Physical Development in Infancy Flashcards
cephalocaudal pattern
sequence in which the earliest growth always occurs at the top–the head–with physical growth in size, weight, and feature differentiation gradually working from top to bottom
proximodistal pattern
sequence in which growth starts at the center of the body and moves toward the extremities
shaken baby syndrome
includes brain swelling and hemorrhaging
frontal lobes
voluntary movement, thinking, personality, and intentionality or purpose
occipital lobes
function in vision
temporal lobes
hearing, language processing, memory
parietal lobes
registering spatial location, attention, motor control
lateralization
specialization of function in one hemisphere of the cerebral cortex or the other
axons
carry signals away from the cell body
dendrites
carry signals toward the cell body
myelin sheath
layer of fat cells that encase many axons, insulating them and helping electrical signals travel faster down them
neurotransmitter
chemicals released into synapses that allow info to pass over synapse gaps, like a ferry boat over a body of water
synapse
tiny gaps between neurons’ fibers in which chemical interactions take place
myelination
process of encasing axons with fat cells that begins prenatally and continues into adolescence
pruning
the process of unused synaptic connections becoming replaced by other pathways or disappearing altogether.
example: the less a baby engages in the use of language, the more likely it becomes that those pathways will be replaced or will disappear
blooming
the process of often-used synaptic connections replacing unused ones
example: the more a baby engages in physical activity, the more those pathways will be strengthened
prefrontal cortex
area of the brain where higher-level thinking and self-regulation occurs; although the peak of overproduction of synapses takes place at about 1 year of age, it is not until middle-late adolescence that the adult density of synapses is achieved
SIDS
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, highest cause of infant death in US, condition that occurs when infants stop breathing, usually during the night, and die suddenly w/out apparent cause. Risk factors include:
passive exposure to cigarette smoke
sleep with their babies or babies sleep on tummy
African American or Eskimo ethnicities
low SES groups
benefits of breastfeeding
less gastrointestinal and lower respiratory infections
less otitus media (middle-ear infections)
less atopic dermatitis (inflammation of the skin)
less obesity and less likely to develop type 1 diabetes
less likely to die of SIDS
for mother, less breast & ovarian cancer, less type 2
diabetes
Marasmus
life-threatening condition resulting from malnutrition, caused by severe protein-calorie deficiency and resulting in wasting away of body tissues in the infant’s first year. Gross underweight and muscle atrophy occur.
Kwashiorkor
caused by severe protein deficiency, usually appearing between 1-3 years, appear well-fed b/c disease can cause child’s vital organs to collect nutrients and deprive other parts of the body of them, child’s hair becomes thin, brittle, colorless, behavior listless, abdominal and foot swelling common
dynamic systems theory
the perspective on motor development that seeks to explain how motor behaviors are assembled for perceiving and acting; for example, a new behavior is a result of converging factors like:
development of nervous system
body’s physical properties/possibilities for movement
goal of child and motivation to reach the goal
environmental support for the skill
maturation
Gesell, theory that motor development comes about through the unfolding of a genetic plan; later studies show that developmental sequence is not as fixed as he thought
reflexes
built-in reactions to stimuli that govern the newborn’s movements; automatic and beyond the newborn’s command, allow infant to respond adaptively to their environment before they have had the opportunity to learn. Include: rooting reflex, sucking reflex, Moro reflex, grasping reflex
rooting reflex
when cheek is stroked or side of mouth is touched, infant turns its head toward the side that was touched in an apparent effort to find something to suck
sucking reflex
occurs when newborns automatically suck an object placed in their mouths, enabling nourishment before associating a nipple with food, serving as self-soothing or self-regulating mechanism
Moro reflex
when startled, newborn arches its back, throws back its head, and flings out its arms and legs, followed by rapidly closing them, occurs in response to sudden, intense noise or movement, disappears around 3-4 months of age
grasping reflex
when something touches the infant’s palms, it responds by grasping tightly, is replaced around 3rd month with a more voluntary grasp
gross motor skills
skills that involve large-muscle activities, such as moving one’s arms and walking
infant development milestones
hold head erect-a few weeks old sit while supported-2 months sit independently-6-7 months pulling up-8-9 months standing-10-12 months walking-around 1 year walk quickly/run-18-24 months
fine motor skills
finely tuned movements, refined over time
palmer grasp-early, grip with whole hand
pincer grip-later, grasping small objects with thumb and forefinger
sensation
occurs when information interacts with sensory receptors (eyes, ears, tongue, nostrils, skin)
perception
interpretation of what is sensed
ecological view
Gibson & Gibson-we directly perceive info that exists in the world around us
affordances
opportunities for interaction offered by objects that fit w/in our capabilities to perform activities (Gibson & Gibson)
Robert Fantz
developed a “looking chamber” to study infants’ visual perception, noticed that they looked at different things for different lengths of time, visual preference method
visual preference method
studying whether infants can distinguish one stimulus from another by measuring the length of time they attend to different stimuli (Fantz)
habituation
decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations of it
dishabituation
the recovery of a habituated response after a change in stimulation
orienting response
turning one’s head toward a sight or sound
tracking
eye movements that follow a moving object and can be used to evaluate an infant’s early visual ability, uses eye-tracking headgear on the infant
perceptual constancy
sensory stimulation is changing but perception of the physical world remains constant
size constancy
recognition that an object remains the same even though the retinal image of the object changes as you move toward or away from the object, develops from 3 months to 10-11 years old
shape constancy
recognition that an object remains the same shape even though its orientation to us changes, develops from 3 months onward
occlusion perception
perceiving that objects no longer visible remain constant, like when a ball disappears behind a door; brief tracking of occluded objects begins between 3-5 months and increases over time
depth perception
develops by 3-4 months
infant hearing
at birth, infants cannot hear soft sounds and are less sensitive to low-pitched sounds; by 2 years, toddlers have increasing ability to hear
even newborns can determine localization (origin of a sound) but become more proficient by 6 months
intermodal perception
the ability to relate and integrate info from 2 or more sensory modalities, such as vision and hearing
nativist
proponents of the nature aspect of perceptual development, says that the ability to perceive the world in a competent, organized way is inborn/innate
empiricist
proponents of the nurture aspect of perceptual development
perception-action coupling
action educates perception, so that watching an object while exploring it manually helps infants discriminate its size, texture, and hardness
