PSYC 111 Lecture 25: November 30th Lecture
Document Summary
The fetus does not just float peacefully asleep in the womb. The fetus can hear and react to external sounds. Mother read the cat in the hat aloud twice each day during the last six weeks of pregnancy. A few hours after birth earphones were placed on the babies heads. Su(cid:272)ki(cid:374)g faste(cid:396) o(cid:396) slo(cid:449)e(cid:396) o(cid:374) a pa(cid:272)ifie(cid:396) p(cid:396)odu(cid:272)ed eithe(cid:396) thei(cid:396) (cid:373)othe(cid:396)"s (cid:448)oi(cid:272)e o(cid:396) a(cid:374)othe(cid:396) (cid:449)o(cid:373)a(cid:374)"s voice reading the story. The infants changed their speed to hear their mother. The infants also changed their speed to hear their mother read the cat in the hat rather than a different story. Teratogens: toxic substances that can harm the fetus. (i. e. alcohol: created fetal alcohol syndrome) Other teratogens: viral infections, x-rays, lead, cigarettes, medications. If the mother contracts rubella during the embryonic stage of pregnancy, the child has more than 50% change of becoming mentally retarded. Babies are born possessing certain abilities, presumably because they are too important to leave to learning.
