Abstract
This study examined lifespan developmental changes in abstraction abilities for three visual features of objects. They were shape, texture or color features, which were common to two or eight geometric figures. The findings indicated that abstraction abilities for shapes remained constant across age, but that abstraction of texture and color features varied between the six age groups. Texture and color were visible to the youngest participants (3 year-olds) and to the oldest (75–90 year-olds) age groups, but the 3 year-olds and elderly participants were not aware that the two or eight figures shared the same texture or color. These results support the “first in, last out principle” in the lifespan development of visual cognition.
