Infancy and Childhood

Developmental Psychology - study of changes that occur as individuals mature.

Beginning of Life•Reflexes

• Grasping reflex - an infant’s clinging response to a touch on the palm of their hand.

• Stepping reflex - infant’s held upright with feet touching the ground will attempt to walk.

• Rooting reflex - infant’s response in turning toward the source of touching that occurs anywhere around the mouth.

• Moro (startle) reflex - loud bangs or falling cause the infant to spread arms and legs.

• Babinski (plantar) reflex - when a pointy object is run up the center of the foot.

Infancy and Childhood

Intellectual Development

Developmental biologist - Jean Piaget

4 stages of cognitive development:1. Sensorimotor - birth to 2 years. Everything is based on senses (sensori-) and

body movement (-motor). Thinking and action are directly connected. 0-2 months - reflex stage2-4 months - primary circular reaction4-8 months - secondary circular reaction8-12 months - coordination of secondary reactions12-18 months - tertiary secondary reactions18-24 months - invention of new means through mental combinations

Infancy and Childhood

Intellectual Development

Developmental biologist - Jean Piaget

4 stages of cognitive development:1. Sensorimotor - birth to 2 years. Everything is based on senses (sensori-) and

body movement (-motor). Thinking and action are directly connected.2. Preoperational - 2 to 7 years. Begin using mental images and symbols to

understand. Language. Draw pictures. Can assign emotion to inanimate objects. Little moral sense (other than authority saying “don’t do that”)

2-4 years - preconceptual stage4-6 years - intuitive stage

Infancy and Childhood

Intellectual Development

Developmental biologist - Jean Piaget

4 stages of cognitive development:1. Sensorimotor - birth to 2 years. Everything is based on senses (sensori-) and

body movement (-motor). Thinking and action are directly connected.2. Preoperational - 2 to 7 years. Begin using mental images and symbols to

understand. Language. Draw pictures. Can assign emotion to inanimate objects. Little moral sense (other than authority saying “don’t do that”)

3. Concrete Operational - 6-12 years. Organized, logical thought applied to concrete objects. Principle of conservation (the amount of an object remains the same though the shape changes). Concrete problem solving. Reversibility. Multiple classifications. Ability to view things from another person’s perspective.

4. Formal Operational - 12 to adulthood. Abstract problem solving. Algebra. Alternate solutions to complex problems. Can think of causes of an event without ever experiencing the event.

Conservation