Smartbook 5

  • According to the dynamic systems theory, the action of infants feeding themselves with spoons requires maturation of the nervous system. What specific action of self-spoonfeeding is related to this maturation?

    • The control of the hand moving from the bowl to the mouth

  • Reflexes allow infants to respond adaptively to their environment

  • The purpose of the Moro reflex is believed to be a way of grabbing for support while falling, because it would have had survival value for our primate ancestors.

  • Examples of a gross motor skill: walking, swimming, jumping rope

  • Newborn infants cannot voluntarily control their posture; it is not until they are 6 or 7 months of age that they can sit independently

  • According to the dynamic systems theory, infants develop motor skills through a complex interaction of intrinsic biological factors and environmental influences, enabling them to gradually gain control over their movements and posture.

  • When an infant learns to walk, it promotes change in other aspects of their development

  • Behaviors that are built-in reactions to stimuli that allow infants to respond to their environment before they have learned the behavior are called reflexes

  • The reflex that is demonstrated by newborns arching their backs, throwing back their heads, and flinging out their arms and legs, before rapidly closing their arms and legs, is called the Moro reflex

  • Not all infants follow the standard sequence of motor accomplishments

  • Gross motor skills involve large-muscle activities

  • Mothers in developing countries tend to stimulate their infants’ motor skills more than mothers in developed countries

  • Infants must have postural control as a foundation for gross motor skill development

  • Declines in biological functions after age 30 may include:

    • Cardiovascular functioning

    • Muscle strength

    • Bone density (especially for females)

    • Neural function

    • Balance

    • Flexibility

  • Learning to walk might promote language development in children because it allows them to initiate interaction with parents and other adults

  • Reduced activity levels and increased dependence, identifies as a potential consequences of poor mobility in older adults

  • Any activity that requires finger dexterity would be referred to as a fine motor skill

  • Both Esmeralda and Renzo are 12 months old. What can we expect regarding their motor skill development:

    • They may not follow the same sequence of motor skill accomplishments

  • When infants grip with the whole hand, it is known as the palmar grasp

  • Infants who are massaged and stretched and given opportunities for exercise often reach developmental milestones earlier

  • Tying shoelaces is an example of a fine motor skill

  • After an individual reaches the age of 30, most biological functions begin to decline

  • Fine motor skills may undergo some decline in middle and late adulthood as dexterity decreases

  • Compared to younger adults, older adults tend to move more slowly

  • The eyes, ears, tongue, nostrils, and skin are all considered to be sensory receptors

  • As early as 12 hours after birth, infants spend more time looking at their mother’s face than at a stranger’s face

  • Picking something up with your thumb and forefinger is called a pincer grip

  • The connection between visual acuity and cognitive skills shows that sharper vision was associated with a slower decline in memory

  • In middle to late childhood, increased myelination in the central nervous system results in better coordination in fine motor tasks

  • Color vision in later adulthood may decline because of a yellowing of the lens of the eye

  • Weakness in hands would most impact an older adult’s fine motor skills

  • Surgical removal is a common treatment for cataracts

  • The stomach is the least involved in sensation

  • On the well-known Snellen chart that is used for eye exams, a newborn’s visual acuity is estimated to be 20/240

  • Glaucoma can be treated with eye drops, but if untreated, can result in blindness

  • A yellowing of the lens affects how well an individual perceives color

  • Macular degeneration is a disease that involves deterioration of the focal center of the visual field

  • Cataracts are a condition that involves a thickening of the lens of the eye, which causes vision to become cloudy, opaque, and distorted.

  • From a study conducted:

    • Fetuses can hear

    • Fetuses can learn

  • Outcomes for older adults with dual sensory loss are poor

  • Glaucoma is the medical condition that happens when excess pressure inside the eye causes damage to the optic nerve

  • Infants recognize their mother’s smell within about a week of being born

  • People with macular degeneration may be able to see on the periphery but not what is directly in front of them

  • A fetus can first perceive sound during the last two months of pregnancy (33-34 weeks)

  • Dual sensory loss in vision and hearing has been linked to increased loneliness

  • One of the key debates in developmental psychology as it relates to perceptual development is the longstanding issue of nature versus nurture

  • Newborns prefer smells such as strawberry and vanilla

  • Those who emphasize learning and experience in perceptual development are called empiricists