Perceptual Development

Question 1

Visual Acuity

Answer 1

1. Clarity of vision
2. Newborns: poor, only basic info on contrast
3. Improved by 6-8 months

Question 2

Color

Answer 2

1. Newborns: poor, grey-scale-ish
2. By 6-8 months, improved

Question 3

Motion

Answer 3

1. Newborns: discrete eye jumps
2. After 3-4 months, smoother tracking
3. Most development finished by 6-8 months, continues until 2 years of age

Question 4

Depth Perception

Answer 4

In order of development:
1. Dynamic Cues
2. Binocular Cues
3. Monocular/Pictorial Cues

Question 5

Gibson’s Theory

Answer 5

1. Affordances: fit between ability and environment
2. We perceive affordances and act on
3. How we create meaning out of a complex environment

Question 6

Dynamic Cues

Answer 6

1. Looming: approaching movement
2. Motion parallax: farther objects to move slower than closer objects

Question 7

Binocular Cues

Answer 7

1. Binocular disparity: Closer objects have more disparities than farther objects
2. Stereopsis: Perception of depth from images of both eyes

Question 8

Monocular/Pictorial Cues

Answer 8

• Requires visual experience to develop
  1. Pattern Density / Texture Gradient: farther patterns seem more dense than closer patterns
  2. Interposition: One object positioned in front of another
  3. Relative Size: Farther objects look smaller than closer objects

Question 9

Auditory Localization

Answer 9

Spatial awareness of auditory stimuli (where sound originates)
1. Newborns have basic ability
2. Lose ability as they age
- Later inhibits Earlier
3. When older, improved ability to locate auditory stimuli

Question 10

Intermodal Perception

Answer 10

1. Perceptual systems interact & influence each other
   - Young infants able to integrate sound and vision

Question 11

Development of Face Perception

Answer 11

1. Newborns:
   - Top-heavy > Bottom-heavy
2. 3 Month Olds
   - Intact > Scrambled
   - Human > Monkey
3. 6 Month Olds
   - Discriminate between different human faces and different monkey faces
4. 9 Month Olds
   - Discriminate between different human faces but not different monkey faces

Question 12

Perceptual Narrowing

Answer 12

The brain’s reorganization of perceptual system where there is reduced sensitivity to stimuli perceived less
- focus on more important & frequent stimuli
- synapse strengthening & pruning

Question 13

“Visual Cliff”

Answer 13

1. Nature: babies are capable of depth perception very soon after birth
   - almost all human babies go down on shallow side
2. Nurture: some depth cues require visual experience while others do not
   - motion parallax develops much earlier (almost innate) than pattern density