Perceptual Development: Object Perception

When looking around the kitchen, most adults have no trouble determining that the toaster is separate from the blender, even if the surfaces of the two are touching. We can determine where one object ends and another begins without careful thought or effort. Is the same true for infants early in the first year of life? If so, which cues do they use to make such judgments and at what point in development are infants capable of making these judgments accurately?

Some of the first observations that provided insight into how infants perceive objects were published by Jean Piaget, who is widely regarded as one of the founders of the field of cognitive development. [Page 757]He reported that his 10-month-old son Laurent would reach for a ...