Certificate In Psychology (CPSY) Practice Exam

Which of the following is NOT one of a young infant's sensory capacities?

1. a fully developed visual acuity

2. the ability to distinguish among phonemes

3. slightly blurred vision

4. the ability to differentiate tastes

The correct answer is: a fully developed visual acuity

A young infant's visual acuity is not fully developed at birth. While infants can see and respond to light, their vision is quite blurry, and they struggle to focus on distant objects. Their ability to see fine detail improves over the following months. In contrast, infants exhibit quite advanced capabilities in other sensory areas. They can differentiate among phonemes—sounds that make up language—right from birth, demonstrating their ability to tune into the linguistic sounds of their environment. Infants also have the capacity to differentiate tastes shortly after birth, showing preferences for sweet tastes over bitter or sour. Although their vision is not yet sharp, they can perceive shapes and movement, but this capacity comes with some limitations, such as slightly blurred vision at distances greater than about 20 to 30 centimeters.