11.1 a little more

Question 1

how do researchers come up with “clever experimental methods” to measure newborns’ sensory capacities?

Answer 1

• babies cannot talk, so measures of heart rate
  facial expression
• head movements correlate with distinctions among stimuli

Question 2

what do newborns show sensitivity towards?

Answer 2

smell. responds differently to pleasant ones (honey, chocolate) compared to unpleasant ones e.g. rotten eggs

=> can also recognize their mother by smell

Question 3

gestational month 7: babies can hear

Answer 3

hearing continues after birth
=> infant prefers sounds with higher pitch / frequency

Question 4

infant vision

Answer 4

• they cannot see well, they need more contrast (e.g. black and white)
• severely short-sighted
• innate preference for looking at faces

Question 5

looking time

Answer 5

a measure when testing infant vision
=> e.g. how long they spend viewing a pattern, compared to a uniform screen