| dc.description.abstract | The age at which infants are able to individuate between objects on the basis of the functional category to which it belongs has yet to be determined. Object individuation depends on a variety of object characteristics such as function, color, shape, or name, as well as infant characteristics such as age. Recently, research has emphasized the importance of individuation using functional information in infancy. In this study, looking time performance for infants aged 3- to 8 months and 12- to 18- months was evaluated using eye-tracking technology to assess infants’ abilities to individuate objects based on functional categories. Infants were either given the opportunity to create a functional category (i.e., roller and cutter) by viewing functional examples in the Experimental Condition, or they were not given this opportunity in the Control Condition.
Across both conditions no significant differences were found among looking time during the final phase of the test trials for infants aged 3- to 8- months, but there was a significant difference between the scores for the Experimental Condition (M = 0.4303; SD = .244) and the Control Condition (M = 0.2965; SD = .230) during the second test trial; t(87) = 2.596, p = 0.011, d = 0.278. In addition, there was a significant difference in the scores for Experimental (M=0.4827, SD = 0.268) and Control (M = 0.326, SD = 0.171) Conditions during the third test trial; t(87) = 3.099, p =0.002, d = 0.332. Additionally, there was a significant difference between the percent-to-center looking times for Trial 1 (M= 0.302, SD = 0.196) and Trial 2 (M = 0.430, SD = 0.244); t(52) = -3.896, p < .01, d = -0.540; and Trial 1 and Trial 3 (M = 0.483, SD = 0.268); t(52) = -4.099, p ˂.01, d = -0.568 for infants aged 12- to 18- months. This suggests that infants aged 12- to 18- months, but not 3- to 8- months, are able to use functional information to establish categories and use this functional category information to later individuate objects based on function. | en |
