The End of Infancy

The Development of Children (5th ed.)

Cole, Cole & Lightfoot

Chapter 6

Overview of the Journey

Biological Maturation Perceptual-Motor

Coordination New Modes

of Thought Child-Caregiver

Relations A New Sense of Self The End of Infancy

Biological Maturation Perceptual-Motor

Coordination New Modes

of Thought Child-Caregiver

Relations A New Sense of Self The End of Infancy

Biological Maturation

Rate of growth

Myelination

Neural branching

Second-Year Changes

Rate of growth is slower than during the first year

Height: 29 38 inches

Weight: 20 33 lbs.

Second-Year Changes

Accelerated myelination Within cerebral cortex Between brain stem and cortex Leads to new self-awareness, emotional

responses, better problem solving, voluntary control of behavior, enhanced analysis of visual and auditory input, and language acquisition

Neuron branching close to adult magnitudes Each neuron has multiple connections with

others, usually numbering in the thousands

Perceptual-Motor Coordination

Locomotion

Manual dexterity

Control of elimination

Locomotion

Walking: Development, integration, and practice of component skills Upright posture Leg alternation Weight shifting Sense of balance

Occurs around the age of one year Increased walking

coordination… Enhanced ability to

perceive conditions of the environment…

Increasing Ability

Enhanced Perception

Experience crawling up and down slopes does not seem to carry over to walking.

Experience crawling up and down slopes does not seem to carry over to walking.

Manual Dexterity

Coordination of fine hand movement increases significantly 12 30 months Throw a ball Turn pages of a book String beads Snip paper with scissors Build tower 6 blocks high Hold a cup of liquid without spilling it Dress themselves (but not buttons or shoelaces)

Grip Patterns for Spoon

Control of Elimination Requirements

Sensory pathways from bladder and bowels must mature enough to transmit signals to the cortex

Must learn to associate these signals with need to eliminate

Also learn to tighten their sphincters to prevent elimination and loosen them to permit it

Control of Elimination

Toilet training Succeeds in the limited sense that infants learn to

eliminate when placed on the potty No change in the ages at which children gained

sufficient control to stay dry at night

Can stay dry during the day by the age of 2 (with adult watchfulness)

Do not typically stay dry at night until the age of 4

New Modes of Thought

Symbolic thought

Problem solving

Pretend play

Deferred imitation

Ability to categorize

Pictures and models

Piaget: Sensorimotor Stage (Infancy)

Sub Age (M) Description

1 0 – 1 ½ Reflex schemas exercised

2 1 ½ – 4 Primary circular reactions

3 4 – 8 Secondary circular reactions

4 8 – 12 Coordination of secondary circular reactions

5 12 – 18 Tertiary circular reactions

6 18 – 24 Beginning of symbolic representation

Piaget: Sensorimotor Stage (Infancy)

Sub Age (M) Description

5 12 – 18 Tertiary circular reactions: Deliberate variation of problem-solving means, with experimentation to see what the consequences will be

6 18 – 24 Beginning of symbolic representation: Images and words come to stand for familiar objects; new means of problem solving through symbolic combinations

Evidence of Representation (Symbolic Thought)

Ability to imagine an object not physically present Shown by systematic search for hidden objects

Appearance of systematic problem-solving

Emergence of pretend play Ability to imitate events well

after they have occurred Ability to understand visual

models

Mastery of Object Permanence

Substage 4 (8-12 months) Infant finds an object hidden in one location and

then observes it being hidden in a second location Will search for it in the original hiding place

Substage 5 (12-18 months) Not confused by switching when watching If distracted when the switch occurred, however,

will continue to search in the first location rather than elsewhere…

Substage 5

Substage 5

Substage 5

Substage 5

Substage 5

Mastery of Object Permanence

Substage 4 (8-12 months) Infant finds an object hidden in one location and then

observes it being hidden in a second location Will search for it in the original hiding place

Substage 5 (12-18 months) Not confused by switching when watching If distracted when the switch occurred, will continue to

search in the first location rather than elsewhere Substage 6 (18-24 months)

“Well it wasn’t where I expected it to be, but it must be here somewhere.”

Able to anticipate the trajectory of a moving object that has disappeared behind a barrier

Problem Solving

Infant in substage 5 carries out deliberate problem solving, but still relies principally on trial and error

Infant in substage 6 pictures a series of events in her mind before acting (i.e., via inference)

Pretend Play

Symbolic play (pretend or fantasy play)Play in which one object stands for another (e.g., banana for a telephone, railing for a road) Makes its appearance during

the second year Allows children to perform

actions more developmentally advanced than what they can perform on their own (e.g., “pour milk into a cup”)

Development of Agent Use in Pretend Play

Type of Agent Example

Self as agent The infant puts his or her head on a pillow to pretend to go to sleep

Passive other agent

The infant puts a doll on a pillow to pretend that it goes to sleep

Passive sub-stitute agent

The infant puts a block on a pillow to pretend that it goes to sleep

Active other agent

The infant has a doll place a block on the pillow to go to sleep, as if the doll were actually “putting the block to bed”

Pretend PlayResearch

Lasts longer and is more sophisticated when with mother than when alone

Similarly, when with older sibling than when with mother

However, in cultures where infants engage in less play (e.g., Mayan), equal performance on tests of development

Deferred Imitation First appearance at 6-9 months of age Toward end of 2nd year, a new ability to

“imitate” actions that adults (but not machines) intend to do, but do not actually complete

Demonstrates the ability to represent the mental states of other people

Ability to Categorize 12 months: More likely to touch the toy they picked

up than other toys that had the same shape 18 months: Create a small workspace in front of

them and put 2 or 3 objects of the same kind in it 24 months: Divide objects

into two distinct categories, working on one category at a time

30 months: Simultaneously coordinate work on two major categories and create sub-categories in which the objects are grouped according to color as well

Pictures and Models

2 years: Can rarely use pictorial information to find an object hidden in the room

2 ½ years: Can use a picture, but not a model of the room to find the object

3 years: Can use the model as a representation of the room to find the hidden object…

Development ofChild-Caregiver Relations

AttachmentAttachment

Attachment

An emotional bond most prominent in infants from 6-18 months of age, evidenced by separation anxiety

Explanations Freud: Caused by reduction of hunger drive

(not substantiated, however, by research…) Erikson: Become attached to people who reliably

attend to their needs and who otherwise foster a sense of trust

Bowlby: Provides a balance between an infant’s need for safety and varied learning experiences

Animal Research

The cloth mother, which does not provide nourishment, acts as a secure base, whereas the wire mother, which does provide nourishment, does not

This contradicts drive-reduction theories of attachment (Freud)

Harlow, 1959

Animal Research

Although southing tactile sensations provide a baby with a sense of security that is more important to the formation of attachment than food, they are not sufficient

Social interactions seem to be necessary for healthy emotional development

Human Research

Mary Ainsworth and the “strange situation”

Types: secure, anxious/avoidant, anxious/resistant…

Types of Attachment Secure

Child reacts positively to a stranger as long as mother is present Becomes upset when mother leaves and is unlikely to be

consoled by a stranger Calms down as soon as mother reappears

Anxious/avoidant Child is indifferent to where mother is sitting May or may not cry when mother leaves Is as likely to be comforted by a stranger as by mother Is indifferent when mother returns

Anxious/resistant Child stays close to mother and appears anxious even when

mother is near Becomes very upset when mother leaves but is not comforted

by her return Simultaneously seeks renewed contact with mother and resists

her efforts to comfort

Causes of Variation in Patterns of Attachment

Parental behaviors Mothers’ sensitivity to their infants’ signals of need seems

to be related to higher levels of secure attachment Characteristics of the child

Infants who had spent more time playing with objects than interacting sociably with their mothers were more likely to display signs of insecure attachment later on

Family influences Maternal depression and marital discord appear to be

related to lower levels of secure attachment Cultural influences

Children who slept at home displayed a significantly higher level of secure attachments

Course of Attachment

A New Sense of Self

Self-recognition

Self as actor

Sense of standards

Secondary emotions

Self-Recognition

3 months: Little interest at all 4 months: Reach out and touch

mirror image 10 months: Reach behind them if

a toy is slowly lowered behind their back while they are looking in the mirror, but will not try to rub off a red spot that has been surreptitiously applied to their nose

18 months: Will reach for their own nose when they see the red spot; when asked, “Who’s that?” will answer “Me”

MirrorMirror

Self as Actor 18-24 months

(at same time as begin 2-word utterances) “Did it!” “Becky

finished.” “Uh-oh. I fix.”

Sense of Standards Around 2 years of age

Upset if ear of teddy bear is missing or mud on dress

“Yucky” & “Fix it” Self-imposed goal of using

all available blocks or fitting every doll into baby carriage

Actively seek adults’ help in reaching goals and standards

Emergence of Secondary Emotions 6 primary emotions by the

first birthday Joy, fear, anger, surprise,

sadness, disgust Primary – bear a simple,

direct relation to the events that elicit them

Emergence of Secondary Emotions 18-24 months: Experience new secondary

emotions Embarrassment, pride, shame, guilt, envy, etc.

(e.g., self-satisfied smile, hang head, cover face, try to hide)

Secondary – depend on infant’s new abilities to recognize, talk about, and think about themselves in relation to other people (e.g., in terms of some social standard, rule, or desired goal)

Also known as “social” or “self-conscious” emotions

The End of Infancy

A bio-social-behavioral shift

Between the ages of 24 & 30 months

Prominent Shifts & Periods

Shift Point Developmental Period

Conception Prenatal period

Birth Early infancy

2 ½ months Middle infancy

7-9 months Late infancy

24-30 months Early childhood

5-7 years Middle childhood

11-12 years Adolescence

19-21 years Adulthood

Characteristics of the Shift

Biological Myelination of connections among brain areas Leveling off of brain growth Maturation of brain areas in roughly equal degrees

Social Decline of distress at separation Distinctive sense of self Acceptance of adult standards Emergence of secondary emotions

Behavioral Walking becomes well coordinated Manual dexterity enables infant to pick up small objects Control over bladder and bowels More complex and planned problem solving Symbolic play and expression of basic words & phrases Conceptual representations and complex categories Smile accompanying mastery