PSYC 3206 Lecture 4: Chapter 4 Physical Development in Infancy
Document Summary
Infants grow at a rapid pace over the first two years of their lives. Average birth weight doubles, to around 15 pounds. The average child weighs around 4 times as much as they did at birth. Weight gains in infancy are matched by increased length. All parts of an infant"s body grow do not grow at the same rate. The head accounts for one-quarter of the newborn"s entire body size. The rest of the body begins to catch up. There are sex and racial differences in infant weight and length. Physical growth: rapid advances of infancy- four principles of growth. Cephalocaudal principle: growth follows a pattern that begins with the head & upper body parts, then proceeds down to the rest of the body. Proximodistal principle: development proceeds from the center of the body outward. Principle of hierarchical integration: simple skills typically develop separately, and independently but are later integrated into more complex skills.
