A developmental psychologist is showing a four-month-old infant a series of drawings.Each drawing shows a series of heavy black dots arranged in the shape of a square.After seeing a series of such pictures,the infant looks for shorter and shorter periods of time until she is barely glancing at each new version of the black dots in a square.Suddenly the researcher presents a new drawing of heavy black dots in the shape of a circle,and the baby shows renewed interest by gazing for a longer period of time.What is illustrated by this research project?
A)The baby's response was an example of discriminatory social referencing.
B)The baby became habituated to the pattern of the dots in the shape of a square.
C)The baby demonstrated dislike of the square pattern of black dots.
D)The baby was illustrating intersensory integration.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This research project illustrates the concept of habituation, which is when a person becomes less interested or responsive to a repeated stimulus. The baby's decreasing interest in the series of drawings of black dots arranged in a square suggests that she became habituated to this pattern. However, when presented with a new drawing of black dots in the shape of a circle, the baby showed renewed interest, which indicates that the novelty of the new pattern caught her attention. This is a commonly used method in developmental psychology to study infant perception and cognition.

A Developmental Psychologist Is Showing a Four-Month-Old Infant a Series