Developmental Psychology W8 P2

The argument of nature versus nurture was debated on for a long time, when in reality they are nicely mixed to create an easy developmental pattern. For the first few months of an infants life, they do rely more on the pre-programmed instinct they are born with. However, once a baby is exposed to more things, they to begin to copy and learn from the things around them. They can often be seen imitating sounds and facial expressions their caretakers make. That being said, babies to develop facial expressions on their own; babies who are both blind and deaf still know to smile when they are happy. Rather, the severity at which they express their emotions is learned. In some cultures, showing robust disgust or anger is considered rude, and a baby would learn that based on the emotional expression of their caretakers. All of this learning is subconscious, and it’s difficult to see exactly what a baby is actually thinking about when it comes to things outside of their immoderate reactions to things.

Interestingly, it has also been shown that babies have expectations when it comes to what they believe is going to happen in certain situations. By measuring the length of time that they stare at a certain thing, one can measure their level of interest. When shown a box being pushed off of a small ledge, a baby will expect it to fall. If it falls, they will have a small reaction, and then stop paying attention to it. If the box does not fall, and their expectation is subverted, they will stare at it for a long time, showing that they are more interested in why it didn’t fall like it was supposed to.