PSYCO105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Social Change, Longitudinal Study, Netflix
7 Jul 2016
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Document Summary
On birth, infants are not capable of much. However, they do display a few prominent reflexive behaviours. If you touch an infant"s cheek, infants reflexively orient their head towards the source of physical contact. Walking is a major milestone in infant development. It regularly occurs around 1 year of age, and is preceded by orderly development of motor skills. One theory is that walking is a preprogrammed behavior that becomes activated once a child acquires the necessary strength and coordination. Thus, walking is an instinctual behavior (much like sucking and grasping reflexes). Swaddled infants cry less and sleep more soundly at night, but also tend to show lagged development of motor skills. This suggests walking may not be completely instinctual behavior. Swaddled infants create an environment where they feel secure therefore less crying and more soundly sleep but because they are so secure in their tightly wrapped blankets, they lack walking and motor skills.
