Infancy Flashcards
What is development?
Systematic continuities and changes that individuals display over the course of their lives that reflect the influence of biological maturation and learning.
What do “developmentalists” do?
Describe, explain and optimize development
Who are “developmentalists”?
Neuroscientists Pediatricians Psychiatrists Psychologists Speech and Language Pathologists
Developmental Themes
Nature v. Nurture
Passive v. Active
Continuity v. Discontinuity
Universal v. Context-Dependent
Five Stages of Infancy and Toddlerhood
Prenatal 0-2 months 2-7 months 7-18 months 18-36 months
Prenatal
Parental expectations for fetus
In-utero exposures to toxins and or maternal emotional well-being, and health complications can impact the growth and development of fetus, pregnancy duration, delivery complications or ease
0-2 months
Maintaining Homeostasis: maintaining physiological equilibrium in the face of internal and external stimuli Hunger / Thirst Stimulation Sleep
2-7 months
Increased social reciprocity between the infant and caregiver(s)
7-18 months
Reciprocal communication and social preference or belonging
Development of inter-subjectivity or the understanding that their thought, feelings, gestures and sounds can be heard by others.
18-36 months
Increased ability to use symbolic representation
4th trimester
First 3 months after birth are part of a “fourth trimester” – that humans rely on their large brains and are thus unable to stay in the womb as long as they need for gestation.
Really an effort at recreating a womb-like environment.
Human infants are born very vulnerable. Given this vulnerability, there is one thing that they can do that is quite powerful – cry! This is the beginning of a signaling that powerfully elicits a response from caregivers.
Rooting
Significance: Helps baby find nipple
Age when reflex disappears: 3-4 weeks (replaced by voluntary head turning)
(FA=4mos)
Action: Turns head in the direction of the tactile stimulus to the cheek
Sucking
Significance: Permits feeding
Age when reflex disappears: 4 mos. (replaced by voluntary sucking
Action: Sucks on objects placed (or taken) into the mouth
Moro
Significance: May help baby cling to mom
Age when reflex disappears: 6 mos. (FA = 3 mos)
Action: A loud noise or sudden change in position of the baby’s head will cause the baby to throw out his or her arms outward, arch the back, and bring the arms together as if to hold on to something.
Blink
Significance: Protects eyes
Age when reflex disappears: Permanent
Action: Closing or blinking the eyes
Babinski
Significance: Remnant of evolution
Age when reflex disappears: 8-12 mos. (FA=12 mos)
Action: Fanning and then curling the toes when the bottom of the foot is stroked
Palmar
Significance: Precursor to voluntary walking
Age when reflex disappears: 3-4 mos. (FA=6mos)
Action: Curling of the fingers around objects such as a finger that touch the baby’s palm
Stepping
Significance: Precursor to voluntary walking
Age when reflex disappears: 2-3 mos.
Action: Infant held upright so that their feet touch a flat surface will step as if to walk
Crying
Most early cries are provoked by physical discomfort (hunger, pain, wet diaper, loud noises, sudden light, etc.)
Infants cry the most often in their first 3 months of life, then start to decrease (brain maturation?)
May be differences based on biology (more shrill cry in babies who are preterm, malnourished, brain-damaged, addicted, etc.)
Sleep
Around 2-6 weeks, babies sleep about14-16 hours a day
Between 3 and 7 months, may reach a milestone ofsleeping through the nightwith naps during the day
REM sleep accounts for at least half initially, but this steadily declines after birth, ~25-30% of sleep is REM in 6-month olds.
0-2 months: Motor Milestones
At birth, turns head side to side at birth
1-2 months – Lifts head up when prone (FA)(remember tummy time helps),
1-2 months—visually tracks
Vision and the Infant
At birth ~20/600
6 month ~20/100
Equal to adults around 6 years old!
Why are infants much more likely to track faces or face-like stimuli?
A possibility is that this is an adaptive remnant of our evolution, a reflex controlled by subcortical parts of our brains to help orient to caregivers and promote social interactions
0-2 months: Social - Emotional Milestones
The Asocial Phase (0-6 weeks) Indiscriminate attachment (6 weeks–6 mos)
The Asocial Phase
(0-6 weeks) – many kinds of social or nonsocial stimuli produce favorable reactions, few produce any protest.
Indiscriminate attachment
(6 weeks–6 mos) – At 2 months, displays social smile (FA) & can respond to facial expression
2-7 months: Motor Milestones
Reaches for objects at 3-5 mos (starts by swiping) Transfers objects from one hand to other at 6-7 mos (FA) Rolls Front to back ~ 4 mos Both directions ~6 mos Sits With support ~ 6 mos (FA) Without support ~ 9 mos
2-7 months: Social & Language Milestones
Increased social reciprocity between the infant and caregiver (smiling, playing, copying facial expression, starting to tell when someone is familiar or a stranger) Cooing and babbling (~2 mos) Responds to own name (~6 mos) Early object permanence ~5 mos (peek-a-boo)
7-18 months: Motor Milestones
Crawls at 6-9 mos.
Pulls to stand at 9 mos.
Cruises, walks at 12 mos.
Climbs stairs by 18mos.
7-9 months: Specific Attachments
Reciprocal communication and social preference or belonging
Development of intersubjectivity
Starts to socially reference
Specific Attachment phase
Specific Attachment phase
(7-9 mos): Shows a preference and increased attachment to a particular caregiver
Intersubjectivity
The understanding that their thoughts, feelings, gestures and sounds can be heard by others.
9-18 months: Multiple Attachments
Within weeks of forming their first attachments, about half of infants are starting to become attached to other figures (fathers, siblings, grandparents, regular babysitters, etc.)
By 18 mos, very few infants are attached to only one person, some were attached to 5+ people.
Stranger anxiety
anxiety when a stranger approaches
Peak at 8-10 months, wanes in intensity over 2nd year
Separation anxiety
anxiety when separated from primary caregiver
begins at 6-8 mos., peaks ~ 14-18 mos.
Erik Erickson
Developmental psychologist & psychoanalyst
Came up with 8 psychosocial stages (or general conflicts) from birth to death
Erikson
Infancy
Infancy
(Birth to 1 year)
Basic Conflict: Trust vs. Mistrust
Need attentive, reliable, caring, and affectionate caregivers.
When these are absent infants mistrust that the world is a safe place.
“Once bitten, twice shy.”
Jean Piaget
Swiss developmental psychologist, philosopher, scientist of nature
Influenced by psychoanalyst Carl Jung; became interested in how children develop their minds
Best known for 4 stages of cognitive development
Sensorimotor Stage
Infancy (birth to 2 year) Sensory input + motor capabilities = behavioral schemes (“act on” and “get to know” their environments) Young infants have little sense of object permanence early on
Temperament
A biological foundation for
individual variations in behavior
that are genetically influenced and persistent over time
9 dimensions of temperament
Activity level
Rhythmicity (regularity): in relation to sleep cycles, feeding patterns, etc.
Approach or withdrawal: the nature (positive, withdrawing, negative) of response to a new stimulus
Adaptability
Threshold of responsiveness: the level of stimulation necessary to elicit a noticeable response
Intensity of reaction
Quality of mood
Distractibility
Attention span and persistence
Thomas and Chess Studies
1977
129 kids, 80 families, over 25-30 ys, 97% retention rate
Aspects of temperament tended to cluster and continue over time
Easy Temperament
40%
positive mood, easy-going, predictable
(AKA Lucia)
Difficult Temperament
10%
active, irritable, irregular, slow to adapt,
resistant / reactive to change,
Slow-to-warm up Temperament
15%
inactive, moody, respond to novelty poorly
(AKA Alejandro)
Biological Contributions to Temperament
Identical twins > fraternal twins
Variability in temperament even when parenting practices are accounted for
Neurological Differences in Temperament
INCREASED R cerebral hemisphere activity in infants distressed by novelty
INCREASED R frontal lobe activation (compared to L) in kids with inhibited style
4-month olds who responded to stimuli with robust motor activity, muscle tension, and frequent crying (also had low threshold of excitability in amygdala) were more likely to be inhibited at age 2
High-reactive (i.e. inhibited) 5 and 7-year olds had INCREASED sympathetic reactivity than low-reactive when stressed
Cultural Differences in Temperament
Culture sets different contexts by which particular temperaments are tolerated
Ex. In China, kids who are more reserved are perceived as more socially mature by teachers and more popular with peers – opposite of the U.S.
INCREASED Anxiety in what temperament?
The “Slow-To-Warm-Up” Temperament
The “Difficult” Temperament
Results
By age nine, 70% had developed a behavior disorder
30% who functioned well were provided with opportunities to settle and adapt in their own time, were not put down for negative mood (even when intensely expressed)
“Goodness of Fit”
Thomas and Chess
Development is optimized when parents’ parenting practices are sensitively adapted to the child’s characteristics
Temperament vs. Personality
Temperament: Biological in nature, appears early in life
Personality: Broader realm of individual characteristics that develop over time with experience.
Application of Lecture?
Hospital Practices
Guidance for foster care/adoption policies
Guidance in judicial decisions for children
Treatment of postpartum depression
Establishment of daycare standards
Infancy is a time of…
of maintaining homeostasis and acquiring significant amounts of knowledge about the world around you by acting on your environment (sensori-motor stage)
Early childhood is a crucial time in…
developing a sense of trust and safety while in the hands of your caregiver (Erickson’s Trust vs. Mistrust)
Kids do biologically come out differently as evidenced by
Temperament
With kids, “goodness of fit” is…
Important in helping to predict outcomes
