Reflexes and Survival Slides Reflexes & Survival
Exploring the innate biological blueprints of the newborn human.
Developmental Psychology Series
Survival Mode: The "Super Baby"
Are newborns completely helpless?
"Reflexes are unlearned, automatic responses to a particular stimulus. They are the 'pre-programmed' software for human survival."
Many reflexes disappear within 6 months.
They signal a healthy nervous system.
Video Hook Placeholder
Grasp & Stepping Reflexes in Action
Key Neonatal Reflexes
Reflex Stimulus Response Rooting Stroking the cheek Head turns toward touch, mouth opens Sucking Object placed in mouth Rhythmic sucking Moro (Startle) Sudden loud noise or falling Arches back, throws out arms and legs Babinski Stroking bottom of foot Toes fan out and curl Palmar Grasp Object pressed into palm Spontaneous grasp (very strong)
Why do they exist?
Survival
Reflexes like rooting and sucking ensure the infant can find and consume nourishment immediately.
Protection
The Moro and withdrawal reflexes protect the infant from sudden danger or physical harm.
Foundation
Grasping and stepping provide the neural pathways for later voluntary motor skills.
The Big Question
"If these reflexes are essential for survival, why do most of them disappear by 6 months of age?"
Reflexive
Involuntary
Cognitive
Voluntary
Reflex Tracker Worksheet Newborn Reflex Tracker
Developmental Psychology: Unit 4 - Infancy
Name:
Date:
PART 1
Identification & Analysis
Observe the descriptions below. Identify the reflex being described and hypothesize its evolutionary purpose (why it would have helped an ancestral infant survive).
Description
"When a loud noise occurs or the baby feels like they are falling, they arch their back and fling their arms outward."
Name of Reflex
Evolutionary Purpose
Description
"Touching the baby's cheek causes them to turn their head in that direction and open their mouth."
Name of Reflex
Evolutionary Purpose
Description
"When the sole of the foot is stroked, the toes fan out and then curl back in."
Name of Reflex
Evolutionary Purpose
PART 2
Critical Thinking
1. Why are medical professionals concerned if a baby retains these reflexes past 6-8 months? What might this indicate about brain development?
2. "Nature vs. Nurture": Are these reflexes learned from parents (Nurture) or biologically programmed (Nature)? Support your answer with one specific piece of evidence.
PART 3
Reflex Visualization
Draw a simplified sketch of the Palmar Grasp Reflex
(Focus on the stimulus and response)
Draw a simplified sketch of the Stepping Reflex
(Hint: Held upright with feet on surface)
Motor Progression Slides Moving & Shaking
The predictable patterns of motor development from head to toe.
The Biological Roadmap
Cephalocaudal
"Head to Tail"
Infants gain control over their neck and head muscles before they can control their legs or feet.
Example: Lifting head (1 mo) vs. Walking (12 mo)
Proximodistal
"Near to Far"
Development moves from the center of the body outward. Control of the core comes before the hands and fingers.
Example: Rolling (4 mo) vs. Pincer Grasp (9 mo)
Gross Motor Milestones
2-3 Mos
Rolls Over
5-6 Mos
Sits Unassisted
7-9 Mos
Crawling
11-12 Mos
Walking
"Remember: These are averages. There is a huge range of 'normal' in development!"
The Power of the Thumb
Fine Motor Skills
While Gross Motor involves large muscles (arms, legs), Fine Motor involves small muscles (fingers, toes).
The Pincer Grasp
Using the thumb and index finger to pick up small objects. Typically develops around 9-12 months.
Lab Preview
In our next activity, you will attempt to survive a meal using only your palms. No thumbs allowed.
Image: Pincer vs Palmer Grasp
Motor Skills Lab Worksheet Motor Skills Lab
Developmental Psychology: Unit 4 - Progression Trends
Name:
Task 1
Trend Identification
Trend A: Cephalocaudal
Direction: Head to Tail
Predict the order of development (1st, 2nd, 3rd):
Kick a soccer ball
Hold head up in tummy time
Sit up without support
Trend B: Proximodistal
Direction: Center to Outward
Predict the order of development (1st, 2nd, 3rd):
Button a shirt (fine motor)
Wave an entire arm (gross motor)
Swat at a toy with fist
Lab
The Pincer Grasp Challenge
Procedure:
Scatter 10 Cheerios (or small beads) on your desk.
Phase 1: Attempt to pick up one Cheerio at a time using only your palms (tuck your fingers and thumbs into your fist). Place them in a cup.Phase 2: Attempt to pick up the Cheerios using only your pincer grasp (thumb and index finger).
Observation: Phase 1 (Palm)
Observation: Phase 2 (Pincer)
Critical Analysis
Reflection
1. How does the development of the pincer grasp fundamentally change an infant's ability to interact with their environment and feed themselves?
2. Why would "tummy time" be medically recommended to support the cephalocaudal trend? What specific muscle group is it targeting first? Perceptual World Slides The Sensory World
Seeing, hearing, and feeling the world for the first time.
Newborn Vision
A Blurry Start
Newborns are legally blind. Their vision is approx. 20/600 .
Optimal focus distance: 8-12 inches (mother's face during feeding).
Preference for high contrast (black & white).
Strong preference for human faces.
Visual Comparison Placeholder
Blurry face vs. Sharp face (6 months)
Hearing, Smell, & Taste
Hearing
Better developed than vision at birth. Prefers high-pitched, exaggerated sounds ("Motherese"). Can recognize mother's voice in the womb.
Smell
Highly sensitive. Within days, newborns can identify their mother's unique scent on a breast pad.
Taste
Natural preference for sweet tastes (breast milk). Aversion to bitter or sour flavors (evolutionary protection against toxins).
Case Study: The Visual Cliff
The Question:
Is depth perception innate (born with it) or learned through experience?
Researchers: Gibson & Walk (1960)
They placed babies on a glass-covered table that looked like it had a sudden drop-off.
Visual Cliff Diagram
"Will they cross the clear side?"
Results: The Depth Divide
81%
of infants refused to cross the "cliff" even when coaxed by mothers.
Key Finding: Depth perception develops as babies begin to crawl (approx. 6-10 months). It involves sensory integration —linking what they see with what their bodies feel.
Discussion
"If a 2-month-old was placed on the 'cliff', they wouldn't show fear. Why does the fear appear later?"
Visual Cliff Case Study Worksheet Psychology Lab Report
Study: The Visual Cliff (Gibson & Walk, 1960)
Subject ID:
Background
Depth perception is the ability to see objects in three dimensions and judge distance. For decades, psychologists debated whether this skill was innate (present at birth) or learned through experience (crawling and falling). In 1960, Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk designed an experiment to test this in human infants.
Apparatus
A table with a glass top. One half has a checkerboard pattern directly under the glass. The other half has the pattern several feet below the glass, creating a "visual cliff."
Subjects
36 infants ranging from 6 to 14 months of age, all of whom were able to crawl.
Lab Analysis
1. The Research Question
What were the researchers trying to find out?
2. Independent Variable
What did the researchers change/manipulate?
The Data
Infant Behavior Total Infants (n=36) Percentage Crawled to "Shallow" side when called 27 75% Crawled to "Deep" (Cliff) side when called 3 8% Refused to move/Cried when called to Deep side 6 17%
3. Conclusion: Does the data support the idea that depth perception is innate? Why or why not?
The "Social Referencing" Twist
In later versions of the study, if the mother looked happy or encouraging , many babies would cross the cliff. If the mother looked fearful , almost no babies would cross.
How does this change our understanding of how babies learn about danger?
Sensorimotor Slides The Little Scientist
Jean Piaget and the Sensorimotor Stage of Cognitive Development.
Schemas: The Building Blocks
Piaget believed children are not passive vessels—they are active participants in their own learning.
What is a Schema?
A mental framework or "folder" that organizes and interprets information.
Assimilation
Fitting new info into existing schemas (e.g., calling a cat a "dog").
Accommodation
Changing schemas to fit new info (e.g., creating a "cat" folder).
Constructivism
"Knowledge is constructed, not just recorded."
The Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 Years)
Senses + Motor Skills
Infants learn about the world through their physical interactions—touching, tasting, seeing, and moving.
Initial State: Circular Reactions
Primary: Focus on own body (sucking thumb)
Secondary: Focus on objects (shaking a rattle)
Tertiary: Experimenting (dropping toys)
Video: The "Little Scientist" in Action
Object Permanence
"Out of sight, out of mind."
The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched.
0-8m
If a toy is covered by a blanket, the baby stops looking for it. It has "vanished."
8-12m
Baby will search for the hidden toy. Success! But they still make the A-not-B error .
A-not-B Error
If a toy is moved from Hiding Place A to Hiding Place B in plain sight, the baby still looks in Place A. Their mental representation is still tied to their action, not the object's actual location.
The Vanishing Ball Challenge
If you perform a magic trick for a 5-month-old, why are they NOT impressed?
"To be surprised, you must first have an expectation of what should happen."
"If you don't know the ball exists when hidden, its disappearance isn't magic—it's just normal!"
Object Permanence Lab Worksheet The "Out of Sight" Lab
Jean Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Observations
Observer:
Review
Conceptual Framework
Scenario 1: Assimilation
A toddler has a schema for "Dog" (four legs, fur, barks). They see a cow for the first time and shout "Dog!"
Why is this assimilation?
Scenario 2: Accommodation
The toddler's parent says, "No, that's a cow. It goes MOO." The child creates a new schema for "Cow."
Why is this accommodation?
Lab Analysis
The Vanishing Act
Watch the provided video clips of infants interacting with hidden objects. Record your observations and determine which substage of the sensorimotor period they are likely in.
Subject 1: Leo (5 Months) Involuntary / Reflexive focus
The Test
Researcher shows a bright red ball, then hides it behind a screen. Leo looks at the researcher and smiles, but does not look for the ball.
Analysis: Has Object Permanence developed? Evidence?
Subject 2: Maya (10 Months) Intentional Search focus
The Test
Researcher hides a toy under Blanket A three times. Maya finds it. Then, researcher hides the toy under Blanket B in front of Maya. Maya looks under Blanket A again.
Analysis: Name this error. What does it tell us about Maya's thinking?
The Evolutionary Connection
Object permanence usually develops around the same time infants begin to crawl . Why would it be dangerous for a baby to be able to move around without having developed object permanence (specifically for their caregiver)?
Language Milestones Slides First Words
From coos to complex sentences: The miracle of language acquisition.
Language Milestones
4m
Babbling
Spontaneously uttering various sounds (e.g., "ah-goo"). Initially includes sounds from all languages.
10m
Specialization
Babbling begins to resemble the household language. Sounds outside the native tongue disappear.
12m
One-Word
The "Holophrastic" stage. A single word (e.g., "Milk!") carries the meaning of a whole sentence.
24m
Two-Word
Telegraphic Speech . Using mostly nouns and verbs (e.g., "Want juice"). Follows basic syntax rules.
Telegraphic Speech
Why is it called "Telegraphic"?
Like a telegram, a child sends messages using only the most essential words to save "cost" (mental effort).
The Rules of Syntax
"Go Car" vs. "Car Go"
Even at 2 years old, children follow the word order of their native language.
Audio Hook Placeholder
Comparing 18-month-old vs. 24-month-old speech patterns.
Nature vs. Nurture: The Debate
B.F. Skinner
Learning / Nurture
Language is learned through operant conditioning : reinforcement, association, and imitation. Parents cheer when a baby says "Mama," so the baby says it more.
"Association, Imitation, Reinforcement."
Noam Chomsky
Innate / Nature
Children learn language too fast for it to be just imitation. We have a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) —a biological "pre-wiring" for universal grammar.
"Universal Grammar & The LAD."
The Critical Period
If a child is not exposed to language (spoken or signed) by the age of 7 , they gradually lose the ability to master any language.
"Biology provides the window; the environment must open it."
Language Tracker Worksheet Language Development Guide
Unit 4: Infancy & Cognitive Growth
Student:
Task 1
Decoding the Baby
Identify the language stage for each example below (Babbling, One-Word/Holophrastic, or Telegraphic Speech).
"Juice gone!"
Child points to an empty cup. They used a noun and an adjective/verb but skipped the articles.
"Ba-ba-ba-ba-ma-ma"
Infant is 6 months old and is making repetitive consonant-vowel sounds.
"Up!"
Child reaches for a parent while saying this one word to mean "Pick me up please!"
Task 2
Skinner vs. Chomsky
Behaviorist Perspective (Skinner)
List 3 ways a parent might "teach" language according to Skinner:
Evidence For:
Children usually speak the same language/dialect as their parents.
Nativist Perspective (Chomsky)
Explain the "Language Acquisition Device" (LAD):
Evidence For:
Children say things parents NEVER say (e.g., "I goed to school"), showing they are learning rules, not just imitating.
Critical Thinking: The Case of "Genie"
"Genie" was a child discovered at age 13 who had been isolated and never spoken to. Despite years of intensive therapy, she was able to learn words but never mastered grammar or syntax .
How does Genie's case support the idea of a "Critical Period" for language?
