Deck 5: Seeing, Thinking, and Doing in Infancy

Question 1

The sharpness of visual discrimination is called:

A) habituation.
B) visual acuity.
C) visual scanning.
D) contract sensitivity.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

By what age does a developing child's visual acuity approach that of adults?

A) 8 weeks
B) 8 months
C) 2 years
D) 6 years

Answer 2

B

Question 3

How clearly an individual can see is referred to as his visual:

A) contrast.
B) scanning ability.
C) acuity.
D) constancy.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Two infants of different ages, Diego and Hannah, are tested with the preferential-looking technique to determine their visual acuity. A series of black-and-white-striped patterns are presented individually next to a gray square. Diego can distinguish stripes that are narrower than the stripes Hannah can distinguish. Compared with Hannah, Diego has:

A) a smaller retina.
B) better object segregation.
C) more cones.
D) better contrast sensitivity.

Question 5

Which statement about infants' colour vision is TRUE?

A) By the end of the 1st month, infants' colour vision is similar to that of adults.
B) Four-month-olds prefer more complex colours to basic colours.
C) Two-month-olds respond similarly to two different shades of blue.
D) All of these statements are true.

Question 6

To examine whether infants can perceive a difference between two stimuli, a researcher first shows one stimulus to the infant until she becomes disinterested. The researcher then shows the other stimulus to the infant and records whether the infant becomes interested in the new stimulus. This method is called the _____ technique.

A) habituation
B) preferential-looking
C) contrast-sensitivity
D) pattern-recognition

Question 7

Researchers are able to assess infants' _____ using the preferential-looking method.

A) habituation
B) visual acuity
C) contrast sensitivity
D) visual scanning

Question 8

To examine whether infants can perceive a difference between a square of uniform colour and a square with a pattern on it, a researcher displays the two squares side by side. The researcher records the number of seconds infants look at each square. This method is called the _____ technique.

A) habituation
B) preferential-looking
C) contrast-sensitivity
D) pattern-recognition

Question 9

Light-sensitive neurons located in the central region of the retina are referred to as:

A) cones.
B) the fovea.
C) cubes.
D) acuity neurons.

Question 10

Of sensation and perception, _____ involve(s) the organization and interpretation of information.

A) both sensation and perception
B) sensation
C) perception
D) neither sensation nor perception

Question 11

Of sensation and perception, _____ involve(s) the processing of basic information by receptors in the eyes, ears, and skin and the brain.

A) both sensation and perception
B) sensation
C) perception
D) neither sensation nor perception

Question 12

Which statement about 3-month-old Isabella's vision is TRUE?

A) Isabella prefers blue over red.
B) Isabella's colour vision is similar to that of an adult.
C) Isabella is unable to smoothly track slow-moving objects.
D) Isabella tends to look only at the outer edges of complex shapes.

Question 13

The use of preferential looking to measure infants' visual acuity draws from research demonstrating that infants consistently prefer to look at _____ over _____.

A) simple designs; complex designs
B) the colour red; the colour blue
C) their mothers' faces; their fathers' faces
D) a pattern; a gray block

Question 14

Which debate has been contentious within developmental psychology for at least 2000 years?

A) nature versus nurture
B) continuity versus discontinuity
C) stability versus instability
D) active versus passivity

Question 15

The developmental maturity of infants' cones contributes to their:

A) excellent visual acuity.
B) rapid visual scanning.
C) slow pattern perception.
D) poor contrast sensitivity.

Question 16

The preferential-looking technique is founded on the expectation that infants will:

A) look longer at objects they like or find interesting.
B) look away from complicated or frightening objects.
C) recognize familiar patterns.
D) lose interest in objects that are familiar.

Question 17

In terms of perceptual and motor development, which statement is NOT a reason that infancy is such an important time?

A) Extremely rapid changes occur in perception, action, learning, and cognition during the first 2 years of life.
B) Infant development in perception, action, learning, and cognition are intertwined.
C) The methods used to investigate infants' development in perception, action, learning, and cognition are similar to methods used to study older children.
D) Most recent research on perceptual and motor development has focused on infants and young children.

Question 18

Which sensory reaction is an example of perception?

A) experiencing visual stimulation as a round green apple
B) light stimulation activating the retina's cones
C) activation of sweetness receptors on the tongue
D) coldness triggering nerves in skin

Question 19

Dr. Jones has presented an infant a succession of black and white paddles with increasingly narrow stripes and increasingly narrow gaps between them. He wants to determine when the infant can no longer distinguish between the striped paddles and a gray one. Dr. Jones is assessing the infant's:

A) contrast sensitivity.
B) visual acuity.
C) visual scanning.
D) habituation.

Question 20

When an infant looks longer at one of two stimuli presented side by side, researchers can infer that the infant:

A) prefers that stimulus.
B) can discriminate between the stimuli and favours one side over the other.
C) favours one side over the other.
D) can discriminate between the stimuli and prefers that stimulus.

Question 21

The cue that is MOST important for object segregation is common:

A) movement.
B) colour.
C) texture.
D) distance.

Question 22

Five-month-old Judy sees a novel sight of flowers arranged in a vase. The MOST important cue that would help Judy know whether she is seeing a single object or multiple objects is:

A) differences in the textures and shapes of the flowers and vase.
B) independent movement of the flowers as they are removed from the vase.
C) common movement as her mother moves the full vase from the counter to the table.
D) All of these cues are equally useful.

Question 23

The development of _____ is a classic example of experience-expectant plasticity.

A) optical expansion
B) stereopsis
C) binocular disparity
D) monocular vision

Question 24

The process by which the visual cortex combines the differing neural signals caused by binocular disparity, resulting in depth perception, is called:

A) optical expansion.
B) stereopsis.
C) binocular disparity.
D) monocular vision.

Question 25

The study in which infants were first presented with a cube in multiple locations and then were presented with the same cube and a larger cube that was placed farther away demonstrated that infants:

A) preferred to look at the original cube.
B) perceived the multiple presentations of the original cube as a single object.
C) were unable to differentiate between the cubes.
D) perceived each presentation of the cubes as a unique object.

Question 26

This form of depth perception emerges around 4 months of age and is complete within just a few weeks.

A) optical expansion
B) stereopsis
C) binocular disparity
D) monocular vision

Question 27

The change in retinal image size as a moving object gets closer, causing more and more of the background to be occluded, is referred to as:

A) retinal enlargement.
B) perceptual constancy.
C) optical expansion.
D) relative size.

Question 28

The study by Langlois and colleagues in which infants interacted with a woman wearing either an attractive face mask or an unattractive face mask demonstrated that infants:

A) cannot perceive differences between attractive and unattractive faces.
B) were more positive and played more with the woman when she was attractive than when she was unattractive.
C) don't care whether people are attractive or unattractive; they derive the same amount of pleasure from playing with an attractive or an unattractive person.
D) were calmer and more attentive when interacting with the woman when she was unattractive than when she was attractive.

Question 29

When young infants (younger than 2 months old) look at complex shapes or pictures, they tend to look at:

A) the perimeter.
B) the inner detail.
C) low-contrast areas.
D) large sections simultaneously.

Question 30

Which statement about research on infants' and adults' ability to differentiate between pairs of human faces and between pairs of monkey faces is TRUE?

A) By the age of 6 months, infants can successfully differentiate between pairs of monkey faces and between pairs of human faces, and this ability remains constant throughout life.
B) At 6 months of age, infants can successfully differentiate between pairs of human faces but not between pairs of monkey faces, and this pattern remains throughout adulthood.
C) At 6 months of age, infants can successfully differentiate between pairs of human faces and between pairs of monkey faces, but older infants and adults have lost the ability to differentiate between monkey faces.
D) At 6 months of age, infants are unable to differentiate between pairs of human faces and between pairs of monkey faces, but both of these abilities develop by the age of 9 months.

Question 31

Movement is an important cue for:

A) shape constancy.
B) subjective contour.
C) pattern perception.
D) object segregation.

Question 32

By approximately what age can infants smoothly track slow-moving objects?

A) at birth
B) 4 months
C) 10 months
D) 17 months

Question 33

Newborns' bias toward _____ is an underlying factor in their attraction to human faces.

A) oval-shaped objects
B) arrangements with more elements in the upper half than in the lower half
C) objects with irregularities around the perimeter
D) configurations with some dark elements and some light elements

Question 34

Research has demonstrated evidence in support of _____ view(s) of perceptual constancy.

A) the nativist
B) the empiricist
C) both the nativist and the empiricist
D) neither the nativist nor the empiricist

Question 35

Perceptual constancy enables a baby to perceive:

A) that the toy in current view is the same as the one he viewed prior to blinking.
B) a moving point-light display as a person who is walking.
C) that Mommy is a constant size as she walks toward him despite the fact that her size on his retina changes.
D) that the cat is still whole when it stands behind a table leg.

Question 36

The study in which infants were first presented with a cube and then were presented with the same cube and a larger cube that was placed farther away demonstrated that infants:

A) are unable to form memories about the relative size of objects.
B) do not need visual experience for the development of size constancy.
C) are influenced by the retinal size of an image to a greater extent than are adults.
D) fail to differentiate between objects that are located at varying distances.

Question 37

The other race effect refers to:

A) preference for own-race faces over other-race faces.
B) superior discrimination between own-race faces and between other-race faces.
C) superior discrimination between human faces and between other primate faces.
D) a combination of all of these.

Question 38

Research by Needham and Baillargeon demonstrated that 8-month-old infants are better able than are 4-month-old infants to use which piece of information in their understanding of object segregation?

A) common movement
B) common texture
C) knowledge about the world
D) all of these

Question 39

Beginning at what age do infants use common movement as a cue for object segregation?

A) at birth
B) 2 months
C) 5 months
D) 8 months

Question 40

Experience shapes preference for:

A) own-race faces over other-race faces.
B) top-heavy stimuli over bottom-heavy stimuli.
C) attractive faces over unattractive faces.
D) all of these.

Question 41

Optical expansion is a cue used to perceive:

A) depth.
B) colour.
C) relative size.
D) patterns.

Question 42

Baby Janet has a patch over one eye because of an eye infection. She will be unable to use which depth perception cue?

A) optical expansion
B) object segregation
C) relative size
D) binocular disparity

Question 43

Research on the music perception of infants has NOT demonstrated that North American infants:

A) have preferences for some musical sounds over others.
B) can remember the key of songs they have heard previously.
C) are able to perceive note changes that adults are unable to perceive.
D) are less able to detect changes in complex rhythm than are adults.

Question 44

Regarding infants' perception of pictures, infants do NOT:

A) perceive pictures as depictions of real objects.
B) have the visual acuity to perceive the differences between two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects.
C) understand that the nature of two-dimensional objects means that they cannot be picked up.
D) interpret the pictured objects as real because their poor perceptual constancy inhibits them doing so.

Question 45

Binocular disparity results in the perception of depth through which process?

A) optical expansion
B) object segregation
C) stereopsis
D) apoptosis

Question 46

Research by Hannon and Trehub on North American infants and North American and Balkan adults demonstrated that _____ perceived changes in simple rhythms, and _____ perceived changes in complex rhythms.

A) all groups; infants
B) all groups; infants and Balkan adults
C) infants and Balkan adults; Balkan adults
D) both groups of adults; infants

Question 47

Research on the music perception of infants has demonstrated that, with experience, humans:

A) become less sensitive to differences in musical stimuli.
B) become more sensitive to differences in musical stimuli.
C) come to prefer consonant music over dissonant music.
D) come to prefer dissonant music over consonant music.

Question 48

Seven-month-old Vivi is presented with a trapezoidal object that adults would perceive as a rectangle placed on a diagonal, with one side closer than the other side, similar to the window from the Yonas, Cleaves, and Pettersen study described in the text. During the first set of trials, a patch is placed over one eye, and the object is presented in front of Vivi. During the second set of trials, the patch is removed and the object is again presented. Researchers record Vivi's reaches toward the object. The MOST likely result will be that Vivi reaches:

A) toward the longer side on both sets of trials.
B) toward the longer side on the first set of trials but reaches equally toward both sides on the second set of trials.
C) equally toward both sides on the first set of trials but reaches toward the longer side on the second set of trials.
D) toward the longer side when viewed with one eye closed.

Question 49

Binocular disparity results from:

A) poor visual memory.
B) the distance between a person's two eyes.
C) background occlusion.
D) the difference between close items and faraway items.

Question 50

Changes in the ability to perceive differences in stimuli that happen with experience are referred to as:

A) perceptual narrowing.
B) sensory decay.
C) perceptual decline.
D) sensory contraction.

Question 51

Newborns prefer which taste?

A) salty
B) spicy
C) sweet
D) sour

Question 52

A study examining infants' response to a breast pad worn by their own mother versus one worn by another woman demonstrated that 2-week-old infants:

A) cannot distinguish between the scent of their mother and the scent of another woman.
B) can distinguish between the scent of their mother and the scent of another woman but do not show a preference.
C) prefer their own mother's scent to that of another woman.
D) prefer the scent of another woman to that of their mother.

Question 53

Which statement about the development of an auditory spatial map is NOT true?

A) It is entirely a result of maturation.
B) It requires integration of auditory information and information from what infants see and touch.
C) It is important for auditory localization.
D) It is a mental representation of how sounds are organized in space.

Question 54

Among infant-directed speech, adult-directed speech, infant-directed singing, and adult-directed singing, 6-month-old infants show a preference for:

A) any singing over any speech.
B) any speech over any singing.
C) infant-directed singing over infant-directed speech.
D) infant-directed speech over any singing.

Question 55

Relative size is an example of which type of depth cue?

A) pictorial
B) binocular
C) disparity
D) expansion

Question 56

Pictorial cues are also referred to as _____ depth cues.

A) perceptive
B) binocular
C) stereotypical
D) monocular

Question 57

Which depth perception cue is the LAST to develop?

A) binocular disparity
B) auditory localization
C) optical expansion
D) monocular depth

Question 58

Infant Greta hears a bell that she cannot see and immediately turns toward the sound. This is an indication that Greta has which ability?

A) auditory localization
B) auditory segregation
C) pattern perception
D) music perception

Question 59

The closer an object is to a person, the _____ there is.

A) more binocular disparity
B) less binocular disparity
C) more perceptual constancy
D) less perceptual constancy

Question 60

Which of the following children will fare worse at determining the spatial location of a sound?

A) Angela, who is 3 days old
B) Sam, who is 6 months old
C) Thomas, who is 18 months old
D) Brenda, who is 2 years old

Question 61

Research conducted by Esther Thelen supported which theoretical perspective?

A) Piaget's theory of cognitive development
B) theory of mind
C) sociocultural context
D) dynamic-systems

Question 62

The _____ reflex is NOT known to have any adaptive significance.

A) rooting
B) tonic neck
C) sucking
D) grasping

Question 63

This is a dramatic demonstration of auditory-visual blending.

A) the McGurk effect
B) contrast sensitivity
C) visual scanning
D) perceptual constancy

Question 64

Many current theorists of motor development, including Esther Thelen, take the _____ approach.

A) dynamic-systems
B) evolutionary
C) Piagetian
D) changing-modules

Question 65

Current theorists emphasize that early motor development does NOT result from:

A) developing neural mechanisms.
B) posture control.
C) perceptual skills.
D) an increase in infants' weight.

Question 66

To elicit _____, the auditory syllable ba is dubbed onto a video of a person speaking the syllable ga. Someone watching this will hear the syllabus da.

A) the McGurk effect
B) contrast sensitivity
C) visual scanning
D) perceptual constancy

Question 67

Four-month-old infants respond more to a film _____ than to a film _____.

A) of a monkey hopping; of a human hopping
B) that matches the sounds they are hearing; that doesn't match the sounds they are hearing
C) showing a face in which lips move out of sync with the speech they hear; showing a face in which lips move in sync with the speech they hear
D) showing a person saying "Peek-a-boo!"; showing a hand beating a drumstick against a block

Question 68

Most North American infants can walk alone easily between _____ months of age.

A) 9 and 12
B) 9 and 15
C) 11 and 14
D) 12 and 16

Question 69

A recent study by Cole and colleagues found that infants' walking patterns are affected by:

A) how frequently they walk naked.
B) whether they typically wear cloth diapers or disposable diapers.
C) whether they are naked or wearing a diaper when they walk.
D) all of these factors.

Question 70

Month-old infants have the ability to link their visual experience with their _____ experience.

A) tactile
B) auditory
C) proprioceptive
D) oral

Question 71

Which statement is an accurate portrayal of the impact of nurture on infants' motor development?

A) Infants develop motor skills on their own schedule, regardless of child-rearing practices.
B) Child-rearing practices can accelerate but not retard infants' motor development.
C) Child-rearing practices can retard but not accelerate infants' motor development.
D) Child-rearing practices can either accelerate or retard infants' motor development.

Question 72

Before the age of 4 months, which type of exploration of the environment is MOST common?

A) oral
B) manual
C) self-locomotive
D) smell

Question 73

The combining of information from two or more sensory systems is referred to as _____ perception.

A) intrasensory
B) extrasensory
C) intermodal
D) multichannel

Question 74

Older infants are NOT sensitive to the correspondence between:

A) monkey facial movements and monkey vocalizations.
B) emotional expressions in faces and voices.
C) visual and auditory stimuli produced by moving objects.
D) their own visual and tactile experience as they manipulate objects.

Question 75

_____ is indicative of a possible neurological problem.

A) The existence of the tonic neck reflex
B) Persistence of any neonatal reflexes past infancy
C) An abnormally strong sucking reflex
D) The disappearance of the grasping reflex

Question 76

An infant plays with a toy block in the dark, so he cannot see it. Later, he is shown a ball as well as the block. He realizes that it was the block, not the ball, that he played with in the dark through:

A) intermodal perception.
B) bimodal distribution.
C) visual localization.
D) interobject recognition.

Question 77

These early researchers concluded that infants' motor development was governed by brain maturation.

A) Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson
B) Abraham Maslow and
C) Arnold Gesell and Myrtle McGraw
D) Mary Ainsworth and Sigmund Freud

Question 78

The vast majority of North American infants can sit without support by _____ months of age.

A) 4
B) 7
C) 10
D) 14

Question 79

A researcher taking a dynamic-systems approach to motor development would be MOST likely to examine the impact of _____ on the development of crawling.

A) cortical maturation
B) multiple variables
C) muscle strength
D) vision

Question 80

Infants as young as _____ look longer at visual displays in which dimensions in each modality are congruent.

A) 2 months
B) 4 months
C) 9 months
D) 13 months