- Think broadly about how infants change over their first year of life. Describe how their perception and perspective on the world changes by the time they reach their first birthday. Specifically, choose three physical changes (e.g., motor, perceptual), three cognitive changes (e.g., Piagetian or information processing concepts), and three social or emotional changes to describe.
- Think about a typical 18-month old toddler doing a puzzle with one of his or her parents and how the interaction relates to Vygotsky's theory of child development (described in unit 1 and unit 9).
Define and describe Vygotsky's concept of scaffolding.
In this puzzle example, how can the parent apply Vygotsky's concept of scaffolding? Give at least three specific examples of what the parent can do.
How does scaffolding change the toddler's performance and cognitive development?
- When reading a 15-month-old story, what activities can the parent do to enhance the infant's experience? Indicate how or why these activities benefit the infant's social and cognitive development in terms of Vygotsky's theory.
- Very young babies cry a lot. The behaviourist, John B. Watson advised parents not to pick their infants up when they cried, but instead, to let them "cry it out." This conditioning process he said would prevent them from becoming cry babies.
Based on what your text and course notes say about infant social and emotional development, do you agree with Watson's approach and why? In your answer, discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks to using Watson's approach for very young infants, based on the developmental needs and processes you identify from your text and notes.