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Infancy and ChildhoodChapter 8
Beginning of LifeWhen infants are born, they are
extremely vulnerableBorn with certain reflexes:
◦ Grasping Reflex: an infant’s clinging response to a touch on the palm. Probably stems from when humans had to cling to their mothers
◦ Rooting Reflex: an infant’s response in turning toward the source of touching that occurs anywhere around his or her mouth. Assists in feeding
If an infant is not feeding or sleeping, it is staring at the world around them
How do Babies Grow?Maturation:Unless there is something wrong with an
infant, they will follow a specific pattern in development:◦ Lift head at 3 months◦ Smile at 4 months◦ Crawling at 8-10 months
Maturation: the internally programmed growth of a childParents should wait until the right stage of
development to challenge infants with new skills
How do Babies Grow?Learning:Infants learn at a fast rate. They can:
◦ Make associations◦ Avoid things that make punishments◦ Do things that get rewards◦ Imitate
Infants are capable of learning from the day they are born
Intellectual DevelopmentMany times, we think of those younger
than us as having “less” information in their brains
Jean Piaget discovered that it’s not about the information, but how we learn that makes age groups different
Piaget’s 4 Stages of Development
Schemes: plans for knowing◦ Ex: All things with fur are dogs
Assimilation: the process of fitting objects and experiences into one’s scheme for understanding an environment
◦ Ex: See a new animal with fur, add it to our scheme. It’s a dog
Accommodation: the adjustment of one’s scheme for understanding the world to fit newly observed events and experiences
◦ Ex: Mother tells you that the new animal is actually a cat. You change your scheme
Sensorimotor (ages 0-2)Characteristics: Cognitive development comes through
use of body and sensesNo object permanence: objects just
don’t disappear from existenceLanguage absent until end of periodEgocentrism: its all about me!
Stage 1
Preoperational (ages 2-7)Characteristics: Begins using symbols but cannot
manipulate them*Can think of things that aren’t
immediately presentOthers see things through his viewpoint
(no empathy)No concrete sense of timeRepresentational Thought: can use pictures to represent something in their mindsStage 2
Concrete Operations (ages 7-11)
Characteristics: Can perform mental operations with the
use of concrete objectsCan make rational judgmentsCan begin to think abstractlyConservation: a given quantity does not change when its appearance is changed
Stage 3
Formal Operations (ages 11 and up)
Characteristics: Can think of things that are not
concrete/tangibleSeperates real from possibleLanguage is no longer restricted to
concreteHypothetical reasoning
Deductive Reasoning
A Final NotePiaget believed intellectual development
involves quantitative (amount) changes as well as qualitative (type) changes
The rate at which certain children develop varies
While this theory describes what is going on mentally, other things are not mentioned:◦ Moral development◦ Social development◦ Physical development
Development of LanguageChildren can make all the sounds of any
human language by the end of their first year
By the age of 2, children have over 50 words
Learn by imitatingBetween ages 2-5, children add around 5
to 10 words a dayMany young children add grammar rules
inconsistently◦ EX: The past tense of add is added, therefore,
the past tense of go is goed.
SocializationSocialization: learning the rules of behavior or the culture in which you are bornSome social rules are clear and inflexible
and vice versaWe have different rules based on our
gender, age, job, status and many other criteria
A few different theories exist:◦ Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Development◦ Erikson’s theory of Psychosocial Development
Socialization
Males Females
Freud’s TheoryAll children are born with strong sexual
and aggressive urges that must be tamed
The process of taming these feelings is what causes people to become socialized/civilized
Very controversial
Freud’s TheoryOral Stage:Children get pleasure from oral fixation
◦ EX: Breast Feeding/PacifierStage goes away after child is weaned
from breast feedingAnal Stage:Pleasure comes from becoming trained
to use bowels◦ EX: Toilet training
Toilet training gives children social control
Freud’s TheoryPhallic Stage:Strong sexual feelings for members of the
opposite sexMajor conflict comes from fighting for the
parent of the opposite sexOedipal Conflict: a boy’s wish to possess his mother, coupled with hostility toward his fatherConflict is reduced when he starts identifying
with the parents of the same sexElectra Conflict: a girl’s wish to possess her father, coupled with hostility toward her motherConflict is reduced when she starts
identifying with the parents of the same sex
Freud’s TheoryLatency Stage:Sexual desires are pushed into the
backgroundExploring and acquiring new skills
becomes keyGenital Stage:Adolescence
Erikson’s TheorySocialization is not sudden or
emotionally violent (like Freud)Socialization is a lifelong processThere are 8 stages, each of which
have a crisisHow we deal with these crisis will
determine how we are in later lifeWe will only talk about the first 3
stages in this chapterStages build on each other
Erikson’s TheoryTrust vs. Mistrust: Age 0-1If infant is well cared for, it will be
trustingIf the infant has too much uncertainty,
it will look at the world with fear and suspicion
Autonomy vs. Doubt: Age 1-2Learns self-control and assertivenessToo much criticism leads to being
ashamed and have doubts about independence
Erikson’s TheoryInitiative vs. Guilt: Age 2-5Lots of encouragement and support
leads to someone who takes charge of their life
Too much discouragement leads to someone who feels guilty about their actions
Other Ideas on SocializationMany psychologists believe that we learn social norms through a series of normal tasks:Conditioning: when we do something
right, we are rewarded. When we do something wrong, we are embarrassed/ashamed
Imitation: when learning a new social norm, we normally start by imitating someone
Play: children sometimes role play being someone older and more established. They are actually practicing social rules
Moral Development- KohlbergWe all make moral decisions every dayHow do we develop these morals?Kohlberg provided a stage theory that
he replicated in many different cultures
There are 3 levels, each with 2 stages. We will only review the first level in this chapter
Moral Development- KohlbergLevel I: Preconventional Morality (ages 4-10)Punishment Avoidance: obediance is
based only on the individual’s desire to not get in trouble. Individuals WILL disobey if they can avoid being caught
Exchange of Favors: right and wrong are defined in terms of consequences to the individual. Children recognize others have needs too
