W4 EXAMINABLE CONTENT Flashcards
What did Fantz (1961) discover about infant visual preferences?
Found week old have preferences for faces over any stimulus.
Infants and Shape discriminaiton study
Slater et al. (1983) studied newborn shape discrimination.
They habituated infants to a shape (repeatedly showing it until looking time decreased), then presented a new shape.
A renewed increase in looking time indicated the infants perceived the difference.
Lack of increased looking time suggested they couldn’t distinguish the shapes
What did Kellman and Spelke (1983) demonstrate about object perception in infants?
Kellman and Spelke (1983) showed that 4-month-old infants habituated to a partially occluded rod, look longer at a broken rod than a complete rod, suggesting they perceive the occluded rod as a single, unified object moving behind the occluder.
This supports the idea of an innate understanding of object unity based on common motion.
What did Baillargeon, Spelke, & Wasserman (1985) demonstrate about the violation of expectations in infants?
Baillargeon et al. (1985) showed that 3.5-month-old infants looked longer at ‘impossible’ drawbridge or train events despite their perceptual familiarity (where objects appeared to pass THROUGH each other).
What is Spelke’s core knowledge account?
Proposed by Spelke → humans possess innate, neural systems that provide core knowledge about fundamental aspects of the world, including numerosity, object permanence, and solidity.
What is the evidence of the core knowledge account?
Solidity violation (Spelke et al., 1992) - 2.5-month-old infants understand solidity (looking longer at impossible events in which solidity is violated)
What is the transnatal chemosensory continuity hypothesis?
Schaal (2015) proposes that what infants are exposed to in utero shapes their preferences after birth (the idea that uterine chemosensory environment prepares infant for their postnatal sensory world).
How does olfactory learning in utero affect postnatal preferences?
Olfactory learning in utero helps infants navigate their postnatal world. Schaal et al. (1998) found newborns accepted anise if their mother ate it during pregnancy. Menella et al. (2001) found infants preferred cereal mixed with carrot juice if their mother consumed carrot juice during pregnancy.
Do babies experience touch in utero?
Yes! Castiello et al. (2010) found twin fetuses interact intentionally by 14–18 weeks gestation, showing more movements toward their twin than the uterine wall. These movements are slower and gentler, similar to self-directed touch.
What is the evidence for the intersensory redundancy hypothesis?
Gogate & Bahrick (1998), Slater et al. (1999): Newborns were shown objects paired with sounds. Learning was better when the sound and motion shared amodal properties (e.g., synchronized movement and rhythm).
What did Baillargeon, Spelke, & Wasserman (1985) demonstrate about the violation of expectations in infants?
Baillargeon et al. (1985) showed that 3.5-month-old infants looked longer at ‘impossible’ drawbridge or train events (where objects appeared to pass through each other).
What methods were used in perceptual development?
Early observation techniques (Darwin’s baby biographies, Piaget’s added tasks/experiments to observation),
Looking time techniques, Developmental cognitive neuroscience techniques (e.g., imaging techniques, marker tasks, brain development).
What is an infant EEG study?
A cap with electrodes put on infants to collect ERPs and oscillations. It has low spatial resolution, but great temporal resolution.
When does auditory perception develop in utero?
Fetuses react to loud sounds. DeCasper & Fifer (1980) showed that newborns recognize their mother’s voice using non-nutritive sucking.
