Child Psychology Ch. 5-7

Infancy: Physical Development,

What are the sequences of physical development?

• Cephalocaudal development

• Proximodistal development

• Differentiation

Cephalocaudal Development

• upper part of the head to the lower parts of the body

Proximodistal development

• Trunk outward - from body’s central axis toward periphery

Differentation

• Tendency of behavior to become more specific

Patterns of growth occur in infancy:

• weight double at about 5 months; triples by 1st b-day

• height increase by 50 % in first year

• Growth appears continuously but actually occurs in spurts

• Infants grow 4-6 inches per year; gain 4-7 lbs

Changes in body proportions:

• Children’s head are proportionately larger than that of adults

• Changes in portion of arms and legs

Failure to Thrive:

• growth impairment during infancy and early childhood

• linked to physical, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional problems

• Marasmus

• Deficiencies in caregiver-child interaction may play a role

What are the Nutritional needs of infants:

• 44% of all U.S. children live below the federal poverty level

• Infants require breast mil or iron fortified formula

• solid foods may be introduced about 4-6 months

Breastfeeding vs Bottle feeding

• Bottle feeding was influenced by:

  • women entering the workforce

  • view of bottle feeding as scientific

  • women’s movement

• Choice to beast feed was influenced by:

  • domestic & occupational arrangements

  • attitudes regarding benefits for bonding

  • community and familial support

  • level of education

What are Neurons?

• receive and transmit messages

• neurons vary according to function and location but cantians:

  • cell body

  • dendrites

  • axon

• Neurotransmitters

Myelin Sheath

• white, fatty insulation

• Makes messages more efficient

Myelination

• occurs with maturation

• relationship to disease

What is the brand?

• neonate weighs les than one pound

• by 1st b-day, brain triples in weight, reaching nearly 70% of adult weight

Structures of the Brian:

• Medulla

• Cerebellum

• Cerebrum

Medulla

• Controls basic body functions - heartbeat, respiration

Cerebellum

• Maintains abalone, control motor behavior, coordinates eye movements with body sensations

Cerebrum

• Allows human learning, thought, memory, language

Growth Spurts of the brain

• Prenatal - during 4th - 5th month

  • proliferation of neurons

• 25th week prenatal through end of second year after brith

  • proliferation of dendrites and axon terminals

At birth, brain areas will myelinated include those dedicated to:

heartbeat & respiration

sleeping and arousal

reflex activity

Motor development

• follow cephalocaudal and proximodistal

  • control of head and upper torso before arms

  • control of trunk and shoulders before hands and fingers

Lifting and holding the torso and head

• neonates can move heads slightly to the side

• must support the head of the infant when lifted or moved to prevent neck injuries

Control of the hands

• newborns track object with eyes but do not reach them

• grasp reflex: do not release intentionally

• voluntary grasping

• visual - motor coordination

Locomotion

• moving from one place to another

• sequence with variation in ages of initiation

  • cool over, sit, crawl, etc.

• Muscle strength, density of bones, balance, and coordination improve

How do Nature and Nature interact to affect motor development?

• Maturation (nature)

• Experience (nurture)

• Reaction range

Maturation

• Myelination and differentiation is needed for certain voluntary motor activities

Experience

• Experimentation to achieve milestones

• slight effect in training to accelerate motor skills

Reaction range

• Limits for the expression of inherited traits

Development of vision:

• visual acuity or sharpness

• Peripheral vision

• visual preferences

• depth perception

• perceptual constancies

Development of visual acuity and Peripheral vision

• neonates are nearsighted

• Neonates have poor peripheral vision

Visual Presences

• Neonates look at stripes longer than blobs

• Infants prefer faces

• Attention is captured by movement and sharp contrasts in brightness and shape

Development of depth perception

• develops around 6 to 8 months

Perceptual constancy

• perception of object remains stable although sensation may differ under various conditions

Size constancy

• perception of object remains stable although sensations may differ under various conditions

Shape constancy

• perception of object’s shape remains stable although shape on retina may change

Development of hearing

• Neonates can orient toward direct of a sound

• by 1 month, infants perceive differences between similar speech sounds

• 3.5 month, they can discriminate caregivers voices

• infants perceive most speech sounds present in world languages

Development of coordination of the senses

• infants recognize that objects experienced by one sense are the same as those experienced by another

Perceptual development

• infants perceive in mechanical or passive manner

• over time perception becomes more active

Roles of nature and nurture in perceptual development:

• evidence for nature

  • inborn sensory capabilities are critical to perceptual development

  • changes linked to maturation or nervous system

• evidence for nurture

  • critical periods

• Nature and nurture interact to shape perceptual development