Exam_2_study_guide_-_Google_Docs

Characteristics and States of Arousal of the Newborn

• Average Size:

  • Length: 20 inches

  • Weight: 7.5 pounds

• Features:

  • Large head

  • Round faces

  • Large forehead

  • Big eyes

Early Well-Being

• APGAR:

  • A test to quickly evaluate the physical condition of a newborn

• Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale:

  • Measures responses to stimuli

Reflexes

• Innate Actions:

  • Reflexive responses to specific stimuli

• Adaptive:

  • Disappear on a regular schedule

• Examples include:

  • Grasping

  • Sucking

  • Rooting

States of Arousal

• Crying:

  • Primitive communication method

  • Peaks at 6 weeks

  • Evokes emotional responses in adults

  • Soothing Techniques:

    • Swaddling

    • Touch

Differences in Care Practices

• Associated with different rates of responsiveness

• St. James-Roberts et al. (2006):

  • Identified different states:

    • Active alert

    • Quiet alert

    • Drowsy

    • Sleep

Growth and Influences During Infancy and Toddlerhood

Growth Patterns

• Rapid growth from infancy into toddlerhood

  • Transition from "plump" babies to slimmer toddlers

  • Growth occurs in little spurts

Malnutrition

• Global Impact:

  • 200 million children affected worldwide

  • Types of severe malnutrition:

    • Marasmus:

      • Diet low in all essential nutrients (ages 6-18 months)

    • Kwashiorkor:

      • Diet low in protein

• Effects of Severe Malnutrition:

  • Early theory: Malnutrition leads to brain damage and lower IQ

  • Current understanding: Multiple interacting factors

Feeding in Infancy

• Breastfeeding:

  • Recommended as it provides:

    • Fat-protein balance

    • Nutritional completeness

    • Disease resistance

    • Improved digestibility

    • Healthy physical growth

    • Facilitates transition to solid foods

    • Potentially promotes higher IQ due to Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)

• Transition to Solid Foods:

  • Begins around 6 months

Safety Considerations

• Safe Sleep Practices:

  • SIDS:

    • Leading cause of death from 1 month to 1 year

  • Prevention Strategies:

    • Place baby to sleep on their back

    • Avoid pillows/blankets

    • Ensure open crib space

Brain Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood

Synaptogenesis and Pruning

• Rapid Synaptogenesis:

  • Occurs extensively during infancy

• Pruning:

  • Unused synapses are eliminated

• Brain Structure Maturation:

  • Different rates of maturation among various brain structures

  • Requires environmental stimulation

Brain Development Types

• Experience-Expectant:

  • Brain development relies on experiencing ordinary events early in life

  • Sensitive Periods:

    • Optimal times biologically ready for particular developments

• Experience-Dependent:

  • Growth and refinement continue throughout life based on individual experiences (e.g., learning to write)

Developing Sensory Abilities

Vision

• Vision Development Timeline:

  • Newborn to 3 months: blurry vision

  • Color perception from 3 months

  • Clear vision by 4 months

• Focus changes:

  • 1 month: focus on eyes and chin

  • 2 months: focus on mouth and eyes across face

Hearing

• Auditory Capabilities:

  • Newborns respond to sounds

  • Capable of auditory localization at 10 minutes old

  • Preference for mother’s voice and familiar sounds

Touch

• Most advanced sense at birth

Taste and Smell

• Functional at birth, contribute to sensory development

Roles of Maturation and Context in Motor Development

Motor Skill Development

• Fine Motor Skills:

  • Reaching:

    • 4 months: reaching but no contact

    • 6-8 months: successful contact with toys

  • Grasping:

    • Palmer grasp: 3-4 months

    • Pincer grasp: 9 months

• Walking Development:

  • First steps between 11-15 months

  • Skillful walking takes additional months to refine

• The "Slope Test" (Karen Adolph):

  • Evaluates walking risks and development

Motor Skills and Developmental Directions

• Cephalocaudal Direction:

  • Development proceeds from head to toe

  • Motor skills closer to the head emerge first

• Proximodistal Direction:

  • Skills develop from the center outward

Contextual Influences

• Cultural emphasis can influence timing of motor skill development

Piaget's Cognitive-Developmental Perspective

Overview of Piaget’s Theory

• Child as a Scientist:

  • Children learn actively and are intrinsically motivated

• Schemas:

  • Mental units representing understanding

  • Early schemas are primarily behavioral, evolving into cognitive schemas

Assimilation and Accommodation

• Cognitive Disequilibrium:

  • Occurs when schemas do not match reality

• Examples:

  • Infant learns to drink from a cup (accommodation)

  • Infants sucking on different objects (assimilation)

Evolution of Thinking

• New qualitative ways of thinking emerge with cognitive development

Evaluating Piaget’s Theory

• Critiques highlight underestimation of infants' cognitive capabilities

• Core Knowledge Perspective:

  • Suggests innate knowledge in key areas of human history

Information Processing System in Infants

Information Processing Theory

• Describes the child as a cognitive system with hardware and software components

• Infants habituate to stimuli faster at 6 months than at 3.5 months

Memory Development

• Infantile Amnesia:

  • Early belief: no memory before age 2, but now believed infants can recognize and recall events

• Key Studies:

  • Rovee-Collier's research on infants' memory

Language Development Patterns

Language Acquisition

• Speech Perception:

  • Infants are initially "citizens of the world," perceiving sounds from all languages

  • They become culture-bound specialists in their native languages

Stages of Speech Production

• Cooing:

  • Begins around 2 months

• Babbling:

  • Begins around 6 months, exhibiting properties of native language

First Words and Sentence Formation

• Learning to produce first words and form sentences involve semantic and syntactic developments

Supports for Word Learning

• Child Supports:

  • Gaze following and pointing enhance word learning

• Child-Directed Speech:

  • Associated with quicker processing and increased vocabulary development

Psychosocial Tasks and Attachment

Attachment Development

• Definition:

  • Specific, enduring emotional bonds formed during infancy

• Early Perspectives:

  • Learning theory suggests attachments are formed due to associations with nourishment

• Bowlby’s Theory:

  • Emphasizes the biological basis for attachment and the importance of proximity-seeking behavior for comfort

Measuring Attachment Security

• Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation:

  • Experimental measure of attachment security

  • Observes distress responses and secure base behaviors

Secure Attachment Outcomes

• Associated with positive outcomes:

  • Higher self-esteem

  • Empathy

  • Positive romantic relationships

  • Better academic performance and school involvement

Variations in Attachment

• Attachment styles can vary based on early experiences, responsiveness, and reciprocal interactions.