Developmental Psychology

Achieve Test Prep: Developmental Psychology

are immature. Neural connections allow neural cells to become more efficient to process more information, thus enabling the child to learn more skills. The cortex is the last part to fully develop and is needed to control self-regulatory behaviors such as, walking, sleeping, urination, defecation, and eating. There are physiological states that refer to the arousal of infants. These states are more pronounced during the first few weeks, after a more predictable routine of sleeping and waking occurs. Newborn children sleep for an average of 16 collective hours a day and then settle into about 13 collective hours a day as toddlers. Motor Skill Development: Infants learn many skills without formal instruction, such as sitting and crawling. Infants also learn skills through observation, thus human interaction is critical for proper development. Through studies and observations, it has been determined that children who are raised in environments in which they were held or confined often have delayed motor development. In contrast, children who are allowed to practice motor skills develop quicker. For example, children who are held or confined too much do not have a stepping reflex. The stepping reflex is apparent when an infant or toddler is held over a hard surface, such as a floor and the child will typically move their legs as if they were walking or stepping. The stepping reflex is an example of a gross motor skill. Gross motor skills refer to large body movements, while fine motor skills refer to small body movements. Reflexes: A reflex is an involuntary response to a stimulus. Reflexes are the first motor skills an infant develops. There are three main critical reflexes: • Breathing reflex: maintains oxygen levels • Suckling reflex: the actions which enable feeding

• Rooting reflex: the action of an infant trying to find the nipple when hungry. Infants can smell the hormones from milk and will root in response to the smell. Rooting is also triggered by the nipple being touched to the top lip, or the cheek being stroked.

There are other reflexes, which are not critical, but useful for survival: • Moro reflex, also called ‘startle reflex’

o Should be brisk, symmetrical and accompanied with crying

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