Chapter 3- Physical Development in infancy

Question 1

What is the cephalocaudal pattern?

Answer 1

developmental sequence in which the earliest growth always starts at the head; basically growth works from top to bottom (its why babies have such big heads)

Question 2

What is the proximodistal pattern?

Answer 2

sequence in which growth starts at the center of the body and moved toward extremities

ex. infants can control their arms before their hands, and their hands before their fingers

Question 3

What is the average length and height of a newborn in North America?

Answer 3

20 inches long, 7 1/2 lbs

Question 4

What part of the brain on the diagram is colored in light blue? What are some of it’s functions?

Answer 4

Frontal lobe, functions include planning, short-term memory, logic, intelligence, personality

Question 5

What part of the brain on the diagram is colored in purple? What are some of it’s functions?

Answer 5

Parietal lobe, functions include spacial sense, touch, recognition

Question 6

What part of the brain on the diagram is colored in green? What are some of it’s functions?

Answer 6

Occpital lobe, functions include visual input, perception of space and motion

Question 7

What part of the brain on the diagram is colored in orange? What are some of it’s functions?

Answer 7

Temporal lobe, functions include sensory input, understanding language, long-term memory, new memories, hearing

Question 8

What part of the brain on the diagram is colored in dark blue? What are some of it’s functions?

Answer 8

Brain stem, functions include sleeping, breathing, regulation of heart beat, connecting brain and spinal cord

Question 9

What part of the brain on the diagram is colored in red? What are some of it’s functions?

Answer 9

Cerebellum, functions include fine motor control, fear, pleasure

Question 10

What is the rooting reflex and how does it occur?

Answer 10

when an infants cheek or side of mouth is stroked, it turns it’s head to the side in search for something to suck

Question 11

What is the sucking reflex?

Answer 11

When newborns automaticaally suck an object placed in their mouths

Question 12

What is the moro reflex?

Answer 12

infant startles in response to a sudden, loud noise

Question 13

What is the grasping reflex?

Answer 13

When something touches an infant’s palm, they grasp their hand

Question 14

What % of the adult brain does the brain weigh at birth and by age 2?

Answer 14

Birth- 25%

Age 2- 75%

Question 15

What is lateralization?

Answer 15

the specialization of function in one hemisphere of the brain or another

Question 16

What happens to the brain activity of children who grow up in deprived environments?

Answer 16

They have depressed brain activity

Question 17

What are the 3 parts of the neuroconstructionist view?

Answer 17

1) Biological processes and environmental experiences influence the brain’s development
2) the brain is plastic and context dependent
3) development of the brain is closely linked with the child’s cognitive development

Question 18

How much does the typical new born sleep?

Answer 18

16-17 hours a day

Question 19

What are some risk factors that may lead to Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)?

Answer 19

• When infant is placed on stomach or side to sleep
• When infants don’t use a pacifier when they go to sleep
• When infants sleep in a bedroom without a fan

Question 20

What are some benefits of breast feeding?

Answer 20

• appropriate weight gain
• reduced risk of childhood obesity
• reduced risk of SIDS
• fewer gastrointestinal and respiratory tract infections
• immune system maturation

Question 21

When should a mother not breast feed?

Answer 21

• If she has AIDS
• if she has active turberculosis
• if she’s taking any drugs that would be harmful to the baby

Question 22

What is the dynamic systems theory?

Answer 22

Infants develop motor skills for perceiving and acting. In order to develop motor skills, they must percieve something that motivates them to act, then use their perceptions to fine-tune their movements

Question 23

What are some gross motor skill milestones in development?

Answer 23

6-7 months- can sit up independently

8 months- pull themselves up and hold on to a chair

10-12 months- can stand alone

13-18 months- can pull toy attached to a string and use their hands and legs to climb up steps

18-24 months- can walk quickly/run, walk backward, kick a ball

Question 24

Describe the development of fine motor skills

Answer 24

They start off using big muscles, and gradually start to use smaller muscles. For example, when reaching for something, they may start out reaching with their whole body, then just the arm, then just the hand, etc.

Question 25

What are sensation and perception? Give an example of how they connect and help babies with their sensorimotor develpoment

Answer 25

Sensation occurs when info interacts with our senses, perception is the interpretation of what is sensed

For example, a baby touches a cactus for the first time. They sense the pain caused by the spike, and use their perception to know not to touch it again

Question 26

What is the ecological view?

Answer 26

The view that perception functions to help us adapt to the environment, and that we directly perceive info that exists in the world around us

Question 27

What do 2 day old infants prefer to look at according to the visual preference method?

Answer 27

Patterned stimuli such as faces or concentric circles

Question 28

What is habituation and dishabituation?

Answer 28

Habituation- Decreased responsiveness to being presented the same stimuli many times

Dishabituation- The recovery of a habituated response after the stimulus changes

Question 29

What is intermodal perception?

Answer 29

experiencing 2 or more senses at once when doing any sort of action (ex. eating doritos, you taste and smell it, and hear the crunch)