EARLY COGNITIVE FOUNDATINS: SENSATION, PERCEPTION, AND LEARNING

1
EARLY COGNITIVE FOUNDATINS SENSATION,
PERCEPTION, AND LEARNING
2
Cognitive Development thru Sensation and
Perception

• SensationDetection of stimuli by the sensory
  receptors and transmission of this information to
  the brain.
• PerceptionThe process by which we categorize and
  interpret sensory input.

3
Theoretical Views of Objective Reality

• Enrichment Theory Individuals possess cognitive
  resources (schemes) which make them capable of
  engaging the environment.
• Initial sensory stimulation is ambiguous and
  unclear.
• Continued re-exposure creates scheme reformation
  as individuals engage their environments and
  develop more complex schemes.

4
Differentiation Theory

• Sensory stimulation provides all we need to
  interpret our experiences.
• Our task as perceivers is to detect the
  differentiating information (distinctive
  features) that enable us to discriminate one form
  of experience from another.
• View developed by Eleanor Gibson

5
Unlocking the Infant Box

• Conclusive findings present a challenge when it
  comes to the precursors to infant cognitive
  development
• Sensation and perception
• Methodological Tools Are Essential To Securing
  Reliability and Validity Concerns

6
Techniques For Understanding Children

• The Preference Method Procedure in which two
  stimuli are presented simultaneously to determine
  which stimuli the infant focuses on. Developed
  by Robert Fantz
• The Habituation Method Presentation of one
  stimuli until the infant habituates upon
  habituation, a second stimuli is presented to
  determine if the infant dishabituates.
• Methods generally used to determine infants
  sensory and perceptual capabilities.

7
Techniques continued

• Evoked Potentials Children are presented with a
  particular stimuli and their brain waves are
  recorded.
• Generally used to determine what areas of the
  brain are stimulated upon stimuli presentation.
• High-Amplitude Sucking Special pacifiers
  containing electrical circuitry measure variation
  in sucking patterns upon stimuli presentation.
  High bursts of sucking may be a signal for
  stimuli presentation (desirable film), little
  sucking caused the stimuli to go away. (Operant
  conditioning)

8
Development of Pattern Perception

• Stimulus Seekers (birth to 3 months)
• Scan the environment
• Visually explore detectable stimuli
• Form Constructors (3 to 6 months)
• Scanning becomes more systematic
• Perceive a variety of forms
• Can detect subjective contours
• Can infer wholeness of a partially hidden
  object from its synchronized movement
• Form Interpreters (9 to 12 months/older)
• Can discriminate a variety of emotional
  expressions
• Can infer meaningful structure (e.g., human form)
  from minimal information
• Engage in social referencing

9
Infant Sensory Capabilities

• Although vision is our least developed sense,
  infants display varying capabilities to
  distinguish between faces and some colors.
• Significant gains towards later years.
• Initially, vision is very blurry (20/600).
• Poor ability to discriminate basic colors until 2
  months
• By one year, they see as well as adults.

10
Hearing

• Infants develop a sensitivity to voice tones
  (prefer higher pitches, soft sounds are
  undetectable).
• Studies have revealed that infants are capable of
  recognizing their mothers voice. High amplitude
  sucking method.
• Infants also have a sensitivity to sounds/
  language development.
• According to Eimas (1975, 1985), 2 to 3 month old
  infants could distinguish consonant sounds that
  are similar (for example, ba and pa).
• By 3 to 6 months, infants are actually better
  than adults at perceiving certain sounds that are
  not language oriented. Infants also become
  capable (4.5 months) at responding when they hear
  their name being called.

11
Touch, Temperature, and Pain

• Infants definitely have a sensitivity to touch.
• Premature babies develop better when stroked or
  massaged.
• Thru touch, infants engage the environment.
• Taste/Smell Infants generally prefer sweet over
  sour, bitter, or salty.
• Sweet substances have been found to reduce crying
  and produce smiles and smacking of the lips.
• Infants 1 to 2 weeks old have been found to
  recognize the mom through smell.

12
Visual Perception in Infancy

• (0-2months) Sight is very limited.
• Ability to see is limited to things that have
• high contrast and/or distinctive
  characteristics (curvilinear shapes).
• (2-12months) Infants are better at
  discriminating objects from the environment.

13
Vision, Perception, and Attraction

• Infant preferences for attractive faces can be
  detected as early as 3 months in infants.
• Findings are weaker when infants have caregivers
  who are unattractive.
• Infants demonstrate a greater disposition towards
  interaction and play when exposed to attractive
  faces as oppose to unattractive faces.
• What is attraction and how does it develop among
  infants?
• Could attraction be a factor for stranger anxiety
  when in the absence of parents?
• How important is attraction to shaping human
  interaction and child outcomes?

14
Exploring Intermodal Development

• Infants use one sense (e.g., hearing, touch) to
  recognize an object that is familiar through
  another sense (e.g., vision).
• Infants are able to recognize instances when our
  senses provide contradictory information.
• Physical, Cognitive, Socio-Emotions Outcomes

15
Four Consequences of Operant Conditioning

• Reinforcer. Any consequence of an act that
  increases the probability that the act will
  recur.
• Positive Reinforcer. Any stimulus whose
  presentation, as a consequence of an act,
  increases the probability that the act will
  recur.
• Negative Reinforcer. Any stimulus whose removal
  or termination, as the consequence of an act,
  increases the probability that the act will
  recur.
• Punisher. Any consequence of an act that
  suppresses the response and decreases the
  probability that it will recur.
• A punishing consequence that involves the
  presentation of something unpleasant following a
  behavior.
• A punishing consequence that involves the removal
  of something pleasant following a behavior.

16
Examples of Conditioning Outcomes Reinforcers
Strengthen/ Punishment Suppresses

• Positive Reinforcer
• Attention may strengthen being pleasant and
  polite
• Hugs may strengthen cooperation and seeking
  contact
• Negative Reinforcer
• Avoidance of a scolding may strengthen the
  childs coming home on time
• Avoidance of their childs tantrum in the store
  by buying a treat strengthens parent treat-buying
  behavior
• Positive Punishment
• A scolding ay suppress fighting with brother
• A costly speeding ticket may suppress speeding
• Negative Punishment
• Loss of allowance may suppress forgetting to do
  chores
• Removal to bedroom may suppress returning home
  late

17
Making Punishment/Corrective Behavior Effective

• Confront the undesirable behavior as soon as
  possible
• Be consistent
• Be otherwise warm and accepting
• Consider alternatives to physical punishment
• Reinforce alternative behavior
• Provide explanations for why the behavior was
  wrong and suggest what the child might do
  differently in the future

18
Possible Side Effects of Aversive Controls

• Child may avoid the punisher
• Anxiety generated may prevent the childs
  learning the intended lesson
• Childs resentment may make the child
  uncooperative and difficult to control
• Child may imitate adults aggressive means of
  dealing with a situation
• Punisher may be reinforced by the temporary
  effectiveness of punitive measures and become a
  habitual punisher
• Misbehavior may escalate if the only attention a
  child gets is that accompanying punishment