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Perception of Biological Motion by Infants and Adults |
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Recognition and discrimination of people and their dispositional characteristics is a highly important skill that begins developing at a very young age. Research in the lab focuses on the biological motions associated with people and their actions. Although the motion patterns produced by the articulated movements of the human figure are unusually complex, adult observers appear highly sensitive to this information. A common technique for studying the perception of biological motions is to display points of light moving as if attached to the major joints and head of a person walking. Adult observers perceive these displays as depicting the human form even though many different interpretations are possible. Furthermore, infants as young as 3 to 5 months of age show sensitivity to biological motion in such displays.
Point-Light Demonstrations:
Selected Publications: Booth, A.E., Pinto, J., & Bertenthal, B.I. (2002). Perception of the symmetrical patterning of human gait by infants. Developmental Psychology, 38(4), 554-563. [pdf] Grezes, J., Fonlupt, P. Bertenthal, B., Delon-Martin, C., Segebarth, C., & Decety, J. (2001). Does perception of biological motion rely on specific brain regions? NeuroImage, 13, 775-785. [pdf] Bertenthal, B.I., & Pinto, J. (1994). Global processing of biological motions. Psychological Science, 5, 221-225. Bertenthal, B.I., & Pinto, J. (1993). Complementary processes in the perception and production of human movements. In E. Thelen & L. Smith (Eds.), A dynamic systems approach to development: Applications (pp. 209-239). Cambridge, MA: Bradford Books. Bertenthal, B.I. (1993). Perception of biomechanical motions by infants: Intrinsic image and knowledge-based constraints. In C. Granrud (Ed.), Carnegie symposium on cognition: Visual perception and cognition in infancy (pp. 175-214). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. |
| Questions? Comments? Email: mlongo@uchicago.edu | Updated: 12/31/02 |