4‐month‐old infants with displays in which object unity was specified by vertical rotation. After habituation to this display, infants viewed broken and complete versions of the object to test their preference for the broken object, an indication of perception of unity in the occlusion display. Positive evidence for the perception of unity was provided by both age groups. Concomitant edge translation available in 1 condition did not appear to contribute above and beyond simple rotation. These results suggest that structure from motion, and perhaps contour deformation and shading cues, can contribute important information for veridical object percepts in very young infants.