Perceptual Development

Introduces the role of neuromaturational and dynamical systems theory in child development and ensuing adult movement behavior. Highlights the work of physical therapist, Irmgard Bartenieff (1900 - 1982) and occupational therapist Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and the development of the somatic movement systems:  Bartenieff Fundamentals and Body-Mind Centering, respectively.  Compares and contrasts these two systems of human movement analysis and their perspectives in intervention with children and adults.  Shares Dr. Eddy's unique blend of these two systems in Dynamic Embodiment Somatic Movement Therapy.  Provides charts of different views of body organization and neuro-developmental organization in embryological and infant motor planning, as well as the reflex theory related to adult performance.  Also includes additional charts from the pedagogy of colleague Rachelle Tsachor.

In Flourish, the positive psychologist Martin Seligman (2011) identifies five commonly recognized factors that are characteristic of human flourishing or wellbeing: (1) “positive emotion,” (2) “relationships,” (3) “engagement,” (4) “achievement,” and (5) “meaning” (p. 24). Although there is no settled set of necessary and sufficient conditions neatly circumscribing the bounds of human flourishing (Seligman, 2011), we would mostly likely consider a person that possessed high levels of these five factors as paradigmatic or prototypical of human flourishing. Accordingly, if we wanted to go about the practical task of actually increasing our level of wellbeing, we ought to do so by focusing on practically increasing the levels of the five factors that are characteristic of wellbeing. If, for instance, an activity such as musical engagement can be shown to positively influence each or all of these five factors, this would be compelling evidence that an activity such as musical engagement can positively contribute to one’s living a flourishing life. I’m of the belief that psychological research can and should be used, not only to identify and diagnose maladaptive psychological states, but identify and promote adaptive psychological states as well. In this article I advance the hypothesis and provide supporting evidence for the claim that musical engagement can positively contribute to one’s living a flourishing life. Since there has not yet been a substantive and up-to-date investigation of the possible role of music in contributing to one’s living a flourishing life, the purpose of this article is to conduct this investigation, thereby bridging the gap and stimulating discussion between the psychology of music and the psychology of wellbeing.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00393
https://doctorcroom.com/croom-2012b

Míg a korábbi években az autizmus pszichológiai elméletei és vizsgálatai a kognitív-kommunikációs eltérésekre helyezték a hangsúlyt, az utóbbi években előtérbe kerültek az autizmus spektrumzavarral élők érzékelési-észlelési nehézségei. Tanulmányunkban azokkal az érzékelési eltérésekkel foglalkozunk, amelyek sajátossá teszik az észlelt valóságot ezen személyek számára. Vizsgálatunkban tipikus fejlődésmenetű és autizmus spektrumzavarral élő kisgyermekek szenzoros profilját hasonlítottuk össze Bogdashina (2003) Érzékelési Állapotfelmérő Kérdőívének (Sensory Profil Checklist Revised) felhasználásával.

The question of space is twofold: seen from the point of view of its creator and from the point of view of its user. In addition, in between is the question of perception, of space perception. How do we relate to space? How do we read it? What is its meaning? Is perception a cultural issue or just a biological function? In order to formulate an opinion on these issues, we have to start at the very root of the problem, namely the development of the perceptual process.

Thus, based on the extensive studies undertaken by Jean Piaget, the paper intends to detail the action of acquiring and developing the perceptual process, linking it to the different stages of growth. The second part of the paper tries to look into the similarities between the structure of the social environment and its relation to space, and the way in which the same type of structure can be extracted from or applied to the children’s games of “hide and seek”. Its complexity, its many variables make it a very interesting process of spatial learning. Consequently, the game is reproducing and exercising the features, the meanings of the environment and the way in which the child should relate to similar real life situations.

The aim of this theoretical quest is to emphasise the importance of games in developing and nurturing a proper way of perceiving and relating to the environment and to its social and cultural particularities.

Purpose. During development, the presence of strabismus and anisometropia frequently leads to amblyopia, a visual disorder characterized by interocular acuity differences. Although additional deficits in contrast sensitivity, crowding (the impaired recognition of closely spaced objects), and stereoacuity are common, the relationship between these abilities is unclear.

Methods. We measured the covariation between these four abilities in children 4 to 9 years of age (n = 72) with strabismus, anisometropia, or mixed strabismus/anisometropia, and unaffected controls. Children reported the orientation of a target (a modified “Pac-Man,” similar to Landolt-C stimuli) using four “ghosts” as references. Using a modified staircase procedure we measured threshold size (acuity), contrast detection, foveal crowding (the minimum separation between target and ghost-flankers supporting accurate identification), and stereoacuity (with random-dot stereogram ghosts).

Results. Group averages revealed significant interocular differences (IODs) in acuity for all three clinical groups (0.2–0.3 log minutes), and significant crowding IODs for the strabismic and mixed groups (0.6 and 0.4°, respectively). Nonetheless, crowding IODs were correlated with acuity IODs in all four groups (r values between 0.43 and 0.59 and P < 0.05; P = 0.07 in the mixed group). Similarly, the occurrence of stereo-blindness (most common in strabismic and mixed groups) was associated with a significant increase in IODs for both acuity and crowding (each P < 0.05). No correlations were found with contrast detection.

Conclusions. Our results demonstrate an association between IODs in acuity and crowding and, furthermore, between these IODs and the presence of stereo-vision. We suggest that the deficits derived from strabismus and anisometropia lay along a continuum with abilities observed during normal development.

In this article the problem of perception is highlighted from a philosophical, physiological and psychological point of view. The essay (second update) is followed by a list of publications, journals and websites about perception. The author would be delighted to receive comments. He can be contacted at j[underscore]kuijper[at]online[dot]nl.

In this introduction to the special issue on Action and perception in infancy, we summarize recent arguments of Milner and Goodale for a dissociation between vision for action and vision for perception in adults. We propose that this dissociation is probably present from birth, and further that vision for action and vision for perception follow different developmental trajectories. Based on this framework, we discern four themes of interest for infancy research (i.e., information and action, exploration and action, information and perception, and the interaction between action and perception) and introduce the contributions of the special issue accordingly.

Tool-use is specialized in humans, and juvenile humans show much more prolific and prodigious tool-use than other juvenile primates. Nonhuman primates possess many of the basic motor and behavioral capacities needed for manual tool-use: perceptual-motor specialization, sociocultural practices and interactions, and abstract conceptualization of kinds of functions, both real and imagined. These traits jointly contribute to the human specialization for tool-using. In particular, from 2 to 5 years of age children develop: (i) more refined motor routines for interacting with a variety of objects, (ii) a deeper under- standing and awareness of the cultural context of object-use practices, and (iii) a cognitive facility to represent potential dynamic human–object interactions. The last trait, which has received little attention in recent years, is defined as the ability to form abstract (i.e., generalizable to novel contexts) representations of kinds of functions, even with relatively little training or instruction. This trait might depend not only on extensive tool-using expe- rience but also on developing cognitive abilities, including a variety of cognitive flexibility: specifically, imagistic memory for event sequences incorporating causal inferences about mechanical effects. Final speculations point to a possible network of neural systems that might contribute to the cognitive capacity that includes sensorimotor, sensory integration, and prefrontal cortical resources and interconnections.

In this study, the Perceptual Skills Scale (PSS) was developed to determine the sensory, cognitive and emotional perception skills of primary school children. For the validity and reliability study of the scale, data were collected between April and May 2019 from seven primary schools that differ in socioeconomic terms in a city center in NorthWestern Turkey; and a total of 643 parents were reached. Within the scope of the validity study of the PSS, content (scope) validity and structure validity analyses were performed. The Hambleton method was used for content (scope) validity, as well as referring to expert opinions. The construct validity of the scale was examined by looking at the confirmatory factor analysis and the item-total correlations. It was determined that item-total test correlations varied between 0.181 and 0.597. In the confirmatory factor analysis, comparative fit index (CFI) was found as 0.99; goodness of fit index (GFI) as 0.89; normed fit index (NFI) as 0.91; and relative fit index (RFI) as 0.90. Cronbach Alpha analysis was performed for the reliability of the scale and it was determined that the Cronbach Alpha coefficients varied between 0.730 and 0.844. As a result of the validity-reliability analysis, it was seen that the scale is valid and reliable.

A rapidly approaching object provides information about the object’s approach and how imminent a collision is. Prospective control when responding to a looming virtual object approaching on a direct collision course was studied longitudinally in ten infants aged 5/6 and 12/13 months. Different characteristics of the looming-related VEP responses from infants’ brain electrical recordings (EEG) were explored and compared between the infants at these different ages. The aim of this study was to find evidence for infant brain electrical responses coherent with a looming stimulus approaching the infant under three different accelerations. It was also investigated whether the use of different timing strategies to estimate the loom’s time-to-collision would produce differences in the EEG recordings. The results showed that the timing and the duration of the VEP responses differed with age. At the age of 5/6 months, infants showed VEP peaks earlier in the looming sequence and VEP responses with longer duration than when they were 12/13 months old. Results from the timing-strategy analysis showed that with age, four infants shifted from a less efficient timing strategy involving the loom’s velocity to the more efficient strategy involving the loom’s time-to-collision. Further, it was found that peak VEP activation in the investigated areas propagated across the cortex, showing the highest observed activation in the occipital area at the age of 5/6 months, whereas the parietal area showed the highest activation when the infants were 12/13 months. The decrease in processing time together with a peak VEP response closer to the loom’s time-to-collision indicate a developmental trend in infants’ prediction of an object’s time-to-collision. This developmental trend is further substantiated by the shift from a less efficient to a more efficient timing strategy and by evidence of propagated peak VEP activation towards higher information processing areas in the visual pathway with age. As infants grow older and become more mobile one of the underlying causes of the developmental trend found in our study could be due to an increase in locomotor experience. More follow-up research is needed to investigate the relation between behavioural development and changes in brain activity associated with infants’ perception of looming motion.

Purpose. During development, the presence of strabismus and anisometropia frequently leads to amblyopia, a visual disorder characterized by interocular acuity differences. Although additional deficits in contrast sensitivity, crowding (the impaired recognition of closely spaced objects), and stereoacuity are common, the relationship between these abilities is unclear. Methods. We measured the covariation between these four abilities in children 4 to 9 years of age (n= 72) with strabismus, anisometropia, or mixed strabismus/ ...

Une séance d'expérimentation collective est menée par un groupe de chercheurs en sciences humaines et sociales de l'UTC sur un système de suppléance perceptive (Tactos). L'expérience s'appelle « Soleil ». Ce document en propose une narration. Il mêle compte-rendu ethnographique, récit en première personne, transcription littérale des échanges, captures d'images, analyses épistémologiques et afterthoughts des acteurs. Il y est question d'attention conjointe, de recherche technologique en SHS, de minimalisme, de perception partagée de l'infini, de micromonde artificiel, de design d'expérience, de technoscience et de constitutivité technique. On y voit les chercheurs théoriser, détricoter les théories, expérimenter, se concentrer, se déconcentrer, converger, diverger, s'aider à comprendre, protester, ne plus rien comprendre, contester le dispositif, tenir bon, hésiter, gesticuler, dessiner, se comprendre avec les mains, et produire une nouvelle question pour de nouveaux dispositifs. Le récit assume l'hétérogénéité. Contrairement à un article scientifique classique, il ne cherche pas à ordonner les multiples modalités et temporalités d'observation et d'interaction sous une synthèse théorique qui gommerait les aspérités, les incohérences, les divergences et les hésitations de la recherche en train de se faire. Mais il ne conclut pas pour autant au pur constat d'hétérogénéité. Au contraire, il montre comment une compréhension et un sens partagé se constituent à travers une praxis collective qui inclut le dispositif expérimental. Ou, comment, en recherche technologique, monter en réflexivité requiert de s'enfoncer dans le monde des fonctionnements techniques.

Two experiments investigated 9-month-old infants’ abilities to recognize the correspondence between an actual three-dimensional (3D) object and its two-dimensional (2D) representation, looking specifically at representations that did not literally depict the actual object: schematic line drawings. In Experiment 1, infants habituated to a line drawing of either a doll or a sheep and were then tested with the actual objects themselves. Infants habituated to the sheep drawing recovered to the unfamiliar but not the familiar object, showing a novelty preference. Infants habituated to the doll drawing, however, recovered to both familiar and unfamiliar objects, failing to show any preference between the two. In Experiment 2, infants habituated to the 3D objects and were then tested with the 2D line drawings. In this case, both groups of infants showed a preference only for the novel displays. Together these findings demonstrate that 9-month-old infants recognize the correspondence between 3D objects and their 2D representations, even when these representations are not literal copies of the objects themselves.