Perception of a "subjective" contour by infants

1--4-month-old infants' abilities to see various structural characteristics of a "subjective" contour figure (the Kanizsa triangle) were assessed via a habituation procedure. The Kanizsa triangle was presented followed by comparison figures which contained different types of similarity to it. One comparison figure contained a triangle--the pattern formed by the relationship of the 3 elements. A second comparison figure contained the original elements, but they were rotated to eliminate the "subjective" triangle. A third figure contained completely different forms but the same amount of total flux and contour as the Kanizsa triangle. The results indicated that the first 2 comparison figures but not the third were seen by the infants as similar to the Kanizsa figure.