EDUCATION (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Like adults, infants prefer to pay attention to new and interesting things. If left in the same environment, over time they become accustomed to their surroundings and pay less attention to them. This process is called habituation. However, the moment something new happens, infants are ready to pay attention again.

Detailed explanation-2: -For example, an infant may gaze upon a visual stimulus that has been presented to him for 1 minute. After habituation to that stimulus, the observer will determine the amount of time the infant spends in looking at a new stimulus.

Detailed explanation-3: -Fantz developed an innovative approach to the evaluation of perception in infants based on the principle of visual selectivity (Fantz, 1956). He surmised that if the infant looked longer at one stimulus than another, they must be able to perceive a difference between the two.

Detailed explanation-4: -Habituation refers to the decreased responsiveness toward a stimulus after it has been presented numerous times in succession. Organisms, including infants, tend to be more interested in things the first few times they experience them and become less interested in them with more frequent exposure.