SAMPLE Developmental Psychology

Chapter4: Infancy and Toddlerhood

Overview

In this chapter, we will be looking at the physical, cognitive, and social development of infants and toddlers. We will explore the different development categories throughout a person’s life . Learning Objectives

At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

● Describe the different stages of infant physical development. ● Understand the development of the various reflexes. ● Explain what the role of nutrition plays in infant development. ● Describe the different categories of attachment regarding children and adults. A. Physical Development

Newborns are born with innate reflexes and behaviors that support early development.

Let’s look at some of the skills in the chart below:

Name of Behavior or Skills

Examples

Reflexive Behaviors

Coughing, Blinking, and Suckling

These behaviors include those that have already been programmed without having any experience with the behavior, such as crying. These are the skills that begin being learned in early infancy. Some things include rolling, reaching, and sitting up for early infancy, with self-feeding emerging in later months.

Inherited Behaviors

Motor Skills

During infancy, the cephalocaudal and proximodistal development will continue. The cephalocaudal principle is when the infant develops movements starting at the head and moving down to the feet. Infants will learn how to control head, eye, and face movements, and they usually learn this before learning how to control the arms, legs, feet, and torso. When talking about the proximodistal principle, an infant’s body develops from the center of the body and outward. Infants will learn to control their muscles first in the upper arm and then work on the lower arm, eventually learning how to control their hands and fingers.

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