Module 4 : Infancy

Weight

AT 4 months old, weight typically doubles

at one year , weight has tripled

By age 2, weight has quadrupled

Length

average length at 12 months - 30 inches (76 cm)

average length at 24 months - 33.2 - 35.4 inches

Transient exuberance

Period of prolific dendritic connects ( rapid connections )

Myelination

myelin sheath ( fatty cells ) protect axons speeds neural transmissions

Pruning

unused connection eliminated n favor of much-used connections

the Prefrontal cortex is

Least- developed portion of brain at birth ; substantial growth

reflexes are inborn

some are necessary for survival

• Rooting reflex, breathing, sucking reflex

some signify health, development

• more reflex, stepping reflex, palmar grasp

Motor development is orderly

Follows cephalocaudal ( head -down ) proximodistal ( center - out ) principles

Gross motor skills

Large muscle groups

Fine motor skills

small, coordinated muscles movements

• pinching, grasping

Sensation

interaction with sensory receptors

Perception

interpreting information sensed

sight

( sensory development ) least developed at birth

• newborns see 8-1 inches in front of them

• preference for faces , unsual, interesting, exciting

Hearing

most developed at birth

• in the womb, babies know the sound of mothers voice

Touch/ pain

Physiological reaction indicated sensation of pain - circumcision's

touch - necessary and comforting ( monkey box experiment )

Tase / smell

Ability to distinguish flavors : sweet salty, sour, bitter ( Perfer sweet taste )

used to identify mother’s smell easily

colostrum

“liquid gold “, nutrient- dense, first days of life

Breastmilk has iron , fats protients, for proper development nutrient-dense

Kwashiorkor “displaced child’s diseases ‘

Lack of sufficient nutrition

Marasmus

starvation from lack of calories, protein

Milk anemia

Lack of iron from drinking cow’s milk in place of more nutritive foods

Infant sleep requirements

from 0-2 years, average 12.8 hrs/day

Newborns sleep 12-17 hrs

sudden infant death syndrome

many risks factors , many unknowns. some identified causes

“back to sleep “

• back-sleeping recommended for every sleep

• no soft bedding, blankets, potential hazards is

Co- sleeping

• Benefit of skin to skin contact

• rick of child suffocation, increased risk w/ parental drug /alcohol use

sleep schedules

• Nighttime waking is common

• Many infants sleep 6hrs during night by 6 months

Schemas

mental representation used to understand the world ( scaffolding )

Assimilation

modification of new information to fit into our existing schemas

accommodation

reorganizing what we know to fit new information

Stage 1 ( sensorimotor intelligence)

Reflexes ( birth -6 weeks )

Stage 2 ( sensorimotor intelligence )

Primary circular reactions ( 6 weeks - 4 months )

Stage 3 ( sensoriemotor interlligence )

secondary circular reactions ( 4- 8 mo.)

stage 4 ( sensorimotor intelligence )

Coordination of secondary circuler reactions ( 8 - 12 months )

Stage 5 ( sensorimotor intelligence )

Tertiary circular Reactions ( 12 - 18 months )

Stage 6 ( sensorimotor intelligence )

Mental representation ( 18 -24 months )

Object permanence

Knowledge something exists when out of sight ( understanding - 8 months / mastery - 12 - 24 months )

Paget underestimated infant memory ability

lacking in language to express memory

Experiments ; preferential looking

Infantile amnesia

infants and toddlers from memories , remember them weeks, months later

lacking memory years later

• encoding/retrieval failures

• older children, adults use linguistic retrieval methods

• misalignment between encoding and new memory organization children

Phonemes

basic units of speech , which make morphemes, the smallest meaningful units of speech

• when a child starts vocalizing, they produce all phonemes

• with specialization, only native phonemes are easy to reproduce

Stage 1 ( language development )

reflexive Communication

Stage 2 ( language development)

reflexive communication; interest in others

Stage 3 ( Language development )

international communication

Stage 4 ( language development )

First words

Stage 5 ( language development )

Simple sentence ( two words )

Stage 6 ( language development )

Sentence of three or more words

stage 7 ( language development )

complex sentence ; has conversations

Intentional vocalixations

gurgling, cooing, learn conversational cadences

babbling, gesturing

syllable repetition, gesturing, sign language

• babies understanding more language than they can produce understand

Holophrasic speech

partial words covey thoughts

people close to the child often interpret correctly

Underextending

A word may only be used for one specific think ( ex; “ mommy “ is my mother, so i shout for her in the grocery store when I am lost )

overextension

is more common- generalization

Vocabulary growth spurt / naming explosion

rapid vocabulary expansion

• many new words are nouns; children can name things around them & in the world

Two - word sentences , telegraphic speech

lack complete grammar, yet coveys meaning (like text messages )

child-directed speech

captures children’s attention, articulates sounds

Nativism

( Noam Chomsky) children learn language through exposure, can learn any language

Language Acquisition Device

innate ability to learn language, understand conventions and syntax

Critical periods

during these time learning is most important

Behaviorism

( B.F skinner ) Language is taught through reinforcement

social pragmatics

(Tomasello & Herman ) communication develops from need to communicate, join social world

Kohlberg

Methodology relies on asking questions to determin moral justification

• infants 7 toddlers can’t communicate this with limited vocabulary

• Hamlin & wynn devised experiments to test babies’ morality

Hamlin & wynn experiments : the bottom line

• children refer to prosocial behavior

• prefer others like themselves

• do children have just world beliefs and revenge motives

attraction & withdrawal

Social smiling - appears - 2 months, laughter at 3-5 months

displeasure- frustration is normal, sadness can indicate withdrawal

stranger wariness

appeears ` 6-15 months

indicator of memory - familiar and unfamiliar

Separation anxiety

• shows cognitive development “ where has my caregiver gone ?”

• peaks around 8-10months, declines later w/healthy attachment

emotional regulation

co-regulation ; parents help manage amount of stimuli, soothe and comfort

self - awareness

“ I me, my ,etc” develops around 15 -24 months

understanding of self as an object

differentiation ( Rochat’s stages )

self vs. non-self-awareness ( from birth )

Situation ( Rochat’s stages )

Limitation, reaching for objects away from self ( by 2 months )

Identification ( Rochat’s stages )

self-referential language, pass rogue test ( by 2 years )

Permanence ( Rochat’s stages )

One’s sense of self persists through time & space

self- awareness/meta-self-awareness

third-person perspective

Ainsworth’s strange situation test

tested attachment styles w/ reaction

Secure attachment

( 65% of barbies ) parent serves as secure base of exploration

Insecure- avoidant

toddler reacts to parents like a stranger, unresponsive slow to show positive feelings

Insecure- resistant/ambivalent

clings to parent when they leave, affectionate attempts on caregiver return

• does not explore the new environment

disorganized attachment

• lease secure attachment; often unpredictable parental behvaior, may be from abuse

• child has not learned emotional regulation from this model

Temperment : chess & Thomas - 9 dimensions

• activity level

• Rhythmicity or Regularity

• approach - withdrawal

• adaptability

• Responsiveness

• reaction intensity

• mood quality

• distractibility

• Persistence & attention Span

Easy babies ( based on dimensions )

( 40 %) overall positive disposition

slow - to warm

( 15 %) relatively calm, slow to adapt, withdraw from new situations

Difficult babies

( 10%) negative moods, slow to adapt to new sisituations

Undifferentiated

( 35% ) combination/variety of dispositional factors

Goodness- of -fit model

• children’s adjustment largely depends on how well their environment is suited to meet their needs

• Parenting / communication style matches

Trust vs. Mistrust ( erikson’s stages )

Resolution : learning the world is a safe place

Unresolved : the world is an untrustworthy or dangerous place

Autonomy vs. shame & doubt

Resolution : taking initiative and trying to do things one’s self is desirable

Unresolved : One’s autonomy is thwarted and disgorged. the child learns to doubt their instincts and feel shame at taking initiative