PSY2071 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Language Acquisition, Moro Reflex, Menopause
5 Jun 2018
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PSY2071 – Lecture – Week 2
• learning objectives
•
o To outline some of the neurological underpinning of remarkable
development during infancy
o To describe major milestones in motor development and
perceptual development
o To outline major features of Piaget’s theory of cognitive
development
o To understand some of the theoretical approaches and methods
used to explain individual differences in cognitive development
o To describe the basic structure of language, development of
language in infancy, and some approaches to understanding the
origins of language
o To outline attachment, one way of measuring it, and factors that
influence infant attachment
• major principles governing growth
•
o cephalocaudal principle
o
▪ growth follows a pattern that begins with the head and
upper body parts and then proceeds to the rest of the body
o proximodistal principle
o
▪ development proceeds from the centre of the body
outward, based on the latin words near and far
o principle of hierarchical integration
o
▪ simple skills typically develop first, separately and
independently, later they are integrated into more complex
skills
o principle of the independence of systems
o
▪ different body systems from at different rates
o examples
• the nervous system and the brain
•
o synaptic pruning
o
▪ there is an overproduction of synapses in infancy and
through experience the obsolete connections are pruned
▪ hyperconductivitiy - too many connections
▪ unused neurons are selectively eliminated and this allows
established neurons to build more elaborative
communication networks with other neurons
▪ connections that are used become strengthened and
survive, while the unused ones are replaced by other
pathways or disappear
▪
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find more resources at oneclass.com
▪ result is increased efficiency of neural transmission
in the network
▪ synaptic pruning is a non-linear developmental process
▪
▪ occurs in infancy but also during later life
▪ overproduction - adaptive advantage - if the brain
experiences and injury or insult - brain is better able to
cover - sensitive period
o myelination
o
▪ axons of neurons are coated with myelin, a fatty substance
that provides protection and speeds the transmission of
nerve impulses
▪ contributes to increased weight of the brain
▪ even though many neurons are lost, the increasing size and
complexity of the remaining ones contribute to brain
growth
▪
▪ Infant’s brain triples in weight during the first two
years of life
▪ By age 2 years brain weight reaches more than ¾ of
its adult weight and size by age
▪ learning a new skill - increases myelination
• environmental influence on brain development
•
o plasticity
o
▪ degree to which a developing structure or behaviour is
modifiable due to experience
o sensitive period
o
▪ specific but limited time , usually in early life when the
individual is particular susceptible to environmental
influences relating to some aspect of development
o infant’s sensory experiences affect both the size and neurons and
the structure of their connections
~ basic infant states
• reflexes
•
o reflexes
o
▪ unlearned, organised involuntary responses that occur
automatically in the presence of certain stimuli
▪ adaptive
o eating
o
▪ swallowing
▪ rooting
▪ sucking
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find more resources at oneclass.com
▪ help infants to consume mother’s milk and are coupled with
the new found ability to digest nutrients
o why do reflexes come and go?
o
▪ support development
o ethnic and cultural differences and similarities
o
▪ reflexes are genetically determined and universal
▪ cultural variations in ways some reflexes are displayed
▪
▪ e.g. moro reflex
▪ serves
▪
▪ diagnostic tool for paediatricians
▪ social function
▪ survival function
o reflexes are important to check
o
▪ if an infant doesn’t have one or more reflexes it may or may
not indicate some developmental problem
▪ if an infant doesn’t overcome some of these reflexes it
might also indicate a problem e.g. motor neurone disease
▪ reflexes are not all or nothing
▪
▪ often a continuum - you have it but it isn’t as
fast/automatic as it should be
• eating
•
o is breast feeding best?
o
▪ child
▪
▪ offers all nutrients the infant needs for first 12
months of life
▪ more easily digested than alternative
▪ provides some immunity to variety of childhood
diseased
▪ may enhance cognitive development
▪ but not a cure all for infant nutrition and health
▪ and not always possible
▪ mother
▪
▪ may have lower rates of ovarian and breast cancer
prior to menopause
▪ hormones produced may help to support recovery of
uterus following birth
o malnutrition
o
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Psy2071 lecture week 2 learning objectives: to outline some of the neurological underpinning of remarkable development during infancy . To describe major milestones in motor development and perceptual development . To outline major features of piaget"s theory of cognitive development: to understand some of the theoretical approaches and methods used to explain individual differences in cognitive development . To describe the basic structure of language, development of language in infancy, and some approaches to understanding the origins of language . New monkey doesn"t human does initial (cid:498)face template(cid:499) is. All monkeys look alike: more importantly, our appear novel but new very general (it can process monkeys), but gets specialised due to experience (we forget about monkeys). study 2. Infants at 9 months still habituated to familiar/non-familiar macaque faces . Perhaps monkeys don"t all look alike after all conclusions findings the mind isn"t specifically.
