DEV2004 - Chapter 3 Infancy and Toddlerhood

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Questions and Answers

What is the average weight of a newborn in the United States?

7.5 pounds (correct)

10 pounds

12 pounds

5 pounds

At what age does an infant typically triple its birth weight?

6 months

2 months

1 year (correct)

18 months

By what age does an infant's weight typically quadruple compared to its birth weight?

2 years (correct)

6 months

18 months

1 year

How much of its body weight does an infant typically lose during the first few days of life?

5 percent Signup and view all the answers

What is the approximate length of an average one-year-old infant?

29.5 inches Signup and view all the answers

What percentage of an infant's entire length does its head comprise at birth?

25 percent Signup and view all the answers

How has the significance of development during infancy and toddlerhood been viewed by some researchers?

Overemphasized Signup and view all the answers

By age 25, what percentage of our body's length does the head comprise?

20 percent Signup and view all the answers

What process occurs after the period of synaptic blooming?

Synaptic pruning Signup and view all the answers

What major change in the brain helps to improve the transmission rate of neural impulses?

Myelination Signup and view all the answers

By what age may a single neuron have thousands of dendrites due to exuberance?

Two years Signup and view all the answers

Which part of the brain is primarily involved in thinking, planning, and judgment?

Frontal lobe Signup and view all the answers

Which area of the brain develops the earliest?

Primary motor areas Signup and view all the answers

What percentage of synaptic connections is estimated to be lost due to pruning?

40 percent Signup and view all the answers

What term describes the process where specific functions become localized on one hemisphere of the brain?

Lateralization Signup and view all the answers

Which lobe of the brain is located at the very back of the skull?

Occipital lobe Signup and view all the answers

At birth, what percentage of adult brain size does a newborn's brain represent?

33 percent Signup and view all the answers

During which life stage does most of the rapid neural growth occur?

Infancy Signup and view all the answers

What is neuroplasticity primarily concerned with?

The brain's ability to change physically and chemically Signup and view all the answers

At what age do children typically average about 10 hours of sleep per 24 hours?

By 2 years Signup and view all the answers

Which type of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) is the leading cause of death in infants 1 to 12 months old?

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Signup and view all the answers

What percentage of a newborn's sleep is typically in the REM phase?

30% to 50% Signup and view all the answers

Which factor influences the brain's plasticity the least compared to others?

Age Signup and view all the answers

How many infants died from accidental suffocation and strangulation in 2017?

900 Signup and view all the answers

What was the main recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics regarding infant sleep?

Infants should sleep on their backs Signup and view all the answers

What is a suggested hypothesis regarding the cause of SIDS?

Abnormalities in the brainstem regulating breathing Signup and view all the answers

What sleep pattern do newborns typically exhibit?

Polyphasic sleep Signup and view all the answers

What year did the Back to Sleep Campaign begin?

1994 Signup and view all the answers

At what age do infants start showing a preference for their native language?

Between six and nine months Signup and view all the answers

How do newborns respond to circumcision performed without anesthesia?

They have increased blood pressure and heart rate. Signup and view all the answers

Which flavor do newborns show a preference for?

Sweet Signup and view all the answers

What ability do infants demonstrate through intermodal perception?

Matching visual and tactile stimuli Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of the sucking reflex in habituation studies?

It demonstrates discrimination between auditory stimuli. Signup and view all the answers

Infants who show slower habituation rates are at risk for which of the following?

Significant developmental delays Signup and view all the answers

What is considered the ideal diet for newborns?

Breast milk Signup and view all the answers

What is one way infants demonstrate their ability to distinguish between different sounds?

They demonstrate habituation in sucking rate. Signup and view all the answers

Newborns show a preference for the smell of which of the following?

Their mother's breast pad Signup and view all the answers

At what age do high-risk infants show rates of habituation comparable to newborns?

16 months Signup and view all the answers

What is colostrum often referred to as due to its rich nutrient content?

Liquid gold Signup and view all the answers

How does breast milk change within the first few days after birth?

It becomes much thinner Signup and view all the answers

Which infection rates are higher in formula-fed infants compared to breastfed infants?

Ear infections Signup and view all the answers

What benefit does breastfeeding provide to mothers regarding their subsequent pregnancies?

Helps the uterus regain its normal size Signup and view all the answers

At what average age can babies typically hold up their heads?

6 weeks Signup and view all the answers

Which condition has been linked to lower rates in children who are breastfed?

Childhood leukemia Signup and view all the answers

What is the average age when most babies can sit alone?

7 months Signup and view all the answers

What is a common reason why mothers in the United States stop breastfeeding exclusively?

Return to work outside the home Signup and view all the answers

By what age can infants typically reach for an object, beginning with both arms?

4 months Signup and view all the answers

What is the focus of fine motor skills?

Manipulation of objects Signup and view all the answers

What alternative feeding method can mothers use if they cannot breastfeed directly?

Expressing and freezing breast milk Signup and view all the answers

What added financial benefit does breastfeeding have compared to formula feeding?

Breast milk costs significantly less than bottled formula Signup and view all the answers

What visual acuity can an 8-week-old infant typically see?

20/300 Signup and view all the answers

What emotional development outcome is common to both breastfed and bottle-fed infants?

They adjust equally well emotionally Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements is true about an infant's vision at birth?

Newborns cannot see further than 8 to 10 inches. Signup and view all the answers

Why are women with HIV generally discouraged from breastfeeding?

It may pass the infection to the infant Signup and view all the answers

By what age does visual acuity improve to about 20/200?

3 months Signup and view all the answers

What is a common reason for concern regarding a child's development?

If delays are observed in multiple developmental milestones. Signup and view all the answers

What are gross motor skills primarily associated with?

Larger movements of the body Signup and view all the answers

What can early intervention help with in terms of child development?

Identifying and addressing developmental delays Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary way infants learn about the world during the sensorimotor stage?

Through their senses and motor abilities Signup and view all the answers

In which substage do infants begin to intentionally repeat actions that are pleasurable?

Primary Circular Reactions Signup and view all the answers

What process involves modifying existing schemas to fit new experiences?

Accommodation Signup and view all the answers

Which substage involves infants interacting with their environment and demonstrating deliberate actions?

Coordination of Secondary Circular Reactions Signup and view all the answers

During which substage do toddlers begin exploring the world using trial-and-error methods?

Tertiary Circular Reactions Signup and view all the answers

What term describes the cognitive framework that helps children organize and interpret information?

Schema Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary conclusion regarding bed-sharing and its relation to SIDS in infants under three months old?

Bed-sharing increases the risk of SIDS regardless of parental habits. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main characteristic of the Reflexes substage of the sensorimotor stage?

Infants use reflexive actions to learn about the world Signup and view all the answers

What does Piaget mean by cognitive equilibrium?

The balance between assimilation and accommodation Signup and view all the answers

Which reflex is described as a response where the toes fan out and curl when the sole of the foot is stroked?

Babinski reflex Signup and view all the answers

In cultures where co-sleeping is common, what sleeping surfaces do parents and infants typically use?

Floor mats and hard surfaces Signup and view all the answers

Which substage marks the onset of representational thought in infants?

Substage 6 Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'Cephalocaudal' refer to in the context of motor development?

Development from the head to the tail Signup and view all the answers

What process occurs when a child learns that a horse is not a zebra, leading to the formation of distinct schemas?

Accommodation Signup and view all the answers

Which reflex is replaced by more voluntary behaviors as infants grow older?

Stepping reflex Signup and view all the answers

What is the effect of persistent reflexes beyond their expected duration in infants?

They may hinder normal development. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following reflexes helps infants feeding by enabling them to suck on stimuli?

Sucking reflex Signup and view all the answers

What is suggested by the analysis of 8207 deaths concerning the age group most affected by bed-sharing?

Infants aged 0-3 months are at higher risk of death by bed-sharing. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the stepping reflex observed in infants?

Legs move in a stepping-like motion when feet touch a surface. Signup and view all the answers

What role do reflexes play in assessing the health of an infant's nervous system?

Reflexes indicate neurological impairment when absent. Signup and view all the answers

Which sign indicates an infant may be ready for solid food?

Can sit up without support Signup and view all the answers

What is the first type of solid food that should be introduced to an infant?

Iron-fortified infant cereal Signup and view all the answers

Why should honey and corn syrup be avoided for children under 12 months?

They often contain botulism spores Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes infantile marasmus?

Starvation due to lack of calories and protein Signup and view all the answers

Which groups are most at risk for malnutrition?

Children in developing countries and war-affected regions Signup and view all the answers

What should be done when introducing new foods to an infant?

Introduce one new food at a time Signup and view all the answers

What is a potential long-term consequence of early malnutrition?

Lower IQ scores Signup and view all the answers

Why is it advised to avoid sticky and round foods for young children?

They may lead to choking hazards Signup and view all the answers

What is the reported global situation regarding child wasting in 2014?

50 million children experienced wasting Signup and view all the answers

At what age can infants typically perceive the full spectrum of colors?

By five months Signup and view all the answers

What do newborns prefer when it comes to visual stimuli?

Face-like stimuli over other patterns Signup and view all the answers

What is a common symptom of severe malnutrition in infants?

Swelling of the abdomen Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements about infants' eye movements at one month old is true?

Their movements are saccadic and lag behind object motion. Signup and view all the answers

When does binocular vision begin to develop in infants?

Around three months Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of infants' attention span at one month old?

They can focus on stimuli for extended periods. Signup and view all the answers

What preference do infants show regarding specific voices?

They prefer their mother’s voice over another female’s. Signup and view all the answers

By what age do infants typically develop smoother eye movements?

By three months Signup and view all the answers

What ability do infants demonstrate as early as one month after birth regarding sounds?

They can identify their mother's voice. Signup and view all the answers

What do infants typically prefer in terms of speech patterns?

High-pitched, exaggerated speech Signup and view all the answers

How do infants respond to visual depth after gaining experience crawling?

They pay greater attention to visual cues of depth. Signup and view all the answers

What cognitive ability marks the end of the sensorimotor period?

Beginning of representational thought Signup and view all the answers

At what age do infants typically acquire the milestone of object permanence?

8 months Signup and view all the answers

What behavior indicates that a child has developed object permanence?

Reaching for a hidden toy Signup and view all the answers

What is a key sign of stranger anxiety in infants?

Clinging to caregivers Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of Piaget's theory has been critiqued by modern developmental psychologists?

The timeline for mastering object permanence Signup and view all the answers

Which method revealed that infants might have knowledge of objects earlier than Piaget suggested?

Object retrieval tasks Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of a child retrieving a hidden object after a short waiting period?

Shows cognitive development related to object permanence Signup and view all the answers

What happens when a child is unable to assimilate a stranger into an existing schema?

They might experience stranger anxiety Signup and view all the answers

What concept explains that a child understands an object still exists even when it is not visible?

Object permanence Signup and view all the answers

At what age did some studies find that infants could retrieve a hidden object with a very short waiting period?

6 months Signup and view all the answers

What can a person learn by spending time with an infant regarding their cries?

Which cries indicate different emotional states Signup and view all the answers

What is cooing characterized by?

One-syllable combinations of consonant and vowel sounds Signup and view all the answers

How do infants begin to learn conversational skills?

Through alternating their vocalizations with others Signup and view all the answers

What unique characteristic is observed in the cooing of infants based on their parents' language?

Infants replicate sounds from the languages spoken to them Signup and view all the answers

At what age do infants typically start producing more elaborate vocalizations?

At four to six months Signup and view all the answers

What role does cooing serve for an infant?

To practice vocalization and entertain themselves Signup and view all the answers

What is the smallest unit of sound in language called?

Phoneme Signup and view all the answers

How does syntax function in a language?

It is the set of rules for constructing sentences. Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of language deals with the context surrounding communication?

Pragmatics Signup and view all the answers

What is typically the first way that newborns communicate?

Crying and facial expressions Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes morphemes?

The smallest units of meaning Signup and view all the answers

At what age do infants begin to lose the ability to recognize phonemes from different languages?

10 months Signup and view all the answers

What changes how words are interpreted in a conversation?

Contextual information Signup and view all the answers

What does semantics refer to in language?

The set of rules for obtaining meaning from morphemes Signup and view all the answers

Which component of language is specifically involved with word arrangement in sentences?

Syntax Signup and view all the answers

Which characteristic distinguishes human language from the communication systems of other species?

Capability for abstract thought Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary factor contributing to infantile amnesia?

Immaturity of specific brain areas Signup and view all the answers

How does context affect infant memory according to the research?

Similar contexts enhance memory retrieval Signup and view all the answers

What did Baillargeon's findings suggest about infants' understanding of objects?

Infants recognize that solid objects cannot pass through each other Signup and view all the answers

At what age do infants typically show improved memory retention without the need for practice?

12 months Signup and view all the answers

What hypothesis relates to the lack of linguistic skills in infants affecting memory?

Lack of language limits mental representation of events Signup and view all the answers

What type of memory is demonstrated by Rovee-Collier's studies regarding infants and the mobile?

Episodic memory Signup and view all the answers

Which factor is NOT mentioned as contributing to the understanding of infant memory?

Parental involvement Signup and view all the answers

What happens to infant memory over time according to the studies mentioned?

Memory for events fades if not retrieved Signup and view all the answers

What is one way Rovee-Collier found to aid infants in memory retrieval?

Showing the mobile before retrieval Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Overall Physical Growth

Average weight of a U.S. newborn is about 7.5 pounds and length is approximately 20 inches.
Infants may lose roughly 5% of their body weight in the first few days, which is normal and followed by rapid weight gain.
By 4 months, an infant typically doubles its birth weight, and by one year, it has tripled; by age 2, weight quadruples (20-40 pounds).
Average lengths are about 29.5 inches at one year and 34.4 inches at two years.

Body Proportions

At birth, the head accounts for 25% of body length; significantly larger proportionally than in adults where it's about 20%.

Brain Development

Infants are born with approximately 85 billion neurons, starting a phase of rapid dendrite growth, creating thousands of connections (synaptogenesis).
Synaptic blooming occurs during infancy, followed by synaptic pruning to enhance brain efficiency, resulting in a 40% loss of connections.
Myelination, occurring more dramatically in early years, speeds up neural impulse transmission and improves motor coordination and thought control.
Infant brain weight increases from about 250 grams at birth to 750 grams by one year, reaching 55% of adult size within 90 days.

Cortex Development

The cortex is involved in voluntary activity and thinking, divided into two hemispheres with four lobes each.
Primary motor areas mature before sensory areas; the prefrontal cortex, responsible for emotion regulation and judgment, develops last.

Lateralization and Neuroplasticity

Lateralization leads to the localization of brain functions, with the left hemisphere often dominating language and the right for visuospatial tasks.
Neuroplasticity allows the brain to reorganize itself, creating new connections in response to experience, highly pronounced in infants.

Sleep Patterns

Newborns typically sleep around 16.5 hours a day, decreasing to about 10 hours by age 2.
Infants spend about 50% of sleep in REM phase, gradually decreasing as they grow.

Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUID)

In the U.S., approximately 3,500 SUID occur each year, including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), which is the leading cause of death for infants aged 1-12 months.
1,400 deaths in 2017 were attributed to SIDS; potential causes include brainstem abnormalities affecting breathing regulation.

Bed sharing increases the risk of SIDS, especially in infants younger than 3 months; risks escalate with parental smoking or substance abuse.
Co-sleeping practices differ globally, with some cultures placing infants on hard surfaces to reduce suffocation risk.

Infant Reflexes

Newborns exhibit reflexes like sucking, rooting, grasping, and stepping, essential for survival and feeding.
Reflexes diminish over the first few months as voluntary movements develop, with continued assessment of reflex persistence revealing neurological health.

Motor Development

Motor skills progress through a cephalocaudal and proximodistal sequence, beginning with head control, leading to sitting, crawling, and walking.
Developmental milestones indicate average ages for skills like head control (6 weeks) and sitting unassisted (7 months).

Sensory Capacities

Newborn vision is poorly developed; they can focus at 8-10 inches and improve to 20/200 acuity by 3 months.
Hearing is keen at birth, evident early in prenatal development, with newborns preferring face-like stimuli.

Visual and Hearing Development

Binocular vision develops by three months, and depth perception improves with crawling experience, affecting visual attention.
Sensory systems evolve rapidly: newborns have immature but organized responses to visual stimulation, and hearing ability is fully functional shortly after birth.### Newborn Preferences and Abilities
Newborns demonstrate a preference for their mother's voice over other female voices, influenced by in-utero exposure to maternal sounds.
Research showed infants exposed to stories read by their mothers during pregnancy preferentially suck at familiar stories compared to novel ones.
Infants can distinguish between similar sounds by one month old and prefer exaggerated infant-directed speech.
Around six to nine months, infants show a preference for their native language, rapidly losing the ability to distinguish sounds from non-native languages.

Sensory Responsiveness

Newborns are highly sensitive to touch, temperature, and pain, responding with crying and increased heart rate.
Circumcision without anesthesia leads to immediate and measurable pain responses in infants, highlighting the need for pain management in such procedures.

Taste and Smell Preferences

Newborns can differentiate between various tastes, showing a preference for sweet flavors and the scent of their mothers.
Infants as young as six days old are more likely to turn toward their mother's breast pad over strangers'.

Intermodal Perception

Infants possess the ability to integrate information from multiple sensory modalities, such as matching pacifier textures to visual models.
By four months, infants can coordinate auditory and visual stimuli, revealing early cognitive development links through sensory experiences.

Habituation and Learning

Habituation procedures assess infants' perceptual and memory skills by measuring changes in their sucking rates in response to familiar versus novel stimuli.
The ability to habituate quickly is associated with successful language acquisition and cognitive development. High-risk infants may exhibit slower habituation, linking it to potential developmental delays.

Breastfeeding Benefits

Breast milk is ideal for infants, rich in nutrients and antibodies, with changing composition to meet newborn needs.
Formula-fed infants may experience higher rates of gastrointestinal issues and infections, emphasizing the importance of breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding is associated with lower risks of various health issues for mothers and infants, including several cancers and conditions like diabetes and obesity.

Introducing Solid Foods

Solid foods should be introduced based on developmental readiness, typically between 4 to 6 months.
Initial foods should be iron-fortified cereals, with new foods introduced one at a time to monitor for allergies.

Global Malnutrition

Children in developing countries face severe malnutrition, including infantile marasmus, linked to inadequate caloric and protein intake.
Despite worldwide declines in wasting, millions of children still suffer from malnutrition, primarily in Asia and Africa.

Piaget's Sensorimotor Stage

Piaget describes cognitive development through schemas, which are shaped by assimilation and accommodation as children interact with their environment.
The sensorimotor stage consists of six substages, from reflex-based learning to beginnings of representational thought and problem-solving by 18-24 months.

Development of Object Permanence

Object permanence, understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight, typically develops by eight months, enabling infants to actively seek hidden objects.
Stranger anxiety occurs alongside this milestone, where infants exhibit fear of unfamiliar people due to inability to assimilate strangers into their existing schemas.

Critique of Piaget

Modern research suggests that Piaget underestimated younger children's cognitive abilities, particularly relating to object permanence and understanding basic object properties.
Studies indicate infants show signs of object permanence earlier than Piaget proposed, challenging the timeline of his developmental stages.### Infant Object Knowledge
Infants as young as 3 months can demonstrate knowledge about object properties, even with no prior experience.
A study showed that 3-month-olds looked longer at impossible events, such as a truck passing through a solid, hollow box.
Baillargeon (1987) concluded that infants understand basic physical properties, contrasting with Piaget’s view of their cognitive limitations.

Infant Memory

Infant memory is fleeting and fragile due to brain immaturity, causing phenomena like infantile amnesia.
Several hypotheses explain infantile amnesia, including lack of brain development for autobiographical memory and limited linguistic skills in encoding memories.
Research by Rovee-Collier showed that 3-month-olds could remember experiences with a mobile, especially if they had previous exposure to it.
Context dependency is critical; infants recall memories better when retrieval conditions match the original learning environment.
Infants over 6 months retain information longer and require less prompting to recall past experiences compared to younger infants.

Language Development

Language is a complex communication system essential for expressing intelligence through talking, reading, and writing.
Phonemes are the smallest units of sound in a language, while morphemes are meaningful units that include prefixes and suffixes.
Semantics involves rules that dictate how meanings are derived from morphemes, while syntax governs how sentences are structured.
Pragmatics refers to the social rules of communication, including turn-taking and context interpretation, which is vital for effective interaction.
Words' meanings can change based on context, emphasizing the importance of nonverbal communication cues.

Language Acquisition

Language development follows a consistent order across cultures, starting even before birth as babies recognize their mother's voice.
Newborns communicate through cries, gestures, and facial expressions rather than spoken language.
Babies begin cooing shortly after birth, producing vowel-consonant combinations, and typically mimic sounds from their native language.
By 4-6 months, infants engage in more complex vocal interactions, learning conversational pacing and turn-taking with others.

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Description

This quiz covers the crucial development stages during infancy and toddlerhood, focusing on physical, cognitive, and socioemotional changes. Researchers emphasize the dramatic transformations that occur in the first two years of life, highlighting their long-term significance. Test your understanding of this foundational period of human development.