Chapter 4: Physical and Cognitive Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood Flashcards
first years of life are characterized by far-reaching changes
- size
- language
- brain structure
- adaptability
- flexibility
during infant and toddler years
- growth is more rapid and health is more fragile
- genes play a long-term role but are less influential in size during this time
breastfeeding for infants
- ideal food until about six months
disease and mortality in infants
- get sick often
- worldwide, nearly 4 out of 100 die before age 5
inadequate sleep for babies is related to
irritability and poorer health
experiment-expectant
development relies on nearly universal environmental inputs
experiment-dependent
development relies on quantity or quality of environmental input
fine motor skills
small
gross motor skills
big
cephalocaudal pattern
development sequence in which the earliest growth always occurs at the top head, physical growth and differentiation of features gradually working their way down from top to bottom
proximodistal pattern
control of movement begins in the core and expands outward
Piaget’s Theory of cognitive development
Young infants’ early cognitive activity is a combination of their senses and motor activities
children’s thinking develops in 6 distinct stages
1- reflexes
2- primary circular reactions
3- secondary circular reaction
4- coordination of secondary reactions
5- tertiary circular reactions
6- mental combinations
schemes
actions or mental representations that organize knowledge:
- behavioral scheme
- mental scheme
assimilation
using existing schemes to deal with new information or experiences
accomodation
adjusting schemes to fit new information and experiences
primary circular reactions
adaption of reflexes
secondary circular reactions
making fun last
coordination od secondary reactions
making a plan for action; object permanence
tertiary circular reactions
little scientists running experiments
mental combinations
thinking before doing; mental representation
sensorimotor period
- birth to 2 years of age
- infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experience and developing motor abilities
development of object permanence
understanding that objects and events continue to exist even when they cannot directly be seen, heard, or touched
simple reflexes
coordination of sensation and action through reflexive behaviors
first habits and primary circular reactions
coordination of sensation and two types of schemes: habits and primary circular reaction; main focus is still on the infant’s body
secondary circular reactions
infants become more object-oriented, moving beyond self-preoccupation: repeat actions that bring interesting or pleasurable results
coordination of secondary circular reactions
coordination of vision and touch- hand-eye coordination; coordination of schemes and intentionally
tertiary circular reactions, novelty, and curiosity
infants become intrigued by the many properties of objects and by the many things that can make happen to objects; they experiment with new behavior
internalization of schemes
infants develop the ability to use primitive symbols and form enduring mental representations
nativist approach
babies are born with a wide range of innate knowledge about how the world works
habituation
a basic form of learning in which you become bored with something if you experience it repeatedly
implicit memory
memory of new skills and processes and ability to habituate
explicit memory
memory of names, dates, and details
fast-mapping
a child’s ability to quickly learn new words
overextension
an error in which a child assumes that a specific term relates to a larger category
underextension
an error in which a child insists that a word only applies to a specific member of the group, rather than the whole group itself
IDF
infant-directed speech- adults use of high-pitched, sing-songy tones and simple sentences when they talk to infants
universal grammar
a childs inborn ability to recognize and use grammar
emergentists (constructivists)
language is another skill that emerges as the human brain develops to think and relate to others
behaviorism and social learning theory
children observe and imitate language models around them; conditioning and imitation
synaptogenesis
the process of creating new synapses between neurons, which begins before birth and continues throughout the lifespan
experience-expectant brain development
brain maturation that relies on nearly universal environmental inputs
experience-dependent brain development
brain maturation that relies on the quantity of environmental; includes features that are “nice to have” but not required
preferential looking
a procedure that measures what babies perceive in which researchers harness babies’ intrinsic interest in new things
perceptual narrowing
the process by which infants become less sensitive to sensory input as they grow and begin to specialize in the sights and sounds to which they are exposed more often
