Complex Phi Thresholds of Brain-Damaged Children 1

Abstract

Cerebral palsied children with perceptual-motor deficits (N = 12) and normal adults (N = 12) were shown a complex display in which one light alternated with four other lights to induce apparent motion. Both groups reported a novel type of motion when the four lights were arranged in the form of a diamond; phi thresholds differed significantly from those for an array in which the four lights suggested no particular form. The children had lower over-all thresholds than the adults but there was no significant groups-by-figures interaction. The results are interpreted as evidence against the notion of generalized perceptual deficit in brain-damaged children.