Wednesday, July 19th, I had a chance to observe carefully an infant for about half an hour in my psychology class at Santa Monica College. The infant, Ali Osman, a healthy, playful boy appears to be of Middle Eastern origin. He is 15.5 months old, 32” tall and weighs about 24 lbs with brown curly hair, dark brown eyes and fairly tanned skin.There were several kinds of toys like blocks, dolls, and automobiles in the room. However, when he just came in, he was immediately drawn to the dolls with intense interest and focus. Even though there wasn’t any way to measure his heart rate or brain wave, I could easily tell how interested he was by the way he gazed, touched and played with the dolls. This could be explained by the fact that “the perception of an unfamiliar stimulus usually elicits physiological responses” (Berger 156). Later, my explanation of his behavior was confirmed to be correct by his mother. She says that he had never seen a doll before. Clearly, he was sensing the strange object and trying to perceive it. And exactly as the text said, “eventually, habituation occurs, in which the stimulus becomes so familiar and uninteresting that these responses slow down.” (Berger 156). He got tired of the dolls and began to pay attention to other toys and people around him. According to table 5.2, the Age Norms for Motor Skills in Berger, page 153, for his age of 15.5 months, 90% of all babies master the skill of walking. Beside being able to walk, just like the majority of infants at his age (from 1-2 years old), Ali is quite a toddler, “for the characteristic way they move their bodies, toddling from side to side.” (Berger 151). Although still toddling, Ali obviously belongs to the upper half of the population in mastering his gross motor skill since he is also able to walk backward, a skill that only 50% of infant could master at his age, again, according to table 5.2.Ali is quite a ...
