Infant Development PDF

Social Devo part 1 Lecture 11: The Earliest Social Abilities (PS1001 Lecture 11 - The…) Key Themes: Importance of Social Cognition: Predicts success in relationships, education, and behavior into adulthood. Empathy, perspective-taking, and cooperation are cr...

Social Devo part 1 Lecture 11: The Earliest Social Abilities (PS1001 Lecture 11 - The…) Key Themes: Importance of Social Cognition: Predicts success in relationships, education, and behavior into adulthood. Empathy, perspective-taking, and cooperation are critical skills. Infant Abilities: Facilitating Bonds: Humans are born physically helpless, relying on social bonds for survival. Babies possess "babyness" features (large heads, round cheeks) that evoke caregiving behaviors (Lorenz, 1943). Social Sensitivity: Infants recognize their mother's voice within 2-3 days of birth (Decasper & Fifer, 1980). Prenatal learning includes recognition of sounds and stories (Decasper & Spence, 1986). Face Perception: Prefer faces over other stimuli by 2 days old (Fantz, 1960). Recognize their mother's face after 5.5 hours of exposure (Bushnell, 2001). Prefer direct gaze and happy expressions. Neonatal Imitation: Infants as young as 42 minutes mimic facial expressions, aiding in social bonding (MeltzoY & Moore, 1977). Lecture 12: Revolutions in Infant Development (PS1001 Lecture 12 - Rev…) Key Themes: '9-Month Revolution': Infants begin showing shared intentionality and imitation (Tomasello, 1995). Social skills emerging between 9-14 months include: Joint attention: Following gaze and gestures to share focus. Social referencing: Using others’ emotional cues to guide behavior. Early cooperation: Engaging in tasks with shared goals (Warneken et al., 2006). Social Learning Mechanisms: Imitation: Copying both action and goal. Emulation: Achieving the same goal through a diYerent means. Mimicry: Copying without understanding the goal. Lecture 13: Attachment and Prosocial Behavior (PN1001 Lecture 13 - Att…) Key Themes: Attachment Theories: Freud’s Drive-Reduction Theory: Attachment arises from satisfying biological drives. Bowlby’s Ethological Theory: Attachment provides a secure base for exploration and learning. Harlow’s Studies: Baby monkeys preferred cloth mothers for comfort over wire mothers providing food, supporting Bowlby’s theory. Patterns of Attachment (Ainsworth's Strange Situation Test): Secure: Balanced exploration and seeking comfort. Insecure Avoidant: Minimal distress or interest in caregiver. Insecure Resistant: Ambivalence towards caregiver’s return.  Disorganized: Dazed and apprehensive responses. Prosocial Behavior: Seen as early as 12-18 months (Warneken & Tomasello, 2006). Includes helping others without reward and providing information (Liszkowski et al., 2006). Chimpanzees also display altruism but diYer in cooperative behaviors. Long-Term Impacts: Disrupted attachment leads to social and emotional impairments. Secure attachment is crucial for balanced exploration and relational development. Lecture 14: Theory of Mind Definition: Attribution of mental states (perceptions, intentions, desires, emotions, thoughts, knowledge, beliefs) to oneself and others (Premack & WoodruY, 1978). Enables explanation and prediction of behavior based on inferred unobservable mental states. Key Milestones: 9-Month Revolution (Tomasello, 1995): Infants show understanding of perception, attention, and goals. Empathy & Emotions: Newborns display emotional contagion. By 14-18 months, infants show concern and attempt to comfort distressed others. Desires: 18-month-olds understand others' desires may diYer from their own (Repacholi & Gopnik, 1997). False Beliefs: Explicit tests (e.g., Sally-Anne) passed by 4+-year-olds. Implicit tests (anticipatory looking) passed as early as 15 months (Onishi & Baillargeon, 2005). Animal Studies: Chimpanzees show limited but significant understanding of perception, knowledge, and implicit false beliefs (Krupenye et al., 2016). Lecture 15: Nonverbal Communication Intentional Communication: Begins at 9-10 months (sometimes as early as 6 months for communicative looks). Indicators include eye contact and alternation of gaze. Types of Gestures: Dyadic (Non-referential): Early gestures with unclear intentionality. Triadic (Referential): Pointing and gaze alternation used to share focus. Imperative Gestures: Requesting objects (e.g., reaching). Declarative Gestures: Sharing interest or attention. Iconic Gestures: Increase around 2-3 years (e.g., mimicking actions). Animal Communication: Chimpanzees use complex gestural communication but lack declarative gestures typical of humans. Vervet Monkeys' Alarm Calls: Referential calls for specific predators (e.g., leopards, snakes) demonstrate primitive "word-like" meaning (Cheney & Seyfarth, 1980s). Lecture 16: Language Acquisition Development Stages: Pre-linguistic Vocalizations: Coos, gurgles (early months). Babbling: Around 6 months; no meaning yet. First Words: Around 1 year; often holophrases. Vocabulary Spurt: Around 18 months; rapid word acquisition. Grammar Mastery: By 5 years, children understand adult-like grammar. Theories of Language Acquisition: Behaviorist Theory (Skinner): Learning through reinforcement and imitation. Criticism: Children often produce novel sentences not heard before. Nativist Theory (Chomsky): Innate Language Acquisition Device (LAD) with universal grammar. Supported by poverty of stimulus argument. Social Interactionist Theory (Bruner, Tomasello): Language learned through social interaction and scaYolding. Critical Periods: Early childhood crucial for acquiring native language proficiency. Evidence from feral/deprived children and delayed sign language learners. Facilitating Language Development: Use of child-directed speech ("motherese"). Routines, scaYolding, and following the child's focus enhance learning. Lecture 7: Object Permanence and Practical Intelligence (Lect 7 ObjectPerm 22-25…) Overview of Piaget’s Theory:  Sensorimotor Intelligence: Actions organized into a self-organizing system during the first two years of life. Develops understanding of fundamental categories: object, causality, space, time. Object Permanence: Understanding that objects exist independently, even when unseen. Initial lack of permanence: infants see the world as separate, inconsistent scenes. Development Stages: Stage 2 (4 months): Visual tracking begins; objects are "kept in sight." Stage 3 (6 months): Transparent cup tests show objects exist only when perceived. Stage 4 (9 months): Objects hidden under opaque covers are found. Errors: "A-not-B error" (search at original location despite seeing relocation). Stage 5 (12 months): Overcomes A-not-B error but struggles with invisible displacements. Stage 6 (20 months): Fully understand invisible displacements; transition to symbolic representation. Cross-Cultural and Evolutionary Perspectives: Universal stages in human infants; replicated in primates. Non-human primates like macaques may not fully develop invisible displacement understanding. Lecture 8: Modern Research on Infant Cognition (Lect 8 postPiaget Infan…) Limitations of Piaget’s Methods: Piaget relied on infant actions to infer knowledge, which might underestimate infant understanding. Modern Methods: Looking-Time Experiments: Habituation/Dishabituation Paradigm: Infants look longer at unexpected changes. Example: Kellman & Spelke (1983): At 4 months, infants expect occluded objects to be whole (if parts move together). Baillargeon’s Research: Infants as young as 3.5 months exhibit object permanence using visual tests: Impossible events (e.g., solid objects passing through each other) elicit longer looks. Core Knowledge Hypothesis (Spelke, 1992): Infants possess innate knowledge systems for reasoning about objects. Criticism of Piaget: Knowledge isn't fully tied to sensorimotor actions. A-Not-B Error Theories: Possible explanations include working memory limitations and action-perception conflicts. Lecture 9: Cross-Modal Integration and Early Number Understanding (Lect 9 PostP babies for…) Cross-Modal Integration: Infants can link sensory modalities: Example: Meltzoe & Borton (1979): One-month-olds match the shape of a pacifier felt in the mouth with a visual image. Early Number Understanding:  Habituation Paradigm: Infants at 6 months discriminate between groups with 2 vs. 3 objects. Wynn (1992): 5-month-olds understand simple arithmetic (e.g., addition and subtraction with Mickey Mouse figures). Object Individuation: Two systems: 1. Spatiotemporal (10 months): Rely on movement/location cues. 2. Featural/Property-based (12 months): Understand diYerences based on object properties. Lecture 10: Preschool Cognition After Piaget (Lect 10 PostP Preschool…) Reassessing Piaget’s Tasks: Traditional tasks may underestimate preschoolers’ knowledge. Example: Using a playful “naughty teddy bear” improves conservation task performance. Class Inclusion: Preschoolers perform better with tasks emphasizing grouping terms (e.g., “family of sheep”). Perspective-Taking: Tasks like the "Three Mountains" test may misrepresent preschoolers as egocentric. Practical scenarios (e.g., pointing objects) suggest better perspective-taking. Procedural vs. Declarative Knowledge: Procedural (implicit) knowledge precedes explicit knowledge. Example: Balancing asymmetrical blocks improves from trial-and-error (implicit) to rule-based understanding (explicit). Developmental U-Shaped Curve: Initial correct responses might regress as children form partial theories, then improve with explicit knowledge. Key Takeaways Across Lectures: 1. Infant and preschool cognition is more advanced than Piaget believed but involves diYerent types of knowledge (implicit vs. explicit). 2. Cross-modal integration and early arithmetic suggest innate or rapidly developing capabilities. 3. Modern methodologies (e.g., looking time experiments) provide deeper insights into early cognitive abilities. Lecture 4: Evolution and Development (EvoDevo) Key Concepts: Development vs. Evolution: Development (Ontogeny): Changes from birth leading to physical growth and psychological advancement ("bigger and wiser"). Evolution (Phylogeny): Changes over time that give rise to diverse species through adaptation. Developmental-Evolutionary Interconnection: Evolution influences developmental trajectories, not just adult forms. Prolonged infancy in primates suggests adaptive advantages in extended development. Mechanisms of Evolution: Darwinian Natural Selection: Involves competition, variation, and heritability. Adaptive Radiation: Illustrated by Darwin’s finches, showcasing evolution in response to environmental changes. EvoDevo in Artificial Intelligence: Neural networks develop by interacting with environments and are influenced by evolutionary principles. Morphogenesis:  Formation of new patterns and structures during development and evolution. Case Studies: Darwin’s Finches: Evolutionary changes in beak size during droughts. Tool Use in Animals: Examined as a complex behavioral adaptation. Developmental Psychology: Describes and explains how behaviors and cognition evolve, such as walking or tool use. Lecture 5: Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Overview: Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development: Sensorimotor (0-2 years): Practical intelligence through actions. Preoperational (3-6 years): Symbolic intelligence with limited logical reasoning. Concrete Operational (7-11 years): Logical operations focused on concrete concepts. Formal Operational (12+ years): Abstract and hypothetical-deductive reasoning. Key Concepts: Operations: Mental activities with logical structures, such as conservation. Constructivist Theory: Intelligence develops through interaction between innate abilities and the environment. Stages are domain-general, cutting across all knowledge domains. Conservation Tasks: Example: Conservation of liquid and number, where younger children struggle to understand invariant properties.  Mechanisms of Cognitive Change: Assimilation: Integrating new information into existing frameworks. Accommodation: Adjusting frameworks to fit new information. Qualitative Changes: Intelligence re-organizes at each stage to handle increasingly complex realities. Lecture 6: Sensorimotor Intelligence and Early Development Focus on Infants: Sensorimotor Stages: Stages 1-6 (0-24 months): Progression from reflex-based actions to intentional problem-solving using mental representations. Mechanisms of Change: DiYerentiation and coordination of schemas (action patterns) evolve through assimilation and accommodation. Developmental Sequences: Observations of grasping, looking, and object manipulation highlight sensorimotor intelligence. Practical Problem Solving: Evolution of tool use from trial and error to insightful actions. Action and Intelligence: Piaget emphasized the role of self-organized, goal-directed action as a driver of cognitive growth. Debate Resolution: Piaget integrated Behaviorist (trial and error) and Gestalt (insight) theories, proposing that learning mechanisms develop progressively with intelligence.