2.06.19-2.08.19 PDF

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Class notes for Dr. Kacy Welsh-Morris....

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2.6.19 

Physical Development o 4 principles of growth:  Cephalocaudal: development proceeds from head downward  Proximodistal: proceeds from middle of body outward  Independence of Systems: different body systems develop at different

rates Hierarchical Integration: simple skills develop first, then combined with more complex skills o Height and Weight increase rapidly over first 2 years of life-by age 2, half of adult height and triple/quadruple birth weight; grow in spurts o Body Proportions also change over childhood  Infants are all head; head is 70% of adult size, 1/4 of total body length  By adulthood, head is 1/8 of body length  Skull at birth is soft, made of several bones called fontanelles: the place where bones meet  By age 2, fontanelles are filled with mineral deposits Motor Development o Infant reflexes: unlearned, involuntary response to stimuli (we’re born with 27!)  Present at birth, most fade during first year; there are 2 categories  Survival: offer protection or satisfy basic survival needs ex. breathing  Primitive: no clear survival value  Compare children to developmental norms: typical age range of mastery of skills  Dynamic Systems Theories: group of theories that focus on how change/development occurs over time in complex systems; each person is a system that contains many elements and is constantly changing  Any changes one element is likely to cause changes in system  Thelen: development of motor skills involves coordination of a cast number of skills, body areas environmental influences; emphasizes importance of babies’ motivation in development of motor skills-motor skills develop as way to solve problems  Environment affects motor development  Timing of motor milestones not correlated with later motor ability  Skills cannot be learned before brain and body are ready Brain Development: over prepares for experience in life o Neurogenesis: proliferation of neurons through cell division  Begins during prenatal development; most are formed by end of 6th month since conception o Brain Growth Spurt (7 month-2 year):  Time of most rapid growth in brain size  Due to production of glia cells: cells that support neurons  Mylentation: neurons coated with myelin which speeds up transmission 

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 Isn’t finished until the early 20’s Synapogensis: production of synapses; start with few connections from birth-2 year connections multiply rapidly  Infants have 40-50% more neurons than adult needs  Synaptic pruning: loss of synapses by neurons that are rarely stimulated  Deprivation of experience has negative impact on brain  Risen: chimps raised in darkness were not able to see when exposed to light  Blakemore & Cooper: kittens raised to see only horizontal or vertical lines see ONLY the horizontal or vertical components of the room  Enrichment can have positive impacts  Rats in enriched environments = heavier cortex, more complexity of neurons, increased chemical activity  Plasticity: degree to which developing structure/behavior is modified due to experience; greatest during sensitive periods Infant Perceptual Abilities o Preferential looking: measures which stimuli an infant prefers to look at; implies ability to tell them apart; no preference = harder to interpret o Habituation: losing interest of stimuli presented over and over again  Orienting response: new stimuli = cease activity, pay close visual attention  Use to test difference between 2 variables  Speed of habituation related to cognitive ability, lower IQ scores o Conditioning Methods:  Classical/rock whatever 

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