Studied in three experiments the distribution and malleability of visual attention in 5-month-olds while they inspected large geometric designs. Established that infants who were short-lookers had novelty scores above chance, whereas long-lookers demonstrated chance responding. Illuminating different parts of visual display induced long-lookers to…

Full-term middle-class, full-term lower-class, and preterm infants were compared on cross-modal and visual intramodal functioning in order to determine whether cross-modal functioning would be impaired in infants born prematurely, or in full-term infants who were being raised in less advantaged environments. (MP)

This study assessed cognitive processing speed among full-term and preterm infants when they reached 5, 7, and 12 months of age. Findings indicated that at all ages, preterms required about 20 percent more trials and 30 percent more time than full-terms to reach criterion on a novelty preference task. Among preterms, slower processing was…

Infant novelty scores correlated significantly with measures of cognitive outcome beginning at 24 months of age and continuing at 34, 40, and 72 months of age. Parental education was strongly correlated with cognitive outcome beginning at about two years of age. (RH)

Examined contributions of cognitive processing speed, short-term memory capacity, and attention to infant visual recognition memory. Found that infants who showed better attention and faster processing had better recognition memory. Contributions of attention and processing speed were independent of one another and similar at all ages studied--5,…

Visual recognition memory is a robust form of memory that is evident from early infancy, shows pronounced developmental change, and is influenced by many of the same factors that affect adult memory; it is surprisingly resistant to decay and interference. Infant visual recognition memory shows (a) modest reliability, (b) good discriminant…