The Relative Encoding of Colour and Shape by 5-Month-Old Infants

Infants were familiarized to one stimulus fora brief period of time and then presented with two test trials on which the familiar stimulus was paired with a stimulus novel in colour or one novel in shape. A significant preference for the novel stimulus was only evident in the former test, with this outcome being independent of the “categorical clarity” of the familiar colour. The findings indicate differential encoding rates for colour and shape for these stimuli and suggest a basis for explaining the salience of colour in children's early cognitive processing.