27. Thompson, L. A., Fagan, J. F., & Fulker, D. W. (1991). Longitudinal prediction of specific cognitive abilites from infant novelty preference. Child Development, 62, 530-538.

A test of visual novelty preference, the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence, was administered to a group of 113 full-term infants at 5 and 7 months of age. The infants were followed longitudinally, at ages 1, 2, and 3. One novelty preference score was obtained for each infant by averaging across the 2 test ages. Novelty preference correlated significantly with 36-month Binet IQ, the first unrotated principle component from the cognitive battery, and the 24-month Bayley MDI score. Novelty preference was also compared to specific abilities at all 3 follow-up ages. Partial correlations suggest that novelty preference predicts language and memory independent of IQ. Overall, the results indicate that novelty preference during the first year of life not only predicts later IQ but may also reflect specific cognitive processes.