Chapter 5: Perception, Action, and Learning in Infancy

sensation

processing of info from the external world through receptors in the sense organs and brain

perception

process of organizing and interpreting sensory information about the world around us

preferential-looking technique

method for studying visual attention in infants that involves showing infants two images at the same time to see if they prefer one over the other

visual acuity

sharpness and clarity of vision

contrast sensitivity

ability to detect differences in light and dark areas in a visual pattern

cone cells

light sensitive neurons that are highly concentrated in the fovea, involved in seeing fine details and colors

smooth pursuit eye movements

a viewer’s gaze shifts at the same speed and angle as a moving object, keeping it in view

gaze-following

synchronizing visual attention with another person by tracking their gaze

perceptual constancy

perception of objects as being of constant size, shape, color, in spite of physical differences in the retinal image of the object

object segregation

identification of separate objects in a visual array

violation of expectancy

infants are shown an event that should evoke surprise or interest if it’s inconsistent with their prior knowledge

optical expansion

depth cue where an object covers up more of the background, indicating that the object is approaching

binocular disparity

difference between the retinal image of an object in each eye that results in two slightly different signals being sent to the brain

stereopsis

process where the visual cortex combines the differing neural signals caused by binocular disparity, resulting in the perception of depth

monocular depth cues

the perceptual cues of depth (such as relative size and interposition) that can be perceived by one eye alone

auditory localiztion

ability to detect where a sound is coming from

head turn preference procedure (HPP)

experimental test of auditory perception where different sounds were played for an infant from different locations, and the researcher uses how long the infant looks towards each location to determine which sounds they prefer to listen to

perceptual narrowing

developmental changes in which experience fine-tunes the perceptual system to focus on the distinctions between stimuli that are most relevant in a person’s environment

intermodal perception

combining of information from two or more sensory systems

reflexes

fixed patterns of action that occur in response to particular stimulation

stepping reflex

neonatal reflex where the infant lifts first one leg and then the other in a coordinated pattern like walking

affordances

possibilities for action offered, or afforded, by objects and situations

pre-reaching movements

clumsy swiping movements by young infants towards objects they see

self-locomotion

ability to move oneself around in the environment

scale errors

attempt by a young child to perform an action on a mini object that is impossible due to the large discrepancy in the relative sizes of the child and the object

classical conditioning

Associating an initially neutral stimulus with a stimulus that always evokes a particular reflexive response

unconditioned stimulus

a stimulus that evokes a reflexive response

unconditioned response

reflexive response that is elicited by the unconditioned stimulus

conditioned stimulus

the neutral stimulus that is repeatedly paired with the US

conditioned response

the originally reflexive response that comes to be elicited by the CS

operant conditioned

Learning the relation between one’s behavior and its consequences

positive reinforcement

reward that reliably follows a behavior and increases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated

rational learning

the abilities to use prior experiences to predict what will occur in the future

active learning

learning by engaging with the world, rather than passively observing objects and events