Preferential-looking technique
A method for studying infant visual attention by presenting two images simultaneously and measuring which one the infant looks at longer to determine preference or discrimination.
Why do newborns have lower visual acuity
Their cone cells (light-sensitive neurons in the fovea) are not yet fully developed.
Other-Race effect
The phenomenon where infants become specialized in recognizing faces of their own race. While newborns show no bias, by 9 months, they have more difficulty discriminating faces of other races.
Size Constancy
The ability to perceive an object’s size as constant even when its distance (and thus the size of the retinal image) changes.
Auditory Localization
The perception of a sound source’s location in space, which improves as infants grow due to better processing of timing/volume differences between ears.
Consonance vs. Dissonance
(In terms of how infants perceive it)
Infants as young as 2 days old show an innate preference for consonant intervals (e.g., octaves) over dissonant ones.
Metre priming (infant bias towards musical metre)
Through motor/vestibular priming, such as being bounced on every 2nd beat (duple) or 3rd beat (triple).
What does the Mismatch Response (MMR) measure in infants?
It is a neural marker (measured via ERP/EEG) of how the brain makes predictions; it is elicited when an infant hears an unexpected “deviant” sound.
Cephalo-caudal development
Development from “head to tail” (controlling head before feet).
Proximal-distal
Development from “center to peripheral” (controlling shoulders before hands).
Rooting
Turning head toward a touch on the cheek.
Moro
Startle response where arms throw out and pull in.
Stepping
Dancing motion when feet touch a solid surface.
Scale Error
When a young child attempts to perform an action on a miniature object that is impossible due to size (e.g., trying to sit in a tiny toy car).
Affordances (motor development)
Discovering the properties of an object or surface that allow for certain actions (e.g., a flat, solid surface “affords” stable walking).
Habituation
A decrease in response to repeated stimulation, indicating that learning (and memory of the stimulus) has taken place.
Transitional probabilities (Statistical learning)
The probability that one item will follow another (e.g., in the word “pretty,” the probability of “ty” following “pre” is higher than “ba” following “ty”).
Classical conditioning
Associating an initial stimulus with a reflexive response
Operant conditioning
Learning the relation between one’s own behavior and its consequences/rewards.
Experience-expectant plasticity
Brain development based on general experiences that almost all humans have (e.g., seeing light, hearing voices).
Pragmatic development
Language
Acquiring knowledge of how language is used in social contexts (e.g., politeness, sarcasm, conversational rules).
Infant-directed speech (IDS)
Higher pitch, slower rate, exaggerated intonation, and more repetition; it is preferred by infants and facilitates learning.
Voice Onset Time (VOT)
The length of time between when air passes through the lips and when the vocal cords start vibrating; used to distinguish sounds like /b/ and /p/.
Overextension
Using a word too broadly (e.g., calling every four-legged animal “dog”).
