Infancy | Motor Development

Question 1

THE DYNAMIC SYSTEMS VIEW
He had discovered that infants and children develop rolling, sitting, standing, and other motor skills in a fixed order and within specific time frames.

Answer 1

Arnold Gesell (1934)

Question 2

THE DYNAMIC SYSTEMS VIEW
The unfolding of a genetic plan.

Answer 2

Maturation

Question 3

THE DYNAMIC SYSTEMS VIEW
The proponent of dynamic systems theory.

Answer 3

Esther Thelen

Question 4

According to this theory, infants assemble motor skills for perceiving and acting.

Answer 4

Dynamic systems theory

Question 5

THE DYNAMIC SYSTEMS VIEW
How is a motor skill developed, according to this theory?

Answer 5

When infants are motivated to do something, they might create a new motor behavior.

Question 6

THE DYNAMIC SYSTEMS VIEW
When infants are motivated to do something, they might create a new motor behavior. The new behavior is the result of many converging factors: the development of the nervous system, the body’s physical properties and its possibilities for movement, the goal the child is motivated to reach, and availability of environmental support for the skill.

Give an example where these developments are observed.

Answer 6

Babies learn to walk only (1) when maturation of the nervous system allows them to control certain leg muscles, (2) when they want to move, (3) when their legs have grown enough to support their weight, and (4) when they have sufficient balance control to support their body on one leg.

Question 7

THE DYNAMIC SYSTEMS VIEW
Infants explore and select possible solutions to the demands of a new task; they assemble adaptive patterns by modifying their current movement patterns. TRUE or FALSE?

Answer 7

TRUE.

Question 8

THE DYNAMIC SYSTEMS VIEW
Enumerate the steps through which an infant adapts to the demands of a new task.

Answer 8

(1) The first step occurs when the infant is motivated by a new challenge (e.g., crossing a room) and gets into the “ballpark” of the task demands by taking a couple of stumbling steps;

(2) The infant “tunes” these movements to make them smoother and more effective;

(3) The tuning is achieved through repeated cycles of action and perception of the consequences of that action.

Question 9

THE DYNAMIC SYSTEMS VIEW
According to the dynamic systems view, even universal milestones, such as crawling, reaching, and walking, are learned through this process of adaptation: Infants modulate their movement patterns to fit a new task by exploring and selecting possible configurations. TRUE or FALSE?

Answer 9

TRUE.

Question 10

REFLEXES
The newborn is completely helpless. TRUE or FALSE?

Answer 10

FALSE (lol). The newborn is not completely helpless. Among other things, it has some basic reflexes.

Question 11

These are built-in reactions to stimuli; they govern the newborn’s movements, which are automatic and beyond the newborn’s control.

Answer 11

Reflexes

Question 12

Genetically carried survival mechanisms; they allow infants to respond adaptively to their environment before they have had the opportunity to learn.

Answer 12

Reflexes

Question 13

REFLEXES
Give some examples of reflexes and their importance.

Answer 13

Rooting and sucking: Both have survival value for newborn mammals, who must find a mother’s breast to obtain nourishment.

Question 14

REFLEXES
Occurs when the infant’s cheek is stroked or the side of the mouth is touched. In response, the infant turns its head toward the side that was touched in an apparent effort to find something to suck.

Answer 14

Rooting reflex

Question 15

REFLEXES
Occurs when newborns automatically suck an object placed in their mouth. This reflex enables newborns to get nourishment before they have associated a nipple with food and also serves as a self-soothing or self-regulating mechanism.

Answer 15

Sucking reflex

Question 16

REFLEXES
Occurs in response to a sudden, intense noise or movement. When startled, the newborn arches its back, throws back its head, and flings out its arms and legs. Then the newborn rapidly draws in its arms and legs.

Answer 16

Moro reflex

Question 17

REFLEXES
Believed to be a way of grabbing for support while falling; it would have had survival value for our primate ancestors.

Answer 17

Moro reflex

Question 18

REFLEXES
Some reflexes persist throughout life. Other reflexes, though, disappear several months following birth, as the infant’s brain matures and voluntary control over many behaviors develops. Give examples of reflexes that disappear after a period of time.

Answer 18

Rooting and Moro reflexes tend to disappear when the infant is 3 to 4 months old.

Question 19

REFLEXES
Occurs when something touches the infant’s palms. The infant responds by grasping tightly.

Answer 19

Grasping reflex

Question 20

REFLEXES
By the end of the third month, this reflex diminishes and the infant shows a more voluntary grasp. As its motor coordination becomes smoother, the infant will grasp objects, carefully manipulate them, and explore their qualities.

Answer 20

Grasping reflex

Question 21

REFLEXES
Identify whether this is the old view of reflexes or the new perspective.
They were exclusively genetic, built-in mechanisms that governed the infant’s movements.

Answer 21

The old view

Question 22

REFLEXES
Identify whether this is the old view of reflexes or the new perspective.
They are not automatic or completely beyond the infant’s control.

Answer 22

The new perspective

Question 23

REFLEXES
Give an example showing that infants’ reflexes are not automatic or completely beyond their control.

Answer 23

Infants can alternate the movement of their legs to make a mobile jiggle or change their sucking rate to listen to a recording.

Question 24

These involve large-muscle activities such as moving one’s arms and walking.

Answer 24

Gross motor skills

Question 25

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS** Provide examples of gross motor skills.

Answer 25

Crawling, sitting alone, taking first steps, grabbing objects off shelves, chasing a pet

Question 26

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSTURE** Give an example of how motor skills require postural control.

Answer 26

To track moving objects, you must be able to control the movement of your head in order to stabilize your gaze; before you can walk, you must be able to balance on one leg.

Question 27

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSTURE** This is more than just holding still and straight. It's a dynamic process that is linked with sensory information in the skin, joints, and muscles, which tell us where we are in space; in vestibular organs in the inner ear that regulate balance and equilibrium; and in vision and hearing.

Answer 27

Posture

Question 28

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSTURE** When can newborns hold their heads erect and life their heads while prone?

Answer 28

Within a few weeks

Question 29

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSTURE** At what age can babies sit while supported on a lap or an infant seat?

Answer 29

2 months

Question 30

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSTURE** At what age can babies sit independently?

Answer 30

6 or 7 months

Question 31

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSTURE** At what age can infants usually learn to pull themselves up and hold on to a chair?

Answer 31

8 to 9 months

Question 32

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSTURE** At what age can infants often stand alone?

Answer 32

10 to 12 months

Question 33

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | LEARNING TO WALK** Researchers have found that alternating leg movements occur during *these periods*. Both alternating leg movements and forward stepping movements occur early and are precursors to walking.

Answer 33

Fetal period and at birth

Question 34

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | LEARNING TO WALK** She investigated how experienced and inexperienced crawling infants and walking infants go down steep slopes.

Answer 34

Karen Adolph

Question 35

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | LEARNING TO WALK** What do Karen Adolph's findings tell us?

Answer 35

Practice is very important in the development of new motor skills.

Question 36

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | LEARNING TO WALK** What other aspects of development may be advanced by the development of walking and how?

Answer 36

Walking allows the infant to gain contact with objects that were previously out of reach and to initiate interaction with parents and other adults, thereby promoting **language development**.

Question 37

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE FIRST YEAR: MOTOR DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES AND VARIATIONS** Enumerate the factors that are *positively* linked to motor development in the first year of life.

Answer 37

(1) A larger size at birth (e.g., birth weight, birth length, head circumference)—showed the strongest link to reaching motor milestones earlier; (2) Increase in size (weight increase, length increase, head increase) in the first year; (3) Breast feeding

Question 38

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE FIRST YEAR: MOTOR DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES AND VARIATIONS** Enumerate the factors that are *negatively* linked to motor development in the first year of life.

Answer 38

Mother's smoking in the last trimester of prenatal development.

Question 39

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE FIRST YEAR: MOTOR DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES AND VARIATIONS** However, the timing of these milestones, especially the later ones, may vary by as much as two to four months, and experiences can modify the onset of these accomplishments. Provide an example clarifying the content of this statement.

Answer 39

Since 1992, when pediatricians began recommending that parents place their babies on their backs to sleep, fewer babies crawled, and those who crawled did so later.

Question 40

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE FIRST YEAR: MOTOR DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES AND VARIATIONS** Some infants do not follow the standard sequence of motor accomplishments. Provide an example clarifying the content of this statement.

Answer 40

Many American infants never crawl on their belly or on their hands and knees. They may discover an idiosyncratic form of locomotion before walking, such as rolling or scooting, or they might never locomote until they are upright. In the African Mali tribe, most infants do not crawl. And in Jamaice, approximately one-fourth of babies skip crawling.

Question 41

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | DEVELOPMENT IN THE SECOND YEAR** At what age can toddlers pull a toy attached to a string and use their hands and legs to climb a number of steps?

Answer 41

13 to 18 months

Question 42

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE FIRST YEAR: MOTOR DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES AND VARIATIONS** At what age can toddlers walk quickly or run stiffly for a short distance, balance on their feet in a squatting position while playing with objects on the floor, walk backward without losing their balance, stand and kick a ball without falling, stand and throw a ball, and jump in place?

Answer 42

18 to 24 months

Question 43

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE FIRST YEAR: MOTOR DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES AND VARIATIONS** Most infancy experts recommend against structured exercise classes for babies. *TRUE* or *FALSE*?

Answer 43

TRUE.

Question 44

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE FIRST YEAR: MOTOR DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES AND VARIATIONS** Mothers in developed countries tend to stimulate their infants' motor skills more than mothers in more developing countries. *TRUE* or *FALSE*?

Answer 44

**FALSE.** This statement applies to mothers in *developing countries*. For instance, in many African, Indian, and Caribbean cultures, mothers massage and stretch their infants during daily baths.

Question 45

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE FIRST YEAR: MOTOR DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES AND VARIATIONS** When caregivers provide babies with physical guidance by physically handling them in special ways (e.g., stroking, massaging, or stretching) or by giving them opportunities for exercise, the infants often reach motor milestones earlier than infants whose caregivers have not provided these activities. *TRUE* or *FALSE*?

Answer 45

**TRUE.** For example, Jamaican mothers expect their infants to sit and walk alone two to three months earlier than English mothers do. And in sub-Saharan Africa, traditional practices in many villages involve mothers and siblings engaging babies in exercises, such as frequent exercise for trunk and pelvic muscles.

Question 46

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE FIRST YEAR: MOTOR DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES AND VARIATIONS** Many forms of restricted movement have been found to produce substantial delays in motor development. *TRUE* or *FALSE*?

Answer 46

**TRUE.** In some rural Chinese provinces, for example, babies are placed in a bag of fine sand, which acts as a diaper and is changed once a day. The baby is left alone, face up, and is visited only when being fed by the mother.

Question 47

**GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | THE FIRST YEAR: MOTOR DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES AND VARIATIONS** Wrapping an infant tightly in a blanket.

Answer 47

Swaddling

Question 48

These motor skills involve more finely tuned movements, such as finger dexterity.

Answer 48

Fine motor skills

Question 49

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** Give examples of actions that involve fine motor skills.

Answer 49

- Grasping a toy - Using a spoon - Buttoning a shirt

Question 50

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** During *this period*, infants refine how they reach and grasp.

Answer 50

The first two years of life

Question 51

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** How do infants refine the way they reach and grasp?

Answer 51

Initially, infants reach by moving their shoulders and elbows crudely, swinging their arms toward an object. Later, when infants reach for an object they move their wrists, rotate their hands, and coordinate their thumb and forefinger.

Question 52

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** Infants have to see their own hands in order to reach for an object. *TRUE* or *FALSE*?

Answer 52

**FALSE.** They do *not* have to see their own hands. For instance, cues from muscles, tendons, and joints guide reaching by 4-month-old infants.

Question 53

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** Short-term training involving practice of reaching movements increased both pre-term and full-term infants' reaching for and touching objects. *TRUE* or *FALSE*?

Answer 53

TRUE.

Question 54

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** Infants refine their ability to grasp objects by developing two types of grasps. What are they?

Answer 54

Palmar grasp and pincer grip

Question 55

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** Initially, infants grip with the whole hand.

Answer 55

Palmar grasp

Question 56

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** Later, toward the end of the first year, infants also grasp small objects with their thumb and forefinger.

Answer 56

Pincer grip

Question 57

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** This is necessary for the infant to coordinate grasping.

Answer 57

Perceptual-motor coupling

Question 58

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** Infants at this age rely greatly on touch to determine how they will grip an object.

Answer 58

4 months

Question 59

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** Infants at this age are more likely to use vision as a guide. This developmental change is efficient because vision lets infants preshape their hands as they reach for an object.

Answer 59

8 months

Question 60

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** Experience plays a role in reaching and grasping. To what were reaching experiences linked according to a study?

Answer 60

Increased object exploration and attention focusing skills at 15 months of age

Question 61

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** In another study, 3-month-old infants participated in play sessions wearing "sticky mittens"—"mittens with palms that stuck to the edges of toys and allowed the infants to pick up the toys". What were the findings of this study and related studies?

Answer 61

(1) Mitten-wearing infants grasped and manipulated objects earlier in their development than the control group of infants who did not wear mittens; (2) Mitten-wearing infants looked at the objects longer, swatted at them more during visual contact, and were more likely to mouth the objects; (3) Mitten-wearing infants showed advances in their reaching behavior at the end of a two-week period; (4) Mitten-wearing infants engaged in more sophisticated object exploration at 5.5 months of age.

Question 62

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** (1) _________ _______ emphasizes that (2) _______ ____ is an excellent context for studying problem solving in infants because (2) ______ ____ provides information about how infants plan to reach a goal.

Answer 62

(1) Rachel Keen; (2) Tool use

Question 63

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** Give examples of infants' intentional actions.

Answer 63

- Picking up a spoon in different orientations - Retrieving rakes from inside tubes

Question 64

**FINE MOTOR SKILLS** What were the results of the study that assessed developmental changes in banging movements in 6- to 15-month-olds?

Answer 64

Younger infants were inefficient and variable when banging an object, but by one year of age infants showed consistent straight up-and-down hand movements that resulted in *precise aiming* and *consistent levels of force*.