Developmental Origins of Biological Motion Perception

Newborn infants have a special affinity for motion. It is not surprising, therefore, that the perception of biological motion has an important role in the early development of infants. This chapter describes the development of biological motion perception across early development. The chapter provides a critical discussion about whether “limitations” in infants’ visual system may reflect attunements that adaptively orient infants toward significant others (e.g., caregivers), describes the visual behavior of infants as evidence that they are actively selecting agents as targets of their attention, and provides a review of the overlaps between adult and infant vision research.