Psychology: Infant and Real Life Essay

Throughout all of the topics we have discussed in psychology class, we have learned many ideas and concepts which explain behavior in various ways. A great amount of the knowledge I have attained in the class can be related to real life scenarios that I may run into later on in life. Some of the forms of psychology that interact with real life situations are physical development, challenges adolescents face, defense mechanisms, and social development. Although these are only a few of the many interactions I could encounter in my life, I feel as if they are most important. Child development which is important to a child’s life involves both physical and social development. Children can go through various social changes in their years as infants and toddlers. For example, infants develop attachment, which also is known as emotional ties between people. This is important to realize because babies need a lot of attention and they need to be focused on and they need to be a priority. A real life situation that could occur would be my child becoming attached to me and they could try to maintain contact with me. One thing they may do when I as the mother leaves, is cry or complain or throw temper tantrums. This is the basic definition of separation anxiety. This is when the infant will cry or behave in other ways that indicate distress if their mothers leave them. Although it may be unfortunate to witness, it is part of an infant’s development over the course of time. In addition, another thing my child could develop is stranger anxiety in a specific situation. Stranger anxiety is when a child cries and tries to reach if there are strangers in a similar or round about area. In this case, the child usually clings or bonds to whom they are attached to. Another real life circumstance that my child could use is contact comfort in which they need to touch and be touched by something soft such as skin. The soft feeling of skin makes the child feel more comfortable and safer. In a well-known series of experiments conducted between 1957 and 1963 Harlow removed baby monkeys from their mothers and arranged for them to be "raised" by two kinds of monkey mother machines, both equipped to dispense milk. One device was made out of bare mesh wire, while the other wire was covered with soft terrycloth. He later modified the experiment by separating the infants into two groups, giving them no choice between the two types of mothers. This experiment shows that infants would rather cling to something soft because it reminds them of their mother. During the first six months, I could expect my baby’s brain and body to mature which will eventually lead to crawling and, later on, walking. Also, the infant learns their reflexes, such as grasping. Reflexes are vital to a baby’s survival because reflexes control simple things such as breathing, swallowing and blinking. Without swallowing the baby would not be able to eat and without eating the baby would die due to lack of food. Although physical development is a priority in an infant’s life, I can also expect my child to go through social development. As a child grows up, they will eventually reach their teenage years. During this time period diverse ideas begin to develop. In the adolescent stage they begin to come across obstacles and challenges in their lives. One common challenge my teenager could face when they reach this age is substance abuse. Substance abuse is not only scary but it is serious and could lead to severe and dangerous outcomes. The main

Show More

Object Relations Theory Essay

Questions On Psychology

Examples Of Adaptive Behavior

Essay on Stages Of Social Devlopment

2013 03 19 Individual Paper Chapter 5 Revised

Essay A Description of Analytic Psychology

Schools Of Thought

Carl Rogers and His Theory of Personality Essay

Welcome and Introductions Steve Williams Essay

What Is The Effects Of Group Pressure In Psychology