Unit - 3 (MST)

Unit Overview

  • Focus: Infancy development

  • Key Topics:

    • Development of Brain & Cognitive Capacities

    • Motor Development: Reflexes, Gross & Fine Motor Skills

    • Development of Senses: Visual, Auditory, Smell & Taste, Pain & Touch

    • Social-Emotional Development: Temperament, theories by Harlow, Bowlby & Ainsworth

    • Early Language & Communication

Brain & Cognitive Capacities

  • Synaptic Development:

    • Synapses can be strengthened or weakened based on usage.

    • Adheres to the "use it or lose it" maxim.

    • Early pruning influenced by genetics; later by experience.

    • Stimulation leads to permanent synapse growth.

Development of Attention in Children

  • Ages 0-1: Fleeting attention, easily distracted by stimuli.

  • Ages 1-2: Rigid attention, focus on chosen tasks despite distractions.

  • Ages 2-3: Single channel attention, adult assistance needed to shift focus.

  • Ages 3-4: Focusing attention, capable of shifting focus independently.

Memory in Infants

  • Infants can remember associations (e.g., mobile and leg kicking).

  • Memory retrieval can be reactivated by reminders.

  • Older infants tend to retain memories longer.

Infantile Amnesia

  • Definition: Lack of memory for events before age three.

  • Infants do retain memories, but retrieval may be difficult.

  • Language development plays a crucial role in memory recall.

Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage

  • Characteristics: Learning through senses and actions.

  • Key developments include:

    • Object permanence: understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight.

    • Self-recognition: recognizing oneself as separate from others.

    • Deferred imitation and representational play.

Motor Skills Development

  • Gross Motor Skills: Larger movement capabilities.

  • Fine Motor Skills: Smaller, precise movements.

Newborn Reflexes

  • Serve as instinctive reactions to stimuli; vital for survival (e.g., sucking reflex).

  • Reflexes help develop complex motor skills over time.

Sensory Development

  • Hearing: Fully developed at birth; newborns react to sounds and prefer high-pitched voices.

  • Smell & Taste: Strong preference for mother's scent and sweet tastes.

  • Touch: Fully developed but evolves through experience; vital for bonding and learning.