Topic 1 of 1: Infant Physical, Cognitive and Socioemotional Development -- Discussion 200-250 words 

This week you are learning about physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development in infancy. Imagine that you are a psychology professional working with first-time parents, Mark and Nicole, and you are providing these parents with information on infant physical development, cognitive development, and attachment. Their son, David, is an 11-month-old infant who can crawl and stand up holding onto something. He can build a tower of two cubes. He can purposefully crawl toward a ball to roll it. He can find objects that are hidden, but is unable to search for a hidden object in several locations and is unable to find an object that has been moved while out of sight. When his mother, Nicole, left the room for a moment, David started crying and neither you nor his father could calm him down. Once Nicole returned to the room, David stopped crying, calmed down and resumed playing.

1. Using Table 5.2 on page 182 in your textbook, Infants, Children, and Adolescents , how do David’s motor skills compare to the gross- and fine-motor skill milestones listed in the table? Should Mark and Nicole be concerned if David does not reach the milestones at the average age listed in the table? Why or why not?
2. Using Piaget’s Theory, explain which substage of the sensorimotor stage best depicts David’s behavior and why. What behaviors would you expect next in David with respect to intentional behavior?
3. Based on the information provided about David, how would you classify his attachment pattern? Describe the behaviors you would expect in a securely attached child. What clues would you look for to distinguish among avoidant, resistant, and disorganized/disoriented insecure attachment?

Berk, L. E., Meyers, A. B. (2016). Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 8th Edition. [Kaplan]. Retrieved from https://kaplan.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781323485811/