Ch. 5 Definitions

Question 1

Dynamic systems theory

Answer 1

Seeks to explain how infants assemble motor skills for perceiving and acting

1. Nervous system development
2. Physical possibility
3. Motivated to reach a goal
4. Environmental support for a skill

(Esther Thelen)

Question 2

Rooting reflex

Answer 2

Newborn’s built-in reaction to turn their head toward touch on their cheek or side of mouth

Question 3

Sucking reflex

Answer 3

Newborn’s reaction of sucking an object placed in its mouth

Question 4

Moro reflex

Answer 4

Newborn’s startle response of arching their back, throwing back their head, and fling out their arms and legs in reaction to a sudden, intense noise or movement

Question 5

Grasping reflex

Answer 5

Infant’s response to tightly grasp anything touching their palms

Question 6

Gross motor skills

Answer 6

Involve large-muscle activities such as walking

Question 7

Fine motor skills

Answer 7

Involve finely tuned movements such as any activity that requires finger dexterity

Question 8

Sensation

Answer 8

Reaction that occurs when information interacts with sensory receptors (eyes, ears, tongue, nostrils, skin)

Question 9

Perception

Answer 9

Interpretation of sensation

Question 10

Ecological view

Answer 10

Perception is designed for action (Gibsons)

Question 11

Affordances

Answer 11

Opportunities for interaction offered by objects that fit within our capabilities to perform activities

Question 12

Visual preference method

Answer 12

Whether infants can distinguish one stimulus from another by measurement length of time they attend to different stimuli (Fantz)

Question 13

Habituation

Answer 13

Decreased responsiveness to stimulus after repeated presentations to stimulus

Question 14

Dishabituation

Answer 14

Recovery of habituated response through a change in stimulation

Question 15

Size constancy

Answer 15

Recognition that object remains the same even though retinal images of object change with distance

Question 16

Shape constancy

Answer 16

Recognition that object remains the same even though its orientation to the viewer changes

Question 17

Presbyopia

Answer 17

Decline of eye’s accommodation between 40-59 years (near sightedness)

Question 18

Accommodation of the eye

Answer 18

Eye’s ability to focus and maintain an image on the retina

Question 19

Cataracts

Answer 19

Thickening of the lens of the eye causing vision to become cloudy, opaque, distorted

Question 20

Glaucoma

Answer 20

Damage to optic nerve due to pressure from buildup of fluid

Question 21

Macular degeneration

Answer 21

Deterioration of the macula of the retina occurring in the elderly (normal peripheral vision but lose focal center)

Question 22

Intermodal perception

Answer 22

Ability to integrate information about two or more sensory modalities