motor development

Question 1

what are reflexes?

Answer 1

innate involuntary adaptive actions that occur in response to a particular stimulation

Question 2

what are the 4 main types of adaptive reflexes present in children?

Answer 2

• grasping
• rooting
• sucking
• stepping

Question 3

at which age do most reflexes disappear?

Answer 3

2 months, though things like coughing, sneezing, blinking, etc do not disappear

Question 4

describe the sequence of motor milestones

Answer 4

1. prone, lifting head
2. prone, chest up, uses arms for support
3. rolling over
4. support some weight with legs
5. sits without support
6. stands with support
7. pulls self to stand
8. walks using furniture for support
9. stands alone easily
10. walks alone easily

Question 5

why might the sequence of motor milestones be biased/flawed?

Answer 5

• based on WEIRD: western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic
• only 15% of global population is WEIRD

Question 6

at what age do babies start crawling (if they do crawl)

Answer 6

7-8 months old

Question 7

why do some babies skip crawling?

Answer 7

1. upper body or core weakness
2. hypersensitivity to texture of floor
3. tonic neck reflex still present
4. insufficient opportunity

Question 8

what cultural difference explains why some 5 month olds can sit without support longer than others?

Answer 8

• in places where babies aren’t given as many opportunities for postural support, they develop better core strength allowing them to sit up longer
• baby furniture and being held often can mean babies take longer to reach this milestone

Question 9

what are two examples of cultural differences that affect motor development?

Answer 9

1. in some countries (eg. urban china) infants are discouraged from crawling on the floor due to hygiene/safety concerns meaning they crawl later or even never
2. motor exercises like stretching and suspension are promoted in places like sub-saharan Africa, which lead to more advanced motor skill development

Question 10

how do diapers affect walking?

Answer 10

• infants show more mature walking when naked vs when wearing a diaper
• diapers may contribute to cross-cultural differences in walking

Question 11

what were the early theories behind motor development?

Answer 11

motor development was governed by cortical maturation

Question 12

what are the current theories behind motor development

Answer 12

motor development is governed by complex interplay between numerous factors:
1. neural development
2. increase in physical strength
3. physical abilities (posture and balance)
4. perceptual skills
5. change in body proportions and weight
6. motivation

Question 13

what happens to the stepping reflex? why?

Answer 13

• disappears at 2 months then reappears at 7-12 months
• infants gain weight faster than they build leg muscle and thus have insufficient strength to lift heavier legs

Question 14

what role does motivation play in motor development?

Answer 14

• infants are intrinsically motivated to learn, allowing for persistence despite failure
• continue to practice new skills (walking) even if they possess skills that could accomplish the same goal (crawling)
• highly motivated infants achieve all motor milestones earlier than less motivated infants

Question 15

what is the importance of motor development?

Answer 15

• enables active learning (trial and error rather than just observation)
• expands the infants world (increases opportunities for learning)
• facilitates development of skills in other domains, especially vision and social behaviour

Question 16

how does motor development facilitate visual development?

Answer 16

• crawlers and walkers see the world differently due to their eye level
• reaching enables object exploration which allows for babies to perceive 3D objects (7 months)
• trial and error in motor development leads to greater depth perception (understand that they should avoid steep slopes)

Question 17

what are scale errors? why do they exist? when do they disappear?

Answer 17

• children attempt to perform an action on a miniature object that is impossible due to the difference in size between the object and the child
• present until 2 years old
• due to failure to integrate visual information with action planning

Question 18

how does motor development facilitate social/behavioural development

Answer 18

understanding intention: infant’s ability to predict others’ actions relies on them being able to perform the same actions