Reflexes
babies are born with unlearned responses triggered by a specific form of stimulation
-designed to pave way for nutrients they need or protect from danger
Babinski
toes fan out when foot is stroked (maybe from evolution)
Blink
eyes close in response to bright light or loud noise (protection)
Moro
throws arms out and inward in response to loud noise/head falling (helps it cling to mother)
Palmar
grasps and object placed in palm (precursor to voluntary walking)
Rooting
turns its head towards stroking (helps it find the nipple)
Stepping
steps rhythmically when held up (precursor to voluntary walking)
Sucking
sucks when object is placed in its mouth (permits feeding)
Apgar score (assessment of newborns' status)
breathing, heartbeat, muscle tone, presence of reflexes, skin tone (score of 0-2 for each trait; 7 or more-good condition; 3 or less- life-threatening)
Autonomic system
ability to control body functions- breathing & temp. regulation
Motor system
ability to control body movements & activity level
State system
ability to maintain state (staying alert or asleep)
Social system
ability to interact with people
Newborn states
-alert inactivity- calm with eyes open; inspecting environment
-waking activity- eyes open & unfocused; moving in bursts of uncontrolled movement
-Crying- cries with agitated motion
-Sleeping- eyes closed; alternates between being still & breathing regula
Baby Cries
basic cry- gradually becomes more intense; hungry or tired
mad cry- more intense basic cry
pain cry- sudden long burst of crying followed by long pause and gasping
Newborns' sleep
do this more than anything else
16-18 hrs a day
Irregular or rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep
accounts for half of newborns' sleep; body is quite active
-avg adult- 20% REM sleep
Regular or nonREM sleep
breathing, heart rate, & brain activity are steady and newborns lie quietly without twitching
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
1-3 of every 1000 American babies dies from this
-prevented by education
-place them on their backs, don't wrap too tightly in blanks, keep them away from smoke
Temperament (3 types)
consistent style or pattern of behavior
-surgency/extroversion- the extent to which a child is generally happy, active, vocal, & seeks interesting stimulation
-negative affect- the extent to which a child is angry, fearful, frustrated, shy, & not easily s
Stability of temperament
moderately stable throughout infancy, childhood, & adolescence
-can still shape development
Babies consume an enormous amount of calories relative to their body weight because...
growth requires too much high energy
Advantages of breast feeding
-babies get the nourishment they need (carbs, fats, proteins, vitamins, & minerals)
-get mother's antibodies- sick less often
-less prone to diarrhea & constipation
-make transition to taste of solid foods more easily (accustomed to change in breast milk
Malnourished
1 in 4 children under the age of 5, worldwide
-10% of American households don't have adequate food
-solution requires more than just an adequate diet- parents must stimulate child's development to make them more responsive-addressing sociocultural forces
Parts of a neuron
-cell body-center of neuron keeping it alive
-axon-transmits info to other neurons
-dendrites-attached to cell body; receives information
-terminal buttons- release neurotransmitters (carry info to nearby neurons)
-myelin- fatty sheath wrapped around neur
Cerebral cortex
wrinkled surface (10 billion neurons) that regulates many functions that are distinctly human
Corpus callosum
thick bundle of neurons that connects the two hemispheres
Frontal cortex
planning, personality, some aspects of emotion
Parietal cortex
body sensations
Occipital cortex
vision
Temporal cortex
hearing, advanced visual processing
Neural plate
3 weeks after conception- flat group of cells that becomes the brain and spinal chord
Layering of the brain
neurons go in to position starting at the deepest layer
-continues until the 6 layers of the mature brain have formed- 7 months after conception
Synaptic pruning
synapses begin to disappear gradually after the 1st birthday to ged rid of unnecessary connections
(neural pruning)
Electroencephalography
measuring the brain's electrical activity from electrodes placed on the scalp
-shows distinctive patterns of electrical activity in the area that is being used
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
uses magnetic fields to track the flow of blood in the brain
Specialization (of the brain) *refer to book
-is early in development
-takes two specific forms
-different brain systems specialize at different rates
-successful specialization requires stimulation from the environment
-the immature brain's lack of specialization confers a benefit- plasticity
Motor skills
coordinated movements of the muscles & limbs
-typing; driving a stick shift
-fine motor skills- grasping, holding, & manipulating objects (eating with utensils)
Locomotion
ability to move around in the world
-toddling- early, unsteady form of walking (14 months)
Dynamic systems theory
views motor development as involving many distinct skills that are organized & reorganized over time to meet specific needs
-walking includes maintaining balance, movie limbs, perceiving the environment, & having a reason to move
Differentiation/integration
distinguishing & mastering individual motions before combining them/linking individual motions into a coherent, coordinated whole
Handedness in babies
they use their left & right hands interchangeably; by 1st birthday, most are emergent right-handers
Perception
process by which the brain receives, selects, modifies, & organizes incoming nerve impulses that are the result of physical stimulation
-1st step in complex process of "knowing
Infant hearing
can distinguish different melodies & prefer melodies that are pleasant sounding over those that are unpleasant sounding or dissonant
Visual acuity
the smallest pattern that can be distinguished dependably (clarity of vision)
Wavelength of light
basis of color perception
Cones
specialized neurons in the back of the eye that senses color
Visual cliff
glass covered platform used to study infants' depth perception
-infants can perceive depth by the time they are old enough to crawl
-even before they can crawl, when placed on the table, 7-month infants' heartbeats increase, a sign of fear
-6 week olds' h
Kinetic cues
motion is used to estimate depth
-visual expansion- as an object moves closer, it fills a greater proportion of the retina
-motion parallax- nearby moving objects move across our visual field faster than those at a distance
Retinal disparity
the left & right eyes see slightly different versions of the same scene
Pictorial cues
7 months
-linear perspective- parallel lines come to a point in the distance
-texture gradient- texture of objects is course & distinct for nearby objects & finer & less distinct for distant objects
Face-like stimuli
babies are innately attracted to these stimuli (by 7-8 months)
-3-month olds outperform 9-month olds in face configuration recognition because 9-month olds' have a more specialized and detailed perception of specific faces while 3MOs are just learning the
Intersensory redundancy
information that is presented simultaneously to different sensory modes
-infants' perception is better with this presentation
Theory of mind
ideas about connections between thoughts, beliefs, intentions, & behavior that create an intuitive understanding of the link between mind & behavior
2-5 yrs
1. 2-yr-olds are aware of desires & often speak of their wants/likes
2. by 3, children distinguish