Stimulus preference and its effect on visual habituation and dishabituation in four-month-old infants.

The rate of habituation and rehabituation and the magnitude of dishabituation were investigated in four-month-old infants (24 boys, 24 girls) as a function of stimulus preference. Infants were habituated to either a preferred or nonpreferred stimulus and rehabituated with the opposite stimulus. Infants initially viewing a preferred stimulus required more trials to habituate and fewer trials to rehabituate than those in the nonpreferred group. In addition, the magnitude of dishabituation was greater for infants in the latter group. The data were discussed in terms of the importance of stimulus preference in studies of infant habituation.