Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of distinctive features on recognition of incomplete pictures. Two sets of fragmented picture stimuli were designed: Set A preserved 75% and Set B preserved 25% of the distinctive features of the objects pictured. Within each set of stimuli, a complete (C), an intermediate (I), and a most incomplete (MI) representation of the objects was constructed. In the first experiment, 60 subjects of three different age groups were tested on the MI representations of either Set A or Set B. Results indicate significant differences in the age groups and in stimulus sets. In the second experiment, 36 children were trained on either the C or the I Set A or the I Set B representations. After a day's delay, the children were tested on Set A or Set B MI representations of the objects and to novel representations. Results showed significant differences among training conditions and in the test of the stimulus sets. The concepts of filtering and abstraction of distinctive features as discussed in 1969 by Gibson are mainly used in interpreting the results of the experiments.
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