Biology and Cognitive Development

In this book, the authors attempt to show how a cognitive account of development can be derived from a biological basis, using the example of the development of face recognition. While some research has indicated that newborn infants possess information about the general characteristics of faces, teh majority of studies indicate that infants may take several months before they respond selectively to faces. Mark Johnson and John Marton examine the results of their own replication and extension of both sets of findings. Biology and Cognitive Development offers an important new theory of the development of face recognition and what it can tell us about the interaction between nature and nurture.

Preface vii Acknowledgements ix 1 Why bring Biology into Cognitive Development? 1 2 The Development of Face Recognition 23 3 Bringing in Biology 38 4 Conspec, Conlern and the Development of Face Recognition 81 5 Conspec and Conlern in the Human Infant 104 6 Biology, Cognition and Faces 129 Notes 148 References 159 Index 175