Understanding Perceptual Decisions by Studying Development and Neurodiversity

A cornerstone of human information processing is how we make decisions about incoming sensory percepts. Much of psychological science has focused on understanding how these judgments operate in skilled adult observers. Although not typically the focus of this research, variability in how adults make these judgments is considerable. Here, we review complementary computational-modeling, electrophysiological-data, eye-tracking, and longitudinal approaches to the study of perceptual decisions across neurotypical development and in neurodivergent individuals. These data highlight multiple parameters and temporal dynamics feeding into how we become skilled adult perceptual decision makers, and they may help explain why we vary so much in how we make perceptual decisions.