Human Development

Chapter 5 gp 1-3
1. How do infants learn and how
long can they remember?
1. How do infants learn and how
long can they remember?
2. Can infants’ and toddlers’
intelligence be measured,
and how can it be improved?
• An IQ test measures
how much
intelligence a
person has against
standardized norms.
Norms are obtained
from the scores of a
large representative
sample of people.
2. Can infants’ and toddlers’
intelligence be measured,
and how can it be improved?
• Validity refers to the
ability of the test to
measure what is
being tested.
Reliability means
that the tests are
consistent from one
time to another.
2. Can infants’ and toddlers’
intelligence be measured,
and how can it be improved?
• Measuring an infant’s IQ is
difficult since they cannot
answer questions and it is
usually not really
necessary unless there is
a developmental delay the
parents are concerned
about. The Bayley Scales
of Infant Development is a
test that can give a
reasonably accurate
measure of an infants’
development. See table 5.1
on page 158
Jean Piaget

• born in Switzerland in
1896 …died in 1980
• Piaget developed an
interest in the intellectual
development of children.
Based upon his
observations, he
concluded that children
were not less intelligent
than adults, they simply
think differently
Piaget
 How did Piaget describe infants’ and
toddlers’ cognitive development, and
how have his claims stood up under
later scrutiny?
• In this chapter we are concerned
with the sensiormotor stage of
development (Piaget)
• In this stage infants learn about the
world though their senses. The stage
is further broken down into 6 sub-
stages
Substages of the Sensory-Motor
Stage
• Reflexes (0-1 month):
During this substage,
the child understands
the environment
purely through inborn
reflexes such as
sucking and looking.
 Substages of the Sensory-Motor
Stage
• Primary Circular
Reactions (1-4 months):
This substage involves
coordinating sensation
and new schemas. For
example, a child may
suck his or her thumb by
accident and then later
intentionally repeat the
action. These actions are
repeated because the
infant finds them
pleasurable.
 Substages of the Sensory-Motor
Stage
• Secondary Circular
Reactions (4-8 months):
During this substage, the
child becomes more
focused on the world and
begins to intentionally
repeat an action in order
to trigger a response in
the environment. For
example, a child will
purposefully pick up a toy
to put it in his or her
mouth
Substages of the Sensory-Motor
Stage
• Coordination of Reactions (8-12
months): During this substage, the
child starts to show clearly
intentional actions. The child may
also combine schemes in order to
achieve a desired effect. Children
begin exploring the environment
around them and will often imitate
the observed behavior of others.
The understanding of objects also
begins during this time and
children begin to recognize certain
objects as having specific qualities.
For example, a child might realize
that a rattle will make a sound
when shaken.
 Substages of the Sensory-Motor
Stage
• Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-18
months): Children begin a period of trial-
and-error experimentation during the fifth
substage. For example, a child may try out
different sounds or actions as a way of
getting attention from a caregiver.
Substages of the Sensory-Motor
Stage
• Early Representational
Thought (18-24 months):
Children begin to develop
symbols to represent
events or objects in the
world in the final
sensorimotor substage.
During this time, children
begin to move towards
understanding the world
through mental
operations rather than
purely through actions.
• .end of section 3