A Comparative Analysis of Global and Local Processing of Hierarchical Visual Stimuli in Young Children (Homo sapiens) and Monkeys (Cebus apella )

Results obtained with preschool children ( Homo sapiens ) were compared with results previously obtained from capuchin monkeys ( Cebus apella ) in matching-to-sample tasks featuring hierarchical visual stimuli. In Experiment 1, monkeys, in contrast with children, showed an advantage in matching the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of comparative psychology (1983) 2005-05, Vol.119 (2), p.155-165
Main Authors: De Lillo, Carlo, Spinozzi, Giovanna, Truppa, Valentina, Naylor, Donna M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal
Animal ethology
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Cebus
Child, Preschool
Children & youth
Cognition
Comparative analysis
Cues
Eyes & eyesight
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Male
Mammalia
Matching to Sample
Monkeys
Monkeys & apes
Psychological Tests
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Reaction Time
Species Specificity
Vertebrata
Visual Perception
Visual Stimulation
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Summary:Results obtained with preschool children ( Homo sapiens ) were compared with results previously obtained from capuchin monkeys ( Cebus apella ) in matching-to-sample tasks featuring hierarchical visual stimuli. In Experiment 1, monkeys, in contrast with children, showed an advantage in matching the stimuli on the basis of their local features. These results were replicated in a 2nd experiment in which control trials enabled the authors to rule out that children used spurious cues to solve the matching task. In a 3rd experiment featuring conditions in which the density of the stimuli was manipulated, monkeys' accuracy in the processing of the global shape of the stimuli was negatively affected by the separation of the local elements, whereas children's performance was robust across testing conditions. Children's response latencies revealed a global precedence in the 2nd and 3rd experiments. These results show differences in the processing of hierarchical stimuli by humans and monkeys that emerge early during childhood.
ISSN:0735-7036
1939-2087
DOI:10.1037/0735-7036.119.2.155