Importance of Infancy

1. Education for parents, caregivers, & clinicians
2. •Infancy Is a unique period in life
3. •Preverbal experience of the body is uniquely human
4. •Reexperiencing infant-like states can be healing & rejuvenating
5. •Improving health by early prevention
6. •Informed public policy
7. •Origins of individual differences

history of babies

1. Early Civ- Greeks & Romans: shaped body for morals, infanticide

2. Mid Ages & Ren- urbanization, +, first written philosophies (1450-1650)

3. Enlightenment (18th C): Romanticism (Rosseau), Empiricism (Locke): value of children, body is important

4. 19th C- nuclear family (white), social changes related to medical advances

Nature vs. Nurture

Arnold Gessel

1. genetic maturation- genetic timetable for dev.

2. "average" child created anxiety in parents

Nature vs. Nurture

John B Watson

1. children can be trained to do anything

2. lasted in N.Am society

3. responsibility=parents; no kissing/holding baby

4. Systems Theory of Dev- family, parent and infant make important contributions to dev. outcomes

Freud

1. psychology

2. infants have emotions, need love and desires

Anna Freud- parents should cuddle and hold baby and be patient while baby discovers and manages own desires

scientific perspective

Scientists strive to understand infants in their own right, detached from social & cultural conceptions about infancy –

but this is not completely possible

developmental changes (3 things)

1. not reversible

2. are stable

3. sequence

RM- Quantitative

numeral value represents complex behavior processes

RM- Qualitative

captures the meaning of the behavior while maintaining scientific stance

experiment

independent variable

dependent variable

1. a study- 1 aspect is changed, while other(s) are controlled

2. controlled/manipulated

3. outcome that is studied

control group

contrast group

random assignment

1. compared to the manipulated group

2. each receives different manipulations

3. random process to assign subjects to groups

paired preference tests

researches determine which of the 2 stimuli the infant prefers

habituation procedures

recovery

decline in looking time after repeats

abrupt increase after a change in the stimulus

response contingent procedures

infants are trained to change their behavior if they can detect certain features of stimuli & will alter their behavior in order to receive their favorite stimulus

physiological recording

One method of discovering more about babies, since they cannot report on their internal states

can be used for experimental and obs. research

types of studies and variables

Longitudinal- same children diff ages

Cross-sec- diff children diff ages

predictor v- cause

outcome v- effect

how to reduce bias and observe ethical guidelines

bias- attn to reliability, validity, observer bias, rep samples

   ethics- informed consent from parents

            keep info confidential and limit access only to those directly involved

minute changes ( recording second by second)

Macroanalysis

overall, summary, rating scales

Qualitative RM characteristics

1. meaning for partipants

2. role of researcher

examines situation broadly, credibility dep. on researchers skill, experience, etc

constant comparitive method

the same observers go over the data many times to check and revise their interpretation

case study

same child observed for long time

more info about indiv. , but not generalizable to groups

parens patriae

children belong to parents, govt only steps in if abuse/neglect

public funds only for needy

few govt. programs for health care/edu for children <3