ERIC Number: EJ1115001
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1524-8372
EISSN: N/A
Constraints on Multiple Object Tracking in Williams Syndrome: How Atypical Development Can Inform Theories of Visual Processing
Ferrara, Katrina; Hoffman, James E.; O'Hearn, Kirsten; Landau, Barbara
Journal of Cognition and Development, v17 n4 p620-641 2016
The ability to track moving objects is a crucial skill for performance in everyday spatial tasks. The tracking mechanism depends on representation of moving items as coherent entities, which follow the spatiotemporal constraints of objects in the world. In the present experiment, participants tracked 1 to 4 targets in a display of 8 identical objects. Objects moved randomly and independently (moving condition), passed behind an invisible bar (occluded condition), or momentarily disappeared by shrinking (implosion condition). Scholl and Pylyshyn (1999) found that adults can track entities under the moving and occluded conditions, but not under implosion. This finding suggests that the tracking mechanism is constrained by the spatiotemporal properties of physical objects as they move in the world. In the present study, we adapt these conditions to investigate whether this constraint holds for people with severe spatial impairments associated with Williams syndrome (WS). In Experiment 1, we compare the performance of individuals with WS and typically developing (TD) adults. TD adults replicated Scholl and Pylyshyn's findings; performance was no different between the moving and occluded conditions but was worse under implosion. People with WS had reduced tracking capacity but demonstrated the same pattern across conditions. In Experiment 2, we tested TD 4-, 5-, and 7-year-olds. People with WS performed at a level that fell between TD 4- and 5-year-olds. These results suggest that the multiple object tracking system in WS operates under the same object-based constraints that hold in typical development.
Descriptors: Eye Movements, Visual Stimuli, Intellectual Disability, Adults, Spatial Ability, Visual Impairments, Comparative Analysis, Children, Task Analysis, Performance, Intelligence Tests, Statistical Analysis, Graphs, Genetic Disorders
Psychology Press. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF); National Institutes of Health (DHHS); National Institute of Mental Health (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: DGE0549379; 5T32HD046388; NINDSRO1050876; KO1MH081191; BCS1059560