Question

Regarding the visual cliff experiment, even 3-month-olds notice the difference between a solid surface and an apparent cliff. However, one affordance of the cliff, falling, is realized only after:

Answer 1

Answer: c. infants start crawling.

Options: a. adequate depth perception develops.

b. parents teach infants about falling.

c. infants start crawling.

d. maturation of the visual cortex.

Explanation:

The visual cliff is an experiment designed by E.J. Gibson and R.D. Walk. The purpose of the experiment is to determine whether depth perception is learned or innate in infants. The psychologists designed an apparatus that has a transparent surface to protect subjects and a base that gives the impression that they are falling.  Children are then encouraged to make their way towards a caregiver.

The experiment discovered that while depth is perceived as early as 3 months, the fear of falling is learned around the time that children start to crawl and have experienced falling.