Development in early infancy

Chapter 4 Development in early infancy


Psychological research with infants has taught us a great deal about the remarkable physical, cognitive, social and emotional development that takes place in the first 2 years of life. This spread will discuss key issues relating to: (1) the assessment of infant behaviour in the days and weeks following birth; (2) the early development of communication in the first year of life; (3) the emotional attachments between infants and their mothers (or other caregivers); and (4) the consequences of maternal mental health problems for infant development. Research on these topics shows us how important it is to see infants within the context of their relationships with their caregivers.



Neonatal assessment


Infants are born with reflexes and behaviours that enable them to respond to the world and develop rapidly. For example, in the first few days after birth babies are able to imitate facial expressions, selectively respond to humans or human-like objects and rapidly develop a preference for characteristics associated with their carers.


A variety of physiological and observational methods have been developed to assess aspects of development and behaviour in the first few months after birth, such as visual acuity, auditory assessments, stress immune responses, temperament, learning and attention. Advances in ultrasound have also enabled researchers to examine prenatal fetal development as a precursor of neonatal development.


A widely used measure of early neonatal development is the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale, which measures behavioural and reflex responses and is used to assess 10 areas of sensory, motor, emotional and physical development at birth and during the first 2 months of life. After 1 month, development can be measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, which are appropriate for infants up to 42 months old. These scales involve specific interactions with the infant through play to assess cognitive, motor and language development, as well as two parent questionnaires to social–emotional development and adaptive behaviour.


The advantages of these kinds of measures of neonatal development are that they help us to build a detailed profile of infants’ functioning, identify developmental delays or difficulties and recommend appropriate interventions. They are also helpful for understanding how particular psychosocial circumstances, such as drug use in pregnancy or maternal depression (see section on maternal mental health, below), may be associated with delayed development.



Communication in the first year


Careful studies of infants’ interactions with other people have revealed the extensive growth in communicative skills during the first year of life. Although it is not until around 12 months of age that infants produce their first words, they start cooing (vowel-like sounds, such as ‘oo’) and babbling (consonant–vowel combinations such as ‘bababa’) much earlier. Furthermore, infants show they can understand some words from as young as 6 months of age (e.g. Tincoff & Jusczyk, 1999).


In order to understand the building blocks of language development in infancy, we need to look at more than the comprehension and production of spoken language. Infants’ earliest experiences provide them with opportunities to learn about turn-taking, and to use and respond to emotional expressions. For example, activities such as nappy-changing, breast-feeding and bathing often involve ‘dialogues’ where the baby and the caregiver respond to each other’s sounds, gestures and facial expressions. Research has demonstrated that infants in the first year of life can interpret others’ emotional expressions and use them to guide their own behaviour (see Case study).


A particularly important aspect of early communication is joint attention

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Jun 10, 2016 | Posted by in PSYCHOLOGY | Comments Off on Development in early infancy

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