Cephalocaudal pattern: Growth starts at the head and moves downward.
Proximodistal pattern: Growth starts at the center and moves outward to limbs.
Average newborn: 20 inches, 7.6 pounds.
Growth rate: 1 inch per month in the first year.
By 2 years: 26-32 pounds, 32-35 inches.
Growth is episodic, occurring in spurts.
Forebrain: Includes cerebral cortex, responsible for higher thinking.
Four Lobes:
Frontal: Voluntary movement, thinking, personality.
Occipital: Vision.
Temporal: Hearing, language, memory.
Parietal: Spatial location, attention, motor control.
Myelination: Fatty coating on axons that speeds up transmission.
Synaptic connections: "Use it or lose it" principle—unused connections are pruned.
Deprived environments (e.g., Romanian orphanages) can reduce brain activity.
Brain plasticity: The ability to reorganize and recover from damage.
Example: Michael Rehbein, who lost his left hemisphere, but his right hemisphere adapted.
Newborns sleep ~18 hours/day.
Sleep is important for brain plasticity and memory consolidation.
SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome):
Higher risk for low birth weight infants, passive smokers, and bed-sharers.
Protective factors: Sleeping on the back, using a pacifier, and sleeping in a room with a fan.
Infants need 50 calories per pound per day.
Breastfeeding Benefits:
For baby: Fewer infections, lower SIDS risk, lower obesity and diabetes risk.
For mother: Lower breast and ovarian cancer risk, lower type 2 diabetes risk.
Malnutrition: Can lead to cognitive deficits, attention problems, and long-term developmental issues.
Motor development is not passive—infants actively develop motor skills by exploring.
Development depends on:
Nervous system maturation
Body’s physical properties
Motivation and environmental support
Rooting reflex: Infant turns head toward touch on cheek.
Sucking reflex: Automatic sucking when object placed in mouth.
Moro reflex: Startle reflex—flinging out arms and legs.
Grasping reflex: Infant tightly grasps anything in palm.
1st Year Milestones:
2-4 months: Lifts head
4-6 months: Rolls over, supports weight on legs
6-8 months: Sits without support
8-10 months: Crawls
10-12 months: Stands and walks with support
By 2 years: Can walk quickly, run, balance, kick and throw a ball.
Palmer grasp: Grabbing with the whole hand.
Pincer grip: Using thumb and forefinger to grab small objects.
Sensation: Receiving stimuli through eyes, ears, skin, tongue, nose.
Perception: Interpreting what is sensed.
At birth: Poor vision, can't see far.
By 6 months: 20/40 vision.
Infants prefer faces (especially attractive faces).
"Visual Cliff" experiment: Shows that infants can perceive depth.
Hearing: Babies can hear in the womb.
Touch & Pain: Newborns can feel pain.
Smell & Taste: Infants can differentiate odors and prefer sweet tastes.
Ability to combine multiple senses (e.g., matching a voice to a face).
Develops around 6 months.
Nativists: Perception is innate.
Empiricists: Perception is learned through experience.
Modern view: Both nature and nurture shape perception.
Cognitive development occurs in stages; infants actively construct their understanding of the world.
Schemes: Mental structures to organize knowledge.
Behavioral schemes (physical activities in infancy).
Mental schemes (thought-based in later development).
Assimilation: Using existing schemes to understand new information.
Example: A child calls a zebra a "horse" because it fits their horse scheme.
Accommodation: Adjusting schemes for new information.
Example: Learning that zebras and horses are different animals.
Organization: Combining simple schemes into complex ones.
Equilibration: Shifting from one cognitive stage to the next due to disequilibrium (cognitive conflict).
Infants learn through sensory experiences and motor actions.
Simple Reflexes (0-1 month)
Reflexive behaviors dominate (e.g., sucking, grasping).
First Habits & Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months)
Habits: Reflex-based actions occur without stimuli (e.g., sucking thumb for comfort).
Primary Circular Reactions: Repeating actions focused on own body.
Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months)
More object-oriented (e.g., shaking a rattle repeatedly for the sound).
Coordination of Secondary Circular Reactions (8-12 months)
Intentional actions; using multiple schemes together (e.g., pushing a toy aside to grab another).
Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-18 months)
Experimenting to see results (e.g., dropping objects from different heights).
Internalization of Schemes (18-24 months)
Mental representation develops.
Example: A child can remember how to throw a tantrum they saw another child do earlier.
Definition: Understanding that objects exist even when out of sight.
Develops between 8-12 months.
Piaget’s Test: Hiding a toy → Younger infants won’t search for it.
Criticism: Infants develop abilities earlier than Piaget suggested.
A-not-B Error: Babies look for an object in its old hiding place (A) instead of the new one (B).
Core Knowledge Approach: Babies are born with domain-specific innate knowledge (e.g., object permanence may be innate).
Operant Conditioning (Skinner):
Behaviors followed by rewards are repeated.
Example: Kicking moves a mobile → Baby keeps kicking.
Habituation: Decreased response after repeated exposure.
Example: A baby stops looking at a toy they’ve seen too often.
Dishabituation: Renewed interest when a stimulus changes.
Example: A new toy grabs the baby’s attention.
Joint Attention (9-12 months):
Two people focus on the same object/event.
Example: A baby follows an adult’s gaze to a toy.
Implicit Memory: Unconscious recall (e.g., riding a bike).
Explicit Memory: Conscious recall of facts/events (e.g., remembering a trip).
Infantile Amnesia: No recall of experiences before age 3.
Deferred Imitation: Copying behavior hours/days later.
Example: A baby sees another baby clap and does it later.
Concepts: Grouping objects/events mentally.
Perceptual Categorization (3-4 months): Based on appearance.
Example: Grouping birds vs. airplanes by shape.
Conceptual Categorization (later): Based on meaning.
Example: Grouping cats & dogs as "animals" instead of by shape.
Phonology: Sounds of language.
Morphology: Units of meaning (e.g., "ing").
Syntax: Sentence structure.
Semantics: Word meanings.
Pragmatics: Social use of language.
Crying (From birth): Signals distress.
Cooing (2-4 months): Vowel sounds ("ooo," "ahh").
Babbling (4-6 months): Consonant-vowel sounds ("ba-ba," "da-da").
Gestures (7-15 months): Pointing, showing.
First Words (~12 months):
Receptive vocabulary (understanding) > Spoken vocabulary.
Vocabulary spurt (~18 months): Rapid word learning.
Two-Word Utterances (~18-24 months):
Examples: "More milk," "Mama go".
Telegraphic speech: Omitting unnecessary words ("Want cookie").
Overextension: Using one word too broadly (e.g., calling all animals "dog").
Underextension: Using one word too narrowly (e.g., calling only the family’s dog "dog").
Broca’s Area (Left frontal lobe): Speech production.
Wernicke’s Area (Left temporal lobe): Language comprehension.
Chomsky’s Language Acquisition Device (LAD):
Theoretical brain structure enabling language learning.
Higher parental talking → Faster vocabulary growth.
Child-Directed Speech (Infant-Directed Speech):
High-pitched, exaggerated tone that helps infants learn.
Techniques to Improve Language Learning:
Recasting: Correcting a child’s sentence into a proper one.
Expanding: Adding details to a child’s sentence.
Labeling: Naming objects the child is interested in.
Language develops through both biology & experience.
Understand Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage & Object Permanence.
Know the difference between assimilation & accommodation.
Be familiar with learning concepts (operant conditioning, attention, memory, imitation, categorization).
Know the stages of language development & key errors (overextension, underextension).
Understand biological (Broca’s & Wernicke’s areas, LAD) & environmental influences on language.
Emotions: Feelings that reflect pleasantness/unpleasantness of experiences.
Importance: Helps with communication & behavioral organization.
Primary emotions (early-emerging, in humans & animals):
Joy, anger, sadness, fear, disgust.
Self-conscious emotions (require self-awareness):
Jealousy, empathy, embarrassment.
Crying (first form of communication):
Basic cry: Rhythmic, brief silence.
Anger cry: More forceful.
Pain cry: Loud, sudden cry, followed by breath-holding.
Smiling:
Reflexive smile (not due to external stimuli, seen in sleep).
Social smile (response to a face, appears ~2 months).
Fear:
Stranger anxiety (peaks at 6-9 months).
Separation protest (crying when caregiver leaves).
Infants learn to minimize emotional reactions.
Caregivers help regulate emotions (soothing = trust & attachment).
Depressed mothers interact less, making regulation harder for infants.
Definition: Individual differences in emotional & behavioral responses.
Chess & Thomas’ Categories:
Easy child: Positive mood, adapts easily.
Difficult child: Negative, irregular routines, dislikes change.
Slow-to-warm-up child: Low activity, negative, adjusts slowly.
Kagan’s Behavioral Inhibition:
Inhibited children: Shy, subdued, fearful of new situations.
Uninhibited children: Sociable, bold.
Rothbart & Bates' Model:
Extraversion/Surgency: Active, happy, seeks stimulation.
Negative Affectivity: Easily distressed, fearful, sad.
Effortful Control: Self-regulation, ability to focus & shift attention.
Genetics influence temperament, but it changes with experience.
Cultural differences:
Chinese parents value inhibited, shy behavior.
North American parents encourage bold, independent behavior.
Match between child’s temperament & environment = better outcomes.
Trust vs. Mistrust (0-1 year):
If caregivers are responsive & caring, infants develop trust.
If neglected, infants develop mistrust.
Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (1-2 years):
Infants strive for independence.
Overly restrictive parents → shame & doubt instead of confidence.
Self-recognition (mirror test) appears around 18 months.
By 2 years, most toddlers recognize themselves.
Face-to-face play (2-3 months): Babies respond to facial expressions & voices.
By 1 year: Understand social intentions & make appropriate responses.
Social referencing: Infants "read" caregivers’ emotional cues to react properly.
Definition: Emotional bond between infant & caregiver.
Freud: Attachment based on feeding.
Harlow: Contact comfort is more important than food (monkey experiment).
Erikson: Trust develops from consistent care.
(0-2 months): Babies attach to any human.
(2-7 months): Attachment focuses on primary caregiver.
(7-24 months): Specific attachments form.
(2 years+): Infants become aware of others' emotions & goals.
Secure Attachment:
Infant uses caregiver as a secure base.
Upset when parent leaves, happy when they return.
Insecure-Avoidant:
Avoids caregiver, little distress when they leave.
Insecure-Resistant:
Clings to caregiver, resists comfort.
Insecure-Disorganized:
Confused, fearful, mix of avoidance & resistance.
Sensitive caregivers → Securely attached infants.
Neglectful/inconsistent caregivers → Insecure attachment.
Abuse/neglect → Disorganized attachment.
Family system: Interactions between marital relationship, parenting, and child development.
Reciprocal socialization: Parents & children influence each other.
Scaffolding: Parents help infants take turns in interactions.
Mothers: Focus on child care (feeding, bathing, changing diapers).
Fathers: More play-focused interactions.
Fathers can be just as sensitive caregivers as mothers.
Many infants have multiple caregivers.
Parental leave policies vary by country:
Europe: ~16 weeks paid leave.
U.S.: 12 weeks unpaid leave.
High-quality child care: Better cognitive & social skills.
Low-quality child care: Behavioral & developmental issues.
Factors affecting quality: Caregiver-to-child ratio, safety, stimulation.
Monitor child’s development.
Choose quality child care.
Interact & engage at home to supplement child care.
Know key emotional developments (primary vs. self-conscious emotions, stranger anxiety, social smile, crying types).
Understand temperament classifications (Easy, Difficult, Slow-to-Warm-Up, Rothbart’s model).
Recognize Erikson’s stages (Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt).
Memorize Bowlby’s attachment stages & Ainsworth’s attachment styles.
Know how caregiving styles influence attachment.
Understand family roles, reciprocal socialization, & father-mother differences.
Be familiar with child care quality & effects.