Motor, Sensory, and Perceptual Development  Motor Development  Sensory and Perceptual Development  Perceptual-Motor Coupling

Dynamic Systems View Seeks to explain how motor behaviors are assembled for perceiving and acting. Motivation leads to new motor behavior; a convergence of: Nervous system development Body’s physical properties Child’s motivation to reach goal Environmental support for the skill Motor Development

Reflexes Built-in reactions to stimuli: Govern newborn’s movements Genetically carried survival mechanisms Allow adaptation to environment Provides opportunity to learn Some disappear (e.g.: grasping), some last throughout life (e.g.: coughing) Motor Development

Reflexes Motor Development Moro reflex Rooting reflex Sucking reflex Startle response in reaction to sudden, intense noise or movement Reaction when infant’s cheek is stroked or side of mouth touched Automatic sucking object placed in newborn’s mouth Grasping reflex Occurs when something touches infant’s palms; infant response is to grasp tightly

Gross Motor Skills Motor skills that involve large-muscle activities (milestones achieved) Infancy Development of posture Locomotion and crawling Learning to walk Help of caregivers important; cultural variation exists More skilled and mobile in second year Motor Development

Milestones in Gross Motor Development

Gross Motor Skills Childhood Improved walking, running, jumping, climbing, learn organized sports’ skills Positive and negative sport outcomes Movement smoother with age Adolescence - Skills continue to improve Adulthood Peak performance of most sports before 30 Biological functions decline with age Motor Development

Guidelines for Parents and Coaches of Children in Sports Motor Development The Don’ts –Yell or scream at child –Continue condemning –Point out errors in front of others –Expect instant learning –Expect child to be pro –Make fun of child –Compare child to other –Make sports all work The Dos –make sports fun –mistakes are okay –Allow questions, show calm manner –Respect child’s participation –Be positive role model –Be supportive

Motor Development Movement and Aging

Fine Motor Skills Involves more finely tuned movements, such as finger dexterity. Infancy: Reaching and grasping Size and shape of object matters Experience affects perceptions and vision Early Childhood: Pick up small objects Some difficulty building towers Age 5: hand, arm, fingers move together Motor Development

Fine Motor Skills Childhood and adolescence: Writing and drawing skills emerge, improve Steadier at age 7; more precise movements By 10-12, can do quality crafts, master difficult piece on musical instrument Adulthood: Speed may decline in middle and late adulthood, but most use compensation strategies Older adults can still learn new motor tasks Motor Development

Handedness Genetic inheritance proposed, unproven Preference of using one hand over other Right-handedness dominant in all cultures Right hand preference in thumb-sucking begins in the womb Head-turning preference in newborns Preference later leads to handedness Motor Development

Handedness, the Brain, and Cognitive Abilities 95% of right-handed primarily process speech in left hemisphere. Left handed: Are more likely to have reading problems Show more variation Have better spatial skills More common among mathematicians, musicians, artists, and architects Motor Development

What Are Sensation and Perception? Sensation: Occurs when information contacts sensory receptors. Perception: Interpretation of sensation. Sensory and Perceptual Development

The Ecological View People directly perceive information in the world around them: Perception brings people in contact with the environment to interact with it and adapt to it All objects have affordances; opportunities for interaction offered by objects necessary to perform activities Sensory and Perceptual Development

Studying Infant Perception Visual preference method: To determine if infants can distinguish between various stimuli. Habituation and Dishabituation: Habituation — decreased responsiveness to stimulus Dishabituation — recovery of habituated response Tracking — moving eyes and/or head to follow moving objects Videotape equipment, high-speed computers Sensory and Perceptual Development

Infants’ Visual Perception Sensory and Perceptual Development Visual Acuity Color Perceiving Patterns Depth Perception Visual Expectations 20/600 at birth, near adult levels by 1 year Sees some colors by 2 months, has preferences by 4 months Prefer patterns at birth; face scanning improves by 2 months Developed by 7-8 months Begins by 4 months; all know visual cliff by 6-to-12 months

Perceptual Constancy Sensory and Perceptual Development Size constancy Recognition that object remains the same even though the retinal image changes Shape constancy Recognition that object remains the same even though its orientation changes

Vision in Childhood Improved color detection, visual expectations, controlling eye movements (for reading). Preschoolers may be farsighted. Signs of vision problems: Rubbing eyes, blinking, squinting. Irritability at games requiring distance vision. Closing one eye, tilting head to see, thrusting head forward to see. Sensory and Perceptual Development

Aging Vision In Adulthood Loss of Accommodation — presbyopia Decreased blood supply to eye — smaller visual field, increased blind spot Slower dark adaptation, decline in motion sensitivity Declining color vision: greens, blues, vi Declining depth perception — problems with steps or curbs Sensory and Perceptual Development

Glare Vision and Aging Sensory and Perceptual Development

Diseases of the Eye Cataracts — thickening eye lens that causes vision to become cloudy, opaque, distorted Glaucoma — damage to optic nerve because of pressure created by buildup of fluid in eye Macular degeneration — involves deterioration of retina Sensory and Perceptual Development

Hearing Sensory and Perceptual Development Prenatal Can hear before birth Infancy Improve sensitivity to soft sounds, pitches Ability to localize Childhood Hearing usually fine Danger of otitis media Adolescence Most have excellent hearing Danger from loud music Adulthood Few changes until middle adulthood Hearing impairment increases with age

Hearing Sensory and Perceptual Development Fetus hears in last 2 months of pregnancy Newborns – cannot hear soft sounds well – display auditory preferences – sensitive to human speech Infants less sensitive to sound pitch Most children’s hearing is inadequate Otitis Media: middle ear infection

Hearing Sensory and Perceptual Development Adolescence – Most have excellent hearing; loud sounds poses risks Adulthood – Decline begins about age 40 – Males lose sensitivity to high-pitched sounds sooner than females – Gender differences may be due to occupation – Treatment includes hearing aids

Other Senses Sensory and Perceptual Development SenseInfantsOlder Adults Touch and Pain Smell Taste Newborns feel pain; by 6 mos., can coordinate vision and touch Can differentiate odors at birth; shows some preferences May prefer sweet tastes before birth; likes salty at 4 months Less sensitive to pain and touch in lower extremities Loss of some sense of smell around age 60 Decline in taste of begins in 60s

Intermodal Perception Ability to relate and integrate information about two or more sensory modalities, such as vision and hearing. Exists in newborns; sharpens with experience in first year. Sensory and Perceptual Development

Perceptual-Motor Coupling Explores how people assemble motor behaviors for perceiving and acting Controversial for some researchers Babies coordinate movements with perceptual information to maintain balance, reach for objects, etc. Driving a car is coupling; declines in late adulthood Sensory and Perceptual Development