Visual Development

Question 1

Empiricism

Answer 1

• General learning system.
• Experience shapes our skills and knowledge
• Blank page

Question 2

Nativism

Answer 2

• Hardwire to handle a certain type of information
  
  • Ex) Language, math,…
• Certain aspects of mental life are a core part of being human and they are present from the beginning

Question 3

Nature vs Nurture

Answer 3

• How much influence do differences in environment have on development?
• How do genetics and environment work together during development?

Question 4

Age related Changes

Answer 4

On average, at different ages children will have certain skills. On the other hand, this varies a lot!

Question 5

Continuous or Discontinuous Development

Answer 5

Continuity:

• Quantitative change
• Development is incremental and gradual

Discontinuity:

• Qualitative Change
• A new structure or process emerges that was not there before

Question 6

Development in Different Domains is Interconnected

Answer 6

Example:

• Physical development affects motor development and motor development impacts language development.

Question 7

Children are Active Architects of their own Development

Answer 7

Babies shape their behaviour from people around them

Question 8

Development and Relationships

Answer 8

• Conflict resolution
• Perspective-taking
• Language
• Mathematics

Question 9

Samples in Developmental Psychology are WEIRD

Answer 9

• White
• Educated
• Industrialised
• Rich
• Democratic

Question 10

The Science of Child Development should Inform Practice and Policy

Answer 10

• How to teach (teaching how to read)
• Corporal punishment in schools
• Availability of remote learning during (COVID-19)

Question 11

Acuity

Answer 11

The sharpness of the clarity of the vision.

Ability to perceive contrast that represents lines and shadows.

A 20/20 vision means that you can see at 20 feet what a healthy person can see at 20 feet.

20/25 vision means that you can see at 20 feet what a healthy person can see at 25 feet.

Question 12

How do we test acuity for babies?

Answer 12

Since babies cannot tells us which letters that are seeing, they are shown tripes of different width. If the eyes of the baby move from side to side, this means that they can perceive the stripes. On the other hand, if their vision is not good enough, they would only see a dark rectangle an thus their eyes wouldn’t move.

Some other tests are:

1. Preferential looking
2. Habituation Paradigm
3. Optokinetic Nystagmus
4. Visual Evoked Potential

Question 13

Preferential Looking

Answer 13

When babies are presented with two stimuli, we observe if they prefer to look at one rather than the other.

For example, when presented with these images. The babies would put more attention to one of them if they are able to see the stripes. If they are not able to see the stripes, then both images look the same to them and would act bored or distracted.

Question 14

Name some challenges faced while testing preferential looking

Answer 14

• Controlled setting:
  
  • The investigator has to hide behind a panel so that they don’t give away some indication to the baby.
  • The mother holding the baby cannot see the stimuli presented to the baby. Again, this is done so that she cannot influence the baby’s reaction
• Stimuli:
  
  • The stimuli can’t differ in any way other than the width of the stripes.

Question 15

Habituation

Answer 15

Let the baby look at the same image for a long time. Once the baby is bored, change the image for the one with stripes. If the baby can see the stripes, its attention will be directed to the new image. Otherwise, it will just see it as the first image.

Question 16

Optokinetic Nystagmus

Answer 16

The eyes track the stripes until it disappears and the eyes go back to the middle.

If the acuity of the baby is good, then its eyes will move. Otherwise, it will be only perceived as a grey image.

Question 17

Visual Evoked Potential

Answer 17

This test measures brain activity. If the acuity is good, then the brain activity will be higher when the baby see the stripes.

Question 18

True or False

Babies prefer to look at faces

Answer 18

True!

Question 19

True or False

Babies in the womb prefer to look at faces.

Answer 19

True, an experiment was done where the researchers would flash 3 light dots on the mothers belly. When these three dots matched the features of a face, the reaction of the fetus was recorded through 4D ultrasound. The reaction observed was the number of head-turning.

This experiment was done during the third trimester of the pregnancy.

This shows that this preference came without experience.

REID ET AL. 2017

Question 20

Recognition of faces as adults

Answer 20

Adults can recognise 1000 faces. Notice that we can still recognise faces even when some features change (hairstyle, beard, glasses, etc.)

This ability to recognise faces is not acquired until sometime in adolescence.

Question 21

Explain one experiment where it was shown that adults were better at recognising faces

Answer 21

In an experiment where participants were asked to learn new faces and then recognise them, adults where much better at not making mistakes than the 11-year olds.

Question 22

There are two skills that are developing, which are they?

Answer 22

• Featural Processing
• Configural processing

Question 23

Featural Processing

Answer 23

Processing the shape of individual features.

Question 24

Configural Processing

Answer 24

Processing the distance between two features.

We most often rely on configural processing.

Question 25

Why is it harder to recognise an inverted face?

Answer 25

This is because we rely much more on configural processing and since invention affects the configural processing, then recognising inverted faces is harder.

Question 26

Featural vs Configural

Answer 26

Study by MONDLOCH ET AL. (2002) In this study, participants were shown the picture of Jane. They were then shown multiple pictures of "Jane's sisters". In fact, the images were the same picture of Jane but with featural of configural changes on the eyes. The faces on row (a) had a different distance, (b) different shape, (c) different shape/contour of the face. The participants were then shown 2 pictures and were asked if it was the same or different picture. Adults had the best accuracy: 96% This concludes that configural processing takes longer to develop than featural.

Question 27

Critical period

Answer 27

The period during which the input/experience is necessary to achieve typical outcomes. Lack of input after that period will not have detrimental effects.

Question 28

Is visual experience, patterned visual input, necessary for visual development?

Answer 28

Yes! In an experiment by DR. DAPHNE MAURER (McMaster University), children with cataracts were matched (by gender, age, etc.) to children without cataracts. Their acuity was then compared right after the correction of cataracts (1 hour, 1 week, 1 month). Here we can notice that the acuity of children with cataracts is lower than the one from the healthy children. On the other hand, the children with correction have a rapid gain after the correction.

Question 29

Does it matter when the experience of patterned visual occurs?

Answer 29

Yes, as it was shown by Maurer's study. Children who are deprived of patterned visual input between about 10 days and 10 years of age experience permanent deficits in acuity. Children who are born with vision but have it compromised before the age of 10-years, will have poor acuity when their vision is corrected.

Question 30

Critical Periods in the Development of Face Processing

Answer 30

Research by LEGRAND ET AL. (2001) In this study, 14 patience born with bilateral cataracts with mean age of 14, were compared with controls and typically developing adults. Similarly to the Jane experiment, a set of faces that differed in configural or featural characteristics was formed. The participants had to say if two pictures portrayed the same person or a different one. It was noticed that Featural changes did not affect whereas images with configural changes had a greater effect. Accuracy: * Adults: 80% * Controls: 81% * Patients: 62%

Question 31

Vantage point

Answer 31

The point from which someone is looking at something. For example, two people looking at a toy from different positions will have different vantage points