Chapter 3 Infancy and Childhood

Chapter 3 In this chapter you will learn about developmental psychology. A developmental psychologist studies the changes that occur throughout life as a person matures. This includes physical, emotional, cognitive, and social changes.

Chapter Focus 1 Chapter Overview Section 1: Physical, Perceptual, and Language Development Understand that as infants grow physically, they also develop perceptions and language. Section 2: Cognitive and Emotional Development Discuss how as the thought processes of children develop, they begin to think, communicate and relate with others, and solve problems. Section 3: Parenting Styles and Social Development Describe the social development children face as they grow and progress through the stages of life.

Physical, Perceptual, and Language Development Section One Physical, Perceptual, and Language Development

Section 1 Objectives Main Idea Describe the physical and perceptual development of newborns and children. Discuss the development of language. Main Idea Infants are born equipped to experience the world. As infants grow physically, they also develop perceptions and language.

Infancy Do you remember anything from when you were a baby? What was your first memory? Although you probably don’t remember much, you changed faster and learned more as a baby than you will ever again.

Nature vs. Nurture One of the main questions developmental psychologists ask is how much of development is inherited and how much of it is learned. This is known as nature vs. nurture. We will address this issue throughout the next three chapters.

Infants on average weigh 7.5 lbs at birth. Physical Development Infants on average weigh 7.5 lbs at birth.

Physical Development In the space of two years the infant will develop into a child who can walk, talk, and feed himself or herself. This transformation is the result of both maturation and learning.

Maturation To some extent an infant is like a plant that shoots up and unfolds according to a built in plan. She will begin to lift her head at about 3 months, smile at 4 months, and grasp objects at 5-6 months. Crawling appears at 8-10 months.

Maturation This internally programmed growth is known as maturation. It is a basic schedule for development.