What can babies actually see?
Can young infants recognize shapes and faces? Are
they able to follow moving objects? Do they see colors?
After 20 years of research in the field of infant vision,
Dr. Marshall Haith
has discovered "At birth babies are sensitive to light.
Although their vision is not perfect they see much more than we once thought.
They see shapes, contrasts and are even able to follow moving objects with
their eyes."
By Three Months of Age - Over the first few months of their lives,
babies' vision becomes clearer and their sensitivity to color improves. Soon they
are attracted to faces and patterns, and they are able to track moving
objects with steady eye movements. By two to three months, most infants
are able to anticipate where objects may appear if they are presented in
a systematic manner. By the third month, most babies respond to primary
colors much like an adult.
Throughout Infancy - Most importantly, even newborns enjoy using their
visual and auditory skills. Research proves that babies actually
seek out opportunities to stimulate and use their sensory abilities throughout
infancy.
How EarlyImages Was Developed -
Early Images was developed by
Dr. Marshall Haith
and Dr. Naomi Wentworth,
psychologists at the University of Denver. Dr. Haith has carried out visual
and auditory research with newborn babies throughout the first year of
life for 31 years at UCLA, Yale University, Harvard University, and the
University of Denver. Drawing on three
decades of research in the field, Drs. Haith and Wentworth created a collection
of auditory and visual displays, consisting of 27 vignettes on video cassette -
a panorama of dynamic, colorful, sounding mobiles.
In order to investigate the visual skills of infants, Dr. Haith and his associates studied the eye movements
of babies as they responded to specially designed computer animated images. Infants found these images
so captivating that parents often mentioned their wish to have a similar form of entertainment at home.
Dr. Marshall Haith is a Professor
of Developmental Psychology at the University of Denver and Clinical Professor
at the University of Colorado Medical School, Department of Psychiatry.
A Fellow at the Center for Advanced Behavioral Studies in Stanford, California,
he has also conducted research in infant visual development at Harvard
University, Yale University, U.C.L.A. and the University of Paris.
Dr. Haith has served on the Research Advisory Council for "Sesame Street"
and the "Electric Company".
Dr. Naomi Wentworth is an Associate Professor
of Psychology at Lake Forest College, an adjunct Research Professor at the University of
Illinois, Chicago, and a Research Associate at the University of Denver. She has
conducted research on curiosity in children, infant vision, and the relation
between brain activity and visual cognition in infants at the University of
Connecticut, the University of Illinois and the University of Denver.
To learn more about the Center for Infant Development, see the Center Web page at
http://www.du.edu/psychology/infantcenter/index.html.
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EarlyVision, Inc.
