Week 4 - Development Infancy-Toddlerhood Student Slides PDF

Development: Infancy Through Toddlerhood PSY 323 – Professor Agbayani Last time: Describe processes associated with conception and prenatal development Describe processes associated with childbirth and the care of neonates (newborns) Today: Recap last class Introduce your fina...

Development: Infancy Through Toddlerhood PSY 323 – Professor Agbayani Last time: Describe processes associated with conception and prenatal development Describe processes associated with childbirth and the care of neonates (newborns) Today: Recap last class Introduce your final project – what? Discuss development from infancy to toddlerhood in the following domains: Physical: gross & fine motor development Cognitive: thinking & language Social/emotional: attachment theories (next week: temperament) Announcements: Next week we’ll be meeting in the Library Instructional Classroom LL305: Final project…what? Let’s check out Canvas  Reviewing & wrapping up the newborn unit LAST TIME: We covered stages of prenatal development (before birth) + things that may negatively impact development (teratogens) Talked about different birthing settings/techniques Learned that newborns are assessed on the APGAR scale twice after birth to assess need for intensive care LAST TIME we left off here: Overall physical appearance of the newborn Vernix—thick, greasy substance that smooths the passage through the birth canal Lanugo—fine, dark fuzz May have puffy eyelids May have blood or other fluids (leftover amniotic fluid) After baby is cleaned, they’re usually returned to the birthing parent for skin-to-skin contact Physical competence of the newborn As digestive system begins to function, newborns produce meconium (first stool) Several reflexes—unlearned, organized, involuntary responses that occur automatically in the presence of certain stimuli: Sucking, swallowing, and rooting reflexes Coughing, sneezing, and blinking  Reflex Approximate Age Description Possible Someof reflexes: Disappearance Function Rooting 3 weeks Turn head toward things that touch cheek Food intake Stepping 2 months Movement of legs when held upright with Preparation for feet touching floor independent locomotion Moro 6 months Startle reflex—arms are thrust outward Protection from and appear to grasp onto something falling Babinski 8-12 months Toes fan out in response to a stroke on the Unknown outside of foot Tonic neck 4 months When lying on the back with the head to Unknown – maybe one side, arm and leg on that side are coordination of extended while flexing the limbs on the upper and lower opposite side body Sucking 4 months;voluntary Suck at things that touch lips Food intake afterward Sensory capabilities Vision ○ Typically can’t see further than 8-16 inches away from their face ○ Can discriminate levels of brightness ○ Can distinguish different colors and may have color preferences Through infancy, favor high-contrast images/toys/objects Sensory capabilities Hearing ○ Evidence for hearing as early as 7 months gestation (before birth) ○ Exhibit familiarity with certain sounds ○ Acuity/accuracy is not fully developed Touch ○ Most well-developed sense at birth ○ Respond to stimuli (reflexes) and pain Sensory capabilities Smell and taste ○ Well-developed ○ Pucker lips when a sour taste is placed on them ○ Respond with suitable facial expressions to other tastes  Physical and Cognitive Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood What is considered “infancy” vs “toddlerhood”? Birth to age 2 Typically up to 1 year old is an “infant”, and after that we start to use the term “toddler”  Brain development Neurons (nerve cells) constantly forming newer, stronger connections Plasticity: the ability of our brains to adapt to change (e.g., in our environment, to damage)  Brain development Brain’s plasticity is greatest during the first several years of life Sensory experiences affect size of individual neurons & interconnections Enriched environment is valuable  Brain development Sensitive period for the development of vision and other senses Ways to provide a stimulating environment: Cuddling, talking, singing, playing, holding, reading Visual Perception Clear visual preferences Patterns over simple stimuli Curved lines over straight 3D figures over 2D Human faces to nonhuman Own mother’s face to other faces Genetically pre-programmed to prefer certain stimuli  Auditory Perception Have difficulties with sound localization, due to small head Can discriminate groups of different sounds well ○ React to changes in musical key and rhythm ○ Distinguish different voices ○ Preference for sounds heard in utero Sensitivity to Pain Infants are born with the capacity to experience pain Produces distress—heartbeat increases, they sweat, show discomfort, and change intensity and tone of crying ○ Exposure to pain as infants may result in greater sensitivity to pain when older Touch sensations ○ One of the most highly developed systems in a newborn, and throughout our lives Sensitive to touch by 32 weeks after conception (period of the fetus) Several basic reflexes operate on touch ○ Touch is helpful in exploring the world Social development (play, including social play)  Combining Sensory Inputs Intermodal Approach to Perception ○ Information from different individual sensory systems is integrated and coordinated, versus just using one sense ○ For example, vision and touch sensation working together to learn about an object  Combining Sensory Inputs How might this impact our preferences??? Infants who sucked on a pacifier with a smooth surface preferred looking at visual models of a pacifier with a smooth surface. BUT those given a pacifier with a textured surface preferred to look at a visual model of a pacifier with a textured surface!  Physical development after birth (just for reference – no need to know these exact numbers) A weight loss up to ~10% of birthweight is normal in the first 2-3 days after birth ○ Babies gain this back by about 2 weeks ○ After this, should gain about 1 oz each day Average length at birth: 20 inches ○ Average length at 1 month: 21 to 21.5 inches  With a partner/group, list 4 physical milestones (+~age) for babies up to 2 years old Physical development after birth Remember the 2 ways infants/humans grow: Cephalocaudal growth Proximodistal growth  Gross motor skills Larger motor movements ○ Wiggling arms and legs ○ Lifting the head and rolling over ~3 months ○ Sitting independently ~5-6 months ○ Crawling ~8-10 months ○ Walking well ~12 months ○ Walking up steps ~16 months Babies “First Steps” episode (20:12-34:50): how walking development affects our skeletal health; how walking VS. crawling babies think differently  Fine motor skills Smaller actions ○ Coordinating movements ~3 months ○ More precise reaching ~4 months ○ Picking up small objects (pincer grasp) ~by 11 months Cognitive Development Piaget’s Approach to Cognitive Development (sensorimotor stages) The Roots of Language Piagetian Approach to Cognitive Development Jean Piaget ○ Swiss psychologist ○ Believed that for infants, action = knowledge Piagetian Approach to Cognitive Development Piaget’s theory of cognitive development had 4 universal stages: 1. Sensorimotor*** (birth to 2 years) 2. Preoperational 3. Concrete Operational 4. Formal Operational Piagetian Approach to Cognitive Development Key elements of Piaget’s theory: Schemes: Organized mental structure and patterns ○ Assimilation: fitting new information into existing schemes based on current knowledge/experiences Piagetian Approach to Cognitive Development Key elements of Piaget’s theory: Schemes: Organized mental structure and patterns ○ Accommodation: changing existing ways of thinking in response to new stimuli (we change/create new schemes)  Piaget: Sensorimotor period Sensorimotor Stage (birth to 2 years) ○ Piaget’s initial major stage of cognitive development, which can be broken down into 6 substages (don’t need to know all!) ○ Timing of new skills reflects interaction between physical maturation & social environment Timing can and does vary Gradual process Periods of transition Piaget: Sensorimotor period in relation to other stages  Piaget: Sensorimotor period Goal-Directed Behavior ○ Several schemes are combined & coordinated to generate a single act to solve a problem ○ Appears during after the development of secondary circular reactions, when babies learn to coordinate those reactions  Piaget: Sensorimotor period Object Permanence ○ Concept that people & objects exist even when they cannot be seen ○ Achieved during substage 4 as well ○ Likely key in the development of social attachments ○ Still make errors in taking perspective of others  Piaget: Sensorimotor period Mental Representation ○ Internal image of a past event or object ○ Achievement of substage 6: beginnings of thought ○ Allows for understanding of causality ○ Allows for deferred imitation—an act in which a person who is no longer present is imitated by children who have witnessed a similar act  Piaget in the modern day Accepted ○ Progressive infant cognitive development ○ Children learn by acting on objects in their environment ○ Sequence of increasing cognitive accomplishments during infancy Scrutinized or criticized ○ Stage conception of cognitive development ○ Cognitive development tied to motor activities ○ Stage at which object permanence occurs Questions about Piaget/ the sensorimotor stage? Piaget’s theory of cognitive development has 4 universal stages – we’ll cover the remaining 3 throughout the semester! Time for a break! Then we will cover language & social/emotional development  The Fundamentals of Language Systematic, meaningful arrangement of symbols, which provides the basis for communication Symbols? Several formal characteristics ○ Phonology—basic sounds of language, phonemes English has over 40 phonemes The Fundamentals of Language ○ Morphemes—smallest language unit that has meaning Words, prefixes, or suffixes ○ Semantics—rules that govern the meaning of words and sentences  The Fundamentals of Language Comprehension—understanding of speech Production—use of language to communicate Comprehension precedes production ○ During infancy, comprehension expands at a rate of ~22 new words a month; production increases at about ~9 words per month  Early Sounds and Communication Prelinguistic Communication through sounds, facial expressions, gestures, imitation, and other nonlinguistic means ○ Babbling—speechlike but meaningless sounds, starting around 2-3 months Universal phenomenon—Deaf babies exposed to sign language babble with their hands By 6 months, babbling reflects the language the infant is exposed to  Speaking to Children: Infant-Directed Speech Infant-Directed Speech – how do we talk to babies? ○ Characterized by short, simple sentences ○ Higher pitch, increased range of frequencies, and varied intonation ○ May include sounds that are not words ○ Takes on more adult-like qualities at the end of the first year ○ Plays an important role in language acquisition  First Words First words generally appear between 10-14 months ○ Definition differs Some linguists say it’s when an infant clearly understands words & can produce a sound that is close to a word Others restrict it to cases where children give a clear, consistent name to a person, event, or object First Words Vocabulary increases at a rapid rate ○ By 15 months, average child has ~10 words ○ Language explosion occurs between 16 and 24 months and vocabulary can increase up to 400 words First Sentences About 8-12 months after the first word, children say their first two-word sentence (e.g., “I eat”) ○ Tend to use proper semantics ○ Leave out words that aren’t critical—telegraphic speech Language as a Learned Skill Learning Theory Approach ○ Language acquisition follows the basic laws of reinforcement and conditioning Through reinforcement, language becomes more similar to adult speech ○ Doesn’t adequately explain how children acquire the rules of language ○ Doesn’t explain use of novel phrases, sentences, and construction Language as an Innate Skill Nativist Approach (Noam Chomsky) ○ Theory that a genetically determined, innate mechanism directs language development ○ Human brain is wired with a language-acquisition device — neural system of the brain hypothesized to allow understanding of language Language emerges automatically, due to maturation  Nativist Approaches: Language is an Innate Skill Some support for approach ○ A specific gene has been identified that is related to speech production (Foxp2) ○ Language processing in infants involves brain structures similar to those in adult speech processing—evolution basis to language  Nativist Approaches: Language is an Innate Skill Also criticisms ○ Certain primates are able to learn at least the basics of language ○ Humans’ use of language still requires significant social experience for it to be used effectively  The Interactionist Approaches Interactionist Perspective suggests language development is produced through a combo of genetic predispositions & environmental circumstances ○ Social factors are the key to development  Attachment – what is it? A strong emotional bond that forms between infants + caregivers – can measure it around 6 months Attachment is important! Has an apparent biological basis  Importance of social interactions Still face paradigm in typically developing infants: ○ Showing infants a still face results in a variety of sounds, gestures, and facial expressions from the infant Still face experiments Importance of social interactions Attachments with caregivers are not just for survival: comfort is very important for babies ○ Harlow & Zimmerman (1959) conducted studies with Rhesus monkeys: an uncomfortable “wire mother” fed the baby monkeys while a “cloth mother” only provided comfort Importance of social interactions Attachments How do we know someone likes us/wants to spend time with us? How do we know we like someone/want to spend time with them? How do we form our attachments? Pre-attachment from birth to 2 months of age ○ Infants use innate signaling abilities (crying, grasping) to bring adults into close proximity ○ Infants show indiscriminate responsiveness: any adult will do! How do we form our attachments? “Attachment in the making” from 2-7 months ○ Discriminate responsiveness: starting to distinguish between familiar/unfamiliar adults, but attachment still isn’t specific! ○ There is still time for early attachments to form/change  How do we form our attachments? Clear cut attachment 7-24 months ○ Infant is attached to familiar caregivers: they act deliberately to maintain proximity, seek contact ○ The parent is a secure base while the infant explores the environment ○ Separation anxiety when separated from caregivers  How do we form our attachments? Reciprocal relationships 24 months and beyond ○ Goal-directed partnership: Infant realizes that others have feelings and goals, leading to cooperative exchanges/negotiations ○ Infants start having expectations for their caregivers’ routines and behaviors (and vice-versa!)  “The Strange Situation” – assessing attachment A lab-based assessment developed by Mary Ainsworth, ~20 minutes in 8 segments: 1. Mother & baby enter an unfamiliar room 2. Mother sits down, leaving baby free to explore: assessing “secure base” behavior 3. An adult stranger enters the room and converses first with the mother and then with baby: assessing stranger wariness 4. Mother exits room, leaving baby alone with the stranger: assessing separation anxiety “The Strange Situation” – assessing attachment 5. Mother returns, greeting and comforting baby, and the stranger leaves: assessing response to reunion 6. Mother departs again, leaving the baby alone: assessing separation anxiety 7. The stranger returns: assessing whether the infant can be soothed by a stranger 8. Mother returns and the stranger leaves: assessing response to reunion “The Strange Situation” – assessing attachment What were the researchers actually measuring? proximity-seeking contact-maintaining interaction at a distance proximity and interaction avoidance resistance to contact “The Strange Situation” “The Strange Situation” – assessing attachment 4 major patterns of attachment 1. Secure attachment (~65% of samples) Infant behavior: explore, seek reunion, easily comforted Maternal behavior: sensitive and responsive, prompt Children tend to be self-confident, autonomous, and socially competent “The Strange Situation” – assessing attachment 4 major patterns of attachment 2. Insecure-avoidant attachment (~25% of samples) Infant behavior: explore with indifference to parent, ignore them upon reunion Maternal behavior: insensitive and controlling “The Strange Situation” – assessing attachment 4 major patterns of attachment 3. Insecure-resistant attachment (~10% of samples) Infant behavior: fearful of the new environment, seek reunion but not easily comforted – “clingy” Maternal behavior: inconsistent sensitivity – may or may not respond “The Strange Situation” – assessing attachment 4 major patterns of attachment 4. Disorganized attachment (~less than 5% of samples) Infant behavior: dazed, apprehensive, unable to cope Maternal behavior: negative parenting, neglectful “The Strange Situation” – assessing attachment Secure Insecure- avoidant Insecure- resistant Disorganized “The Strange Situation” – assessing attachment Influential factors: parent sensitivity is crucial!! For securely attached infants: respond well to infant’s cries, reading signals well Insecure-resistant: unpredictable Insecure-avoidant: emotionally unavailable, unresponsive Disorganized: neglectful