Perceptual set induction in young children

Perceptual set induction was studied among Indian children from Mysore, ages 4 and 5 years. The method of perceptual-set induction involved a procedure of contrastive classification that had been attempted only once before with an American sample of subjects. Findings of the present study were positive, demonstrating the formation of perceptual sets in preschool age children. Taken together with data from the American sample, the results provide a firmer basis for conceptualization, and for explaining the failure of other studies to find evidence for susceptibility to perceptual sets among young children. The findings are also considered in connection with contemporary ideas about symbolic mediation and production deficiencies in children's memory and thinking.