Developmental Psychology W8 P1

Introduction to Developmental Psychology, University of Queensland, EdX.

-Through the eyes of just about anyone, babies seem to be absolutely helpless. Being unable to walk, verbally communicate, or even chew things, its surprising to see that babies actually have plenty of evolutionary tools equipped from the moment that they are born.

-The ideas of nature versus nurture stemmed from this uncertainty of how babies’ minds work. While the nature idea dictates that a baby is born with their entire personality, skills, and capabilities fully developed, the nurture idea says that the mind of a baby is completely blank, and that each of their experiences from birth slowly begins to write on it until they become a fully fledged person. So what is the truth? In reality, it is probably a mix of both.

-Babies are born with very poor eyesight; about 20/500. This is because the lenses in their eyes are unable to adjust to focus on things that are near or far from their face. However, their eyes are focused on a space about 22 centimeters from them; this is about the distance that, when being held in the arms of their caretaker, they will be able to clearly see their face. From an early age, they will know exactly who they should be depending on.

-Babies are also known to prefer the voices of humans over music, the voices of women over the voices of men, and the voices of their mother over the voice of any other women, This indicates that babies are capable of recognizing distinct voices from infancy. This is also present in their sense of smell; babies prefer the smell of their mother.

-Babies also prefer sweet foods. Evolutionarily, sweet things tend to have many calories and important things, while bitter things are more likely to be poisonous. This explains why babies tend to reject foods based on taste alone before they are able to learn more about the foods themselves.

-Finally, babies are also born with a variety of reflexes not found in older children. They have a walking reflex, although they are not yet able to walk. They have a startling reflex; if they think that they are going to fall, they will curl themselves into a little ball. If something touches the roof of their mouths, they will automatically start to suck on it.