Infant Development Psychology

Infant Development

• Developmental Psychology focuses on how children learn over time, including language acquisition.
• Teratogens like cigarette smoke can negatively affect a developing fetus, leading to low birth weight.
• Dynamic Systems Theory explains infant development as a combination of various skills, and how they emerge.
• Newborn Reflexes are crucial for survival; e.g., the rooting reflex helps find a nipple.
• Preferential Looking Technique shows infants’ visual preferences, for example, faces over other shapes.
• Infants have limited visual acuity, best focusing on objects 8-12 inches away.
• Memory starts developing in infancy and plays a role in later life; recognized toys, for instance.
• Harlow's study demonstrates the importance of "contact comfort" to infants, even more so compared to food, evidenced by monkeys.
• Separation anxiety is common as infants develop attachment to caregivers.
• Attachment Styles consist of secure (comforted upon return) and insecure (avoidant/ambivalent responses).
• The Strange Situation Test helps evaluate infant attachment by observing reactions to parent separation and return.

Cognitive Development

• Piaget's Stages of cognitive development describe distinct stages of thinking:
  • Sensorimotor (birth-2): Learning through sensory interaction.
  • Preoperational (2-7): Symbolic thinking but egocentric.
  • Concrete Operational (7-12): Logical thinking on tangible objects.
  • Formal Operational (12+): Abstract and theoretical reasoning.
• Assimilation involves fitting new information into existing mental frameworks.
• Accommodation involves adapting existing frameworks to new information.
• Object Permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when not seen.
• Conservation shows understanding that quantities remain constant despite changes in form (volume or number).
• Categorization involves grouping objects based on shared characteristics ("dogs" vs. "cats").
• Egocentrism is the inability to see from another's perspective.
• The Three Mountains Task assesses egocentrism, measuring a child’s ability perceive a scene from another's point of view.
• Theory of Mind illustrates understanding that others have different beliefs and perspectives.
• Criticisms of Piaget's theory include the possibility of underestimating children's cognitive capabilities.

Moral Development

• Kohlberg's Stages of moral development outline stages of ethical reasoning:
  • Preconventional: Avoiding punishment or seeking rewards.
  • Conventional: Following rules and upholding social norms.
  • Postconventional: Reasoning based on abstract ethical principles.
• Criticisms of Kohlberg's theory point to its possible overemphasis on justice while neglecting other moral aspects (e.g., care).
• Alzheimer’s Disease is marked by gradual and progressive memory loss.

Emotion

• Circumplex Model visually represents emotions along dimensions like valence (positive/negative) and arousal (high/low).
• Primary Emotions are basic feelings like happiness, sadness, and fear.
• Secondary Emotions are more complex feelings, like guilt and pride.
• Brain Structures involved in emotion include the amygdala, which processes fear responses.
• Polygraphs measure physiological responses (e.g., heart rate) to infer deception.
• Theories of Emotion:
  • James-Lange: Emotion follows physiological response.
  • Cannon-Bard: Emotion and physiological response occur simultaneously.
  • Two-Factor: Emotion is a combination of arousal and its cognitive interpretation.
• Facial Feedback Hypothesis suggests that facial expressions influence emotional experiences.
• Universal Facial Expressions are common across cultures.
• Guilt and Blushing illustrate emotional reactions influenced by actions.

Motivation

• Motivation has four key aspects: energizing, directive, persistent, and strength changing.
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs prioritizes needs, starting with basic (physiological) and progressing to higher-level needs (self-actualization).
• Drives and Homeostasis demonstrate the body's balance-seeking nature.
• Yerkes-Dodson Law highlights the optimal arousal level for performance enhancement.
• Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation contrasts internal joy (intrinsic) with external rewards (extrinsic) for actions.
• Self-Regulation involves controlling behavior to reach goals, also known as "hot cognition."
• Overeating can be influenced by the sensory-specific satiety effect.

Explore the fascinating aspects of infant development in this quiz. Learn about critical topics such as language acquisition, the effects of teratogens, and attachment styles. Test your knowledge on how various factors influence the growth and learning processes in infants.