KIN 360_Review 2_posted

Sensory-Perceptual Development Overview

  • Looks at how development of senses influences perception and motor skills.

Definitions

  • Sensation:

    • Sensory information resulting from the activation of sensory receptors by stimuli.

    • Passive process.

  • Perception:

    • Active process of selecting, processing, organizing, and integrating sensory information from receptors.

Vision in Infancy

  • Infants have poor acuity at birth; cannot recognize faces.

  • Perception improves with movement, either by the observer or the object.

Visual Deprivation Experiments

  • David Hubel & Torsten Wiesel (1960s):

    • Studied effects of visual deprivation on kittens and monkeys.

    • Found that visual experience shapes the wiring of the visual cortex.

    • Key Findings:

      • More disturbance in wiring when one eye is shut compared to both.

      • Competitive interaction between inputs from eyes affects visual cortex development.

Visual Cortex Wiring

  • Inputs from the open eye dominate visual activity.

  • Disadvantaged eye has less access to visual circuitry; can remain blind after reopening.

Studying Depth Perception

  • Techniques:

    • Observation, questionnaires, interviews, and experiments.

Auditory Perception in Infancy

  • Fetuses react to sounds around 5 months gestation.

  • Newborns show preferences for:

    • High frequencies, human voices, and female voices.

Hearing Changes with Age

  • Absolute threshold for hearing increases; sounds need to be louder.

  • High-frequency discrimination decreases with age.

  • Most adults do not experience significant hearing impairment before ages 70-80 unless physiological issues exist.

Review Questions

  • Define sensation and perception.

  • What are infant preferences in vision and hearing?

  • How does early visual experience affect vision development?

  • Study methods for depth perception in infants.

  • Changes in vision and audition with age.

Perception and Action in Development

  • Discusses the interaction between perceptual abilities and physical actions.

Proprioception

  • Information about body part positions and spatial orientation.

  • Includes body movement and the nature of contacted objects (e.g., texture).

Receptors Involved in Proprioception

  • Muscle Spindles: detect muscle length and contraction velocity.

  • Golgi Tendon Organs: assess force in tendons.

  • Cutaneous Receptors: provide touch information.

  • Vestibular System: contributes to balance and spatial orientation.

Motor Development and Reflexes

  • Infantile Reflexes: involuntary responses specific to infancy, including:

    • Primitive reflexes, postural, and locomotor reflexes.

  • Spontaneous Movements:

    • Movements without apparent stimulation, often repeated.

Rate Limiting Factors in Walking and Running

  • Lower Leg Strength:

    • Necessary for balance and propulsion.

  • Balance Control:

    • Essential for maintaining an upright posture.

Milestones in Locomotion

  • Crawling: 5-7 months.

  • Creeping: 8-9 months.

  • Walking: around 12 months.

  • Transition to running: 6 months after walking.

Jumping Mechanics

  • Young children often execute vertical jumps initially.

  • By age 3, they can angle their trunk for direction during jumps.

Galloping and Sliding

  • Asymmetric movements; galloping involves moving forward, while sliding is sideways movement.

Uner Tan Syndrome

  • Examines reasons behind walking on all fours; explores genetic and environmental influences.