NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ858878
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Nov
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1363-755X
EISSN: N/A
Sequence Learning in Infancy: The Independent Contributions of Conditional Probability and Pair Frequency Information
Marcovitch, Stuart; Lewkowicz, David J.
Developmental Science, v12 n6 p1020-1025 Nov 2009
The ability to perceive sequences is fundamental to cognition. Previous studies have shown that infants can learn visual sequences as early as 2 months of age and it has been suggested that this ability is mediated by sensitivity to conditional probability information. Typically, conditional probability information has covaried with frequency information in these studies, raising the possibility that each type of information may have contributed independently to sequence learning. The current study explicitly investigated the independent contribution of each type of information. We habituated 2.5-, 4.5-, and 8.5-month-old infants to a sequence of looming visual shapes whose ordering was defined independently by specific conditional probability relations among pair elements and by the frequency of occurrence of such pairs. During test trials, we tested infants' sensitivity to each type of information and found that both types of information independently influenced sequence learning by 4.5 months of age.
Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A