A Critical Test of Infant Pattern Preference Models

Models of infant visual preferences with predictions based on the physical attributes of visual patterns were evaluated using pairs of schematic faces and abstract patterns that were identical except for contrast reversals. Preferences at 6 weeks were entirely consistent with the predictions of these models. However, at 12 weeks the preferences for facelike images were in clear violation of the predictions of these models. These results represent the first unambiguous demonstration of a face preference in young human infants. The results also allow rejection of all current stimulus-based models of visual preference and suggest that a fundamental change in the determinants of visual preference occurs between 6 and 12 weeks postnatally.