Janet Belsky’sExperiencing the Lifespan,

2e

Chapter 3:Infancy: Physical and

Cognitive Development

Meredyth Fellows, West Chester University of PA

Postpartum Depression

_______________________  Data from three states indicate that nearly

12% of women reported being moderately depressed after they delivered their baby, and 6% reported being very depressed after delivery. In addition to directly influencing the emotional wellbeing of mothers, postpartum depression (PPD) has been shown to affect marital relationships, mother–infant bonding, and infant behavior

The Expanding Brain:Blossoming and Sculpting

Brain Growth Following Birth Experiences fastest growth during

infancy Cerebral cortex comes “on-line” a few

months after birth Cerebral Cortex: outer folded mantle of

brain; responsible for thinking, reasoning, perceiving, and all conscious processes

In 20 years brain volume quadruples and growth is complete.

The Expanding Brain Recall during fetal period neurons

are formed After birth, _______________ -

proliferation of connections at the synapses Exuberant synaptogenesis and

__________ _________: formation of fatty layer

encasing axons Visual cortex myelinated by 1

year Frontal lobes, age 20 or beyond

Neural Pruning and Plasticity: Interaction of Nature and Nurture

_________: the brain is “plastic” (malleable) during early childhood before pruning is complete Following a brain injury or

insult, plasticity allows other brain regions to compensate

Following childhood the brain is less plastic

Rehabilitation following a brain injury will help to compensate for the injury (e.g following a stroke).

Basic Newborn States: Reflexes

Reflexes: Instinctive, automatic

responses Present at birth;

promote survival _____________________

_______________________________________

Nutrition: Breast Milk Breast Milk: recommended for 1st six months

Protects from diseases Correlational studies show that breast-fed babies:

are more alert during first two weeks experience fewer gastrointestinal problems and

ear infections are more resistant to day care diseases, colds

and flu are advanced in developmental tasks as

toddlers appear to be superior in later measures of

intelligence in elementary school (cautious assumption – next slide!)

Nutrition: Breast Milk Breast Milk Studies: must consider 3rd variable –

Social Class Mothers from higher SES may have more

opportunity to breast feed (lower SES mothers may have to work).

Health - premature babies may not have the opportunity

Health of the mother may deter breast feeding (HIV)

Social support and a culture that supports breast feeding are crucial factors in the choice to breast feed.

Crying: First Communication Signal

Crying: Lifetime peak at about 5 weeks Reflex dominated before the cortex is “on-line”

at 4 months Vital to survival (responsive parenting is a

must!) _________: frantic, continual crying during first 3

months Caused by immature digestive system Another expert’s suggestion: immature

nervous system May contribute to parental stress, but is

temporary!

Intervention: What Quiets a Young Baby?

Pacifier __________

Mirrors womb Kangaroo Care

Hold close to body in baby sling

Infant Massage Helps to calm infants

and contributes to growth in premature babies

Sleeping: Main Newborn State

Newborns, 18 hrs. a day

Note high % of sleep states: drowsy, quiet, and REM sleep

Unlike adult sleep cycle, newborns drop immediately into REM sleep

Newborns wake every 3-4 hours

6 months, may sleep 6 hrs. a night

1 year, 12 hrs. a night and naps during day

Sleep Cycles

Sensory and Motor Development Hearing

In the womb, fetuses can discriminate different tones

Smell Infants prefer smell of breast milk within the

first week Taste:

Infants stop sucking and wrinkle face in response to bitter, sour, salty tastes

Avidly suck on sweet solutions Pain management technique - have infant

suck on sweet substance

Focusing on Faces

Newborns prefer faces to other stimuli, especially mother’s face

Prefer attractive-looking people

Infants mimic facial expressions

Depth Perception: the Visual Cliff Experiment

When 8 month-old babies begin to crawl they perceive differences in depth and fear heights. Notice survival

response! Video Joe Campo

s

Cognitive Development: Piaget

Stage Approach Studied his

children Schemas Assimilation Accommodation Adaptation

Cognition Sensorimotor Stage: birth to 2

Explore world through senses _______________

Repetitive action-oriented schemas (habits)

Primary (body-centered), Secondary (environment), Tertiary (“little scientist”)

Through circular reactions, infant explores and incorporates new information into existing schemas

Sensorimotor Stage Stage 1: reflexes 0-1 month

Proficiency at sucking, grasping Lack ability to deliberately grasp or suck

Stage 2: primary circular reactions 1-4 months Repetition of pleasurable behavior which occurs by chance (involves own

body) Stage 3: secondary circular reactions 4 – 8 months

Repetition of pleasurable behavior which occurs by chance, but involves deliberate manipulation of object in environment

Stage 4: purposeful coordination of secondary schemes 8-12months Combinations of actions (leaning and grasping) (looking, crawling, grasping)

Stage 5: tertiary circular reactions 12 – 18 months Exploration using new or novel actions Formation of trial and error discovery

Stage 6: mental solutions 18 – 24 months Thinking about problems to develop solutions Internalization of trial and error Accompanied by language formation

Tracking Early Thinking: Sensorimotor Stage _____________: repeating an action

observed at an early time Means-end behavior: about 1 yr.,

performing a different action to reach a goal Flushing something down the toilet!

____________: even though a baby sees an object hidden in a 2nd hiding place, he/she goes back to the first hiding place to find it! Classic mistake in Sensorimotor stage Baby approaches 1 year (little-scientist stage)

A-not-B Error: Sensorimotor Stage-Video

Object-Permanence: Sensorimotor Stage

Understanding that objects exist even when we can no longer see them.

In the early Sensorimotor stage, an object does not exist unless the infant can see it!

Around 5-6 months, infants begin to look for hidden objects

About 8 months develops object-permanence (“little-scientist stage”)

Peek-a-Boo a favorite game!!

Sequence of Language Development

Prelinguistic Period◦ Crying at birth◦ _______(video) at 2 months◦ _________(video) at 6 months

Spoken Words- Video◦ Appears at about 10 months

Typically only a few words are known By 18 months between 3 to 50 words Two word utterances begin 18 to 24 months

◦ _________(Video) appear at about 2 to 4 years

Language: Basic Principles

_________ language abilities outpace expressive language skills

Infant-directed speech Higher pitched, elongated vowels,

exaggerated tones Attracts baby’s interest (heart rate

deceleration evidence of baby’s interest)