Problem 2

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

Refers to the processing of basic information from the external world by

a) sensory receptors
b) brain

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

Process of organizing + interpreting sensory information about the world around us

Question 3

Preferential looking technique

Answer 3

Method for studying visual attention in infants

–> two different visual stimuli are displayed on side by side screens

=> if the infant looks longer at one, one can infer the baby prefers this stimulus and can discriminate

(enables the researchers to asses the infants visual acuity)

Question 4

Habituation

Answer 4

Procedure that involves repeatedly presenting a stimulus until the infants response to it habituates/declines

Question 5

Contrast sensitivity

Answer 5

Infants can only detect a pattern when it is composed pf highly contrasting elements

–> this is due to the immaturity if infants cones, which are light sensitive neurons involved in detail vision

Question 6

Structure of cones in infancy

Answer 6

1. different size + shape
2. spaced farther apart
   - -> cones only catch 2% of the light striking the fovea

=> 8months: vision approaches that of adults
6y/o: full visual acuity

Question 7

Visual scanning in infancy

Answer 7

1. start scanning their environment right away

BUT: have trouble tracking moving stimuli because their eye movements are jerky

2. 2/3months: able to track slowly moving objects

• ->visual scanning is restricted for complex shapes
• -> only outer edges are scanned ( concept conservation)

ex.: triangle –> only the corners are looked at
face –> only hairline or chin due to high contrast

Question 8

Pattern (Face) perception in Infancy

Answer 8

<6months: are able to discriminate between individual faces

–> also monkeys/animals

> 9months: they rely on a detailed prototype of the human face to discriminate between people

–> this prototype is not applicable to animals

Question 9

The other race effect

Answer 9

Individuals find it easier to distinguish between faces of individuals from their own racial group than between faces from other racial groups

–> features from the infants immediate environment drive this effect

Question 10

Perceptual constancy

Answer 10

We perceive a constant shape and size

–> although our retinal image of the person changes in shape and size, we d not have the impression the person changes

Question 11

Empiricist view on perceptual constancy

Answer 11

Perceptual constancy develops as a function of spatially experiencing our environment

Question 12

Nativist view on perceptual constancy

Answer 12

Perceptual constancy stems from inherent properties if the nervous system

Question 13

Object segregation

Answer 13

The perception of the boundaries between objects

–> motion is an important cue indicating the boundaries between objects

Question 14

Optical expansion

Answer 14

Visual image of an object increases in size as the object comes toward us, occluding more and more of the background

–> infants blink in response, can’t attack

Question 15

Binocular disparity

Answer 15

The retinal image of an object is never quite the same in both eyes

–> two slightly different signals are sent to the brain

Question 16

Stereopsis

Answer 16

The visual cortex computes the degree of disparity between the eyes different neural signals and thus produces the perception of depth

Question 17

Monocular depth

Answer 17

Depth cues that can be perceived by one eye alone

–> infants will reach for whichever object is nearer

Question 18

Auditory perception in infancy

Answer 18

The auditory system is better developed relative to the visual system

Question 19

Auditory localization

Answer 19

The perception of the spatial location of a sound source

–> to localize a sound, listeners rely on differences in sounds that arrive at both of the ears

=> infants have more difficulty using this information because head is smaller, thus the spacing of the 2 ears
(timing + loudness of info arriving at each ear is smaller)

Question 20

Music perception in infancy

Answer 20

1. infants have detailed memory of music including pitch, tempo, timbre
2. preference for consonant music

–> with experience there is a process of perceptual narrowing which leads infants to loose the ability to make distinctions the he/she could make earlier

Question 21

Smell in infancy

Answer 21

Smell helps infants to recognize their mothers

Question 22

Touch in infancy

Answer 22

1. Oral exploration dominates their first months

–> sucking fingers/objects to learn about their bodies

2. Increasing manual control facilitates visual exploration

–> infants can hold objects to examine them more closely

Question 23

Intermodal perception

Answer 23

Combining of information from 2 or more sensory systems

Question 24

Piagets view on intermodal perception

Answer 24

Information from different sensory modalities is initially separate until after some months they can make associations between 2 or more senses

Question 25

Spatial frequency

Answer 25

The number of cycles per degree of visual angle of the grating --> A measure of how fine the bar pattern is on the retina (one cycle = one light bar + one light bar) --> finer bars = higher spatial frequencies BUT: moving loser to the grating decreases this

Question 26

Color perception in infancy

Answer 26

Perception of a light stimulus can vary on a) chromatic color b) brightness --> color vision develops at 3-4 months

Question 27

Binocular fixate

Answer 27

When both eyes are looking directly at the object, both foveas are directed at exactly the same place --> Requirement for the operation of binocular disparity

Question 28

Familiar size

Answer 28

Infants sensitive to a familiar size will perceive an object to be closer if they remembered from the familiarization period that this shape was smaller than the other one --> response is based on what is perceived + what is remembered

Question 29

Social referencing

Answer 29

Process of communication whereby people actively seek and use others’ perception and interpretations of ambiguous situations to form own interpretations of those situations