Perception of the symmetrical patterning of human gait by infants

Two experiments tested 3- and 5-month-old infants' sensitivity to properties of point-light displays of human gait. In Experiment 1, infants were tested for discrimination of point-light displays of a walker and a runner, which, although they differed in many ways, were equivalent with regard to the phasing of limb movements. Results revealed that 3-month-old, but not 5-month-old, infants discriminated these displays. In Experiment 2, the symmetrical phase-patterning of the runner display was perturbed by advancing two of its limbs by 25% of the gait cycle. Both 3- and 5-month-old infants discriminated the walker display from this new phase-shifted runner display. These findings suggest that 3-month-old infants respond to the absolute and relative motions within a single limb, whereas 5-month-old infants respond primarily to the relations between limbs and, in particular, to the bilateral symmetry between the limbs.