Despite vision being a newborn's least developed sense, infants demonstrate an innate preference for looking at human faces. This tendency is observable from just a few days after birth and is important for early social bonding.

Newborn Vision: Preference for Faces

Newborns show a distinct preference for human voices over non-speech sounds. Research indicates they will listen to voices for longer durations and have a specific preference for their mother's voice over that of a stranger.

Newborn Hearing: Preference for Human Voices

Newborns have a well-developed sense of smell that enables them to distinguish their own mother's unique scent from that of other people. This olfactory recognition is evident as early as one week after birth.

Newborn Smell: Recognition of Mother's Scent

A newborn's primary senses for interacting with the world include vision, hearing, and smell. These senses are at different stages of maturity at birth. For example, vision is considered the least developed sense, while hearing and smell are strong enough to show distinct preferences.

Google

While their senses are not yet fully mature, newborns possess significant sensory abilities that allow them to perceive their environment. These innate preferences, such as favoring human faces and voices, play a key role in facilitating interaction with caregivers and other people.

Newborn Sensory Abilities

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Classification of Newborn Senses by Development

A newborn infant, only hours old, is observed to turn their head and gaze longer at a drawing of a human face than at a drawing with scrambled facial features. Which of the following best analyzes the primary significance of this innate preference?

Based on the provided scenario, explain which of the infant's sensory abilities are being demonstrated and why this response is significant for their development.

Learn Before

Related

Learn After