Investigating Children’s Eye-Movements: Cause or Effect of Reversing Ambiguous Figures?

We examined whether eye-movements play a significant role in perceiving both interpretations (reversing) of ambiguous figures such as the duck/rabbit (Jastrow, 1900). In an eye tracking study we investigated 3-, 4and 5-year-old children’s reversal abilities while their eye-movements were recorded. Children’s eye-movement patterns were also compared to those of adults. No significant differences in eye-movement patterns between children who reversed and those who did not reverse were found. This means that looking at specific parts of the image is not sufficient to perceive both alternative interpretations. We conclude that eye movements are not a major cause of reversing ambiguous figures.