We have data on newborns’ visual perception (contrast sensitivity and spatial resolution) and many have theorized that they can only see moving images. However, there has never been a study done on what a newborn baby can actually see. By combining technology, mathematics, and prior knowledge of this population’s visual perception, a group of researchers has finally managed to show an adult audience how much of their environment a newborn can actually see.
They tell us that a 2 to 3 day old baby can perceive faces, and perhaps also facial expressions of emotions, at a distance of 30 centimeters (which corresponds to the distance between a mother and her breastfed baby). If the distance is extended to 60 centimeters, the visual image is blurred and the baby is no longer able to perceive faces and expressions.
Previously, when researchers tried to estimate exactly what a newborn baby sees, they had invariably used still photos. But the real world is dynamic. “Our idea was to use moving images,” explains Svein Magnussen, one of the authors of the research. The study has increased our knowledge of visual perception in infants, and also helps explain why many have claimed that newborns can imitate facial expressions. of the adult long before their vision is sufficiently developed to perceive details in the environment.
To carry out the test, the researchers had to combine modern simulation techniques with previous perceptions about how infants’ vision works. We have a lot of information about contrast sensitivity and spatial resolution in young children from behavioral studies that mostly took place in the 1980s. At that time, it was discovered that presenting the child with a figure on a uniformly gray background caused the child to direct his gaze to the figure.
A 2 to 3 day old baby can perceive faces and perhaps also facial expressions of emotions
Figures made of black and white stripes were used. By choosing a certain width and frequency of stripes, the field would appear uniformly gray and the child would not look there. By changing the width and frequency to form figures, it was possible to determine the exact level of contrast and spatial resolution necessary to make the infant direct his gaze toward the figure,” Magnussen explained.
In other words, the researchers had access to very accurate information about newborn vision. What they did not know were the practical consequences of this information. For example, does this mean that a newborn baby can see the expression on the face of an adult who approaches the baby?
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It’s easier to recognize something that moves than a blurry photo that doesn’t. The researchers recorded videos of faces changing between many emotional expressions and then filtered out information that we know is not available for newborn infants. They then let adult participants watch the videos. The idea behind this was that if an adult could not identify a facial expression, it is safe to assume that a newborn will not be able to do so either.
reaches its limit at a distance of approximately 30 centimeters
Adult participants were able to correctly identify facial expressions in 3 of 4 cases presented at a distance of 30 centimeters. When the distance was increased to 120 centimeters, the proportion of participants correct was what one would expect from random responses. This means that the ability to identify facial expressions based on the visual information available to a newborn reaches its limit at a distance of approximately 30 centimeters.
According to Magnussen, we must remember that the results point to what a baby can see, but in no way do they refer to what he can understand from what he sees. He and his colleagues are involved in different fields of research now, so they have considered this study and his discoveries as a basis for others to continue researching the topic.
So if you were looking for a research topic, now you know!
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