Abstract: The empirical work reviewed here illustrates two common and useful observations in developmental research: (1) at birth some capabilities are reasonably mature and others are not and (2) different capabilities develop at distinctly different rates. Specifically, temporal resolution is fairly good at birth and develops rapidly, attaining adultlike levels by about two months of age. On the other hand, spatial resolution and contrast sensitivity are rather poor at birth and develop relatively slow; adult levels are not reached by the sixth month. Such early deficits in spatial vision may underlie early deficits in other visual capabilities such as accommodation, convergence, and stereopsis.

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