# A DUAL-PROCESS ANALYSIS OF INFANT VISUAL ATTENTION

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER/HSC DENVER · 1993 · $137,760

## Abstract

The proposed research analyzes processes underlying changes in infants'
attentional responses as a function of experience with a stimulus.
Previous analyses have emphasized a cognitive-memorial process responsible
for decrements in responding to a redundant stimulus (habituation).  The
current proposal centers on a motivational-arousal process responsible for
transient increases in responding to effectively intense stimuli
(sensitization).  A dual-process analysis is advanced according to which an
infant's responses to repeated stimulation are the outcome of the
interaction between two fundamental learning processes, habituation and
sensitization.  Three main avenues of research are proposed.  The first
focuses on the generality of dual-process analysis by applying it to
infants' reactions to naturalistic face stimuli.  The main question
addressed is whether evidence exists to show that faces, in addition to
their other roles in infant attention, also sensitize infant visual
fixation.  The second line of research continues past investigations of the
stimulus determinants of sensitization.  Stimulus parameters such as the
suprathreshold contrast in the stimulus and its chromatic characteristics
will be explored.  The visual capabilities of different aged infants will
be estimated by performing experiments on contrast in the stimulus and its
chromatic characteristics will be explored.  The visual capabilities of
different aged infants will be estimated by performing experiments on
contrast sensitivity, luminosity functions, and cone action spectra.  This
research will include developmental analyses, studies on individual
differences in vision and how they relate to individual differences in
pattern preferences, and studies with preterm infants.  The third research
avenue focuses on the consequences of sensitization for information-
processing in infants.  Sensitization facilitates information-processing in
at least two ways:  (1) Sensitizing stimuli transfer their arousing
properties to other stimuli that reliably predict them, and (2) sensitizing
signals lead to improved prospective processing of either the elements in
an associative learning situation, or of the relation between the elements.
By combining cognitive-memorial and motivational-arousal processes in one
theory, the dual-process analysis holds promise as a more comprehensive
treatment of infant attentional dynamics.  The dual-process account has
implications for the understanding of "special" populations of infants, who
differ in their "arousability" relative to healthy, full-term infants.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2197775
- **Project number:** 5R01HD019143-09
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER/HSC DENVER
- **SAM.gov UEI:** M6CXZ6GSJW84
- **Principal Investigator:** PETER S KAPLAN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $137,760
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1985-04-01 → 1995-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2197775

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2197775, A DUAL-PROCESS ANALYSIS OF INFANT VISUAL ATTENTION (5R01HD019143-09). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2197775. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*