Current work on perceptual information processing in children is frequently interpreted as showing that child/adult performance differences in perceptual tasks are caused, not by structural factors, but by the absence, in younger subjects, of appropriate encoding strategies, or by their inefficient use. The study of such strategies, which are believed to operate within broad parametric limits set by the basic perceptual processing stages, is of importance, particularly as it may be viewed as providing a conceptual framework for the study of individual and group differences in perceptual tasks. The author reviews methodological and theoretical issues which arise in connection with the developmental study of perceptual strategies, and concludes the field would benefit from greater conceptual and methodological rigour.