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Updated: May 19, 2026
09:49
Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
Published on: April 16, 2014
Functional dissociation between perception and action is evident early in life
Bat-Sheva Hadad1, Galia Avidan, Tzvi Ganel
1Department of Psychology, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. bhadad@univ.haifa.ac.il
Developmental Science
|August 29, 2012
Summary
Vision for perception follows Weber's law, while vision for action does not. This dissociation emerges early in development, with children aged 5-8 showing the same pattern as adults in size estimation versus grasping tasks.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- The mature visual system exhibits a functional distinction between vision for perception and vision for action.
- Previous research indicates that visual perception adheres to Weber's law, whereas action processing deviates from it.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental trajectory of the dissociation between vision for perception and vision for action.
- To determine if this functional difference is present in early childhood.
Main Methods:
- Children (5-8 years) and adults performed two tasks: estimating disc size (perception) and grasping discs (action).
- Object sizes varied in diameter.
- Variability in perceptual estimates and grasping actions were analyzed in relation to object size.
Main Results:
- Perceptual estimates showed increased variability with larger object sizes, consistent with Weber's law, across all age groups.
- Grasping actions did not exhibit increased variability with object size, thus violating Weber's law at all tested ages.
Conclusions:
- The study provides the first evidence for the early emergence of the dissociation between vision for perception and vision for action.
- This functional difference is present from at least age 5-8, suggesting an early developmental onset.
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