Chapter 3 of Essentials of life-span development covers the physical and cognitive development during infancy. Reasonably assuming that, after Chapter 1, the student will remember that infancy is the period from birth to 18-24 months, the chapter begins with a quick discussion of physical growth and development during this period. When discussing motor skills, both gross and fine, the chapter demonstrates how in-born reflexes are gradually replaced with newly acquired reactions to stimuli (Santrock, 2012). After that, the chapter establishes the important difference between sensation as information input and perception as its cognitive interpretation, which is crucial for the student’s understanding of an infant’s sensory and perceptual development (Santrock, 2012). It also links the new material to the nature vs. nurture debate mentioned in the previous chapter and covers both nativist and empiricist approaches (Santrock, 2012). Finally, when discussing the infant’s cognitive development, Chapter 3 covers Piaget’s theory, which explores how children construct mental schemes and use them through assimilation and accommodation to create higher-order systems of behaviors (Santrock, 2012). After that, the student has a theoretical perspective to assess the following information on cognitive development in infancy.
The main strength of this chapter is that it effectively builds on the information provided earlier. For example, when discussing sensory and perceptual development, it returns to the nature vs. nurture debate first considered in some detail in the previous chapter (Santrock, 2012). Similarly, the coverage of cognitive development invokes Piaget’s theory, which was, however, briefly already mentioned in Chapter 1 (Santrock, 2012). By doing so, Chapter 3 not only reinforces and actualizes the knowledge gained from previous chapters but also creates a continuous learning experience for the student.
Reference
Santrock, J. W. (2012). Essentials of life-span development (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill.