Auditory-visual coordination in infancy: Some limitations of the preference methodology

Abstract

Infants of 3, 7, and 10 months of age were placed midway between two visual displays that flashed on and off at two different temporal rates. Tones temporally synchronized to one of the visual displays emanated from concealed speakers placed midway between the visual displays directly in front of the infants. The visual displays and corresponding tones differed in temporal rate by a factor of four. No evidence was found for preferential looking to the sound-specified visual pattern in the 3- and 7-month-olds. Marginal evidence for such looking was found in the 10-month-olds. It is suggested that the results of the present study denote some of the limitations of the preference paradigm for the investigation of the development of auditory-visual coordination. © 1980, The Psychonomic Soceity, Inc.. All rights reserved.