Infancy: Physical Development• Reflexes: born with many reflexes to help them survive

Babinski Reflex

• Moro Reflex: When you fail to support or hold the neck and head, the arms of your baby will thrust outward and then seem to embrace them selves as their fingers curl. This reflex disappears at about 2 months of age. It is also known as the startle reflex.

• Palmar Grasp: When you touch the palm of your baby's hand, the fingers will curl around and cling to your finger or an object. This is a good reflex to take advantage of with other children, to allow the baby to "hold" their hand. This reflex also makes it difficult to obtain handprints until it disappears at about 6 months.

• Plantar Grasp: This reflex occurs when you stroke the sole of your baby's foot, his toes will spread open and the foot will turn slightly inward. It is also known as the Babinski reflex. This reflex is fun to watch. By the end of the first year this reflex is usually gone.

• Sucking: While you may not believe this to be reflexive, it is. This ensures that the baby will nurse on a breast or bottle to be fed and occurs when something is placed in the baby's mouth. It is slowly replaced by voluntary sucking around 2 months of age.

• Rooting Reflex: When you stroke your baby's cheek she will turn towards you, usually looking for food. This is very useful when learning to breastfeed your baby. This reflex is gone by about 4 months. You may also notice this occurs when the baby accidentally brushes her own face with her hands. It can sometimes be a source of frustration if your baby flails her arms during feedings.

• Stepping Reflex: If you take your baby and place his feet on a flat surface he will "walk" by placing one foot in front of the other. This isn't really walking and will disappear by about 4 months of age.

• Tonic Neck Reflex: This is also called the fencing reflex, because of the position the baby assumes. When you lay your baby on her back and her head turns to one side she will extend her arm and leg on that side while the opposite arm and leg bend, assuming a "fencing" position. This reflex is present only until about the 4th month.

• Swimming: If you were to put a baby under six months of age in water, they would move their arms and legs while holding their breath. This is why some families believe in swim training for very little babies. It is not recommended for you to test this reflex at home for obvious safety reasons.

Video’s of Infant Reflexes

• Swimming Reflex

• Infant Reflexes

• Moro Reflex

Infancy: Physical Development

• Growth rate declines throughout infancy but is faster than during any other postnatal period.

• Neural pathways strengthened and weakened.

• Brain plasticity best when young• Motor development = Nature + Nurture• Maturation – biological readiness – motor

skills emerge.

Infancy: Motor Development• LIFT HEAD • ROLL OVER• SIT PROPPED UP• SIT WITHOUT SUPPORT• BEGINS TO STAND WHILE HOLDING ON

TO THINGS FOR SUPPORT• BEGIN TO WALK WITH SUPPORT• MOMENTARILY STAND ON OWN W/O

SUPPORT• STAND ALONE WITH MORE CONFIDENCE• BEGIN WALKING W/O SUPPORT

6 months old

8 months old

Graham

Sensorimotor period: Birth -2

• Schemas / stranger anxiety• Assimilation/Accommodation

– Categorization/Classification

• Object Permanence• Rooting Reflex• Circular reaction reflexivity

non reflexive motions• The infant interacts with the

world thru sensory and motor activities.

Infancy: Cognitive Development

• Preferences for faces

• Visual Cliff experiments-– Depth perception

Preoperational Stage (ages 2-7)

• Egocentrism• Symbol Acquisition-

language• Pretend Play/Social

Learning Theory• The child represents

objects with words and mental images

Concrete Operational (ages 7-11)

• Reversibility- puppy lab, lab puppy

• Conservation- matter doesn’t increase/decrease because it changes form.

• The child shows more logical thinking.

• Mathematical transformations

• Child can think logically about concrete events.

Formal Operational (ages 11 & up)• Abstract thinking emerges• Hypothetical thinking emerges

– Concrete objects no longer need to be present• Readiness for adult intellectual tasks.• Metacognition• Can take others’ perspectives• Thinking through hypotheses• Not all adolescents/adults achieve formal

operational thinking.

Children’s cognitive development from 4-10 years reveals:

• Better conceptual relations

• More controlled strategies

• Greater awareness of thinking

• Better causal reasoning

• Better understanding of other people

Thought in Childhood and Adolescence

Child Adolescent• Limited to what is Considers possibilities

• Limited to present Considers abstract concepts and ideas

• Haphazard testing Planned testing

• Own view Perspective of others

Formal Operational Thought

• Thinking about possibilities

• Thinking abstractly

• Thinking through hypotheses

• Thinking about thinking

• Considering the perspective of others

– Imaginary audience – Personal fable

Lawrence KohlbergMoral Development

• Moral action is guided by inner conscience

– I will do (or wont do) what I am supposed to do because I think (or don’t think) it is the right thing to do.

• Follow the rules or laws– Do what is expected– Conformity– Gain approval, avoid disapproval

• Self Interest– Gain reward– Avoid punishment

Problems with Kolhberg’s theory

Cultural Bias-

Western countries seem to progress to the Post Conventional level of reasoning more than Eastern.

Sampling-

Only white middle class boys interviewed. Not a good basis for universal concept.

Stages-

Need to progress without skipping/ regressing.

Evidence to suggest we move up and down at different points in our lives.