2. The specialized study of how an individual’s
physical, social, emotional, moral, and
intellectual development occur in sequential
interrelated stages throughout the life cycle.
3. Some psychologists believe that most of our
behaviors are the result of genetics or
inheritance. (Nature)
Others believe that most of our behaviors are
the result of experience and learning.
(Nurture)
4. Development begins before an infant is born.
Ex. Hiccuping, kicking, strong movement
Newborns have the ability to see, hear,
smell, and respond to the environment at
birth.
Allows them to adapt to the new world
around them.
5. Grasping reflex- response to a touch on the
palm of the hand.
Rooting reflex- An alerted response to a
touch anywhere around the mouth. The
infant will move his or her head and mouth
towards the source of the touch.
Ex.-Breast feeding
6. By observing their behavior, psychologists can
measure the capabilities of newborn infants.
Examples of capabilities: How infants suck
their thumb, look at things, turn their head,
cry, smile, and show signs of surprise or
fright.
This can show how infants are stimulated,
and how they might perceive the world.
7. On average, infants weigh 7.3 pounds at
birth.
At birth, 95 percent of infants are between
5.5 and 10 pounds, and are 18 to 22 inches in
length.
After a period of two years, a grasping,
rooting, searching child is able to walk, talk,
and feed him or herself.
8. Age in Months Ability/Maturation
2 Raise head to 45 degrees
2.8 Roll over
4 Sit with support
5.5 Sit without support
7.6 Pulling self to standing position
9.2 Walk holding on to furniture
10 Creep
11.5 Standing alone
12.1 Walk
9. Learning is a relatively permanent change in
behavior resulting from responses that
change as a result of experience.
Maturational Readiness- The time when a
child is psychologically ready to learn to
walk, speak, etc.
The “Maturational Plan” inside each child is
different.
Ex.- Some are ready to walk before others.
10. Newborns will look at their bodies and their
surroundings; they will have mature
perceptional skills.
Robert Frantz(1961)- Showed infants
different faces and discovered that they
prefer looking at human faces and patterned
materials the most.
Babies benefit greatly from being touched by
their parents.
11. An experiment done to determine whether
infants had depth perception.
Visual Cliff- a platform, part of which has a
checkerboard pattern, and the other part
consists of a sheet of glass with the
checkerboard pattern a few feet below it.
Creates the illusion of a clifflike dropoff.
12.
13. Language and thought make music together.
When a child learns a language, their ability
to further their intelligence makes it easier.
A child thinks about things before they can
talk by using symbols and signals.
Animals can help us in our understanding of
how language is acquired. 2 year old
chimpanzees may look for a toy or food that
has gone missing like a 2 year old human
would.
