Although newborn infants can be very difficult to study, researchers have learned a lot about how they perceive the world soon after birth. Describe some of what is known about newborns' ability to hear, see, and smell

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: A good answer will include the following key points.
? Hearing—Studies indicate that newborns actively listen. More impressively, these studies also show that infants have a preference for stories read to them while still in the womb, indicating that infants can hear and process sounds while still in the womb.
? Vision—Vision is not as highly developed as the other senses at birth. Psychologists have determined that infants can see objects up to only 12 to 15 inches away at birth. Color vision does not appear to develop until around 2 months of age.
? Smell—newborns cringe when smelling something rotten or pungent, such as ammonia, and they show a strong preference for the smell of sweets. Newborn infants can also discriminate the odor of their own mother's breast milk from the breast milk of a stranger. Infants even turn their heads toward the scent of breast milk.