NOTES AND TEST
The Newborn
1.
The Newborn Reflexes
Babies are born with a number of reflexes. Reflexes that help them to adjust to life outside the uterus are the rooting and suckling reflexes. Reflexes to protect them from danger are the eye blinking and withdrawal reflexes. Other reflexes such as the stepping are the basis for later voluntary motor behavior
2.
The Newborn’s States
a.
there are three types of cries that have been identified.
-
the basic cry – indicates hunger or sleepiness
-
the mad cry – an intense version of the basis cry
-
the pain cry – begins suddenly and is followed by a pause
b.
Newborn spent two-thirds of the day asleep. Half of that
sleep is REM sleep with active brain waves and movement of the
eyes and limbs. This type of sleep helps stimulate growth
of the nervous system. Babies go through a complete sleep-wake
cycle once every four hours.
c.
SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome – babies die in their
sleep for no apparent reason. More vulnerable to SIDS are
babies who were premature and low birth weight, as well as those
who have parents who smoke
3.
Temperament
Is a consistent style or pattern of an infant’s behavior, which includes emotionality, activity, and sociability. It is a reasonably stable characteristic of infants and young children.
1.
Growth of the Body
a.
During infancy the physical growth is very rapid, but the rate
differs from baby to baby. Heredity determines the size.
b.
Growth follows the cephalocaudal principle – the head and
trunk develop before the legs. That is the reason why
babies have larger heads and trunks
c.
Relative to their body weight babies consume a large number of
calories, because a lot of energy is required for growth.
d.
Malnutrition is very harmful during infancy.
The Emerging Nervous System
1.
The nerve cells, called neurons, include a cell body, a dendrite
and an axon. At the end of each axon there are terminal
buttons which release neurotransmitters, which carry information
from one neuron to the next. He mature brain has billions
of neurons which are organized into identical left and right
hemisphere connected by the corpus callosum. The cerebral
cortex, which is the outer wrinkled layer of the brain, is
responsible for regulating the higher mental functions.
2.
Neuronal stages of development
a.
production – begins about the 10th week of the
gestational age and continuous to the 28th week, at
which point all the neurons have formed
b.
migration – neurons migrate to their positions in the brain
c.
growth – after they have reached their final destination,
the axons and dendrites grow to form connections with other
neurons. Synapses that are not functional disappear
3.
The cortex in the left hemisphere specializes in language
processing
4.
The cortex in the right hemisphere controls some nonverbal
functions, such as perception of music. Functions such as
the understanding of spatial relations is achieved by the
preschool years. By the first birthday the frontal cortex
is regulating goal-directed behavior and emotional responding
Moving and Grasping – Early Motor
Skills
1.
Locomotion
a.
There is a sequence of motor milestones the babies go during the
first year of life. Learning to walk involves
differentiation of individual skills, such as maintaining balance
and stepping on alternating legs and finally integrating those
skills.
2.
Fine-Motor Skills
a. Babies use
first only one hand at a time, and then both hands
independently,
then both hands in common actions, and at about five months
of age both hands in different actions with a common purpose
b.
Preference of hand emerges after the first birthday and becomes
established during the preschool years, with the majority of
people being right handed. Which hand is the dominant one
is determined by heredity and also by the cultural values
3.
Maturation and Experience: Both influence Motor Skills
The mastery of motor skills is influenced by both biology and experience. The basic development timetable for motor milestones is similar around the world, which demonstrates that there are biological causes. Specific experience can accelerate motor development, especially those required for complex motor skills.
4.
Coming to know the world: Perception
Newborns are able to smell, and recognize their mother’s odor. Newborns are also able to taste and they show a preference for sweet substances. Their response to bitter and sour tastes is negative.
Touch and pain
Babies respond to touch. We believe that they probable experience pain, since their responses to stimuli that is painful is the same with the response of older children
Hearing
Newborns are able to hear. They can distinguish sounds and use sounds to locate objects.
Seeing
The visual acuity of a newborn is poor, but by 1 year of age they can sees as well as adults with normal vision. The development of color vision seems to be complete by 3 to 4 months of age. Infants are also able to perceive depth, which is based on retinal disparity and on cues from motion
Integrating
Sensory Information
Infants are able to coordinate information coming in from different senses. They can recognize by sight an object they have felt previously. An infant will look at an adult’s face when they hear the voice.
5.
Becoming Self-Aware
Origins of Self-concept
a.
During the second year of age self-awareness develops. By
15 months of age an infant is able
to recognize himself/herself in the mirror. Between the age
of 18 to 24 months they will look longer at pictures of
themselves than pictures of other children
b.
Self-concept develops throughout the preschool years. One
way children define
themselves is through possessions
Theory of Mind
Theory of mind
refers to our intuitive understanding of ourselves and other.
There are three phases to this theory:
a.
desire – by the age of 2, children start to understand that
other people have desires and that these can
cause behavior
b. desire and mental states – by the age of 3 children understand mental states, but they still emphasize desires when they try to explain other’s actions
c. belief and desire – by the age of 4, children understand that both beliefs and desires control behavior. Proof of this is that children start to understand false beliefs