Psychology - Infancy and Childhood

Infancy and Childhood

The stage from birth through adolescence marked by rapid physical, cognitive, and social growth that forms the foundation for later development.

Brain Development

The prenatal brain grows explosively; the frontal lobes develop most rapidly from ages 3-6, continuing into adolescence and adulthood.

Synaptic Pruning

The brain's process of eliminating unused neural connections to make networks more efficient and specialized.

Critical Period

A specific window of time when certain skills (like language or vision) must develop; learning them later becomes much harder.

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to reorganize and form new neural connections throughout life, especially strong during childhood.

Motor Development

The universal, biologically driven sequence of motor skills such as rolling, sitting, crawling, and walking; timing may vary by culture.

Genetic Influences on Development

Genes guide overall development, setting the timetable for physical and cognitive milestones.

Cultural Influences on Development

Cultural values and practices shape how children express skills, interact socially, and learn through play or daily life.

Brain Maturation and Infant Memory

Rapid neuron growth early in life disrupts old memory circuits, causing infantile amnesia; memory improves as brain regions mature.

Infantile Amnesia

The inability to consciously recall experiences before age 3-4 due to immaturity in the hippocampus and frontal lobes.

Piaget's Core Idea

Children actively construct knowledge by interacting with the environment; cognitive development occurs through stages.

Schema

A mental framework that organizes and interprets information, helping us make sense of the world.

Assimilation

The process of interpreting new experiences based on existing schemas (e.g., calling a cat a "dog").

Accommodation

The process of modifying existing schemas or creating new ones when new information doesn't fit current understanding.

Sensorimotor Stage (Birth-2 years)

Stage where infants learn through sensory experience and motor actions; develop object permanence and symbolic thought.

Object Permanence

Understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible.

Baby Physics and Math

Studies by Baillargeon and Wynn showing that infants have early understanding of physical laws and simple number concepts.

Preoperational Stage (Ages 2-7)

Children represent things with words and images but lack logical reasoning; thinking is intuitive and egocentric.

Conservation

The understanding that quantity stays the same even when the shape or appearance changes.

Egocentrism

Preoperational children's difficulty seeing things from another person's perspective.

Theory of Mind

The ability to infer others' thoughts, feelings, and intentions; develops gradually during early childhood.

Concrete Operational Stage (Ages 7-11)

Children gain the ability to think logically about concrete events and understand conservation and mathematical transformations.

Formal Operational Stage (Ages 12+)

Stage of abstract and hypothetical reasoning; adolescents can imagine possibilities and think logically about concepts.

Piaget's Contributions

Identified key stages of cognitive development and inspired major research on how children think and learn.

Piaget's Criticisms

Development is more continuous than Piaget proposed; some abilities appear earlier than he suggested.

Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

Emphasized social interaction and culture as key influences on learning; children develop through guided participation.

Scaffolding

Temporary support given by parents or teachers that helps a child achieve higher understanding; gradually removed as competence increases.

Language and Thought

Language provides the tools for thinking; using words helps children organize and control their thoughts.

Social Development in Infancy

Begins with preference for familiar faces and voices; emotional connections form early and shape later relationships.

Stranger Anxiety

Fear of unfamiliar people that appears around 8 months, when object permanence develops.

Attachment

An emotional bond between an infant and caregiver characterized by seeking closeness and distress upon separation.

Harlow's Monkey Experiment

Showed that comfort and body contact are more important for attachment than feeding; monkeys preferred soft cloth mothers.

Secure Base

A caregiver who provides safety and comfort, allowing a child to explore the world with confidence.

Imprinting

An instinctive process in some animals where attachment forms during a critical period; humans attach more gradually.

Ainsworth's Strange Situation

A research method to study attachment types by observing infants' responses to caregiver separation and reunion.

Secure Attachment

Infants who explore when the caregiver is present, show distress when they leave, and seek comfort when they return.

Insecure Attachment

Includes avoidant (indifferent) and anxious (clingy or upset) attachment styles; often linked to inconsistent caregiving.

Temperament

A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity; evident from birth and influences attachment style.

Difficult vs. Easy Temperament

"Easy" babies are calm and predictable; "difficult" babies are more irritable and intense, affecting parent-child interactions.

Attachment and Later Relationships

Early secure attachment predicts healthier, more trusting relationships later in life.

Implications for Parents and Teachers

Children are active learners; cognitive immaturity is adaptive; teaching should match developmental stages.

Peak anxiety from parent separation

happens around 18 months when schemas for familiar faces develop

attachment

emotional tie to another; characterized by seeking closeness and separation distress

origins of attachment

body contact - soft, warm touching or arousing; secure base provision

familiarity - formed during critical period; imprinting in animals

love and attachment styles

secure, anxious (pursuer), avoidant (withdrawer), fearful (disorganized)

fearful attachment

negative/insecure view of self; seeks & avoids closeness; fluctuates between expressive & distant