Chapter 5 Flashcards
Dynamic Systems Theory
A theory proposed by Esther Thelen, that states that infants assemble motor skills for perceiving and acting.
How is a motor skill developed?
When infants are motivated to do something, they create a new motor behavior.
Reflexes
Built in reactions to stimuli.
Rooting reflex
A new borns built-in reaction that occurs when the infants cheek is stroked or the side of the mouth is touched. In response, the infant turns its head towards the side that was touched, in an apparent effort to find something to suck.
Sucking reflex
Newborns automatically such an object placed in their mouth.
Moro reflex
When startled, the newborn arches its back, throws back its head, and flings out its arms.
Grasping reflex
When something touches an infants palm, the infant responds by grasping tightly.
Gross motor skills
Skills that involve large muscle activities.
Postural control
The maintenance of body posture in space.
What is a good way to develop gross motor skills in kids?
Sports.
Fine motor skills
Involve finely tuned movements.
Perceptual motor coupling
The way perceptual and motor development are coupled with each other.
Increased myelination of the central nervous system…
is reflected in the improvement of fine motor skills in middle and late childhood.
Sensation
occurs when information interacts with sensory receptors (eyes, ears, tongue, nostrils, and skin).
Perception
is the interpretation of what is sensed.
Ecological view
we directly perceive information that exists in the world around us.
affordances
opportunities for interaction with objects.
Habituation
Decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations of the stimulus.
Dehabituation
The recovery of a habituated response after a change in stimulation.
Infant sight
Infants cannot see small things that are far away. They have an estimated 20/240 vision.
Faces
Infants show an interest in human faces soon after birth, with a preference for their mothers face.
Perceptual constancy
Sensory stimulation is changing but perception of the physical world remains constant. Two types size and shape constancy.
Infant hearing
A fetus can hear and learn before birth.
Changes in hearing after birth
loudness, pitch, and localization
Touch and Pain
Newborns can respond to touch and feel pain.
Infant smell
Infants can differentiate odors.
Infant taste
Infants have sensitivity to taste.
Intermodal perception
Integrating information from two or more modalities (e.g. hearing and smell). Most perception is intermodal.
Nativist
Similar to nature.
Empiricist
Similar to nurture.
Perceptual development
Includes the interacting influence of nature, nurture, and a developing sensitivity to information in the environment.
