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Infants' Perception (infant + perception)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Psychology	40%

Selected Abstracts

Infant Perception of Surface Texture and Relative Height as Distance Information: A Preferential-Reaching Study

INFANCY, Issue 1 2010
Laura Hemker
Two preferential-reaching experiments explored 5- and 7-month-olds' sensitivity to pictorial depth cues. In the first experiment, infants viewed a display in which texture gradients, linear perspective of the surface contours, and relative height in the visual field provided information that two objects were at different distances. Five- and 7-month-old infants reached preferentially for the apparently nearer object under monocular but not binocular viewing conditions, indicating that infants in both age groups respond to pictorial depth cues. In the second experiment, texture gradients and linear perspective of the surface contours were eliminated from the experimental display, making relative height the sole pictorial depth cue. Seven-month-olds again reached more often for the apparently nearer object under monocular, but not binocular viewing conditions. By contrast, the 5-month-olds' reaching behavior did not differ between viewing conditions. These results indicate that 7-month-olds respond to the depth cue of relative height but provide no evidence of responsiveness to relative height in 5-month-olds. Both age groups responded more consistently to pictorial depth in Experiment 1 than in Experiment 2. [source]

The Role of Person Familiarity in Young Infants' Perception of Emotional Expressions

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2001
Ronit Kahana-Kalman
This research investigated the role of person familiarity in the ability of 3.5-month-old infants to recognize emotional expressions. Infants (N= 72) were presented simultaneously with two filmed facial expressions, happy and sad, accompanied by a single vocal expression that was concordant with one of the two facial expressions. Infants' looking preferences and facial expressions were coded. Results indicated that when the emotional expressions were portrayed by each infant's own mother, infants looked significantly longer toward the facial expressions that were accompanied by affectively matching vocal expressions. Infants who were presented with emotional expressions of an unfamiliar woman did not. Even when a brief delay was inserted between the presentation of facial and vocal expressions, infants who were presented with emotional expressions of their own mothers looked longer at the facial expression that was sound specified, indicating that some factor other than temporal synchrony guided their looking preferences. When infants viewed the films of their own mothers, they were more interactive and expressed more positive and less negative affect. Moreover, infants produced a greater number of full and bright smiles when the sound-specified emotion was "happy," and particularly when they viewed the happy expressions of their own mothers. The average duration of negative affect was significantly longer for infants who observed the unfamiliar woman than for those who observed their own mothers. These results show that when more contextual information,that is, person familiarity ,was available, infants as young as 3.5 months of age recognized happy and sad expressions. These findings suggest that in the early stages of development, infants are sensitive to contextual information that potentially facilitates some of the meaning of others' emotional expressions. [source]

Optical imaging of infants' neurocognitive development: Recent advances and perspectives

DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2008
Yasuyo Minagawa-Kawai
Abstract Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) provides a unique method of monitoring infant brain function by measuring the changes in the concentrations of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin. During the past 10 years, NIRS measurement of the developing brain has rapidly expanded. In this article, a brief discussion of the general principles of NIRS, including its technical advantages and limitations, is followed by a detailed review of the role played so far by NIRS in the study of infant perception and cognition, including language, and visual and auditory functions. Results have highlighted, in particular, the developmental changes of cerebral asymmetry associated with speech acquisition. Finally, suggestions for future studies of neurocognitive development using NIRS are presented. Although NIRS studies of the infant brain have yet to fulfill their potential, a review of the work done so far indicates that NIRS is likely to provide many unique insights in the field of developmental neuroscience. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008 [source]

Type of Maternal Object Motion During Synchronous Naming Predicts Preverbal Infants' Learning of Word,Object Relations

INFANCY, Issue 2 2008
Dalit J. Matatyaho
Mothers' use of specific types of object motion in synchrony with object naming was examined, along with infants' joint attention to the mother and object, as a predictor of word learning. During a semistructured 3-min play episode, mothers (N = 24) taught the names of 2 toy objects to their preverbal 6- to 8-month-old infants. The episodes were recoded from Gogate, Bolzani, and Betancourt (2006) to provide a more fine-grained description of object motions used by mothers during naming. The results indicated that mothers used forward/downward and shaking motions more frequently and upward and backward motions less frequently in temporal synchrony with the spoken words. These motions likely highlight novel word,object relations. Furthermore, maternal use of shaking motions in synchrony with the spoken words and infants' ability to switch gaze from mother to object contributed to infants' learning of the word,object relations, as observed on a posttest. Thus, preverbal infants' learn word,object relations within an embodied system involving tightly coupled interaction between infants' perception and joint attention, and specific properties of caregivers' naming. [source]

Perception of the Ebbinghaus illusion in 5- to 8-month-old infants

JAPANESE PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2010
YUKA YAMAZAKI
Abstract The Ebbinghaus illusion is a geometric illusion based on a size-contrast between a central circle and surrounding circles. A central circle surrounded by small inducing circles is perceived as being larger than a central circle surrounded by large inducing circles. In the present study we investigated 5- to 8-month-old infants' perception of the Ebbinghaus illusion using a preferential-looking paradigm. We measured the preference between a central circle surrounded by small inducing circles (overestimated figure) and a central circle surrounded by large inducing circles (underestimated figure). Infants showed a significant preference for the overestimated figure when the central circle was flashing, but not when it was static. Furthermore, there was no preference between the two figures when the central circles were removed. These results suggest that infants' preference reflects their perception of the size illusion of the central circle. There is a possibility that 5- to 8-month-old infants perceive the Ebbinghaus illusion. [source]