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Summary: DevelopmentalPsychology Copyright 2000 by the American PsychologicalAssociation,Inc.
2000, Vol. 36, No. 6, 808-816 0012-1649/00/$5.00 DOI: 10.1037//0012-1649.36.6.808
Infants' Perception of Transparency
Scott P. Johnson
Cornell University
Richard N. Aslin
University of Rochester
Four- and 7-month-old infants' perception of transparency was investigated with computer-generated
achromatic or color displays depicting a semitransparent box occluding the center of a rod. Following
habituation, infants viewed test displays consisting of either a two-color rod (corresponding to the
habituation display's proximal characteristics) or a solid rod (corresponding to the distal characteristics
of the event depicted~by the habituation display). Looking-time results from 4-month-olds suggested
perception of transparency in color displays but not in an achromatic display. An additional condition
indicated that transparency perception may rely on the visibility of background texture through the
transparent surface. Seven-month-olds, in contrast, provided some evidence of transparency perception
in the achromatic display. Implications for the development of infants' responses to object properties and
perceptual segregation are discussed.
A central task of vision is to segment the optic array, with the
goal of obtaining veridical perception of objects and surfaces at
various distances. This process is challenged by the fact that many
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