ChapTer 3 Development Over the Life Span 81Babies are also equipped with a set of inborn
perceptual abilities. They can see, hear, touch,
smell, and taste (bananas and sugar water are in,
rotten eggs are out). A newborn’s visual focus
range is only about eight inches, the average dis-
tance between the baby and the face of the person
holding the baby, but visual ability develops rap-
idly. Newborns can distinguish contrasts, shadows,
and edges. And they can discriminate their mother
or other primary caregiver on the basis of smell,
sight, or sound almost immediately.
Experience, however, plays a crucial role in
shaping an infant’s mind, brain, and gene expres-
sion right from the get-go. Infants who get little
touching will grow more slowly and release less
growth hormone than their amply cuddled peers,
and throughout their lives, they have stronger re-
actions to stress and are more prone to depression
and its cognitive deficits (Diamond & Amso, 2008;
Field, 2009).
Although infants everywhere develop accord-
ing to the same maturational sequence, many
aspects of their development depend on cultural
customs that govern how their parents hold,
touch, feed, and talk to them (Rogoff, 2003). In
the United States, Canada, and Germany and• Numerous legal and illegal drugs can be
harmful to the fetus, whether they are illicit
ones, such as cocaine and heroin, or legal
substances such as antibiotics, antidepressants,
antihistamines, tranquilizers, acne medica-
tions, prescription opiate painkillers, and diet
pills (Healy, 2012; Lester, LaGasse, & Seifer,
1998; Stanwood & Levitt, 2001). Regular con-
sumption of alcohol increases the risk of fetal
alcohol syndrome (FAS), which is associated
with low birth weight, a smaller brain, facial
deformities, lack of coordination, and men-
tal impairments (Ikonomidou et al., 2000;
Streissguth, 2001).
The lesson is clear. A pregnant woman does
well to stop smoking, take prenatal vitamins, get
regular prenatal care, and avoid drugs unless they
are medically necessary—and then to accept the
fact that her child will never be properly grateful
for all she has done!
Simulate the experiment Teratogens and
Their Effects at MyPsychLab
The infant’s World Lo 3.3
Newborn babies could never survive on their
own, but they are far from being passive and in-
ert. Many abilities, tendencies, and characteristics
are universal in human beings and are present at
birth or develop early, given certain experiences.
Newborns begin life with several motor reflexes,
automatic behaviors that are necessary for sur-
vival. They will suck on anything suckable, such as
a nipple or finger. They will grasp tightly a finger
pressed on their tiny palms. They will turn their
heads toward a touch on the cheek or corner of
the mouth and search for something to suck on, a
handy rooting reflex that allows them to find the
breast or bottle. Many of these reflexes eventually
disappear, but others—such as the knee-jerk, eye-
blink, and sneeze reflexes—remain.
Infants are born with a grasping reflex; they will cling to
any offered finger. And they need the comfort of touch,
which their adult caregivers love to provide.Many parents hope to have an influence on their offspring even before their babies are born.
(c) 2001 Baby Blues Partnership, Dist.
by King Features Syndicate