Which study suggested that depth perception also develops with experience, as some early crawlers would cross the glass?

Which study suggested that depth perception also develops with experience, as some early crawlers would cross the glass?

• A. Visual Cliff Study 1980 Rader et al
• B. Visual Cliff Study Gibson and Walk (1960) Experiment
• C. Newborn Infants' Preference for Attractive Faces
• D. Halo Effect

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that depth perception can be shaped by experience. The Visual Cliff setup is designed to test whether infants can tell that one side is a drop-off and avoid crossing onto it, which would indicate depth perception functioning. While the classic Visual Cliff work by Gibson and Walk suggested that many infants show depth perception early, later research explored how experience with movement influences how strongly they rely on depth cues. In the Visual Cliff study from 1980 by Rader and colleagues, researchers observed that some babies who were just beginning to crawl would actually cross onto the “deep” side. This finding points to depth perception not being fixed at birth, but rather developing and becoming more refined as infants gain locomotor experience. In other words, as babies practice moving around, their perceptual system learns to interpret depth cues more reliably, leading to changes in how they respond to the cliff. The other options don’t fit this idea as well. A study focusing on newborn facial preferences is about social perceptual biases rather than depth perception. The Halo Effect is a cognitive bias about overall impressions, not perceptual development in infancy. The Gibson and Walk (1960) experiment is foundational for showing that depth perception is evident in infancy, but it doesn’t explicitly emphasize the experience-driven development highlighted by the later study.

The main idea here is that depth perception can be shaped by experience. The Visual Cliff setup is designed to test whether infants can tell that one side is a drop-off and avoid crossing onto it, which would indicate depth perception functioning. While the classic Visual Cliff work by Gibson and Walk suggested that many infants show depth perception early, later research explored how experience with movement influences how strongly they rely on depth cues.

In the Visual Cliff study from 1980 by Rader and colleagues, researchers observed that some babies who were just beginning to crawl would actually cross onto the “deep” side. This finding points to depth perception not being fixed at birth, but rather developing and becoming more refined as infants gain locomotor experience. In other words, as babies practice moving around, their perceptual system learns to interpret depth cues more reliably, leading to changes in how they respond to the cliff.

The other options don’t fit this idea as well. A study focusing on newborn facial preferences is about social perceptual biases rather than depth perception. The Halo Effect is a cognitive bias about overall impressions, not perceptual development in infancy. The Gibson and Walk (1960) experiment is foundational for showing that depth perception is evident in infancy, but it doesn’t explicitly emphasize the experience-driven development highlighted by the later study.