What is the term for the reflects that makes a baby who is lying face down in a body of water paddle and kick?

What are the four principles of growth?

Cephalocaudal principleProximodistal principle
Principle of Hierarchial integration
Independence of systems

what are the four principles of growth

- cephalocaudal pattern - "head to tail" growth, starts w/ the head & continues down - proximodistal pattern - development starts w/ center of body outward - hierarchical integration - simple skills develop, then more complex ones - independence of systems - diff. body systems grow at different rates

when skills and actions go unused,  synaptic connections can become weaker and weaker and eventually die off. The result of Synaptic Pruning is to allow established neurons to build a more elaborate communication network with other neurons. use it or lose it

a fatty substance that helps insulate neurons and speeds the transformation of nerve impulses

What are rhythms and states?

Rhythm-repetivie cyclic patterns of behavior -may go through periods in which they jerk their legs in a regular pattern every minute
State-the degree of awareness an infant displays to both internal and external stimulation -alternes, fussing, and crying, different levels of sleep

What is it called when a baby is born feet first?

When does the greatest increase in height and weight occur?

during first year of life

The reflex that causes a newborn baby to turn its head toward something that touches its cheek and to grope around with its mouth birth-three weeks

Basis for complex motor stills, with bare feet touching floor infant will mimic a stepping response -Disappears around 2 months

-Paddle and kick in sort of a swimming motion when lying facedown in a body of water
-Disappears in 4-6 months

Activated when support for the neck and head is suddenly removed. the arms of the infant are thrust outward and then appear to grasp onto something.
Disappearance: 6 months

Fans toes in response to outside of foot being stroked
Disappears: 8-12 months

Fling out arms, fan fingers, & arches back in response to sudden noise

rapid shutting and opening of eye on exposure to direct light

infants tendency to suck at things that touch its lips

an infant's reflex to clear its throat

Know developmental milestones

Rolling Over : 3.2 months Grasping Rattle : 3.3 months Sitting w/o support : 5.9 months Standing while holding on : 7.2 months Grasping with thumb and finger : 8.2 months Standing alone well : 11.5 months Walking well : 12.3 months Building a tower of two cubes : 14.8 months Walking up steps : 16.6 months Jumping in place : 23.8 months

What is the Brazelton Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale?

measure designed to determine infants neurological and behavioral responses to their environment   Supplement to Apgar test

Disease of children in underdeveloped countries caused by iron deficiency (protein malnutrition). The most obvious symptom is a distended belly but include skin pigment changes, hair growth changes, and weight loss.

a disease of severe protein-calorie malnutrition during early infancy, in which growth stops, body tissues waste away, and the infant eventually dies

When can babies start solid food

6 months aren't needed until 9-12 months

What is the Dynamic Systems Theory?

come back to this one!!! call hamaita

Stranger anxiety Separation anxiety How are they related to each other and to infants sense of securtiy

Stranger anxiety: caution and wariness displayed by infants when encountering an unfamiliar person; begins at 6-9 mons Separation anxiety: distress displayed by infants when a customary care provider departs; 7-8mons Both represent important social progress Reflect both cognitive advances and growing emotion and social bonds with caregivers

*******DOUBLE CHECK THIS********  
What is social referencing and how do infants benefit from it

The initial search for information about others feelings to help explain the meaning of uncertain circumstances and events Infants benefit from it because the need it to understand not only the significance of other behavior, but also the meaning for them

What is nonverbal decoding?

Briefly describe the research findings of Harlow on contact comfort?

Briefly describe some ways that adults can promote infant cognitive development.

Briefly describe the differences in the interactions that mothers and fathers have with their infants.

Suppose you have an infant and need to place him or her in day care.  What questions would you consider in choosing a program.

Explain the difference between assimilation and accommodation?

organized patterns of functioning that adapt and change with mental development

List the things that adults can do to exercise an infant’s body and senses.

What is the status of the senses of smell and taste in newborn infants?

Distinguish between gross motor skills and fine motor skills.  Give an example of each.

List factors that increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.  What does the American Academy of Pediatricians recommend for putting you r baby down to sleep?

What is the benefit of  the “pruning down” process that occurs in the nervous system?

What is one criticism of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?

What percent of infants watch TV daily?  What percent of children, under 3, go to day care?

What is Erikson’s label for the stage of infancy?

the principle that growth follows a pattern that begins with the head and upper body parts and then proceeds down to the rest of the body

the principle that development proceeds from the center of the body outward

the principle that simple skills typically develop separately and independently. later these skkills are itnegrated into more complex ones

the principle that different body systems grow at different rates

What age is recommended for introducing and feeding babies solid foods?

can be introduced at 6 months, though it is not necessary until 9-12 months

What tastes do infants prefer?

the basic nerve cell of the nervous system

the gap at the connection between neurons, through which neurons chemically communicate with each other

a process whereby the synaptic connections in the brain that are used are preserved and those that are not used are lost

a fatty substance that helps insulate neurons and speeds the transmission of nerve impulses

The degree to which a developing structure or behavior is susceptible to experience

a specific, but limited time, usually early in an organism's life, during which the environmental influences relating to some particularly susceptible to some particular facet of development                                                      

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Brain has trouble reading CO2 levels properly. Exact causes may be varied and are not well understand. Best advice: keep baby on back while sleeping.

Rhythms and States: What are some common rhythms and states of the newborn?

Rhythms: waking, eating, sleeping, going to the bathroom.
States: Change from wakefulness to sleep, breathing, sucking patterns.

Sleep patterns and amount of sleep for infant.  Do infants dream?  How do we know?

Infants sleep on average 16-17 hours a day.

Though the infant has a REM-like quality to their sleep, brain waves do not indicate dreams until about the 3-4 months.

When do brain-wave patterns (EEG) stabilize in the infant?   

What is the leading cause of death of infants under the age of one year?

Gross and Fine motor skills:  What is the difference?  What develops first?

Gross Motor Skills: large unsophisticated movement. Ex: wiggle arms and legs and lift head. Gross develop first.
Fine motor skills: Refined, more controlled movement; Coordination. Ex: Picking up small objects off the ground.

Know the sequence of milestones

Rolling Over Grasping Rattle Sitting w/o support Standing while holding on Grasping with thumb and finger Standing well alone walking well alone Building tower out of 2 blocks Walking up steps Jumping in place

The Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (what does it measure and why is it used?)

Measures infants neurological and behavioral responses to their environment. It is used to compare the individual infant against the represent average performance of a large sample of children of the same age.

The Visual Cliff -  What ages do children typically not cross over the cliff?

Experiment that was used to examine the depth perception of infants. Most infants 6-14 months could not be coaxed to cross the cliff.

At what age do infants achieve 20/20 vision?

What change led to a lowering of the rate of SIDS?

Back-to-Sleep guideline, suggesting babies be placed on their backs to sleep, and be given a pacifier during naps and bedtime.

Know Piaget’s various stages of cognitive development;


  1. Sensorimotor -object permanence
  2. Pre-Operational - egocentrism, theory of mind, conservation
  3. Concrete Operational
  4. Formal Operational

organized patterns of functioning that adapt and change with mental development

the process by which people understand an experience in terms of their current stage of cognitive development and way of thinking

Changes in existing way of thinking that occur in response to encounters with new stimuli or events

Primary - repetition of interesting or enjoyable actions, just for the enjoyment of doing them, which focus on the infants own body
secondary - Repetition of actions that bring about a desirable consequence; actions related to outside world.
Tertiary-Variation of activities that bring about a desirable consequence. experiments; mini-scientist

the realization that people and objects exist even when they can not be seen.

an act in which a person who is no longer present is imitated by children who have witnessed a similar act

A Piagetian approach to the study of cognitive development that emphasizes the intellectual structures underlying cognitive experience at different developmental points and the ways in which tge structures adapt to environmental experience

Information Processing Model-Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval

Like a computer, memories are made through three processes. In encoding, the memory is processed into the memory system. It is like typing in words into a word document. In storage, the memory is retained over time. Retrieval marks the process of getting the information out of storage.
the model that seeks to identify the way individuals take in, use and store information.

memory without conscious recollection, that affect performance and behavior

memory that is conscious and can be recalled intentionally

the lack of memory for experiences that occurred prior to 3 years of age

Brain regions associated with implicit and explicit memory   

Implicit: Cerebellum and brain stem Explicit: Hippocampus and increasing amounts of the cortex.

When does explicit and implicit memory emerge?

they emerge at different rates and involve different parts of the brain

The work and conclusions of Carroll Izard / What emotion(s) do infants appear to be born with?

Interest, Disinterest, and Disgust

the positive emotional bound that develops between a child and a particular individual.

EX: The use of parent's or other adult's facial expression or vocal cues to decide how to deal with novel, ambiguous, or possibly threatening situations Definition: the intentional search for information about others' feelings to help explain the meaning of uncertain circumstances and events

Process by which infant and caregiver communicate emotional states to each other and respond appropriately. 

When does self-awareness emerge?

When does empathy emerge?

The Harlow Studies:  What was concluded?  What was tested?

Suggested that attachment grew out of a mother's ability to satisfy a child's oral needs; feed them or provide food.

attachment is based primarily on infants' needs for safety and security.

believed attachment is based on biological factors; Studied imprinting in geese. Found that the first moving thing a geese sees, he or she determines that as its mother.

monkey experiment: attatchment occurs because of contact comfort

Built on Bowlby's theorizing to develop a widely used experimental technique: Ainsworth Strange Situation: a sequence of staged episodes that illustrates the strength of attachment between a child and (typically) his or her mother.

Attachment Patterns, Basic types of temperament (Thomas and Chess) Know the differences   

Secure Attachment Patter Avoidant Attachment Pattern Ambivalent Attachment Pattern Disorganized-disoriented attachment pattern

Patterns of arousal and emotionality that are consistent and enduring characteristics of an individual.

the notion that development is dependent on the degree of match between children's temperament and the nature and demands of the environment in which they are being raised

At what age do infants show empathy?

Distinguish between temperament and personality

What percent of children, age 3 and under, are taken care of by someone other than a parent?

What are the effects of childcare on children? (both short term and long term)

What are some of the first emotions to develop? What is present at birth?  When does fear typically develop?

How might the development of fear be related to cognitive development?

The sequence of Language development including when each may occur:

            Cooing

            Babbling

            Holophrases

            Duos / Telegraphic speech

            Full Sentences

Also, know:

            Phoneme

            Morpheme

            Syntax

            Semantics

Names with the two language theories discussed in class:

            Chomsky

            Lenneberg

            Skinner

What is infant directed speech?

How are norms used in studying or assessing child development?

Norms represent the average performance of a large sample of children of a given age and are used to make broad generalizations about the timing of various behaviors and skills.

Secure Attachment Pattern

a style of attachment in which children use mother as a home base and are at ease as long as she is present; when she leaves they become upset and go to her as soon as she returns

avoidant attachment pattern

a style of attachment in which children do not seek proximity tot he mother; after the mother has left, they seem to avoid her when she returns as if they are angered by her behavior

ambivalent attachment pattern

a style of attachment in which children display a combination of attachment in which children displa a combination of positive and negative reactions to their mothers; they show great distress when the mother leaves, but upon her return they any be simultaneously seek close contact but also hit and kick her. 

disorganized disoriented attachment pattern

a style of attachment in which children show inconsistent often contradictory behavior such as approaching the mother when she returns bu not looking at her, they may be the least securely attached children of all

have a positive disposition; their body functions operate regularly and they are adaptable. 

negative moods and are slow to adapt to new situations; when confronted with a new situation, they tend to withdraw.

babies who are inactive, showing relatively calm reactions to their enviroment; their moods are generally negative, and they withdraw from new situations, adapting slowly

rapid eye movement stage of sleep in which the eyes move rapidly under the eyelids and the person is typically experiencing a dream. Infants < 6 months usually experience a Rem-like sleep for 1/2 the time they sleep. 6< the amount is 1/3 the time they sleep is REM-like.

What is the term for the reflex that makes a baby who is lying face down?

‌This is the Moro reflex. It was first described by Ernst Moro in 1918. It can be seen as early as 25 weeks after conception and is present by 30 weeks after conception. ‌It disappears around two to six months of age when your baby can support their head.

What is the term for the reflex that does not disappear and is demonstrated when an infant tries to clear his or her throat?

- gag. What is the term for the reflex that does not disappear and is demonstrated when an infant tries to clear his or her throat? - Babinski.

What is the term for the reflex that does not disappear and is demonstrated?

What is the term for the reflex where the neonate tends to turn its head toward things that touch its cheek? rooting. What is the term for the reflex that does not disappear, and is demonstrated by the infant's tendency to suck at things that touch its lips? sucking.

What is the term for the ability to detect sound and pinpoint the direction from which it is emanating?

Sound localization is a listener's ability to identify the location or origin of a detected sound in direction and distance.