What does preferential looking indicate about infants?

Preferential looking is a technique used in developmental psychology to assess infants' visual preferences and perceptual abilities. When infants are presented with two different stimuli and they consistently look longer at one over the other, it indicates that they can discriminate between the two stimuli. This ability to show a preference suggests that infants have developed some level of perceptual organization and cognitive processing, allowing them to differentiate based on the contrasting characteristics of the stimuli.

In this context, the correct answer highlights the capability of infants to use visual cues to make judgments about their environment, which is fundamental to their cognitive development. This technique has been pivotal in research to understand not just preferences, but also the visual and cognitive development stages in infants, laying the groundwork for further areas of study in their recognition of faces, patterns, and ultimately, language.

Other options do not accurately capture what preferential looking measures. For instance, preferring dull stimuli over bright stimuli does not align with the established findings, as infants are often drawn to more visually stimulating options. Recognizing familiar faces is a more specific aspect of cognitive development that may not be directly inferred by general looking preferences. Lastly, the idea of equal response to all stimuli contradicts the fundamental principle of preferential looking, which relies on the observation that infants