Chapter 4 Gp 7, 8 And 9

Chapter 4 GP 7, 8 and 9 Psych 30

7. What influences the growth of the body and brain? • Cephalocaudal principle • - growth occurs from head to toe –

Notice the proportionally larger size the newborn head to the rest of the body.

Cephalocaudal principle • Initially, the head is disproportionately larger than the other parts of the infant's body. The Cephalocaudal theory states that muscular control develops from the head downward: first the neck, then the upper body and the arms, then the lower trunk and the legs.

Cephalocaudal principle • Motor development from birth to six months of age includes initial head and neck control, then hand movements and eye-hand coordination, followed by preliminary upper body control. The subsequent six months of life include important stages in learning to control the trunk, arms, and legs for skills such as sitting, crawling, standing, and walking.

Cephalocaudal principle • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

More on the Cephalocaudal Principle of Physical Development • Head Control -- at birth • Rolling Over -- at 5 to 6 months • Sitting -- at 6-6.5 months • Standing with help -- at 8 months • Prewalking Locomotion -- creeping and crawling -- at 9-10 months • Standing alone -- at 13-14 months • Walking and Running – with help -- at 9-11 months – alone -- at 18 months – run stiffly -- at 20 months – run well -- at 20 months • Jumping -- at 20 mon.

7. What influences the growth of the body and brain? • • •

Proximodistal Principle (inner to outer growth) Example:

• • • • • • • • • • • •

ore on the Proximodistal Principle of Physical Development • By 4 months -- grasp objects but can’t hold up. • By 6-6.5 months -- can grasp a large object with one hand and transfer it to the other. • By 7 months -- can hold up a small object, but can’t pick it up. • By 9 months -- capable of “pincing” even small objects. • By 15 months -- can put a tiny object into a bottle

proximodistal principle • The second principle, the • proximodistal principle explains that internal organs develop faster than extremities. For example, • control of the arms develops before control of the finger

7. What influences the growth of the body and brain? • Teething• Teething starts at about 3-4 months and follows a relatively predictable schedule – babies generally have about 20 teeth by age • 2½

7. What influences the growth of the body and brain? • The Brain and Reflex Behaviour • About 2 weeks from conception the brain and the brain stem (responsible for basic body functions breathing etc) as well as the spinal cord begins to develop

7. What influences the growth of the body and brain? • The Cerebellum grows the fastest during the first year of life. • The cerebellum is responsible for balance and motor coordination

7. What influences the growth of the body and brain? • The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain – it is divided into right and left hemispheres • Each side has specialized functions • Left is concerned with • Language • Logic • Right is concerned with • Visual • Spatial • This is called lateralization

What influences the growth of the body and brain? • The 2 sides of the brain are held together by the corpus callosum

What influences the growth of the body and brain? • The corpus callosum allows the 2 sides of the brain to share information and coordinate with each other.

What influences the growth of the body and brain? • Lobes of the brain

Brain cells

What influences the growth of the body and brain? • Neurotransmitters: chemicals which base messages from one neuron to another at the synapse

Vision • • • • • • • •

• Infants: – Prefer looking at stimuli that include patterns. – Prefer their mother’s face to any other face. – Prefer green and blue objects, although also distinguish red and yellow objects. – Prefer objects that sharply contrast with their environment.

Hearing • • • • • • • • • •

• Infants: – Can hear prenatally. – Are more sensitive to very high and very low frequencies than adults. – Are more sensitive to sound in general than adults. – Develop sound localization by age of 1. – Have good discrimination of different sounds, tones and musical key, which helps them to: • distinguish their mother’s voices • distinguish the sounds of their language

Touch • • • • •

• The most highly developed sensory system in the newborn. • Develops by 32 weeks after conception. • Children gain information about the world through touching.

Smell and Taste • • • • • •

• 2- to 18-day-old babies can distinguish their mothers on the basis of smell (if they are breast-fed). • Distinguish between sweet, bitter and sour. • Have a preference for sweet.