After reading the chapter, students should be able to:

• Identify and describe the four major principles of growth
  
  
• Identify and define the distinctive aspects of the human nervous system
  
  
• Describe the process of development of the human brain
  
  
• Explain the findings of studies on the brain’s plasticity and the impact of the environment on brain development
  
  
• Recognize the behavioral states of a newborn
  
  
• Describe the causes of and risks for SIDS
  
  
• Identify and describe the characteristics and functions of the basic reflexes present at birth
  
  
• Describe developmental milestones in motor development and recognize that, while there is a consistency to the timing of these milestones, individual and cultural variations occur
  
  
• Describe the influence that proper nutrition has on healthy development by explaining the risks related to malnutrition, under-nutrition, and obesity
  
  
• Identify the benefits (to the healthy development of child and mother) of breast-feeding
  
  
• Contrast the meaning of ‘sensation’ with the meaning of ‘perception’
  
  
• Recognize that the sensory abilities of the newborn are relatively well-developed, which allows them to explore and begin to make sense of their world
  
  
• Describe the various perceptual abilities of infants
  
  
• Explain the contemporary views of infant pain and touch
  
  
• Describe how the multimodal approach to perception offers an integrative view of the sensory system