Topic 3 - Perceptual development Flashcards
mnemonic/memory prompt for topic 3 - perceptual development…
Fun
Hobbies
Build
Strong
Growth
what are the 4 pieces of additional research in topic 3 - perceptual development?
fantz - preference for complex patterns and faces
hudson - cultural differences in perception
blakemore & cooper - kittens raised in different environments
sensory integration therapy (SIT)
what is perception?
the process of recognising and interpreting sensory stimuli
what does the looking chamber present in fantz study?
stimuli to the infant and allows the researcher to record infant visual fixation on various stimuli
what happens in the visual preference method in fantz study?
researcher presents pairs of stimuli to the baby
observes the infant from a hidden vantage point between the two stimuli and record the stimulus the infant is looking at by the reflection of the fixated stimulus on the pupil of the infant’s eye
what did fantz find?
-babies prefer complex patterns to simple ones
-babies under 5 days old spent more time looking at faces or patterns than plain colours; suggests an innate perceptual ability to recognise faces
what did hudson note?
difficulties in interpreting depth perception cues by south african bantu workers in pictures
what did the south african bantu workers’ answers reveal? (hudson - cultural differences in perception)
they did not pick up on the depth cues of overlapping objects and relative size, suggesting that perceptual cues in pictures which convey information about the spatial relationships among the objects in pictures are specific to different cultures and need to be learned
where did blakemore & cooper keep the kittens for the first 2 weeks?
the newborn kittens were kept in a completely dark room for the first 2 weeks of their life
what happened to the kittens blakemore & cooper were researching at five months old? (can demonstrate that the environment has an impact on perceptual development)
the kittens exposed to vertical strips would only reach out if a vertical pointer was moved in front of them, while kittens exposed to horizontal strips would only reach out if a horizontal pointer was used, demonstrating that the environment has an impact on perceptual development
what did blakemore & cooper find using brain activity sensors?
the vertical kittens didn’t possess cells in the visual cortex of their brain that would respond to horizontal light
what is sensory integration therapy?
an individualised aid for children w/ difficulties processing sensory information
-they may be hyposensitive to sensory stimuli (e.g. don’t feel pain) or hypersensitive, overwhelmed by stimuli
what happens in sensory integration therapy?
- ASSESMENT
initially assessed by an occupational therapist who observes the child’s behaviour and uses checklists to diagnose sensory problems (e.g. visual-perceptual, fine motor, posture, auditory, etc.) - THE SENSORY DIET
tailored to individual child, includes planned play activities such as cooking, messy play, listening activities, etc.
may involve specialist equipment (e.g. therapy balls) and everyday objects (sandpaper, chewing gum)
e.g. of play activities = using brushes on the skin (touch and hand-eye coordination), sitting on a bouncy ball (vision and balance)
Outline the aim and apparatus of Gibson and Walk’s study on the visual cliff
To see if human children and young animals are able to perceive depth innately.
They used a visual cliff apparatus, allowing them to experimentally adjust the optical and tactical stimuli associated with a simulated cliff.
Outline the procedure used in Gibson and Walk’s children’s study on the visual cliff
They placed 36 children (6-14 months old) on a glass-covered board with a shallow and deep side and observed their responses to their mother’s standing at one end of the box and encouraging their child to crawl towards them.
