Infant Cognitive Development

Vocabulary terms and developmental stages related to infant cognitive and sensory development, predominantly based on Piagetian theory.

Visual Acuity at Birth

Visual acuity is $20/600$ at birth but improves rapidly as the infant matures and the brain reacts to changes.

Binocular fixation

A visual ability that infants lack at birth, which involves both eyes focusing on a single point.

Visual accommodation

The ability to focus, which is poor at birth as the brain reacts slowly to changes in distance.

Newborn Focal Point

The specific distance at which newborns focus best, which is $7\text{-}10"$.

Motherese

A specific speech pattern infants prefer, also known as Parentese or child directed speech.

Jean Piaget

A Swiss Biologist known as the 'Father of Cognitive Development' who focused on the process of learning rather than the quantity.

Schemes (or Structures)

Internal structures of the mind and patterns of behaviour used to better represent and deal with objects in the external world.

Adaptation

According to Piaget, the process through which children learn, consisting of two parts: assimilation and accommodation.

Assimilation

The process of taking new information and fitting it into concepts one already has, such as identifying a dog as a cat.

Accommodation

The process of changing one's concepts to fit new information that does not match existing ideas.

Sensorimotor Stage

Piaget's first stage of cognitive development where infants 'think' using their senses and circular reactions.

Circular reactions

The basis for building schemes in the sensorimotor stage, centered in the infant's body.

Stage 1: Reflexes

Occurs from birth to $1 \text{ month}$; newborns rely on automatic responses to stimuli, such as sucking.

Stage 2: Primary circular reactions

Occurs from roughly $1 \text{ to } 4 \text{ months}$; infants use their own bodies to accidentally produce and then voluntarily recreate a pleasing event.

Stage 3: Secondary circular reactions

Occurs from roughly $4 \text{ to } 8 \text{ months}$; involves an action-event-action cycle where the infant interacts with objects in the environment.

Stage 4: Coordination of secondary circular reactions

Occurs from roughly $8 \text{ to } 12 \text{ months}$; marks the onset of deliberate, intentional behavior where the 'means' and 'end' of activities become distinct.

Stage 5: Tertiary circular reactions

Occurs from roughly $12 \text{ to } 18 \text{ months}$; the child acts as an active experimenter, deliberately shaking or dropping objects to see the results.

Stage 6: Invention of new means through mental combinations

Occurs from roughly $18 \text{ to } 24 \text{ months}$; the stage where simple problems can be solved mentally and children engage in pretend play.

Object Permanence

A cognitive milestone where an infant understands that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible.

A-not-B error

An error associated with the developmental sequence of object permanence, typically appearing as the child searches for hidden objects.