Motor Development, Learning, and Cognition in Infancy

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts in developmental psychology, focusing on motor development, learning processes, and cognitive abilities in infants.

Stepping reflex

A neonatal reflex where an infant lifts one leg after the other in a coordinated walking pattern.

Affordance

The possibilities for action afforded by objects and situations.

Self locomotion

The ability to move oneself in the environment, typically achieved by 8 months.

Rational learning

The ability to use prior experiences to predict future outcomes.

Reflexes at birth

Involuntary movements evident in newborns that serve critical survival functions.

Breathing reflex

The reflex that starts with prenatal breathing.

Sucking reflex

An involuntary reflex where infants suck when anything is placed in their mouth.

Eyeblink reflex

A reflex where an infant blinks in response to a perceived threat.

Rooting reflex

A reflex where an infant turns its head and tries to suck when its cheek is stroked.

Primitive reflexes

Reflexes that serve no obvious physical need during early human evolution.

Moro reflex

A reflex in which infants extend their arms and legs when they feel like they are falling.

Swimming reflex

A natural reflex in which newborns hold their breath and make swimming movements.

Grasp reflex

A reflex where infants strongly grasp anything that touches their palm.

Tonic reflex

A reflex where infants extend the arm on the side their head is turned towards.

Babinski reflex

A reflex where stroking the bottom of the infant's foot causes the toes to fan out.

Cultural impact on motor milestones

Culture and experience can influence the timing of motor milestones in infants.

Hopi infants

A group that demonstrates unique motor development strategies, such as swaddling.

Roman orphans

Children who experienced significant motor delays due to neglect, but can catch up with intervention.

Gahvora cradle

A concept where children are given opportunities for movement to enhance motor development.

Kipsigis culture

A culture where infants are propped to stimulate early motor development.

Mali infant practices

A culture where crawling is less emphasized, and exercises are believed to aid motor development.

Reaching progression 0-3 months

Infants exhibit pre-reaching movements, clumsy swiping in general vicinity of objects.

Reaching progression 3-4 months

Infants begin successful yet jerky reaching for objects.

Reaching progression 7 months

Infants achieve smooth reaching as they gain stable sitting.

Reaching progression 10 months

Infants show anticipatory reaching based on object interaction intentions.

Self-locomotion at 8 months

Infants gain the ability to move independently around their environment.

Locomotion experiment twin study

A study assessing if locomotion ability is driven by biology or practice.

Dynamic systems theory

The theory that complex behaviors develop through interaction of physical, environmental, and perceptual factors.

Eye-beak coordination in chicks

Study demonstrating that coordination improves over time independent of environmental learning.

Active experience vs passive experience

Active experiences in development lead to better coordination and learning.

Habituation

A decrease in responsiveness to repeated stimulation, typically assessed in infancy.

Classical conditioning

A learning process that pairs a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus.

Unconditioned stimulus

A stimulus that naturally evokes a reflexive response.

Unconditional response

The reflexive response elicited by the unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned stimulus

The previously neutral stimulus that becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned response

The learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Instrumental/Operant conditioning

The learning of the relationship between one's own behavior and its consequences.

Positive reinforcement

A reward that follows a behavior, increasing its likelihood of recurrence.

Dishabituation

The recovery of interest in response to a novel stimulus.

Deferred imitation

The ability to imitate a model's actions sometime after observing them.

Social cognition

Understanding the mental states of others, including thoughts, intentions, and desires.

Theory of Mind (ToM)

The ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others.

False belief task

A task assessing if a child understands that others can hold beliefs that differ from reality.

Pretend play

Activities in which children create new symbolic relations through imaginative scenarios.

Object substitution

Using an object in play as though it is something else (e.g. using a broom as a horse).

Essentialism

The belief that living things have an essence that makes them what they are.

A-not-B task

A task assessing object permanence by testing infants' ability to retrieve hidden objects.

Deferred imitation age range

The ability to imitate actions occurs at 18-24 months.

Cognitive behavioral development

The progress in understanding cognitive processes and emotions develops through interactions.

Individual differences in ToM

Variability in the development of theory of mind based on environmental and social factors.

Egocentrism in children

Children's inability to understand different perspectives or viewpoints.

Perspective-taking tasks

Tasks assessing if a child can recognize that others have different visual perspectives.

Three Mountain Task

A test of egocentrism where children struggle to understand how another person sees the world.

Language development critical period

The timeframe in which exposure to language is crucial for proper language acquisition.

Nicaraguan Sign Language case study

A study illustrating how interaction shapes the development of a new language among deaf children.

Visual acuity

The clarity or sharpness of vision, important for inferential reasoning in infants.

Intermodal perception

The integration of information from different sensory modalities.

Violation of expectancy procedure

A method to study infants' awareness of physical laws by measuring surprise responses.

Collective monologue

Conversations between children that lack mutual comprehension or relevant exchanges.

Pragmatic development

The knowledge of how to use language in social contexts, including sarcasm and irony.

Generative grammar

The ability to form an infinite number of sentences with a finite set of words.

Phonemes

The smallest units of sound in language that can alter meaning.

Syntax

The set of rules for combining words into meaningful sentences.

Morphemes

The smallest units of meaning in a language.

Semantics

The study of meaning in language, including phrases or sentences.

Cultural differences in language

Variations in language use and understanding based on cultural contexts.

Cross-situational word learning

A strategy where children infer word meanings by observing patterns across various contexts.

Telegraphic speech

Short language utterances that convey essential meanings by omitting unnecessary words.

Overregularization errors

Mistakes where irregular words are used as if they were regular (e.g., 'goed' instead of 'went').

Social learning theory

A theory emphasizing learning through observation and imitation of others' behavior.

Cognitive load in learning tasks

The total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory during learning.

Sociocultural theory

A framework proposing that social interactions significantly shape cognitive development.

Pragmatic cues in word learning

The contextual hints that aid children in understanding the meanings of new words.

Shape bias

Children's tendency to generalize new words based on the shape of objects.

Mutual exclusivity bias

The assumption that each object has only one label, leading children to deduce meaning.

Taxonomic constraint

The tendency to extend words to other members of the same category rather than to different categories.

Linguistic context

The surrounding language structure that helps infer the meaning of new words.

Shape bias

The tendency for children to generalize labels based on the shape of an object rather than color.

Language acquisition device (LAD)

Hypothetical tool in the brain that enables humans to acquire language.

Functionalism in language

The focus on how language is used and its purpose within communication.

Pragmatics in context

Understanding language in context that includes tone and body language.

Phonological awareness

The recognition of sounds in a language, crucial for developing reading skills.

Poverty of the stimulus argument

The claim that children cannot learn language solely from the imperfect input they receive.

Naturalistic observation in developmental studies

Observing children in natural contexts to gather data on their behavior and skills.

Cognitive flexibility in learning

The ability to adapt responses based on varying contexts and new information.

Infant-directed speech (IDS)

A special form of speech adults use when talking to infants that is higher in pitch and slower.

Distributional properties of speech

The statistical likelihood of sounds occurring together in a given language.

Conditioned head-turn task

A method for assessing infants' ability to distinguish between different phonemes.

Synaptic pruning

A process where excess neurons and synaptic connections are eliminated to improve efficiency.

Perceptual narrowing

The developmental process where infants become more attuned to the sounds and faces relevant to their environment.

Contextual learning

Learning that takes place within a relevant context, aiding in understanding and retention.

Testing preferences in infants

Research assessing infants' preferences in viewing or interacting with certain stimuli.

Understanding desires in social contexts

The ability to differentiate one's own preferences from those of others.

Active learning behaviors in infants

Behaviors demonstrating engagement with the environment that support cognitive development.

Comparative development strategies

Examining diverse cultural approaches to child-rearing regarding language and motor skills.

Modeling in language development

The process through which children learn language through observation and imitation of spoken phrases.

Engagement in play-based learning

The effectiveness of learning through interactive play activities for cognitive development.

Role of caregivers in language acquisition

The influence that caregiver language patterns and interactions have on children's language development.

Understanding emotions in others

The ability to recognize and interpret emotional expressions in social interactions.

Core knowledge theory

A theory suggesting that humans are born with innate systems for understanding key aspects of the world.