Tamis-LeMonda-Preface

Contents

xviii

❚ Contexts and the Brain 77 Experience-Expectant Plasticity 77 Experience-Dependent Plasticity 79

Teratogens 100 Maternal Exercise and Nutrition 103 Maternal Prenatal Care 105 Maternal Psychological Functioning 106

Timing of Experience 80 Looking to the Future 82 Developmental Cascades 83 Closing Thoughts: Dismantling the Nature-Nurture Controversy 86 3 Prenatal and Postnatal Health and Physical Development 89 Conception and Prenatal Development 90 Conception 90 Influences on Conception 91 Fertility Treatments 92 Prenatal Development 93

Birth and Infant Health 107 Labor and Birth 107

Stages of Labor 108 Neonatal Health 109 Birth Complications 110 Contextual Influences on Infant Mortality and Birth Weight 111 Infant Brain Development 113 Infant Sleep and Nutrition 114 Sleep 114 Cultural Context of Infant Sleep 116 Nutrition and Breastfeeding 118 Context and Culture in Breastfeeding 119

Germinal Period 93 Embryonic Period 94 Fetal Period 96 ❚ Contextual Influences on Prenatal Development 100

Developmental Cascades 120 Closing Thoughts: The Dynamics of Development 123

PART 2: INFANCY AND TODDLERHOOD

Perceiving Music 144 Perceiving Speech 145 From Perception to Meaning: Integration and Categorization 146 Perceptual Integration 146 Categorization 147 Motor Development 148

4 Perceptual and Motor Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood 126 Perceptual Development 127 The Study of Perception in Infants 127 Early Theories 128 The Ecological Theory of Perception 129 Methods for Studying Infant Perception 131 Tasting and Smelling 133

The Study of Motor Development in Infants 148 Gesell and the Concept of Motor Milestones 149 Myrtle McGraw and Motor Practice 150 Esther Thelen and Dynamic Systems 151 Developments in Infant Motor Skill 152 Posture 152 Sitting 152 Reaching, Grasping, and Tool Use 153 Locomoting: Crawling, Cruising, Walking 156 ❚ Contexts of Motor Development 158 Home Context of Motor Development 158 Cultural Context of Motor Development 160 Developmental Cascades 162 Closing Thoughts: The Engines of Learning and Development 166

Taste and Odor Preferences 134 Contexts of Taste Perception 134 Looking 135 Acuity and Contrast 135 Perceiving Colors 137 Size and Shape Constancy 137 Perceiving Objects as “Whole” 138 Tracking Motion and Actions 139 Perceiving Depth 139 Face Perception 140 Contexts of Face Perception 142 Hearing 144 Loudness and Pitch 144