Intellectual Development in Infancy

Vygotsky's Theory       Vygotsky believed that social interaction is critical to a baby's cognitive development, and studies over the years have proven him correct- Learning in infancy relies on social processes. Children have always been incredibly social beings by nature, meaning that their minds are heavily shaped by social factors; Interaction with caregivers, siblings, friends, etc. The same goes for infants. Babies learn to explore and understand their world through social interactions with those they form close relationships with, particularly by responding to and imitating those individuals. Editor's note: Social interaction was key to my understanding facial cues, something I was stunted in up until my preschool years. I found it difficult to identify emotions within my parents expressions, leading me into quite a lot of trouble. While most infants learn this kind of detection from caretakers much younger than I did, it took my interacting with children...

Skinner's Behaviorism Theory       Behaviorism stems from B. F. Skinner's (1938) study of operant conditioning, which forms the basis for the theory. Operant conditioning is also known as the molding of behavior with use of reinforcement and punishment. This was discovered in the conditioning of lab rats to repeat certain behaviors either by the encouragement of earning a treat or the distaste for the punishment of receiving a shock.       Skinner's theory, which provides grounds for faith in behaviorism, explains why a baby is prone to laughing or smiling more frequently if a caretaker returns the gesture. This reciprocation, considered approval, encourages infants to repeat the behavior in approval more frequently. In other words, positivity results in the repetition of a certain response to a stimulus. This basic understanding of how infants and most humans work in general is what allows for successful child rearing. Utilizing operant condi...

Piaget called this stage of cognitive development the sensorimotor stage.  In this stage, infants move from reflexes to interacting with the world around them using their ever-growing motor skills.  Reaching, rolling, creeping, and crawling are all significant signs of cognitive growth, the sensorimotor stage continues throughout infancy until about the age of 2.  Infants that are getting started to use their motor skills and interact with the world around them gives them experience and thought about what the world might be as they get older and grow.   During the first few months of life, infants begin to understand object permanence.  Object permanence is the understanding that people, places, or objects still exist even when they are out of sight or can no longer be heard or touched.  For example when something or a toy is taken from a child and put somewhere and the parent tells the child that she/he got rid of it the child knows that the toy is sti...

Brain and Nervous System Development           After the conception of a child within the womb, the brain and nervous system are some of the first things to develop- and those that do so the most rapidly, for that matter! This development continues even after birth, due to the formation of pathways and synapses in the brain that allow the infant to begin to learn and understand their world. The development of the brain and nervous system       Due to the importance of this rapid development, which paves the way in infancy for the future cropping of unnecessary neurons in a more matured brain, it is critical that an infant is handled with care. If they fall, either due to parental clumsiness or inattentiveness, they risk damaging their still-growing brain. Even a hard jostle to the infant is dangerous, potentially causing Shaken Baby Syndrome (brain swelling and damage due to the brain being shaken in its skull).     ...

Cognitive Milestones Month 1 The ability to recognize the mother's voice, and respond to it alone on an emotional and physical level customized for the maternal figure Learning to cry when assistance is needed, and furthermore, beginning to alter certain cries to fit certain needs as a first step towards the feat of language Month 3 Object permanence, as found in Piaget's first sensorimotor stage, which entails being able to understand that people, places, and objects continue to exist even when out of sensory detection Following objects in motion Responding to particular sounds with a regular pattern of behavior, indicating a form of understanding towards those sounds Months 4 to 7 Recognizing their own name as a result of word association that kicks off language development, responding to when they are called and knowing when they have been verbally acknowledged The infant will begin to place objects in their mouth to get a feel for shape, texture, a...