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Chapter 2: Problem 16

Describe the sensory capabilities of the newborn. Newborns' sensory competence includes the ability to distinguish objects in the visual field and to see color differences, the ability to hear and to discern familiar sounds, and sensitivity to touch, odors, and tastes.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Newborns can distinguish objects and colors visually, hear and discern familiar sounds, sense touch and temperature change, distinguish among various odors, and they can taste sweet, sour, bitter and umami, though their ability to taste salt develops later.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Visual Capabilities

A newborn's visual competence includes being able to discriminate between different shapes and colors in their field of view. However, their focus is often limited to close distances, usually around 8 to 10 inches.
02

Understanding Auditory Capabilities

Newborns have the ability to hear, and can recognize and differentiate familiar sounds, including the voices of parents or familiar lullabies.
03

Understanding Tactile Sensitivity

Newborns have a strong sense of touch. They respond reflexively to physical contact and can discern changes in temperature and texture.
04

Understanding Olfactory Capabilities

Newborns have the ability to smell and can discriminate between different odors. They often show a preference for the scent of their own mother.
05

Understanding Gustatory Capabilities

Newborns can taste and show preferences for sweet tastes. They can differentiate between sweet, sour, bitter, and umami tastes, but their ability to taste salt develops later.

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Visual Competence in Newborns
When it comes to the world of colors and shapes, newborns exhibit a distinct visual competence that surprises many. Their ability to see is suited for a range only as far as 8 to 10 inches – coincidentally, this is roughly the distance between a mother's face and the infant while nursing or being held.

Their preference for high-contrast patterns and faces is notable. Although not as sharp as an adult's vision, newborns can discern basic shapes and color differences. This sensitivity to visual stimuli plays a crucial role in the bonding process and early cognitive development.
Newborn Auditory Capabilities
Imagine being able to remember sounds from a time when you were cushioned in fluid. That's the reality for newborns. Their auditory capabilities are well-developed even before birth, allowing them to recognize and be soothed by voices, particularly those they’ve heard while in the womb.

Naturally drawn to the human speech frequency range, they show a preference for melodic contours similar to those in their mother’s voice. This early auditory development fosters emotional security and language learning.
Tactile Sensitivity in Infants
The power of touch for an infant is profound. From the moment they are born, newborns are endowed with a heightened sense of tactile sensitivity. This robust sense prompts them to respond reflexively to cuddles, strokes, and even to distinguish between different temperatures and textures.

Touch doesn’t only comfort but also serves as an exploratory and communicative function, helping infants to understand their world and form secure attachments. Research consistently emphasizes the importance of skin-to-skin contact in infant care.
Olfactory Capabilities in Infants
If there's one scent a newborn can pick out from a lineup, it's the smell of their own mother. The olfactory capabilities of infants are surprisingly keen and play a significant role in bonding and nutrition. From birth, they display a preference for the scent associated with their mother, an adaptative trait for breastfeeding and security.

This sense, although not always the focus of infant development discussions, is vital in the early stages of life for both emotional connection and identifying sources of nutrition.
Gustatory Capabilities of Newborns
Sweets for the sweet might well describe the gustatory capabilities of newborns. They come into the world with a predilection for sweet tastes, which is thought to draw them to mother's milk. Their taste buds can distinguish between sweet, sour, bitter, and umami flavors, although the sensitivity to salt appears to develop more fully in the months following birth.

These early taste experiences are the foundation of flavor preferences and can influence dietary habits long term. It's a taste bud journey that begins with the very first sip of life.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Explain how the environment and genetics work together to determine human characteristics. Behavioral characteristics are often determined by a combination of genetics and environment. Genetically based traits represent a potential, called the genotype, which may be affected by the environment and is ultimately expressed in the phenotype.

Describe how genes and chromosomes provide our basic genetic endowment. A child receives 23 chromosomes from each parent. These 46 chromosomes provide the genetic blueprint that will guide cell activity for the rest of the individual's life.

Describe the normal process of labor and the events that occur in the first few hours of a newborn's life. In the first stage of labor, contractions occur about every 8 to 10 minutes, increasing in frequency, duration, and intensity until the mother's cervix expands. In the second stage of labor, which lasts about 90 minutes, the baby begins to move through the cervix and birth canal and ultimately leaves the mother's body. In the third stage of labor, which lasts only a few minutes, the umbilical cord and placenta are expelled from the mother. After it emerges, the newborn, or neonate, is usually inspected for irregularities, cleaned, and returned to its mother and father. It also undergoes newborn screening tests.

A teratogen is an environmental agent such as a drug, chemical, virus, or other factor that produces a birth defect. Factors in the mother that may affect the unborn child include diet, age, illnesses, and drug, alcohol, and tobacco use. The behaviors of fathers and others in the environment may also affect the health and development of the unborn child.

Describe the role of genetic counselors and differentiate between different forms of prenatal testing. Genetic counselors use a variety of data and techniques to advise future parents of possible genetic risks to their unborn children. A variety of techniques can be used to assess the health of an unborn child if a woman is already pregnant, including ultrasound, CVS, and amniocentesis.
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