Perception
Perception is how we interpret everything around us and how we organise these sensations
Our perceptual systems keep us informed of what's happening in our environment and helps us respond accordingly
We experience the world through sensation, this is essential for survival
Development of perception in children
Most perceptual capacities emerge in the 1st year of life
The rate at which perception develops is interesting to psychologists understanding the interplay between brain development, perceptual processing and healthy functioning
Our auditory, olfaction and tactile systems are well developed at birth, the visual system is fairly immature and continues to develop for a few months
Visual perception
1- visual acuity
The sharpness of our vision and ability to detect fine details
How fast eye muscles contract and relax, allowing the eye to focus
Requires maturation of the cornea and retina to transmit a clear image, infants can see at 6 metres compared to 100 for adults
2- Binocular vision
Ability to perceive depth determined by strength of eye muscle control
We have 2 eyes that create a 3D image containing information from 2 visual fields
A newborn's eyes don't move as well together as an adult = immature depth perception
3- Colour
Sensitivity to colour develops as eye cones mature, cones are cells found at the retina and are responsible for colour vision
Young kids prefer bold colours and saturated images
4- Facial recognition
As visual capabilities develop and gain experience of their environment, infants change their ability to recognise focus
5- Depth perception
Visual ability to perceive the world in 3D
Monocular cues include motion parallax and size, and shape constancy
The point newborns use this information to inform depth judgement may not emerge until they're around 3 months old
Prosopagnosia = not being able to properly process faces