Infant Psychological Development - Essay Example

Infant Psychological Development Introduction The growth and development of children from conception into independent people is fascinating. The fact that infants cannot use words to communicate what they feel, want, need and think, it sometimes becomes hard to understand how much infants understand the outside world. Nevertheless, observing infants opens up a new world into understanding their psychological development and understanding who they are and what they are. Studies indicate that it is in the infancy that people learn more, implying that the psychological development of infants is most rapid during infancy (Peterson, 2010). Illustrating the rapid development of infants psychologically is how fast infants grow from newborns that are driven by reflexes and instincts to active toddlers with distinct personalities and capacity to communicate within the first year of life as discussed by Nolen- Hoeksema, et al., (2009). My son has provided me with insights and opportunity to understand the psychological development of infants. I will use what I have observed in my son to explain infant psychological development. Development refers to the process of age-associated changes, which happens as individual progresses from one life stage to another from the moment they are conceived to the moment they die in old age as described by Davies, (2011). Infant psychological development in relation to my son I. Crying When infants are born, they respond to both internal and external stimuli through innate reflexes and instincts. The first day my son was born, his innate reflexes took over as he eagerly sought my breast to suckle in order to meet his need of being hungry and thirsty. An increase in room temperature and a wet nappy was uncomfortable for him and to display his displeasure, he cried continuously until I figured out what was making him cry. Crying from the moment a child is born plays an important role in communicating the internal needs of the child. Nevertheless, an infant’s development psychologically is characterized by less crying as the child grows and learn to self-express and coherently communicate their needs. II. Hearing Studies indicate that the capacity to hear among infants is a psychological milestone (Nolen- Hoeksema, et al., 2009). For my son, this ability was evident from as early as one month, where he could startle while sleeping if the door to his nursery was shut close too loudly and he could turn towards my voice when I spoke to him from across the room. By the time he turned six months, my son could suddenly cry if I raised my voice indicating disapproval. Crying to respond to my raised voice showed that he could distinguish between the intonations in my voice. III. Tasting The ability of infants to smell and taste is important since taste and smell are among the five psychological senses (Nolen- Hoeksema, et al., 2009). I exclusively breastfed my son for the first six months and therefore, I did not observe his tasting sense until I started weaning him. His appetite for mangoes and yoghurt and his dislike for porridge and mashed potatoes was clear evidence that he preferred sweet-tasting foods and drinks. IV. Memory Memory is a psychological element that facilitates learning (Nolen- Hoeksema, et al., 2009). From three months, my son showed keen interests in the family television but it was until he was five to seven months that I realized that his memory was developing and he could remember things. For instance, in one of the local TV channel, it used to run a commercial about its kids programming that was coupled by a jingle. Most interestingly, whenever the jingle could be brought on air, regardless of what my son would be doing, he could shift his focus to the television and mumble some incoherent grants that signified pleasure. Even when he was breastfeeding, he would temporarily put breastfeeding on hold to concentrate on the advert. Another example for his growing memory was best illustrated when he was six months. For several occasions when watching television, my son could burst out crying, which I later came to realize that, whenever a certain antiseptic advertisement started airing, he associated it with something bad and he would cry. I never knew what he saw in the advert but what was clear is that he could remember which advert it was and he began crying by simply seeing one of the actors in the advert. Another area that shows the psychological development of infants is their ability to remember faces. More often, infants become much attached to their primary care givers by showing preference to be held by them and not by other people as noted by Nolen- Hoeksema, et al., (2009). Their reluctance and development of stranger anxiety, where they cry when held or approached by a stranger show that an infant can remember those they are close to (Peterson, 2010). My son developed stranger anxiety at his seventh and eighth month, where he cried profusely when a stranger to tried to pick him up. In addition, he would cry whenever he would see me leave. V. Differentiating self from objects and others In the first few months of life, infants see other people as an extension of themselves and they do not understand that other people such as their mothers are different people from them (Nolen- Hoeksema, et al., 2009). However, as they develop cognitively, they begin to differentiate themselves from other objects as they understand that they can intentionally move things such as their hands as argued by Nolen- Hoeksema, et al., (2009). My son begin acting intentionally by the time he was four months, he would move a rattle that was tightly grasped in his hand and by the fifth month, he dropped things intentionally in a bid to see me pick them up for him. In addition, he was excited about playing hide and seek game, which indicated that he was developing object permanence, where he knew that although he could not see me, I was there. My son’s ability to act intentionally and to develop object permanence aligns with sensorimotor stage of Piaget’s stage theory as discussed by Nolen- Hoeksema, et al., (2009). VI. Moral reasoning The development my son’s moral reasoning was evident by the time he was eight months old. Since he was not fond of mash potatoes, I realized that every time he swallowed and his dad applauded him by clapping and cheering him on, he would continue eating despite the fact that you could see he did not want to. He would literally force himself to eat to obtain applause or a cheer from us. To ensure he eat his meal, all we had to do is cheer him up and because he either enjoyed being cheered on or because he did not want to disappoint us, he ate even when he did not want to. This aligns with Kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning, where infants do what is required of them to obtain rewards, to avoid disapproval and to avoid the guilt of not doing is required of them (Nolen- Hoeksema, et al., 2009). According to Vygotsky, culture influences the psychological development of children through opportunities, frequency, meaning and role of activities. This is particularly true for my son (Oakley, 2004). By the time my son was nine months, he knew the difference between a mobile phone and a remote control. If he wanted to play with a mobile phone and I gave him a remote control, he could get upset and throw the remote control across the room and when given the phone, he would suddenly keep calm and begin sliding his thumb on the screen to operate the phone as he sees me do it. The frequencies of seeing me operate the phone, the opportunity for him to use it and the meaning he attaches it the phone, influence’s his development. Conclusion Psychological development is a fundamental in the growth and development of children. Their ability to hear, taste, smell, feel, touch and think influences who and what they become in their adult life. As highlighted in the report, my son has presented me with an opportunity to observe infant psychological development. Although every child is different and they develop at different rates, their development milestones are similar. References Davies, D. (2011). Child development: a practitioner's guide. New York: Guilford Press. Nolen- Hoeksema, S., Fredrickson, B.L., Loftus, G.R. & Wagenaar, W.A. (2009). Atkinson and Hildegard's Introduction to Psychology 15e. London: Cengage Learning. Oakley, L. (2004). Cognitive Development. Upper River Saddle: Routledge. Oates, J., Wood, C., & Grayson, A. (2005). Psychological Development and Early Childhood. Sidney: Wiley. Peterson, C. C., (2010). Looking forward through the lifespan: developmental psychology. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson. Read More