Nonverbal bases of social perception: Developmental change in sensitivity to patterns of motion that reveal interpersonal events

This study examined the development of sensitivity to specific patterns of movement that reveal interpersonal events. Preschoolers and adults viewed an animated film created by Heider and Simmel (1944), and then answered a set of probe questions about traits, emotions, and relationships that characterized the geometric figures in the film. Five-year-olds and adults gained similiar impressions of the film, and their attributions were similar to those that have emerged in open-ended descriptions of the film produced by adults in other experiments. The responses of 4-year-olds diverged from this pattern, as did, to a greater extent, the responses of 3-year-olds. The results were interpreted as supporting the view that sensitivity to patterns of motion that reveal interpersonal events emerges gradually during the late preschool years.