2. infancy Flashcards
define infancy from a developmental prosition
a period of rapid growth and development ain a range of areas
- physical
- perceptual
- cognitive
- language
- social and emotional
infant motor development - newborn reflexes
what are they
relfexes are unlearned, involuntary responses to stimuli
survival reflexes are adaptive
- breathing, blinking, sucking
Primitive reflexes are less adaptive and typically disapear in early infancy
- babinski reflex, grasping reflex
infant motor development
follows two trends…
cephalocaudal
proximodistal
gross motor skills are defined as
movement of large muscles of arms, legs and torso
fine motor skills are defined as
movement o fsmall muscles such as fingers and toess
how do we assess infant pereption abilities?
habituation
- the process of learning to be bored with a stimulus
> infant becomes bored and looks away after repeated presentation of same visual stimuli
if different stimulus is presented and the infant regains interest, researches conclude that the infant has discriminated between two stimuli
- can be used to test for discrimination of stimuli by all the senses
how do we assess infant perception abilities?
evoked potentials
researchers can assess how an infant’s brain responds to stimulation by measuring its electrical conductivity
how do we assess infant perception abilities?
operant conditioning
infants learn to respond (to a stimulus to suck faster or slower or to turn head) if they are reinforced for the response
infant vision perception
At birth
have vision but lack acuity
- can see more clearly at about 20-25 cm
- objects at 6 m are distinct as objects at 180m for adults
- improves steadily during infancy
infant’s visual preferences:
attracted to patterns that have light-dark transitions or contour
attracted to displays that are dynamic rather than static
young infants prefer whatever they can see well
2-3 months - breakthrough begins to occurs in perception of forms
infant perception - vision
depth perception
visual cliff study
intants can perceive the cliff by 2 months
- tend to be curious not fearful
basic hearing capacities present at birth
hear better than can see
can localise sound
can be startled by loud noise
can turn towards soft sounds
prefer relaticely complex auditory stimulu
can discriminate among sounds that differ in loudness duraiton direction and pitch
infant psychosocial decelopment
emotions
earliest emotion - crying
- hunger, anger, ain, fussiness
other emotions -
- joy and laughter (3-4m)
- wariness (3-4m)
- surprise (4m)
- fear (8m)
- more complex emotions in toddlerhood
infant psychosical development
self
infants develop an implicit sense of self though their perception of their bodies and actions
2-3 months - infants discover they can cause things to happen
6months
- realise they and other people are separate beings wiht different perspectives that can be shared
18months
- recognise themselves visually as distinct individuals
infant psychosocial decelopment
attachment
strong and enduring emotional bond developed between infant and caregiver
characterised by reciprocal affection and a shared desire to maintain physical and emotional closeness
