What is the infant’s starter kit
“Buzzing blooming confusion” = Infants comes in with nothing, and needs to make sense when he arrives
Starter Kit
- ) Reflexes
- ) Sensory Abilities
- ) Socio-emotional Capabilites
Reflexes: Define it and What is the importance
Definition:
- Inborn, automatic responses to different forms of stimulation
- Some reflexes are redfined and become more complex while others drop out
Importance:
- Indicates neurological status
What are some common reflexes
Babinski; Crawl; Grasp; Root; Moro; Stepping
Reflex: Babinski
Fanning out of toes when foot stroked
Reflex: Crawling
Rhythmic moving of arms and legs when on tummy and pressure applied to soles of feet
Reflex: Grasping
Finger grasp when object placed in hand
Reflex: Rooting
Head turn with mouth open when touched on cheek
Reflex: Moro
- Outstretched arms & arched back
- When startled or loss of support
Reflex: Stepping
Toes and foot coordinated movements when supported on a hard surface, moved forward
Sight - What can infants see
Vision improve rapidly.
- Poor Acuity: 20/600 - 20/20 at 6mo.
- 1mo: Colour
- 4mo: Binocular and Object Segregation (See object boundary)
- 7mo: Monocular, pictorial, depth cues and can perceive illusions
Touch - What can infants feel
- Temperature change
- Pain: Unclear
- Circumcision has physiological indicators such as crying
- Not possible to assess cognitive components of pain.
- Positive benefits of massage for infants
Sound - What can infants hear
DeCasper
- Newborns discriminate mum’s voice from stranger
- Newborns discriminate familiar from novel story read by mom
Eimas and Jusyck
- Newborns discriminate sounds in own language in 6 months
Taste - What can infants taste
Taste receptors/chemistry change throughout childhood
- Preference for salty taste
Smell - What odors can baby smell
MacFarlene
- Breastfed newborns discriminate and prefer mom’s scent
Cernoch and Porter
- Bottlefed infants prefer scent of lactating females
What are the brief conclusion of sensory abilites
Suggest that sensory abilities may scaffold development of cognitive and social competencies
Social Development
What did Spitz (1965) WHO study found
What term did he use
What did the study demonstrate
- Psychotoxemia/Reactive attachment disorder
- 37% of infants who were placed in orphanages died within short periods and almost all infants development (vulnerable to infections, problems) were delayed
- Infants need social world and can’t separate social and cognitive
Emotional development
What are basic Expression
Basic/Primary Emotions
- Anger
- Interest
- Fear
- Disgust
- Joy
- Sadness
When do infants imitate emotional expressions
- Expression imitated at 3 days
- Imitation is complex (neurological mechanism at work!)
Do adults reliably label infant expressions.. How do expression differ in ease of discrimination.
- Adults reliably label infant’s expression
- Differ in ease of discrimination
- Positive (joy and interest)
- Negative (anger and fear)
- Differ in ease of discrimination
- Basic emotion are innate
What are the 3 types of attachments in the “Strange Situation”.
“Strange Situation” elicts differing levels of distress
- Secure (Welcome back)
- Anxious-Resistant (Don’t do that again)
- Anxious-Avoidant (DGAF)
- Disorganised (Unclear)
Are the attachments permanent
No. They may change in context and importantly it may change over time (remember AB lectures)
How many personality dimensions are infants rated on
9 (Different from AB Lectures)
- Activity level
- Rhythmicity
- Approach/withdrawal
- Adaptability
- Emotional reactivity
- Responsiveness to stimuli
- Mood (positive or negative)
- Distractibility
- Attention span
What are the three temperament categories for infants
- Easy: 40%
- Difficult: 10%
- Slow to warm up: 15%
- Unclassifiable: 35%
What happens on the temperament for infants cross-culturally
Some cultural difference between importance of temperament dimensions
- American and Australian similar
- Greek and Chinese similar
