p4 l2 (motor development)

• Dynamic Systems Theory (Thelen and Smith)


  seeks to explain how motor behaviors are assembled for perceiving and acting
• Perception and Action are coupled
• Motor skills


  the result of many converging factors, such as the development of the nervous system, the body's physical properties and its movement possibilities, the goal the child is motivated to reach, and environmental support for the skill
• Reflexes


  • Reflexes - automatic movements - govern the newborn's behavior
  • sucking, rooting, and moro reflexes
• the rooting and moro reflexes disappear after 3-4 months
• coughing and blinking (permanent reflexes)
• for infants, sucking is an especially important reflex because it provides a means of obtaining nutrition
• Reflexes


  built-in reactions to stimuli that govern the newborn's movements, which are automatic and beyond the newborn's control
• Rooting reflexes


  a newborn's built-in reaction that occurs when the infant's cheek is stroked or the side of the mouth is touched. in response, the infant turns his or her head toward the side that was touched, in an apparent effort to find something to suck
• Sucking reflex


  newborn's built-in reaction to automatically suck an object placed in its mouth. the sucking reflex enables the infant to get nourishment before he or she has associated a nipple with food and also serves as a self-soothing or self-regulating mechanism
• Moro reflex


  a neonatal startle response that occurs in reaction to a sudden, intense noise or movement. when startled, the newborn arches its back, throws its head back, and flings out its arms and legs. then the newborn rapidly pulls its arms and legs close to the center of the body
• Grasping reflex


  a neonatal reflex that occurs when something touches the infant's palms. the infant responds by grasping tightly
• Gross motor skills


  involve large-muscle activities; control of posture and walking.

  infants usually learn to walk by their first birthday, the neural pathways that allow walking begin forming earlier
• Fine motor skills


  involve finely tuned movements
• the onset of reaching and grasping marks a significant accomplishment, and this skill becomes more refined during the first two years of life
• Palmer grasp and Pincer grip


  infants refine their ability to grasp objects by developing 2 types of grasps
• infants need to exercise their fine motor skills just as their gross motor skills