Perceptual Development in Infants - Coursework Example

Perceptual development in infants Grade (April 24th, Physical and biological maturation, nurturing and learning experiences and innate abilities are three essential combinations that accounts for perceptual development in infants. Despite several conflicting accounts regarding the debate on whether perceptual development in infants is a function of innate abilities or nurturing experiences, it is conclusive that both factors plays significant roles in perceptual development for infants. Perceptual development is a progressive process and each of these factors account for different phases of perceptual development. Thus, the role of the caregiver in enhancing the perceptual development of the infants is to ensure to actively stimulate the infant with the activities and stimulus that are fun to the infant. Perceptual development in infants Introduction Perceptual development in infant refers to the process of an infant taking in, organizing and then interpreting the sensory information from the immediate surroundings, in order to develop awareness, and be able to distinguish the feature of the environment around them, so that they can tell the familiar from the unfamiliar sights (Bhatt, & Quinn, 2011). Thus, it is through the perceptual development of the infant that they start being able to differentiate their regular caregivers from strange faces, while also being able to assess physical features such as height, size and color (Lewkowicz & Ghazanfar, 2009). Thus, this discussion seeks to explore the concept of perceptual development in infants, with a view to create a balanced account of the perceptual development process. First, the discussion will analyze the premises of constructivism and the ecological models of perceptual development. Secondly, the discussion will offer a criticism of the two models. Thirdly, the discussion will provide an account of perceptual development process. Finally, the discussion will conclude with a conclusion that sums up the whole discussion. Discussion The process of perceptual development is a progressive process that entails the gradual development of the perceptual abilities of the infant through to their early childhood, when this process is fully completed (Brinck & Liljenfors, 2013). The perceptual abilities are the requisite developments that enable children to be aware of their environment, while also enabling them to grow normally in the early stages of their growth. There are different models/theories that explain the perceptual development in infants. While some of these theories hold that perceptual development in infants is a function of the innate ability, others hold that it is a function of nurturing and stimulation, which then develops into relevant experiences that the brain is able to organize and interpret (Campos, Savelsbergh, & Rocha, 2012). Models of Perceptual development in infants Basic questions have always arisen, regarding how the infants develop their five senses, in relation to the phases of development as well as the applicable timelines. The fundamental debated in relation to perceptual development in infants has been the question whether the development is prompted by innate abilities within an infant at the time of birth or whether they are stimulated experiences after birth (Brinck & Liljenfors, 2013). This issue has developed into the concept of nature–nurture controversy, which tries to find the answer as to whether the perceptual development in infants is a function of natural innate abilities or a function of nurturing experiences that the infants obtain from their caregivers (Nagai, Asada & Hosoda, 2006). In this respect, there are two different models that explain the perceptual development of infants. Constructivism model This model provides that the perceptual development in infants is a function of nurturing, which entails the infant learning from the caregivers experiences (Lewkowicz & Ghazanfar, 2009). Thus, this model credits the caregiver with a hand in enhancing the learning of the infants, to be able to understand the environment and the world around them. According to the Constructivism model, the first step in the perceptual development process is to make sense of the sensations. In this respect, the role of the caregiver is to provide the infant with the relevant stimulations that are compatible with the five senses, and the role of the infant is to try and make sense of the stimulation (Bhatt, & Quinn, 2011). Therefore, through the process of consistent stimulation, the infants brain starts synthesizing, organizing and making order of the barrage information they obtain from the stimulation. The Constructivism model is based on the premise that the perceptual development in infants is protracted, and as such, all infants develop their perceptual abilities differently, depending on their environment and the stimulation they obtain from it (Yang, Kanazawa & Yamaguchi, 2010). Therefore, the model provides that the perceptual development of infant is wholesomely reliant on the specific experiences that an infant obtains from the caregiver and the immediate surroundings. Ecological model The Ecological model of development provides that the process of perceptual development in infants is an innate-driven process, which wholesomely depends on the innate abilities of the infant from the time of birth (Yang, Kanazawa & Yamaguchi, 2009). Thus according to this model, the perceptual development of infants is a process of fine tuning, rather than actual development of the sensations. Therefore, the perceptual development occurs due to the innate abilities that are within an infant from birth, and every other aspect of the perceptual capacity that develops later is based on fine-tuning of the innate perceptual abilities, rather than the new emergence of those abilities out of stimulation (Brinck & Liljenfors, 2013). The Ecological model is based on the premise that; despite the fact that the caregivers and the environment might be appropriately stimulatory to the infant, there are infants that will develop their perceptual abilities slowly than others (Campos, Savelsbergh, & Rocha, 2012). Further, this model is premised on the argument that; children who are born with certain innate problems cannot develop their perceptual capacities as those born without such problems, despite the level of stimulation that is offered by the caregiver and the surrounding environment (Diamond, 2007). Criticism of the Constructivism model and the Ecological model of development Nevertheless, while the two models provide varying accounts of the perceptual development in infants, both models have not been able provide an elaborate account of the biological maturation (Roediger, 2008). The limiting factor of the perceptual development in infants is that; some perceptual abilities are not present during the time of birth of the infant, neither due to lack of the appropriate stimulation nor due to lack of the necessary innate abilities, but simply due to the lack of physical maturation of the relevant organs (Yang, Kanazawa & Yamaguchi, 2009). In this respect, the failure of the infant to see clearly and differentiate colors immediately after birth for example, is not a function of lack of the necessary visual innate abilities within the infant or lack of the appropriate stimulation by the caregivers, but simply because the visual system of the infant is not physically mature to differentiate these visual aspects. Therefore, both the Ecological model and Constructivism model models of perceptual development in infants fall short of encompassing the biological and physical maturation aspects of the perceptual development process (Yang, Kanazawa & Yamaguchi, 2010). Thus, the comprehensive model of perceptual development will combine and give a comprehensive account of the innate perceptual abilities, physical maturation of the perceptual organs and the role of experience (Bhatt, & Quinn, 2011). Perceptual development in infants The process of perceptual development in infants has been very closely related to the sensory development process (Saffran, 2009). Many sensory and organization abilities are available during the birth of an infant. Thus, most infants are able to apply the visual system within the first few weeks of their birth, to differentiate shapes, color and sizes, and by the age three months such infants are fully able to recognize most aspects of visual objects (Brinck & Liljenfors, 2013). Turning of the eyes is a major aspect of the perceptual development in infants, since it is the first sign that such infants can now start scanning their environment, to indentify the familiar from the unfamiliar sights (Roediger, 2008). By the age of three-and-a-half months, infants will have made several million turns of their eyes. The interaction of the infant with the immediate environment is driven by innately specified competencies, which may not be mature biologically and physically at the time of birth, but they keep maturing as the age of the infant progresses (Campos, Savelsbergh, & Rocha, 2012). Therefore, by the age 1 month, pattern perception has developed and infants are observed to have a preference for vertical objects, as opposed horizontal objects. At the age of 4-months, the infant is able to differentiate shapes, with a higher bias on triangular shapes recognition, compared to other shapes (Saffran, 2009). Further, between the ages of 6-7 months, infants are now able to generalize the spatial relations between objects, especially the relationship between the objects below and the objectives above. However, the full recognition of the spatial relation between objects is developed in infants at the age of 9-10 months, when they are now able to generalize the spatial differences between objects (Bhatt, & Quinn, 2011). However, the perception of moving things develops early in infants as compared to static objects, with infants being able to recognize the shape of rotating or oscillating objects when they are between 2 -4 months old, if such objects are 3-dimensional. At the age of around 5 months, infants are able to tell the human form from the rest of the object forms (Diamond, 2007). Nevertheless, facial recognition is perhaps the most dominant aspect of perceptual development in infants; with infants who are several hours old being able to recognize their mother’s face, as long as the hairline is completely visible (Yang, Kanazawa, & Yamaguchi, 2009). At the age of three months, infants are able to tell the different-race faces, and by the time the infants are between the ages of 5-7 months, they are able to determine the meaning of various facial expressions (Bhatt, & Quinn, 2011). All these developmental phases indicate that the perceptual development in infants is a function of innate abilities, nurturing experiences and physical and biological maturation (Yang, Kanazawa & Yamaguchi, 2010). Thus, the involvement of the caregiver in the active monitoring and stimulation of the infant is essential, since it enables the caregiver to notice when the infant may be lagging behind in the perceptual development milestones, and thus take the necessary measure or seek medical attention at the early stage of problem recognition (Nagai, Asada & Hosoda, 2006). Conclusion The process of perceptual development in infants is a natural process that occurs with little efforts and assistance from the parent. The role of the caregiver serves as a fundamental determinant of how well and easily the perceptual development in a child occurs. There are different models that provide account for the perceptual development in infants. The constructivism model provides that the perceptual development is wholly a function of nurturing and learning experiences, while the ecological model provides that perceptual development is a function of innate abilities from the infant’s birth. The early perceptual development aspect of the infants is facial recognition, which may start several hours after the infant’s birth. References Bhatt, R. S., & Quinn, P. C. (2011). How Does Learning Impact Development in Infancy? The Case of Perceptual Organization. Infancy, 16(1), 2-38. Brinck, I., & Liljenfors, R. (2013). The Developmental Origin of Metacognition. Infant & Child Development, 22(1), 85-101. Campos, A., Savelsbergh, G. P., & Rocha, N. (2012). 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