Dev. Psych. Chp. 4

Trends in Physical Dev.

expected to change in height/weight per age & ethnicity

• most growth occurs during 1yr

Bottle Feeding Pros/Cons

pros:

• feed less often

• no difficulties in emotional adjustment

• no less cognitive gains

• easier to return to work

cons:

• not as easy to digest

• not quite as well balanced as breastmilk

Breast Feeding Pros

pros:

• correct fat:protein balance

• nutritionally complete

• promotes healthy physical growth

• protects against disease & faulty jaw/tooth dev

• smooths transitions to solids

• MAY be associated w/ longer telomeres & better cog. ability (lang.)

Malnutrition

cognitive deficits & impairments last into adulthood

• nb 1st. nutritional experience is breastmilk/formula

Classical Conditioning

pair US w/ a NS to create a new response

• NS becomes a CS w/ a CR

• ex. feeding & stroking cheek

*U-unconditioned; C-conditioned; S-stimulus; R-reinforcer; N-new

Operant Conditioning

reinforcement & punishment

Brain Dev.

• ALL dev. is influenced by brain dev.

• as brain dev. → gets larger & more complex

Experience-Dependent Growth

results from specific learning experiences

• varies widely

• rushing early learning overwhelms the brain

Norms

the expectation for typical gains & variations in height/weight based on age and ethnic background

• growth occurs in spurts
  
  

Growth Faltering (Failure to Thrive)

• medical/psychosocial underpinnings

• weight below 5th percentile

• delays in cognitions, verbal, & behavior skills

SIDS

unknown biological vulnerabilities & environmental stressor exposure in the critical period (2-5mths)

• leading cause of infant death

Sensation

when senses detect a stimulus

Perception

sense our brain makes of the stimulus & our awareness of it

Habituation

when you get exposed to something you get used to it
*speed correlates w/ neural dev.

Imitation

nb have a primitive ability to learn though copying behavior
*mirror neuron system

Intermodal Perception

• the ability to use 2+ senses at the same time to understand an object/event

• critical to perceptual dev.

  • nb can coordinate auditory & visual stimuli as an integrated whole

  • nb integrate touch & vision very early

Affordances

nature, opportunities, & limits of objects

Reflexes

reacts to stimulus as a way to learn about their world
*through assimilation
*ex. grasping → grasping for parent’s finger

Proximodistal Dev.

trunk to extremities

Gross Motor

control large movements

Fine Motor

control small movements of fingers
*ex. reaching & grasping

Sleep Dev.

nb sleep abt 16-18hrs a day

• promotes physical & cognitive dev.

• ½ of sleep time is in REM

• provides stimulation

• associated w/ memory formation

*2yrs - 13hrs/day

Growth Stunting

reduced growth rate

Marasmus

wasting disease (prolonged starvation & protein deprivation)

Kwashiorkor

protein deficiency causing lethargy, wrinkled skin, & fluid retention

Experience-Expectant Dev.

depends on ordinary experiences “expected” by brain for normal growth

• movement/interaction w/ others

• hearing sounds

• occurs early & naturally

Dishabituation (Recovery)

restoration to full strength of a response that weakened by habituation (detects that the 2nd stimulus is different from the first)
*useful in studying perception

Cephalocaudal Dev.

head to tail