sensations and perception

A researcher is observing a baby who is lifting its head slightly and holding objects placed in its hand. Based on these observations, which age range is the baby likely in?

Age 1 month

Parents notice their baby starting to crawl and transfer objects from one hand to the other. Which milestones align with these observations?

Gross motor skills: Sits without support

Fine motor skills: Transfers objects from one hand to the other

During a developmental screening, a pediatrician observes that a 4-month-old infant can focus on where objects are in the world and scan light/dark contrasts. Which perceptual skills are being demonstrated?

Scanning light/dark contrasts

Focusing on where objects are in the world

Frantz, 1960s is conducting a study using the visual preference method. What are the likely steps involved in this study?

Presenting two stimuli at the same time

Measuring how long the baby looks at each picture

Inferring preference implies discrimination

Parents are concerned because their newborn does not seem to focus well on faces. Which of the following statements could reassure them about normal visual development in newborns?

Newborns respond to light and track moving objects with their eyes

Visual acuity is not the same as in adults

Initial poor control over the eyes (visual accommodation)

Newborns show preference for mother’s face

In a study on infants' face perception, babies are shown images of their mothers and strangers. What findings are likely to be observed?

Newborns show preference for their mother’s face

Newborns prefer attractive faces

Recognition of mother’s voice can direct attention to her face

A parent observes that their 6-month-old can distinguish between "bada" and "baga" and responds to syllables within a string. Which of the following are accurate descriptions of the baby's auditory abilities?

Can discriminate two-syllable words

Can respond to syllables hidden inside a string

During a play session, a 15-month-old child walks backward, rolls a ball to an adult, and stacks two blocks. Which developmental milestones are being demonstrated?

Gross motor skills: Walks backward

Fine motor skills: Stacks two blocks

Gross motor skills: Runs and jumps

A study finds that 1-week-old infants can distinguish their mother's body odor from that of a stranger. What other sensory abilities might this suggest in newborns?

Newborns respond differently to basic tastes (sweet, sour, bitter)

Newborns have a well-developed sense of smell

Newborns show preference for the smell of their mother's breast milk

Newborns have a well-developed sense of touch and motion

An infant is participating in a study where they hear a rhythm and see a corresponding movement. Which developmental concept is being tested?

Intersensory integration

Cross-modal (intermodal) transfer

A developmental psychologist is studying depth perception in infants. Which findings are likely to be consistent with previous research?

Difference in heart rate between infants who can and cannot crawl

Infants learn to avoid the deep side of a cliff through experience

Some form of depth perception is present very early and independent of locomotion

A 2-month-old infant prefers to look at more complex patterns compared to a 1-month-old infant. What might explain this difference?

Improved visual acuity allows for greater interest in more complex patterns

Infants initially prefer to look at the edges of figures or shapes

A newborn is able to suck on a dummy at a rate necessary to control viewing a video of their mother. What does this suggest about the newborn's abilities?

Preference for mother's face

Ability to control their sucking rate

Recognition of mother's voice directs attention to visual stimuli

Researchers are investigating why infants have a preference for faces. Which explanations are consistent with current theories?

Faces have high areas of contrast

Faces are top-heavy

Faces usually move and are dynamic

Infants have an innate face-detecting brain mechanism

A 6-week-old baby tracks a moving line but not smoothly. By 10 weeks, the same baby’s tracking is smooth and accurate. What does this improvement illustrate?

Development of tracking skills

A neuroscientist is explaining the difference between sensation and perception. Which of the following statements accurately describe these concepts?

Sensation involves the acquisition of information through sensory organs

Perception is the brain organizing the information from the senses

A 10-month-old child is seen pulling themselves up, walking while grasping furniture, and showing a preference for grasping a spoon. Which developmental milestones are demonstrated here?

Gross motor skills: Pulls self up ✔

Fine motor skills: Grasps a spoon

Gross motor skills: Walks grasping furniture

An 18-month-old child walks backward, claps, and stacks two blocks. What other motor skills are likely present at this age?

Gross motor skills: Walks up and down the stairs with two feet per step (Age 19-24 months)

Fine motor skills: Uses spoon to feed self (Age 19-24 months)

A newborn is tested for visual capabilities. Which observations align with typical newborn visual development?

Responds to light and tracks moving objects with eyes

Visual acuity is 20/200 or 20/400

Initial poor control over eyes (visual accommodation)

Shows preference for mother’s face

In a visual tracking study, a baby's eye movements are monitored while following a moving line. What developmental progression might be observed?

From jerky to smooth tracking by 10 weeks (Aslin, 1987)

From scanning parts of an object to scanning the whole object (Aslin et al., 1987)

During a research experiment, a 2-month-old infant is observed focusing on light/dark contrasts. What other perceptual behaviors are likely at this stage?

Focus on where objects are in the world

Look at motion

Researchers are using the habituation/dishabituation method in an infant study. What steps are involved in this method?

Presenting the same picture repeatedly until the baby stops looking (habituation)

Introducing a second stimulus to see if the baby shows renewed interest (dishabituation)

An experiment shows that 2-day-old infants can distinguish between patterned and unpatterned shapes. What conclusions can be drawn from this?

Infants discriminate between patterned and unpatterned shapes (Fantz, 1960s)

Infants prefer shapes with curved edges over straight edges (Fantz & Miranda)

In the experiment cconducted by Simion et al., 2001 A baby is shown pairs of stimuli, one with more elements in the upper half and one with more in the lower half. What preferences are likely to be observed?

Preference for up-down asymmetry

Preference for congruency

A newborn is observed imitating facial expressions. What study supports this behavior?

Imitation of facial expression by infants (Meltzoff & Moore, 1977)

In Campos et al's., 1992 a visual cliff experiment, some infants show a difference in heart rate when placed over the deep side. What does this suggest?

Learning not to move onto the deep side is a result of crawling experience

Depth perception is present early and independent of locomotion

A 1-month-old infant can distinguish between "ba" and "pa" sounds. What other auditory abilities are likely present?

Preference for mother's voice over father's voice

Ability to recognize familiar stories by pattern and rhythm

Researchers (Pickens, 1994) observe a 5-month-old infant connecting the sound of a moving train with its sight. Which concepts are demonstrated here?

Intersensory integration

Cross-modal (intermodal) transfer

During the first four months, what are key developments in an infant’s perceptual abilities?

Perceiving objects and applying perceptual constancies

Rapid development of perceptual skills

Developing face perception from birth

Well-developed voice and speech perception