Infancy and Theories
The infancy stage in babies is more important than most people would think. Cognitive development, communication, attitudes and emotions, information processing and attachments can all begin during the infancy stage. These are all vital steps in the growing process. One theory that within cognitive development and information processing is Jean Piaget's Sensorimotor Stage. Piaget developed this theory by closely observing his first born child and put cognitive development into different stages depending on how many months old the child was. His research found that reflex activity takes place from birth to 1 month. If the child is touched, then the he/she would react to this touch. Primary circular reactions develops next, taking place between months 1 to 4. This suggests that if the child finds a certain reaction to feel good, the he/she would keep repeating it. Secondary circular reactions follow next in infant development, taking place between the ages of 4 to 8 months. In this, the child is not so focused on its own body parts but more on objects that he/she can control. Coordination of Secondary schemes is the next part and it occurs between 8 to 12 months. The child can begin to solve problems in this stage and put things together to achieve a goal. Tertiary circular reactions occur next, usually between 12 to 18 months. The child can begin to explore at this age and think of things on their own and entertain themselves. The final stage in Piaget's Sensorimotor theory is Beginning of Representation of Thought and this occurs between 18 to 24 months. A child can begin to be symbol and action oriented, meaning they can look for things even if they didn't see someone hide it. (Ashford, 2013, pp. 254-255). This theory gives a guideline for what infants experience through their beginning stages of cognitive development.
Another theory in the infancy stage is Bowlby's phases of attachment. Attachment is when a child forms a strong emotional tie to a caregiver. There are four different phases of attachment according to Bowlby. Phase 1 occurs from birth to 3 months and the behavior consists of indiscriminate smiling, cooing and clinging toward anyone. Phase 2 occurs from 2-3 months and 6-7 months. The behavior in this phase is selective interactions and the child develops a true social smile directed at preferred caregivers. In the third phase, the age is 6-7 months to 1 year old and the behavior is an attachment to a primary caregiver. The fourth and final stage takes place in the second year of life. The behavior the child has is he/she is more secure in knowledge that the caregiver exists when not in sight and more sociable with others. (Ashford, 2013, p. 266). The phases/stages of these two theories can compare because the infant will need to be at a certain cognitive stage in order to able to form an attachment with a caregiver. Also, if the cognitive behavior has been negatively affected then the infant may fail to form an attachment. An example would be neglect or abuse placed on the infant.
Ashford, J. B., Lecroy, C. W., (2013). Human Behavior in the Social Environment, A Multidimensional Perspective. Cengage Learning.
I agree, because everything your child learn starts when they learn right from wrong when their parent says "NO" around their 7 month as an infant. At that stage they are learning how to become a little independent . Children at a young age are just like micro chips they say and repeat everything and they do just what they see their caregiver do.
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