The Development of Perceptual Grouping in Infants with Williams Syndrome

Perceptual grouping by luminance similarity and by proximity was investigated in infants with Williams syndrome (WS) aged between 6 and 36 months (visit 1, N=29). WS infants who were still under 36 months old, 8 months later, repeated the testing procedure (visit 2, N=15). Performance was compared to typically developing (TD) infants aged from 2 to 20 months (N=63). Consistent with the literature, TD participants showed grouping by luminance at the youngest testing age, 2 months. Grouping by proximity had not previous been charted in typical development: this study showed grouping by proximity at 8 months. Infants with WS could group by luminance. Developmental progression of the WS group showed some similarities to typical development, although further investigation is required to further address this in more depth. In contrast, infants with WS were not able to group by proximity. This pattern of emergence and development of grouping abilities is considered in relation to the pattern of grouping abilities observed in adults with WS.