Week Three Post One

I found this chapter to be very interesting. As a child and while growing up I never really wondered how I learned how to talk, I kind of figured it just came naturally to everyone. But reading this chapter I finally got to find out the complete process of language development. Adaptation is the core of intelligence according to Jean Piaget and I completely agree. All throughout life, especially as an infant, you need to adapt to different environments, people, etc. Allowing yourself to adapt helps you succeed. There are four periods of cognitive development that consist of sensorimotor intelligence. Sensorimotor intelligence is the way infants think, by using sensor and motor skills. The first two stages of sensorimotor intelligence involve primary circular reactions. Stage one occurs from birth until one month of age and is called the stage of reflexes. The reflexes infants have at this age are sucking, grasping, staring and listening. When reflexes start to adjust the infant will enter stage two which are the first acquired adaptations. Adaptation includes both accommodation and coordination of reflexes and the infant is starting to realize this from around one month up until four months of age. A prime example would be a infant learning to suck from a bottle rather than a nipple, although both provide milk it’s a very different feeling. When a infant is adapting to their surroundings and everyday life they are staring to interpret their perceptions. Although a baby typically doesn’t begin to communicate until around one year of age, they still understand what is going on around them and what they want. Thinking about it, it has to be very frustrating for an infant to be able to know what they want and not be able to verbalize it.