DEV PSYCH

Module 3:
Infancy

Newborns are not empty-headed organisms. They had basic reflexes like crying, kicking, and coughing.
They slept a lot, and occasionally smiled, although their first smiles were not entirely clear. They ate and grew.
They crawled and then walked. There are times that others or infants themselves conformed to them. Their
development was a continuous creation of more complex forms.

Lesson 1: Physical Development in Infancy

The first two years of life of Infancy is extensive in terms of physical development. Newborn’s heads are
quite large in comparison with the rest of their bodies. They have little strength in their necks and cannot hold
their heads up, but they have some basic reflexes. In the span of 12 months, infants become capable of sitting
anywhere, standing, stooping, climbing and usually walking. During the second year, growth decelerates, but
rapid increases in such activities as running and climbing take place.

Physical growth and development in Infancy includes:

1. Patterns of Growth-The cephalocaudal pattern is the sequence in which growth proceeds from top to
bottom. The proximodistal pattern is the sequence in which growth starts at the center of the body and
moves toward the extremities.
2. Height and Weight-The average North American newborn is 20 inches long and weighs 7.6 pounds.
Infants grow about 1 inch per month in the first year and nearly triple their weight by their first birthday.
The rate of growth slows in the second year.
3. The Brain-One of the most dramatic changes in the brain in the first two years of life is dendritic
spreading, which increases the connections between neurons. Myelination, which speeds the
conduction of nerve impulses, continues through infancy and even into adolescence.
4. Sleep and Nutrition-Newborns usually sleep about 18 hours a day. By 6 months of age, many
American infants approach adult-like sleeping patterns. Moreover, Infants need to consume about 50
calories per day for each pound they weigh.

1.1 Physical growth and development in infancy

Patterns of growth

An extraordinary proportion of the total body is occupied by the head during prenatal development and early
infancy. Cephalocaudal pattern is the sequence in which the earliest growth always occurs at the top-to the
head- with physical growth differentiation of features gradually working their way down top to bottom.

Motor development generally  proceeds according to cephalocaudal principle. Example, infants see objects
before they can control their torso, and they can use their hands long before they can crawl or walk. However,
development does not follow a rigid blue print. 

Growth also follows the proximodistal pattern, the sequence in which growth starts at the center of the body
and moves toward the extremities. Example infants control the muscles of their trunk and arms before they
control their hands and fingers, and they use their whole hands before they can control several fingers ( Bindler
& others, 2017)

Lesson 2: Cognitive Development in Infancy

Infants are just the starting point for our exploration of cognitive development according to Piaget’s description.
The excitement and enthusiasm about the study of infant cognition have been fuelled by an interest in what
newborns and infants know, by continued fascination about innate and learned factors in the infant’s cognitive
development and by controversies about wether infants construct their knowledge (Piaget’s view) or know their
world more directly.

Central to Piaget’s Theory is the idea that infants are active participants in their cognitive development.

6 Stages by Jean Piaget

a. Stage One: Reflexes (Birth – 1 month)

The newborn’s reflexes suck as sucking, gasping, staring, and listening, represents its only ways of
gaining knowledge about the world.

b. Stage Two: The first Acquired Adaptation (1-4 months)

This stage begins when the infant starts to adapt its reflexes to the environment and to coordinate two
actions, for example, grabbing a bottle to suck it. Stages one and two are an example of primary
circular reactions.

c. Stage Three: An Awareness of the Things (4-8 months)

Infants become more responsive to people and objects in the environment as they learn to repeat
specific actions that have elicited pleasing responses.

d. Stage Four: New Adaptation and Anticipation (8-12 months)

Infants become more purposeful in responding to people and objects, anticipating events, and
engaging in goal-directed behavior. Stages three and four are examples of secondary circular reactions

e. Stage Five: New Means Through Active Experimentation (18-19 months)

The little scientists become more active and creative in their exploration or trial and error
experimentation with the environment

f. Stage Six: New Means Through Mental Combinations (19-24 Months)

By using mental combinations toddlers begin to anticipate and solve simple problems without resorting
to trial and error experimentation. This skill enables the toddler to remember better, to anticipate future
events, and to use deferred imitation. Stages five and six are an example of.

Information-processing Theory

Models cognition on how computers analyze data. Two aspects of this theory have applied to human
development are affordances, which are analogous to computer input, and memory, which is analogous to
storage and output.

According to the environmental view of Eleanor and James Gibson, which of the many affordances people
perceive in a given object depends on their developmental level and experiences, their present needs and
motivation, and their sensory awareness of what that object might be used for.
What Develops in the First Two Years?

Infants are well-equipped to learn language from birth, partly due to brain readiness and partly because of their
auditory experiences during the final pre-natal months.

Babbling – Between 6 and 9 months of age, babies begin to repeat certain syllables

 The average baby speaks a few words at about 1 year of age

 A hybrid theory based on a model called an emergentist coalition theory combines

Stranger wariness fully formed fear emerges at about 9 months

Separation Anxiety is a fear of abandonment, which becomes most obvious at 9 – 14 months.

Self-awareness leads to the new consciousness of others. That consciousness fosters the ability to
experience emotions and express them toward other people.

Lesson 3: Socioemotional Development in Infancy

Emotions are the first language with which parents and infants communicate and emotions play key-roles in
parent-child relationship. Infants display a number of emotions early in their development, although
researchers debate the onset and sequence of these emotions. Lewis distinguishes between primary emotions
and self-conscious emotions.

Infants show a strong interest in their social world and are motivated to understand it. Infants orient to the
social world early in their development. Newly developed self-produced locomotion skills significantly expand
the infant’s ability to initiate social interchanges and explore their social world more independently.