Infants' perceptions of constraints on object motion as a function of object shape

Three studies examined young infants' ability to distinguish between expected and unexpected motion of objects based on their shape. Using a preferential-looking paradigm, 8- and 12-month-old infants' looking time towards expected and unexpected motion displays of familiar, everyday objects (e.g., balls and cubes) was examined. Experiment 1 demonstrated that two factors drive infants' preferential fixations of object motion displays. Both 8- and 12-month-olds displayed a tendency to look at rotating information over non-rotating, stationary visual information. In contrast, only 12-month-olds showed a tendency to look at object motions that were inconsistent or “unexpected” based on shape. After controlling for the preference for more complex (rolling) by adding rolling motion to both displays (Experiment 2), 12-month-olds' ability to distinguish between expected and unexpected motion displays was facilitated. Experiment 3 provided a control by demonstrating that the preference for the unexpected object motion was not due to any other motion properties of the objects. Overall, these results indicate that 12-month-old infants have the ability to recognize the role that object shape plays in constraining object motion, which has important theoretical implications for the development of object perception.