Infancy Flashcards
What are the 4 reflexes discussed in the module?
Rooting
Moro Reflex
Grasping Reflex
Stepping Reflex
What is rooting?
When the baby turns her head when her cheek or mouth is touched. It aids with feeding because it helps the infant find something to suck
What is the Moro relfex?
Startle response when the infant arches his back and throws out his arms and legs, much like an adult would if we felt we were falling. It’s believed to have survival value. Seen when support for the head and neck is suddenly lost, or in response to a loud noise or sudden movement. Starts to disappear around 5 months. Absence of the reflex at birth, or reappearance after 5 months, may suggest damage to the central nervous system.
What is another name for the grasping reflex?
Palmer grasp
What is the grasping reflex (Palmer grasp)?
Stepping stone to additional motor development. Can be so strong that the baby can support its own weight.
What is the stepping reflex?
When the infant makes stepping motions when held above a surface. Another building block for future motor development. Related to postural control. Disappears around 2-3 months of age, will not be seen again until the baby learns to walk on her own.
How much of a day does a newborn spend sleeping?
16-18 hours
When does sleep become more regular for the infant?
At 6 weeks
What are the two types of infant sleep?
REM and nREM
What is REM sleep?
Aka irregular sleep
Characterized by uneven breathing
Makes up nearly half of an infant’s daily sleep pattern
Infants begin their sleep cycle in REM sleep, unlike adults
What is nREM sleep?
Baby is nearly motionless
Increases as the infant gets older
When does crying peak?
6 weeks
How much crying is normal at 6 weeks?
3-4 hours a day
What are the 5 S’s for soothing a baby?
Swaddling Side/stomach position Swinging Shushing sounds Sucking
What does swaddling do?
Limits overstimulation of the senses. Parents sometimes inadvertently overstimulate the child simply in their efforts to calm him down.
What does side/stomach position do?
In parent’s arms, never meant for sleeping (babies sleep on their backs).
What does swinging do?
Some think this feeling is similar to what the baby experienced in the womb
What do shushing sounds do?
Serves as ‘white noise’ which is calming. Babies also prefer vocal noises to other noises.
What does sucking do?
Breastfeeding or sucking on a pacifier. Pacifiers calm babies for longer, should stop using by 5-6 months. If a child is sucking on his fingers, continue with pacifier.
What age does infancy typically cover?
The first 2 years of life
How tall is a child at 2 years?
32-35 inches
How much does a child weigh at 2 years?
30 pounds on average
What are the 2 types of growth sequences that describe infant growth patterns?
Cephalocaudal and Proximodistal
What is overproduction?
Infants have more synaptic connections than they need. Once they start experiencing things, their brains start changing in response to what they experience.
What is neural pruning?
Where important connections are kept and unimportant ones are discarded.
What does cephalocaudal growth mean?
‘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
What does proximodistal growth mean?
‘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
What is a scheme?
An organized way of making sense of an experience, based on life experiences. Essentially a category.
What is assimilation?
When new information is taken into existing schemas. Information is changed as it is learned to that it fits with the scheme.
What is accommodation?
When schemas are changed to make sense of new information
Infants use both processes and may do so simultaneously.
What are the 6 substages of the sensorimotor stage?
Simple reflexes First habits and primary circular reactions Secondary circular reactions Coordination of secondary circular Tertiary circular Internalization of schemes
What happens in the simple reflexes stage?
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
What happens in the first habits and primary circular reactions stage?
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
What happens in the secondary circular reactions stage?
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.
What happens in the coordination of secondary circular stage?
Behavior becomes more coordinated and goal-directed
The infant tries to get what she wants
May get frustrated and cry a lot if unsuccessful
What happens in the tertiary circular stage?
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
What happens in the internalization of schemes stage?
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
Who came up with the 3 temperaments, when, and what was the name of the study?
Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas, in the 1950s, the New York Longitudinal Study
How many children, and across what age range did the New York Longitudinal Study study?
133 children from birth to age 30
What were the 3 facets of infant temperament?
Effortful control
Negative affectivity
Extraversion/surgency
What does effortful control refer to?
Infant’s self-control and ability to focus
What does negative affectivity refer to?
Levels of negative emotion like fear and frustration
What does extraversion/surgency refer to?
Activity levels, excitement, and being sociable
What were the three temperament types that Chess and Thomas classified?
Easy children
Difficult children
Slow-to-warm-up children
Describe easy children.
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
Describe difficult children
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
Describe slow-to-warm-up children
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
What were the 5 temperament classifications of the Institute of Psychiatry in London study?
Well-adjusted Under-controlled Confident Inhibited Reserved
What is attachment?
A close emotional bond, primarily between a caregiver (more so mom than dad) and a child
What is monotropy?
The innate need to attach to one main attachment figure
What 3 attachment styles did Ainsworth classify?
Secure
Insecure Avoidant
Insecure ambivalent/resistant
What is secure attachment?
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
What is insecure resistant attachment?
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
What is insecure avoidant attachment?
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
What 4th attachment style did Main and Solomon identify?
Disorganized
What does a disorganized attachment style indicate?
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
What did Kagan believe?
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
What did Schaffer and Emerson believe?
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
What did Belsky and Rovine state?
Interactionist theory that argues that both the child’s temperament and parents’ response are responsible for the attachment type. Temperament may influence parents’ response
What did Fox state?
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
What did Wolff and Van Ijzendoorn state?
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
Why was the Strange Situation unethical?
Unethical because it put children under stress - separation anxiety and stranger anxiety Samples is biased, as it only includes middle-class American families
What did Bowlby state?
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
What is the caregiver sensitivity hypothesis?
A child’s attachment style is dependent on the behavior their mother shows towards them
