AUTHOR=Coss Richard G. , Charles Eric P. 

TITLE=The Saliency of Snake Scales and Leopard Rosettes to Infants: Its Relevance to Graphical Patterns Portrayed in Prehistoric Art

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.763436

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.763436

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Geometrically arranged spots and crosshatched incised lines are frequently portrayed in prehistoric cave and mobiliary art. Two experiments examined the saliency of snake scales and leopard rosettes to infants that are perceptually analogous to these patterns. Experiment 1 examined the investigative behavior of 23 infants at 3 daycare facilities. Four plastic jars (15 × 14.5 cm) with snake scales, leopard rosettes, geometric plaid, and plain patterns printed on yellowish-orange paper inside were placed individually on the floor on separate days during playtime. Fourteen 7-15 month-old infants approached each jar hesitantly and poked it before handling it for 5 times, the criterion selected for statistical analyses of poking frequency. The jars with snake scales and leopard rosettes yielded reliably higher poking frequencies than the geometric plaid and plain jars. A second experiment examined the gaze and grasping behavior of 15 infants (spanning 5-months of age) seated on the laps of their mothers in front of a table. For paired comparisons, the experimenter pushed two of four upright plastic cylinders (13.5 × 5.5 cm) with virtually the same colored patterns simultaneously toward each infant for 6 sec. Video recordings indicated that infants gazed significantly longer at the cylinders with snake scales and leopard rosettes than the geometric plaid and plain cylinders prior to grasping them. Logistic regression of gaze duration predicting cylinder choice for grasping indicated that 7 of 24 paired comparisons were not significant, all of which involved choices of cylinders with snake scales and leopard rosettes that diverted attention before reaching. Evidence that these biological patterns are salient to infants with undeveloped brains might the integration of subcortical and neocortical visual processes known to be involved in snake recognition that possibly biased artistic renditions of similar pattern during prehistoric times.