Infant Observation: 10 Month old Baby

baby Observation 10 Month old BabyInfant ObservationIvan MitskoLess than a year ago my close family friend delivered a second baby. And since we lived close to each other and the couple already had an go steady with infants I realized that it was a perfect place for my observation paper. I decided to observe the child tether ages at different dates and time of day because it could help me better espy infants psychological behavior. The babys name was Alex and at the time of the observation he was cristal months old. He was born healthy and without any complications. At the rootage day of his tone he weighted 7.5 pounds and was 19 inches t both which is considered a normal dictate (Zinsser, 2015). The parents are very diligent and voteless call oning people and take care of their children very well.The behavior of the youthful born baby reminds me of a chain of reactions in solution to modern sensations which surrounds the infant during first year of life. When I observed Alex it was almost impossible non to notice his reflexes, senses, and natural instincts. When the give tried to breath his lip with a finger the baby immediately opened his mouth and was prepared to suck. However, I noticed that he more prefers to suck his own fingers alternatively than whateverone elses. When the mother put some topic sweet on her finger the baby used to start sucking it and in response to something sour or mordant he immediately wrinkled his face and tried to clean his mouth. This phenomenon can be explained by research conducted by scientist who claimed that humans affinity to sweet adjudicate over any other taste corresponds to human genetics (Tatter, Schubert, Timischl, Simbruner, 1986). Another very enkindle response I observed was a reaction to the cheapjack noise. The sudden loud TV sound made him to furrow his brow, he looked very aware, and at the same time very scared. It seems that all of these reflexes are automatic and the infant doesnt tak e for a knowledge or experience to realize that he is a baby and that he is the part of the world.All of the infants natural reflexes and instincts were very well described by Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist who is known for his studies with children. According to Piagets cognitive stage theory, the babies take aim an innate schema which is developed before they have any experience with surrounding environment. These cognitive structures are responsible for innate reflexes which are genetically programmed inwardly of us (Huitt, Hummel, 2003). For instance, most of the infants have sucking reflex which can be triggered by smirching babys lips and based on these observations Piaget came up with the psyche that infants have a sucking schema.Pagets schema development can be applied to many other innate reflexes. For example, when something touches babys care he will experience the grasping reflex, or similarly, the rooting reflex in which the child will turn his head in direction of the organization you touched. For instance, during my observation I realized that rooting reflex works much better when the baby is hungry. Once the mother touched his cheek the infant move his head right away and slightly open his mouth. It was very interesting to follow this process because it helped me to visualize how the schema works in real life situations. Moreover, I felt like the baby was waiting for the next signal which is food consumption. Both of these actions are nothing more than a reaction to touch which makes the life itself a very unique phenomenon.The overall babys physical appearance is very similar when he is still in the womb. His body, arms, and legs escape to take position in the way in which they were occupied in mothers belly. When I asked my friend to hold a baby, the first thing I noticed was how the musculoskeletal system was undeveloped. Newborn babies tend to have very weak muscles which dont allow them to hold the head or anything in moots. On the other hand, I noticed that when the infant grasped my finger I felt quiet bit of a power produced by the muscles. This interesting observation made me think how the voluntary and involuntary muscular contractions developed and their role in adaptation with surrounding environment.An innate reflex is the specific response to external stimuli. The study of reflexes is mainly used to assess the state of the nervous system and all of the related pathologies. There can be some expulsion but in most cases children are born with grasp reflex. In order to activate it the parents should simply touch the palm of babys hand and he will immediately flex his digits. Usually, some of the reflexes can be noticed from the birth and it is very classic for young parents to distinguish any abnormalities in infants. (Futagi, Toribe, Suzuki, 2012).During the first month of the life the baby spends most of his time lying down either on a bed or in the mothers hands. Also, it was very obvious to se e that the baby liked being rocked, and when the parents surrounded him. I believe that most of the babys behavior is rigorously automatic rather than deliberate. All of the actions are connotet to evoke a sense of attachment. For example, when the infant starts squalling he is probably hungry or wants to be held.During the babyhood period most of the babies are far away from language/speech development. However, I realized that communication does exist between parents and the child. All of the babies tend to cry a lot and this is one of the main sign for a caregiver that something is wrong. During my observation I realized that babies cry because they feel some sort of aggravation which requires immediate attention. For young parents it might be often difficult to register what happened and why the baby is crying. However, over some period of time caregivers begin to distinguish main concerns.As a future parent this observational experience was very educational for me. I learne d that it takes a lot of compassion and hard work to take care of the baby. This a very demanding job which requires a lot of time and hard work and the knowledge of developmental psychology is a good way to netherstand scientifically what is like to be a baby. Pagets cognitive stage theory is a great way for new parents to get familiar with the environment and psychological behavior of the new born baby which can be applied in order to establish fellowship between caregiver and child.ReferencesFutagi, Y., Toribe, Y., Suzuki, Y. (2012, June 11). The Grasp Reflex and Moro Reflex in Infants Hierarchy of Primitive Reflex Responses. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3384944/Huitt, W., Hummel, J. (2003). Piagets theory of cognitive development. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA Valdosta extract University. Retrieved February 4,2015 from http//www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/piaget.htmlTatzer, E., Schubert, M., Timisc hl, W., Simbruner, G. (1985, October 12). Discrimination of taste and preference for sweet in premature babies. Retrieved February 4, 2015, from http//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4064994Zissner, K. Physical development in infancy PowerPoint slide. Retrieved from Lecture Notes https//uic.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_87219_1content_id=_4081122_1Is retrospection a Constructive Process?Is retentivity a Constructive Process?Gemma L Sobah computer storage is a constructive and active processPsychologyTo be able to successfully evaluate this claim, it is important that some research is done. A lot of relevant research supports this claim but what data we process and transshipment center is actually being actively processes by our conscious and how much of this is being stored in a more automatic, passive manner? Before we can get the picture any further into retentiveness, we need to adventure a way to break it down into what memory consists of. This essay will look at the research conducted on memory and evaluate to what extent the memory is a constructive and active system. As we know already, memory is a part of our everyday lives. It enables us to reserve out daily tasks and skills from knowledge and gives us access to in discrepancyation we may need at a later date, but has been stored in our memory for the mean time. It is an essential part of our lives, and this makes it important for psychologists to be able to understand how it works and its functions. Over time research has been done that breaks memory down into three part processors.EncodingPutting info into memoryStorageRetaining entropy into memoryRetrievalGetting information back out of memory(Brace et al, 2007)Encoding is putting information into code and then inserting it into our memory to then be stored.Storage is when information is retained and is kept in the form or visual, physical or other depictions.Retrieval is when we try and retrieve info rmation out of our memory, into our conscious mind.The memory is not only broken down into processes but also has subsystems that work parallel to and include sensory memory, short- call memory and long-term memory. William James (cited in Brace et al, 2007) was one of the first psychologists to make this connect and present memory as having these three subsystems. His theory also included the idea that the brain used a primary memory permitting conscious mental activity and a secondary memory responsible for storing knowledge. (Brace and Roth, 2007, p.g 115) This alone supports the claim that memory is a constructive and active process, for it not only baffles stores and retrieves information, but it also sorts the information we receive into sections. If the brain was a passive process, we could believe that all information processed would be generically stored. It would take a conscious and active memory to be able to decide which information will be logged as short term, and wh ich should be logged as long term. We will look at this more later.Memory is an ability that we as humans and also animals to some extent, depend upon to be able to disown different events, relate to experiences, and connect with people. It is a very important system that allows the brain to acknowledge and receive information from our surroundings and from our own bodies, (also known as stimuli), store it, (in either short or long term memory, depending on the information), and then allow it to be accessed in future occasions (known as retrieval). It allows us to continually live one day after the next, without having to learn everything, giving us the ability to learn from our past actions, relive experiences in different times of our lifes and use all the information we have stored, to carry on and grow. If you think about the first time you read a book or tried roller-skates those are memories formed, either short or long or term. If we have no memory from the past, you would never learn thus unable to process and understand. Without memory we would constantly be faced with new and unfamiliar things. This alone and cause us distress. We only have to look at someone with dementia to understand how fragile and vulnerable we would be without the capability to remember, our everyday lives and actions would be affected and so would our survival. More and more research is being uncovered that suggests that the brain works as a whole, integrating with all areas of its self and arent small separate sections doing independent work. When processing a new memory the brain sends information to the Papez circuit which involves many parts of the brain. look into on the brain shows that forming a memory causes physical changes to the organisation of neurons and maybe even the neurons in a process called brain p proceedicity. (Brace et al. 2007, p.g 146) Ever since William James (1890) first revealed his theories on memory, a substantial body of research has followed. Many other psychologists have shared approaches that conceptualize memory as a flow of information through a sequence of sub-systems. It is believed information is recoded as and when it is carried from one sub-system to the next.Lets look at the short term memory. Some research suggests that this form of memory is just a temporary store. But Baddeley and Hitch (1974) (as cited in Brace et al, 2007, p.g 117) allows us to understand it better. They believe that to be able to really understand the functions of short term memory we have to first understand what we use it for. They suggest it has several functions. Brace, 2007 puts it like thisOne key function is to concentrate on processing new inputs, and rehearse and code them for transfer to long term memory. Another function is to retrieve information relevant stored knowledge to assist in making sense of these inputs..STM is an active store holding information that we are consciously thinking about- it is attention-limited work-b ench system of memory.(Brace et al, 2007 page p.g 117)Here memory is described as active, and the sympathy for this is simple. Memory is constantly working or organise its information for the purpose of our life. We are constantly learning and developing, and our memory processes are constantly assortment through all the information we receive, to make sure the everyday things we need to remember, such as how to tie our shoes are stored in the right place, the information we only need temporary, such as the number we are typed into our phone, can be stored for the appropriate length of time, then discarded to utilise the space. We interact with many things in our everyday lifes and our brain are aware of that, and is constantly on standby to help us live, so to speak. Another reason we can say memory is active and not passive is for the simple fact that we are able to consciously control what we want to retrieve from our memories and what information we would rather no remember, a t that present time. For example, a young has lost her house keys, and in order to help her find them, she decides to try and remember when she last seen them, this is her consciously selecting memories from a specific time. She hasnt decided to try and remember the colour of the keys, or when she very first came to own the keys, she has consciously tried to recall a specific moment in her life when she had the keys. This is her memory actively working to select the relevant memory and disregard any memory that is not currently needed that may be related to the keys. If our memory were passive, maybe it would automatically recall every memory she has had with the keys, which wouldnt help the woman find the keys, it would just create confusion and possible frustration. Memory might for this reason be seen as a perceptually active process of the brain that derives from three key components.As we can see memory isnt a simple matter. It is very complex and there are still many aspects o f it under research and not yet understood, and because memory cannot be directly monitored, psychologists have found ways to analyse it enough to be able to have some understanding of how our memory works and why. Our memory serves a crucial purpose and without it, we cannot evolve, and learn and although it does more good than harm, it can from time to time cause us distress and many other things. Our memories are key to making us who we are and there are times that some peoples dingy memories impact their lives greatly. Nevertheless, our memory is active, and we can us this to our advantage. We can change our memories, we can implant some memories deeper than others, and we have found ways to hide or livelihood some memories dormant. We can actively strengthen and challenge our memories daily and find ways to get the most out of the memory process, because without memory, we cannot survive.Word count1444ReferencesBrace, N., Ilona, R. (2007) Memory structures, processes and skil ls in Miell, D., Phoenix, A., and Thomas, K. (eds) Mapping Psychology, Milton Keynes, The Open University.Psychology18th March 2014