Chapter 5: Perception, Knowledge and Action in Infancy

Question 1

cognitive development

Answer 1

development of behaviours that relate to perception, attention, thinking, remembering and problem-solving

Question 2

mental representation

Answer 2

internal description of aspects of reality that persists in the absence of these aspects in reality

Question 3

visual acuity

Answer 3

ability to make fine discrimination between the elements in the visual array

Question 4

visual accommodation

Answer 4

ability to focus on objects irrespective of their distance from the eye; therefore as an object moves closer toward us, it does not appear to go in and out of focus

Question 5

visual preference method

Answer 5

to determine whether infants have preferences for certain stimuli, they are shown 2 objects side by side, and the amount of time they spend looking at each other one is then compared

Question 6

habituation/ recovery

Answer 6

process by which attention to a stimulus gradually declines over time and recovers when a new stimulus is presented; sometimes named habituation/dishabituation

Question 7

size constancy

Answer 7

understanding that an object remains the same size despite its retinal image size changing as it moves closer/ away from us

Question 8

shape constancy

Answer 8

understanding that an object remains the same shape even though its retinal image shape changes when it’s viewed from different angles

Question 9

retinal image size

Answer 9

size of a visually perceived object on the retina of the eyes; the image will vary depending on the real size of the object and its distance from the observer

Question 10

object unity

Answer 10

understanding that an object is whole/ complete even though part of it may be hidden

Question 11

subjective contour

Answer 11

when only parts of an object are presented, the remaining contours are “filled in” in order that the complete shape can be observed

Question 12

prototypical face

Answer 12

most typical example of a face; produced when many different faces are averaged

Question 13

innate mechanism

Answer 13

mechanism/ ability that does not need to be learned, something we are born knowing

Question 14

intonation

Answer 14

rhythmic pattern of speech

Question 15

infant-directed speech (motherese)

Answer 15

speech that adults and children over 4 years old use when addressing an infant

Question 16

object permanence

Answer 16

ability to understand that even if an object is no longer visible, it continues to exist

Question 17

A not B error

Answer 17

object-searching error that is often made by 8-12- month olds; infants making this error will look for an object where they have most often found it (location A) rather than where they last saw it hidden (location B)

Question 18

violation of expectation technique

Answer 18

infants are shown an event and are then shown two new events, one of which is consistent with everyday reality (possible), and the other inconsistent (impossible); infants will look longer at the impossible event because it violates their expectancies

Question 19

core knowledge

Answer 19

basic information about the world, particularly about the physical properties of objects, available to the very young infant and probably innate

Question 20

subitising

Answer 20

ability to perceive directly the number of items without consciously counting them or using another form of calculation; this ability applies to very small numbers

Question 21

response perseveration

Answer 21

repeating a previously learned response usually when it is no longer appropriate

Question 22

frontal cortex

Answer 22

one of the 4 main lobes of the cerebral cortex; it is involved in emotional experiences and many cognitive abilities, such as problem solving, planning and judgement

Question 23

executive functions

Answer 23

process whereby behaviour is directed and controlled in order that the desired goal will be achieved