5 Fantz

Question 1

Take a Long Look Year

Answer 1

1961

Question 2

Take a Long Look Author

Answer 2

Fantz

Question 3

Take a Long Look Background/Theory (4 things)

Answer 3

(1) People thought that infants not perceive form, but Fantz was skeptical of this.
(2) In the 50s, Fantz noticed that chicks perceived their environment well enough to peck for food as soon as they broke out of their shells.
(3) He proposed that human infants, from the moment of birth are actually able to perceive various forms.
(4) He thought this could be demonstrated by observing “preferential looking” - measuring how long they look at objects.

Question 4

Take a Long Look Method and Results (5 things)

Answer 4

(1) Fantz found that young chicks pecked more often at shapes that resembled food than shapes that did not.
(2) He developed a “looking chamber“ which was basically bassinette inside of a large box with a panel on which to place objects and peepholes for the observers.
(3) The infants were presented with varyingly complex shapes, a human face, and an oval with the features of a human face jumbled up.
(4) They timed how long the infants stared at each object.
(5) infants greatly preferred the most complex shapes and the ones that most closely resembled faces.

Question 5

Take a Long Look Significance (2 things)

Answer 5

(1) Fantz’s research showed that infants have an innate ability to distinguish between forms. (2) Before then, researchers thought babies were born with few perceptual or sensory abilities.

Question 6

Take a Long Look Legacy

Answer 6

(1) Research: Horowitz discovered that babies stare at an object for progressively less time if you repeatedly show it to them (habituation).
(2) Research: Another recent study demonstrated that infants can distinguish between between “possible” objects and “impossible” objecs.
(3) Research: Gibson and Walk’s visual cliff was in part inspired by Fantz’s early work.