perceptual development final

audition

the perception of sound through hearing (ex: a newborn turning their head toward a rattling noise)

gustation

the perception of taste via the tongue and taste buds (ex: an infant making a sour face after tasting a lemon)

intersensory

relating to the integration of information from multiple senses (ex: matching a voice with the corresponding moving lips)

recalibration

adjusting sensory systems based on new input or experience (ex: getting used to a new pair of glasses that changes depth perception)

face perception

the ability to recognize and interpret facial features and expressions (ex: babies preferring to look at face-like patterns over scrambled ones)

scanning

visually exploring an object or scene by moving the eyes (ex: an infant’s eyes tracing the outline of a caregiver’s face)

caricature

an exaggerated version of a face that can enhance recognition (ex: infants recognizing a cartoon face faster than a realistic one)

scent (smell) memory

the ability to remember odors and associate them with experiences (ex: a baby calming when smelling their mother’s shirt)

hippocampus

brain structure involved in memory and spatial navigation (ex: helps a child remember where their toys are in a room)

orthonasal olfaction

smelling through the nose during inhalation (normal sniffing) (ex: smelling cookies baking in the oven)

contrast

differences in luminance or color that make objects distinguishable (ex: infants prefer black-and-white high-contrast patterns)

top-heavy

visual bias for patterns with more features in the upper half (like faces) (ex: babies looking longer at upright faces than upside-down ones)

protrusion

a part that sticks out visually or physically, often drawing attention (ex: babies focus on noses or tongues because they protrude from the face)

ASD (Autism spectrum disorder)

a neurodevelopmental condition affecting social interaction and perception (ex: children with ASD may show less interest in eye contact or faces)

first order (relations)

basic features like the arrangement of eyes, nose, and mouth (ex: knowing a face has 2 eyes above a nose and mouth)

affordances

opportunities for action than an object or environment offers based on perception (ex: a baby sees a ball and understands it can be grasped or rolled)

emotional lexicon

the vocabulary of emotion-related words a child understands and uses (ex: a toddler learning to say “happy,” “sad,” or “mad” as they recognize feelings)

social referencing

looking to a caregiver for cues on how to react in uncertain situations (ex: a baby looks as a parent’s face before touching a new toy)

responding joint attention (RJA)

following another person’s gaze or pointing gesture to share attention (ex: a child looks where an adult is pointing)

localization

the ability to determine the origin of a sound or stimulus (ex: a newborn turns their head toward a rattling sound on their left)

olfaction

the sense of smell (ex: a infant recognizing the scent of their mother’s milk)

haptic

perception through touch and movement (ex: a baby exploring a toy by holding, squeezing, and mouthing it)

prism

used in research to shift visual input, often to study adaptation and recalibration (ex: a prism shifts cision to the left, and the brain adjusts over time)

localized

restricted or specific to a region of the brain or sensory input (ex: face recognition is localized in the fusiform face area)

upper contour

the top or boundary of a visual shape often important in face perception (ex: babies use the upper contour of a face (hairline, forehead) to recognize orientation)

distinctive feature

a characteristic that helps distinguish one object or face from another (ex: a mole, glasses, or a prominant nose helps a baby recognize a familiar face)

systems consolidation theory

theory that long-term memory storage shifts from the hippocampus to the cortex over time (ex: a child remembers a birthday party more clearly weeks later as it becomes consolidated)

prefrontal cortex

brain region involved in planning, decision-making, and social behavior (ex: supports a toddler’s growing ability to control impulses and read social cues)

retroactive interference

new information interferes with the recall of older information (ex: a child learning new names at daycare may forget some of the ones they already knew)

contrast polariy

direction of contrast between light and dark areas (e.g., light objects on dark background vs. dark on light (ex: infants prefer faces with natural contrast polarity (dark eyes on light skin)

bottom-heavy

visual bias where more elements are concentrated in the lower half of an image (ex: infants prefer images where the visual weight is in the lower half, such as upright faces)

Bogart illusion

a perceptual illusion where a shadow cast across a face causes the appearance of a furrowed brow or scowl (ex: shadows making the brow appear deeper than it is)

neurotypical

describes individuals whose neurological development is typical or not characterized by disorders like ASD

second order (relations)

spatial relationships between facial features (e.g., distance between eyes, size ratio) (ex: subtle spacing differences help us tell one face from another)

social affordance

cues in the environment that invite or support social interaction (ex: a smiling face signals and oppurtunity to engage socially)

emotion recognition

ability to identify and understand others’ emotional expressions (ex: a toddler can tell when someone is happy or sad just by looking at their face)

expertise effect

enhanced ability to perceive or process stimuli due to extensive experience with them (ex: adults are “experts” at face recognition due to lifelong exposure)

moro reflex

an infant startle reflex to sudden movement or loud sounds (ex: a baby throws out their arms and legs when they feel like they are falling)

intermodal perception

integration of information from multiple senses (like sight and sounds) (ex: a baby matches a voice to the correct talking face on a screen)

proprioception

the sense of body position and movement (ex: a child knows where there arm is even with their eyes closed)

schematic faces

simplified face-like patterns that trigger face perception (ex: three dots in a triangle (two eyes and a mouth) attract newborn attention)

internal features

facial elements such as eyes, nose, and mouth (as opposed to head shape or hair) (ex: babies rely more on internal features as they develop face recognition skills)

ERP (even-related potential)

a brain response measured with EEG that reflects processing of specific stimuli (ex: researchers use ERP to see how babies react to familiar vs. unfamiliar faces)

facial configurations

the overall arrangement of facial features (ex: infants prefer normal facial configurations over scrambled ones)

odor-evoked memory (olfaction)

a memory triggered by a smell, often emotionally strong and vivid (ex: the scent of a certain lotion reminds a child of their caregiver)

inverted faces

faces presented upside-down, which disrupts normal face processing (ex: adults and even older infants struggle more to recognize faces when they’re inverted)

conspec

an innate mechanism that orients newborns to face-like patterns (ex: a newborn turns their gaze toward a afce even just minutes after birth)

neural pruning

the brain’s process of eliminating unused neural connections during development (ex: if a baby doesn’t hear certain sounds, their brain may stop supporting those pathways)

featural information

details about individual parts of a face (like the shape of the eyes or nose) (ex: recognizing someone by their unique eyebrow shape)

Thatcher illusion

an illusion where a face looks normal hen inverted, but grotesque when upright due to altered features (ex: a flipped mouth and eyes go unnoticed until the face is viewed right-side-up)

intersensory match

the ability to match information from 2 senses, like matching a voice to a moving mouth (ex: an infant hears “ba” and looks at the mouth saying “ba” rather than “ga”)

emotional signals

nonverbal cues like facial expressions or tone of voice that communicate emotion (ex: a fearful expression warns a child that something might be dangerous)

joint attention

shared focus on an object or event between 2 individuals, often using gaze or gestures (ex: a toddler looks where a parent points while talking about a toy)

reciprocal

two-way interaction or mutual exchange, common in social and emotional development (ex: a baby smiles, and the parent smiles back, reinforcing social connection)

u-shaped curve

a pattern where a skill is strong early, dips, the strengthens again with development (ex: infants initially recognize faces well, then show a decline before improving again)

autobiographical memory

memory for personal life events, usually developing in early childhood (ex: a 4-year-old recalls their birthday party from the previous year)

vestibular

the sense related to balance and spatial orientation, controlled by the inner ear (ex: a baby’s head bobbing when moved helps develop the vestibular system)

symmetry

balanced proportions in visual patterns; humans often prefer symmetrical faces (ex: infants gaze longer at symmetrical faces than asymmetrical ones)e

external features

facial elements like hair, head shape, or ears - everything outside the eyes, nose, and mouth (ex: a baby might recognize their mom by her hairline)

transformation

a change in the form or appearance of an object or face, important for tracking identity (ex: a child recognizes a familiar face even with glasses or different lighting)

gaze

where someone is looking; plays a key role in social and perceptual development (ex: a baby follows another person’s gaze to locate a toy)

kinesthesia

awareness of the position and movement of the body, related to proprioception (ex: a toddler knows how to move their legs to climb stairs without looking)

scrambled faces

faces where the features are arranged out of normal order, disrupting face recognition (ex: babies show less interest in a scarambled face than a normal one)

recessed

set back or indented, as in facial features that are less prominent (faces with recessed eyes may be harder for infants to process)

non-human primate

primates other than humans, often studied to compare perceptual development

configural info (configural processing)

understanding a face by the relationship between its parts, not just individual features (ex: adults rely on configural processing more than infants when recognizing faces)

pareidolia

the tendency to see face-like patterns in random objects (ex: a baby stares at an electrical outlet because it resembles a face)

interspecies match

recognizing similarities between species, such as between human and monkey faces (ex: infants can distinguish monkey faces early on, but lose this ability if not reinforced)

emotional contagion

catching another’s emotion just by perceiving their facial or vocal expression (ex: a baby cries when they hear another baby crying)

initiating joint attention (IJA)

when a child actively attempts to get someone else to look at an object or event (ex: a toddler points at a dog and looks at a parent to share attention)

what taste preferences do infants have?

infants prefer sweet tastes and dislike bitter tastes

what are infants’ preferences with smells?

infants prefer pleasant smells, like breast milk

what visual preferences do infants have?

infants prefer high-contrast images and faces

what characteristics of faces do infants prefer?

infants prefer top-heavy and symmetrical faces

what intermodal perceptual abilities do infants have?

infants can match sight and sound

what influences taste perception?

smell, temperature, and texture affect taste

are faces remembered as visual images or verbal descriptions?

faces are remembered as visual images rather than verbal descriptions

how does contrast polarity, eyes/eye gaze, and lumination affect facial recognition?

contrast polarity (light-dark areas) helps facial recognition

eye gaze and lumination (light exposure) enhance focus on eyes

what is the difference in face preferences between neurotypical children and those diagnosed with ASD?

neurotypical children prefer human faces over non-human primates or non-face objects

children with ASD may show less preference for human faces and eye contactand may focus more on objects or exhibit varying degrees of interest in faces.

what type orf facial expression does an infant prefer?

infants prefer happy or positive facial expressionsover neutral or negative expressions.

what are characteristics of maltreating parents’ emotional expression?

maltreating parents may show inconsistent, angry, or distant emotional expressions

when do children typically use social referencing?

6-12 months

what might influence a child’s perception of the best source of information other than the caregiver?

children may rely on a trusted adult or peer when they are more familiar with the source

what is the role of eye contact in communication, social referencing, and joint attention?

eye contact is crucial for communication, social referencing, and joint attention

it signals engagements and helps infants share attention and intentions with others