Peripheral Visual Processing

This study examined the hypothesis that the effective visual field of 5-year-old children is smaller than that of 8-year-old children and adults. In addition, an effort was made to determine whether task demands affect the size of the effective visual field and if so, whether the effects on performance are different for children and adults. A total of 54 subjects in three age groups (5-year-olds, 8-year-olds, and college adults) participated in one of three experimental conditions: (1) identification of a single geometric form located peripherally, (2) identification of a peripheral form presented simultaneously with a foveally located form which was to be ignored, and (3) identification of a peripheral form presented with a foveally located form, both of which were to be reported. The findings showed that a subject's ability to identify peripherally presented stimulus items was impaired by the presence of a foveally presented item whether or not the item required processing. Results also suggest that this interference by the foveal item was due to the tendency of older subjects to process this foveal item first. This tendency is apparently learned as it is not present in 5-year-old children. (JMB)