Berk (2013, p.127) Infants “from the outset, display many complex abilities” – (X 3 Major Areas) 1. EARLY
LEARNING
3. PERCEPTUAL CAPACITIES
2. MOTOR SKILLS

REFLEXES * Inborn, automatic response form of stimulation. * Neonate’s 1st form of organized patterns of behavior. * Survival value * Foundation for motor skills * Establishment of interaction of parent and child | Cephalocaudal Trend
Motor control of the head comes before the arms and the trunk.Proximodistal Trend
PMotor control of the head, trunk and arm is more advanced than co-ordination of hands and fingers. | TASTE AND SMELL * Newborns show preference to sweeter tastes and smells.st before being * Will know his caregiver through his/her smell first before being able to identify facial features. | STEATES OF ARROUSAL * Most of baby’s time spent sleeping * Sleep, consists of REM & NREM * REM essential for stimulation of central nervous system. * REM ensures oxygenation of eye | Dynamic Systems Theory – Each new skill is a joint product of the development of * Central nervous system development * Any movement possibilities of the body. * The desired goal/action of the child * Environmental supports for the skill. | Vision * Least mature of baby’s other senses. * Depth perception is over 3 phases 1. Kinetic Depth Cues 2. Binocular Depth Cues 3. Pictorial Depth Cues * Contrast sensitivity more apparent two-three month (looking at patterns and able to combine its elements into a unified whole) | THE CRYING BABY * 1st means of communication * Needing food * Needing comfort * Needing stimulation * Brings feeling of arousal and discomfort in adults * Response innately programmed in all humans to ensure baby receives care and protection they need to survive. | Cultural Factors – YESEXAMPLE: I had once read of children who are placed in a box supported with blankets and cushions for the baby to learn to sit upright. Those children after a prolonged period of being accustomed to the position, when they start crawling crawl in a manner that appears that they are scooting themselves around in an upward (seated) looking position. | AUDITORY * Newborns are responsive to slow, clear, high-pitched expressive voices (that of the parents becoming the most familiar at first). * Infant auditory system is well developed at birth, but does mature in the next coming few years of a child’s life. * Are able to turn towards the direction of the sound | LEARNING CAPACITY * Changes in behavior as result of experience * Classical Conditioning – Neutral stimuli paired with stimulus needing reflexive response.(Recognize events that usually occur together) * Operant Conditioning – Infants act on environment, the stimuli that follow behavior change the probability behavior will occur again. (Re-Inforcement vs. Punishment) * Imitation – Copying the behavior on another person (1st models – parents) * Habituation – Gradual reduction in strength of a response due to repetitive stimulation returns to ‘recovery’ change to environment that causes habituated response to high level | | TOUCH * 1st form of touch for newborn is through oral contact (feeding) * Will first explore with feet, as movement with feet appears less complicated than function of the arms and hands. * Will start to rub, probe and bang objects as there is an increased manual visual exploration control. | Cultural factors - YESEXAMPLE: A baby who comes from a background where he or she is carried on the back for sleeping time, comforting, or when care giver is busy, but wants the baby in eyesight will get excited when he sees caregiver coming towards him or her with the towel/blanket used to support him/her on the caregiver’s back. Child knows that he is comfortable, supported, not alone and will easily sleep in that position and therefore will get excited at the sight of stimulus. | | INTERMODAL PERCEPTION * When an infant is able to combine information from two or more senses. * Oral and visual are usually the two to be linked first. DIFFERENTIATION THEORY * |