Abstract

A review of the studies on infant learning, stimulus preferences. and habituation supports the following assertions. Firstly, the finding that a very young infant is capable of control of his basic responses if required implies that his ability for differentiating critical stimulus features is sufficiently adequate to be utilized in response adaptation. Secondly, results from both stimulus preference, and habituation studies indicate that before the infant is able to manage his motoric response, he is extensively engaged in stimulus differentiation and information processing. Thirdly, evidence from current habituation research using more elaborate procedures suggests that attentional processing under habituation is more than a single phenomenon, possibly involving multi-level processing. And lastly, existing data support Jeffrey's hypothesis of serial habituation as a mechanism for perceptual development.