Infant Perception and Learning
Spatial completion is one piece of evidence that seems to support the nativist view of infant perception. Based on this evidence, experiments have explored the types of visual information infants use in spatial completion perception. Spatial completion was observed at 4-months old when rod parts aligned outer edges were moved in cycle behind a stationery occluder (Johnson, 2010). The same observations were replicated and extended and indicated that the 4-months olds showed evidence of completion when parts of the rods were aligned. The same results were found at two months old when the experiment was conducted using various occluder sizes and arrangements of edges.
Based on Johnson (2010), he provides 3D object completion as evidence of learning. A solid ‘L’-the shaped object that has eight faces was used. The experiment tested 4, 6- and 9.5-months old infants. The results from this study indicated developmental progression in 3D completion. At four months old, post-habituation looking did not show any evidence of completion, while at 9.5 months old, observed continuously extended at the hollow test display indicating perception of habituation. At six months, it was only male gender infants that showed this preference. Female infants were observed equally at the two tests (Johnson, 2010). At 9.5 months old, there was no male advantage, where both genders kept the hollow shape at an extended time.
Lastly, the apparent contradictions can be reconciled by observing evidence from all the experiments conducted on this subject. There is no one account, such as nativist or Piagetian, that accounts for the fundamental changes underlying the emergence of object concepts in infants (Johnson, 2010). Hence, calling the need to borrow from the two theories.