On September 7th, Dr. Christian’s psychology class observed the child of Kurt and Kayt, Peter. Peter is a 4-month-old baby boy. In class we have been learning about infant physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development. During the observation, I was able to notice a lot about both the parents and Peter. With the knowledge I have gained from psychology and the observation of the child, I am now able to explain why children act the way they do.
From the moment the parents walked in, I could tell they were both very pleasant, but at the same time very passive. The child was very calm and playful. Dr. Christians would talk to Peter and he would smile. This would be explained by social smile or a response to stimuli (Santrock, 111). Even though we noticed that Peter didn’t like “tummy time,” he didn’t cry when they put him in multiple positions. Peter is at a stage where he likes to grasp objects with his hands. His parents gave him a toy and he grasped …show more content…
Peter would change his facial expressions to demonstrate discomfort, but wouldn’t cry. Emotions by either side of the parent and a child can easily influence each other. We can assume that both Kayt and Kurt felt discomfort and stress when their child did. When the parents and Dr. Christians were playful and positive, it reflected over to Peter. Chess and Thomas are the ones that started researching and made temperament a popular topic. They classified infants in three categories: easy child, difficult child, and slow to warm up child. Peter has a very easy going temperament so I would classify him under an easy child. Temperament is influenced by many aspects including: culture, gender, and biology. I do believe that temperament is constantly changing in people’s life, but also has biological factors affecting it. Peter’s parents are very calm and passive and maybe that’s something that is both passed down and learned from
From the moment the parents walked in, I could tell they were both very pleasant, but at the same time very passive. The child was very calm and playful. Dr. Christians would talk to Peter and he would smile. This would be explained by social smile or a response to stimuli (Santrock, 111). Even though we noticed that Peter didn’t like “tummy time,” he didn’t cry when they put him in multiple positions. Peter is at a stage where he likes to grasp objects with his hands. His parents gave him a toy and he grasped …show more content…
Peter would change his facial expressions to demonstrate discomfort, but wouldn’t cry. Emotions by either side of the parent and a child can easily influence each other. We can assume that both Kayt and Kurt felt discomfort and stress when their child did. When the parents and Dr. Christians were playful and positive, it reflected over to Peter. Chess and Thomas are the ones that started researching and made temperament a popular topic. They classified infants in three categories: easy child, difficult child, and slow to warm up child. Peter has a very easy going temperament so I would classify him under an easy child. Temperament is influenced by many aspects including: culture, gender, and biology. I do believe that temperament is constantly changing in people’s life, but also has biological factors affecting it. Peter’s parents are very calm and passive and maybe that’s something that is both passed down and learned from