An Assessment of Perceptual Acuity in Fiji: A Cross-Cultural Study With Indians and Fijians

Abstract

110 Indian and 83 Fijian Ss of ages 15 through 20 were administered Gough and McGurk's 30-item visual Perceptual Acuity Test (PAT). In accord with prior findings in French, Italian, Swiss, and American applications, scores correlated sign ficantly with age (r =. 26); in addition, mean weighted scores increased for each older subsample by age. Insignificant differences in performance were observed between Fijian and Indian Ss, and between two small subsamples of delinquents and nondelinquents matched for age. Sex was related to performance, with men attaining higher scores. PAT performance was essentially unrelated to school achievement, and to ability as measured by Raven's Matrices. It may be concluded that the PAT is a promising device for cross-cultural study of age gradients in the development of perceptual acuity.

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