Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Generating Strictly Controlled Stimuli for Figure Recognition Experiments
Published on: March 18, 2019
The role of shape recognition in figure/ground perception in infancy
Hannah White1, Rachel Jubran1, Alison Heck1
1Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506-0044, USA.
Abstract:
In this study we sought to determine whether infants, like adults, utilize previous experience to guide figure/ground processing. After familiarization to a shape, 5-month-olds preferentially attended to the side of an ambiguous figure/ground test stimulus corresponding to that shape, suggesting that they were viewing that portion as the figure. Infants' failure to exhibit this preference in a control condition in which both sides of the test stimulus were displayed as figures indicated that the results in the experimental condition were not due to a preference between two figure shapes. These findings demonstrate for the first time that figure/ground processing in infancy is sensitive to top-down influence. Thus, a critical aspect of figure/ground processing is functional early in life.
Related Concept Videos
Role of Shaping in Operant Conditioning
The steps involved in shaping begin with reinforcing any response that resembles the desired behavior. For example, parents might praise a child for picking up one toy. As...
Rules for Significant Figures
It should be emphasized that when we represent measured values, the...
Uncertainty in Measurement: Significant Figures
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Significant Figures in Calculations
Subliminal Perception

