Chapter 3: Physical and Cognitive Development Flashcards
infancy
time of changes in the brain and body
basic brain principles
- development unfolds “in its own neurological time”
- can’t teach before relevant part of the brain comes on line
- stimulation sculpts the brain
- brain is still “under construction”
- wider world experiences physically change the brain
infant reflexes
- healthy neurological development, automatic
- some remain after 1 yr.
rooting
if anything touches baby’s cheek, automatic sucking
sucking
all the time
synaptogenesis
- creates connections between neurons at synapses
- occurs as a result of both maturation and experiences
myelination
speeds neural impulses
myelination and synaptogenesis
occur at different rates in specific regions of the brain
pruning
- eliminating unused or unnecessary connections
- allows the brain to be more efficient
Plasticity
malleability of the brain
-damage to the left hemisphere, neurons in the right hemisphere ‘take over’
Breast milk is considered ideal
- Antibodies
- cheap and sterile
- correlated with less colds, flu, gastrointestinal problems, and ear infections, and higher IQ during infancy
How long to breast feed?
- recommended that infants breast feed for at least 6 months.
- more common among well-educated women, however, only 22% make it to 6 mns.
- Why? Work is a major reason
under nutrition
lack of adequate food
stunting
excessively short in stature due to under nutrition
- Africa/Asia
micro-nutrient deficiencies
inadequate levels of nutrients like zinc, iron, vitamin A
SNAP
Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program
- food stamps
WIC
Women, Infants, Children
TANF
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- welfare
Crying
- is communication
- different cries express different needs
colic
- frantic, continual cry caused by immature digestive system
- lasts 3 mns
Swaddling
wrap baby tightly in blanket
Massage
helps sleep and weight gain
Kangaroo care
hold close to body
How long do babies sleep?
- Newborns sleep 18 of 24 hours,
- 1 yr olds about 12 hours a night
Who spends most of the sleep in REM?
Infants spend more time in REM sleep than adults do
REM
Rapid Eye Movement
- deepest sleep where dreams are intense
- brain waves frequencies, virtually identical to the lightest sleep stage
self soothe
- putting themselves back to sleep
- 6 months
co-sleeping
- sharing a bed with the child
- collectivist culture
SIDS
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- Infant dies in sleep during 1st year of life (most often 1-10 months)
- Autopsy shows no explainable cause
- New research suggests abnormalities in the brain stem may play a role (esp. if mom smoked during pregnancy)
Preferential-looking
- Novel items
- Attractive (symmetrical) faces
- Faces, especially their mother’s face
- (They even imitate faces!)
Habituation
infants get “bored” with the same stimulus! (looks away)
Dishabituation
infant becomes interested in a new stimulus
depth perception
“seeing” variations in height
visual cliff
infants perceive depths at 2 months
- fear of heights before leaning to crawl
face perception
making sense of human face
cephalocaudal, proximodistal, and mass-to-specific principles
head up, then sit, then crawl
- Individual variability in timing is expected
Jean Piaget (born 1896)
a pioneer in studying cognitive development in humans
- recent research has both validated and extended Piaget’s ideas about infant’s cognitive abilities
- first stage of cognitive development, characterized by learning through senses and motor actions
Primary circular reactions
repetitive actions with the infant’s own body
Secondary circular reactions
interacting with people and objects
Tertiary circular reactions
child actively experiments with objects (“little scientist ”)
Means-end behavior
performing one activity to get to a goal
- turn doorknob to get outside, turn lightswitch to turn on light, pull a cloth to receive a toy, etc
object permanence
- Infants gradually learn that objects still exist even when they can’t see them!
- A-not-B error: 1 yr olds search in the first place something was hidden
Renee Baillargeon
found that infants understand basic principles of the physical world far earlier
social cognition
Understanding feelings and negotiating interpersonal interactions
Language acquisition device
(LAD) enables (only) humans to learn language.
Social-interactionist View:
both infants and adults desire to communicate
Babbling
repeating certain syllables (e.g., da-da-da)
Holophrase
one word to express a thought (“juice”)
Telegraphic speech
2-3 word sentences
Language explosion
after 2 years old
infant-directed speech
simplified, exaggerated, high pitched tones
