Infancy Flashcards

Question

What is neural pruning?

Answer 1

Where important connections are kept and unimportant ones are discarded.

Answer 2

'Cephalo' - head and 'caudal' - tail Growth starts at the top with the head In infant development, the brain and skull are primary locations of growth Infants' heads are disproportionately large, but their bodies even out over time Infancy is the most rapid and dynamic period of brain development across the lifespan Connections are continually made between neurons

Answer 3

'Proximo' nearnesss and 'distal' - far away Growth starts at the center and moves farther away In infants, growth begins in the trunk area and then moves to the limbs. Gross motor (large muscle) development happens before fine motor (dexterity) skill development

Answer 4

An organized way of making sense of an experience, based on life experiences. Essentially a category.

Answer 5

When new information is taken into existing schemas. Information is changed as it is learned to that it fits with the scheme.

Answer 6

When schemas are changed to make sense of new information | Infants use both processes and may do so simultaneously.

Answer 7

``` Simple reflexes First habits and primary circular reactions Secondary circular reactions Coordination of secondary circular Tertiary circular Internalization of schemes ```

Answer 8

Infant reflexes serve as building blocks to future motor skills They also serve as building blocks to cognitive development In this first substage, reflexes are not yet intentional - they are automatic

Answer 9

Reflexes become more voluntary, and behaviors can become habits Primary Circular Reaction: the baby purposefully trying to repeat/recreate a pleasurable event that occurred by chance. Primary refers to the fact that the action is self-focused. Note: Piaget didn’t have sophisticated technology in his time. Some reflexes actually start before birth

Answer 10

Purposeful behaviors that are focused on the external world - for example, picking up a rattle and shaking it Greater mobility helps with this exploration This is, in and of itself, a scheme, because the process is the means by which the child develops mental representations of how things work.

Answer 11

Behavior becomes more coordinated and goal-directed The infant tries to get what she wants May get frustrated and cry a lot if unsuccessful

Answer 12

Infants begin to experiment with different things - for example throwing something many times to see how it lands differently Infant starts using a toy to interact with another toy

Answer 13

Internal representation: the infant can think about an object without seeing the object in front of him The infant can think about events without having to do them Object Permanence: the understanding that an object exists even when it's out of sight It biologically makes sense that the child eventually begins to remember who mom and dad are Problem: although this substage is the end of Piaget's sensorimotor stage, infants can achieve object permanence as early as 4 months earlier than this

Answer 14

Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas, in the 1950s, the New York Longitudinal Study

Answer 15

133 children from birth to age 30

Answer 16

Effortful control Negative affectivity Extraversion/surgency

Answer 17

Infant's self-control and ability to focus

Answer 18

Levels of negative emotion like fear and frustration

Answer 19

Activity levels, excitement, and being sociable

Answer 20

Easy children Difficult children Slow-to-warm-up children

Answer 21

Easily establish routines Adaptable to schedule changes and new experiences Tend to be fairly happy ~40% of children are easy according to Chess and Thomas

Answer 22

Difficult to put on regular schedules Unpredictable in mood Do not adapt well to new people or situations React negatively in novel situations Cry frequently and extensively ~10% of children are difficult according to Chess and Thomas

Answer 23

Inactive overall Might look like difficult children in novel situations, but adjust slowly and improve in mood Do not have the consistently positive moods of easy children ~15% of children are slow-to-warm-up according to Chess and Thomas

Answer 24

``` Well-adjusted Under-controlled Confident Inhibited Reserved ```

Answer 25

A close emotional bond, primarily between a caregiver (more so mom than dad) and a child

Answer 26

The innate need to attach to one main attachment figure

Answer 27

Secure Insecure Avoidant Insecure ambivalent/resistant

Answer 28

Distressed when mother leaves Avoidant of stranger when alone, but friendly when mother is present Positive and happy when mother returns Uses mother as a safe base to explore the environment

Answer 29

Intense distress when mother leaves Avoids the stranger, shows fear of the stranger Infant approaches mother, but resists contact, even pushing her away Cries more and explores less than other two types

Answer 30

No sign of distress when mother leaves Infant is ok with the stranger and plays normally when stranger is present Infant shows little interest when mother returns Mother and stranger are able to comfort the infant equally well

Answer 31

Disorganized

Answer 32

A mix of resistant and avoidant behavior, but notable for their "dazed and confused" behaviors. Some researchers think this may be associated with child abuse

Answer 33

Nature plays a key role Temperament and genetics determine how much contact an infant needs For example, an autistic child might not show secure attachment with her mother, but this is not due to the mother's responsiveness

Answer 34

Innate differences in sociability in infants. Some babies preferred cuddling more than others very early on, before much interaction had occurred to cause such differences

Answer 35

Interactionist theory that argues that both the child's temperament and parents' response are responsible for the attachment type. Temperament may influence parents' response

Answer 36

Supports Kagan's theory Babies with an easy temperament are likely to develop secure attachments Babies with a slow-to-warm-up temperament are likely to have insecure avoidant attachments Babies with difficult temperaments are likely to have insecure ambivalent attachments

Answer 37

Did a meta-analysis and determined weak correlation between parental sensitivity and attachment type, meaning that more sensitive parents had securely attached children Critics say the correlation is only weak, which suggests there may be other reasons to explain different attachment types. Maternal sensitivity theory puts too much emphasis on the mother, and is a reductionist approach

Answer 38

``` Unethical because it put children under stress - separation anxiety and stranger anxiety Samples is biased, as it only includes middle-class American families ```

Answer 39

Influenced by ethological theory (Lorenz/imprinting) Children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive Monotropy: the innate need to attach to one main attachment figure It is crucial to develop close bonds with caregivers within the first year of life Failure to do so will result in serious emotional consequences Believed that attachment was all-or-nothing

Answer 40

A child's attachment style is dependent on the behavior their mother shows towards them