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.