ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to devise a technique for isolating qualitative differences in perception of children which is applicable over a wide age range, especially to very young children. It also aims to test this technique by making an exploratory, genetic study of some of the more fundamental aspects of perception. The experiments have disclosed a realm of perception in which the specific factors are ontogenetically prior to the configurational ones, a trend of development opposite to the one discovered by the experiments upon the absolute and the relative discrimination of grays. A combination of the method of critical trials with the direct delayed reaction resulted in a new technique which enables the experimenter to dispense with the 20 to 60 training trials involved in the older method of critical choices and which promises to be very useful, especially with young children, in attacking genetically the problem of stimulus definition.
