STIMULUS FAMILIARIZATION EFFECT AND CHANGE EFFECT IN CHILDRENS MOTOR TASK BEHAVIOR

After a review of relevant animal and human adult studies, the present paper summarizes 10 experiments using children as Ss and concerned with 2 empirical phenomena: (1) the stimulus familiarization effect (SFE) the tendency for children to respond faster on various motor tasks to a nonfamiliarized as compared with a previously familiarized stimulus; and (2) the change effect (CE) the tendency for children to respond faster on motor task trials involving a change in stimulus from the immediately preceding trial as compared with trials involving repetition of the stimulus occurring on the preceding trial. It is concluded that the SFE is best accounted for by an orientation reaction (OR) habituation assumption, whereas the CE is probably attributable to preexperimentally acquired sets on the part of children to expect stimulus (or response) change as the more apt to occur (or more apt to be required) event in a 2-stimulus, 2-response experimental situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.