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In a series of experiments using monosyllabic words produced by a native and nonnative speaker of English, native English speakers monitored the word-initial consonants of the words to decide which of two consonants was present on each trial. Contrasting results for native and nonnative speech are discussed in terms of models of phoneme processing. (Author/VWL)

Four experiments utilizing the familiarization-novelty preference procedure examined whether 3- and 4-month-olds could form categorical representations for cats versus dogs from the perceptual information available in silhouettes. Findings indicated that general shape or external contour information centered about the head was sufficient for infants to form individuated categorical representations for cats and dogs. (Author/KB)

Examined representation of pictorial exemplars of humans by 3- and 4-month olds. Results demonstrated an asymmetry regarding the exclusivity of categorical representations formed for humans and non-human animals. Categorical representations for humans included exemplar information, whereas categorical representation for non-human animals was based on summary information. Asymmetry did not extend to more basic process of discriminating human versus non-human animals. (Author/KB)

Examines the perceptual cues used by three- and four-month-old infants to categorically distinguish perceptually similar animal species. Indicates that cues form the facial and head region provide the critical source of information that allows young infants to categorically differentiate cats and dogs and presumably a number of other animal species that bear a close resemblance with one another. (AA)

Three experiments examined the exclusivity of perpetually defined categorical representations for animal categories in infants. Results indicated that infants have the capacity for making distinctions among high similar natural kinds but that such find distinctions cannot be made without appropriate exemplars. (SW)

M. A. Pitt, K. L. Smith, and J. M. Klein (1998) claimed that a baseline condition is necessary in experiments using the structural induction paradigm (S. A. Finney, A. Protopapas, & P. D. Eimas, 1996; C. Pallier, N. Sebastian-Galles, T. Felguera, A. Christophe, & J. Mehler, 1993) to correctly interpret interaction effects. In this article it is shown that this constitutes a misunderstanding of the interpretation of statistical interaction and that a baseline condition offers little unless comparisons between cells of different target types within induction conditions are necessary.

Research was conducted on the global categorical representation of humans by infants who are three to four months old. The familiarization-novelty preference procedure was used in three experiments. The three experiments suggest that infants use the categorical representation of humans that include categorization of animals as a reference point in the formation of categorical representation for animals.

Three and four month old infants use perceptual cues from face and head to categorically differentiate between cats, dogs and other perceptually similar animals. The internal features of the face and the external contour of the head contain important sources of information for categorial differentiation. These regions possibly attract more attention during familiarization with animals. Findings are discussed in relation to general level accounts of information included in categorial representations, and a theory of facial representation.

KEY WORDS: spoken language processing, speech perception, lexical access, modularity, interaction, context effects, development, language-specificity CONTENTS INTRODUCTION MAPPING FROM ACOUSTIC SIGNAL TO INITIAL REPRESENTATIONAL UNITS The Basic Problem Internal Structure [...]

An investigation into the exclusivity of young infants' perception of representations of natural animal categories reveals that infants aged between three and four months form categorical representation even when the familiarization procedure is altered prior to the tests of categorization. The study shows that young infants have the capacity to make fine distinctions among similar kinds of animals, but that such distinctions can be made only with experience.

The organization in speech perception was tested in infants 3 to 4 months old using synthetic speech patterns presented dichotically such that third-formant transition for the syllable da or ga is received in one ear and the remaining acoustic informationfor syllabic presentation is received by the other ear. Results show that younginfants can integrate information from two distal sources and from different directions into unified coherent precepts of a phonetic nature.

In a series of 16 experiments, the reaction time to decide which of two stop consonants, /b/ or /p/, for example, was the initial phoneme of a single target-bearing item was measured. In half of the experiments word frequency was varied and in other half, lexical status (words vs. nonwords) was varied. When listeners had only to monitor the target-bearing items for the initial consonant, nonsignificant effects of word frequency and lexical status were found. However, with the addition of a secondary task that focused attention on the consequences of lexical processing by requiring listeners to indicate whether the target-bearing item was a noun or verb or a word or nonword, highly reliable lexial effects were obtained: phoneme monitoring times were faster for high than for low frequency words and faster for words than for nonwords. A secondary task that required a judgment regarding item duration did not yield reliable effects of frequency or lexical status. Finally, degrading the targets with pink noise also resulted in reliable lexical effects. An explanation of the results was offered that rested on the following assumptions: (1) compensation (i.e., a race) normally exists between which representation, the pre- or postlexical, will be the basis for phoneme decisions, with the prelexical code the usual winner, but that (2) attention to postlexical representations may at times override the consequences of the competition between representations.

Reviews the research literature on the abilities of infants to categorize visual information on dot patterns; schematic faces; hue; and orientation. (HOD)

There is a wealth of data on the perceptual and cognitive capacities of infants strongly supporting early nativistic influences on development. Without considering these initial determinants, constructivist models of development are at best incomplete.