Life Begins (circa 1935)

[Music] h [Music] of all living creatures the human infant has the most prodigious and of course the most fascinating powers of growth this growth is both mental and physical you will soon see on the screen how the infant grows and takes shape in mind as well as body he has end he has Intelligence feeling will personality he has an inborn individuality governed by natural laws we need a better understanding of these laws and then we shall have a more adequate appreciation of the psychological importance of infancy the social and economic costs of mental abnormality have now become so heavy that science is literally compelled to investigate those early life forces which determine the patterning of human behavior we cannot manage our complex civilization unless we build firmer foundations of mental health in infant and child parent nurse doctor and scientist all have a part to play in the protection of the mental welfare of the infant one of the great tasks of Medical Science is to penetrate into the nature of human personality and into the conditions of Mental Health in our clinic at Yale University we have for many years been studying the mental growth of normal infants our purpose is to establish a baseline as a line of reference for the diagnosis of the mental characteristics of the infant in their early formative stages we have used the motion picture camera as a scientific tool for charting month by month the growth of the infant's Behavior his posture and Locomotion his grasp and manipulation his play exploitation learning and his social reactions the cinema is an Ideal tool for making visible the forms and the structured essence of the Mind here is one of the many mothers who have helped us in our program of research she knows that we are going to make a motion picture record of her baby in a special clinical Crib in a photographic Dome encased in a one-way Vision screen here is a clinical crib and the infan siiz Morris chair in which the baby will sit during part of the examination and here are the pockets at the end of the crib which contain the psychological test materials to be used in the developmental examination the mother now takes her baby into the photographic Dome a glimpse of which is now before you the baby is 16 weeks old and already our observations have begun this remember is a 16 weeks old infant how does the infant react to the dangling ring he gazes at it slashes arms and legs closes in and finally seizes it A Primitive form of prehension typical of 16 weeks maturity a significant Behavior pattern testifying to normal growth the camera permanently records the growth of all these Behavior patterns in the sensitive Cinema film the records of the patterns are stored away in this film for future reference the film has an infallible memory and the patterns can be restored to Life by threading the film Upon A specially designed projector this projector throws the image of behavior upon the viewing glass of the desk here for example Le you see again that bit of 16 weeks old behavior in the presence of a dangling ring the image may be studied at leisure and in great detail even the attitude of the baby may be traced with a pencil for detailed analysis in this manner we make the growth of behavior patterns visible for systematic and comparative study let us turn back to an infant boy at the age of 12 weeks and see what patterns of behavior are revealed in test situations first a simple postural test when he is pulled to a sitting position his head lags and drops forward his back curves at 16 weeks of age his head is steadier his trunk more rigid and his back is not so uniformly rounded as it was at 12 weeks this is due to the advancing organization of his growing nervous system at 20 weeks he erects his head nicely when he's brought to the perpendicular position he can move his trunk slightly and can sit a moment without support when he is allowed to lean forward interesting changes in the course of its development by means of animated diagrams we should briefly delineate the Transformations which occur during the prenatal period the anterior limb bud first appears then five knob likee structures resembling the human fingers take form this development proceeds rapidly and during the first 12 weeks the beginnings of the forearm and fingernails become evident the configurations then rapidly change and long before birth the hand becomes well defined and even active growth continues but 8 weeks after birth the hand still retains some of its prenatal characteristics the infant cannot yet lay hold of the physical world his hand is almost a useless organ it remains for the most part fisted night and day a consequently the movements of the fingers are limited and non adaptive but at 24 weeks the fingers are open the fist has unfolded the fingers play in a lively Manner and curl over every object they touch slender objects like a spoon easily become entangled between the fingers but the pattern terms apprehension and manipulation have clearly elaborated note the infant's reaction to the cube he grasps it when it is he is now well beyond the stage of mere corralling now observe the patterns of behavior in the two Cube situation at 24 weeks The Examiner has placed one cube in the infant's left hand and is present into the second Cube the infant holds the first Cube but gives only momentary and secondary regard to the second Cube he transfers chews bangs the cube but he confines his attention chiefly to one Cube even in the multiple Cube situation these patterns of behavior persist he grasps one Cube and gives only fleeting heed to the several cubes before him he remains preoccupied with the cube in hand in four more weeks his behavior patterns are significantly transformed at 28 weeks in addition to holding the first Cube he grasps the second one as soon as he sees it and he holds both cubes he even brings the two cubes together sketchily he inspects one then the other and then both together his attention as well as his grasp takes in two cubes by double or coincident projection the two Edge levels are now brought into comparative view the pictures have been slowed to half speed so you can divide your attention equ equ between them you may make your own comparisons and draw your own deductions the difference in complexity of these two sets of behavior patterns represents one month of mental growth it is quite evident that time visibly transformed the patterns of prehension and manipulation here are depicted six consecutive pattern phases of cube Behavior at 24 weeks reading from left to right you see grasp transfer inspection of the first Cube inspection of the second Cube Cube banging and mouthing turning now to 28 weeks we see these pattern phases regard for the second Cube prompt approach grasp inspection of the first Cube then inspection of the second Cube and rubbing of the two cubes these reactions occur in pattern sequence in less than 30 seconds the patterns of prehension change visibly every month this comparative view depicts the infant's manual patterns at 28 and at 40 weeks at 40 weeks he sits independently he no longer needs the examining chair he brings two cubes into constructive relationship let us examine more closely his patterns of behavior at 40 weeks finger and thumb are coming into definite opposition and when a third cube is presented he manages even to hold three cubes at one time the index finger now takes a leading part in manipulation take particular notice of this index finger he at once pokes the tip of the handle of the bell with his extended finger he rotates the Bell Rings it presses It Forward holds it at different angles he is under an irrepressible impulse to pry and to poke with his index finger this is a significant well defined pattern of behavior a very deep-seated pattern which asserts itself again when a tiny pellet is presented once more the index finger projects He plucks the pellet pursues it with the poking index finger and when pelet and bottle are presented again the poking index finger comes into prominent play and now for a rapid survey of the progressive growth changes which transform the patterns of cube behavior from 12 weeks to 40 weeks at 12 weeks simple regard for a cube at 16 weeks incipient Approach at 20 weeks corralling and contact at 24 and 28 weeks direct approach and grasp at 40 weeks exploitive combining of the two cubes these growth changes continue with each passing month 4 to Children except perhaps identical twins grow up in the same way some learn to stand and walk early others Le but all are very likely to pass through similar stages at the age of 8 weeks this particular baby boy can wriggle squirm pull his knees up move his hips and flex and extend his legs four more weeks and he still wriggles he cannot pull his knees forward nor lift his hips as he did in the water notice that he lies flat but he wears his head higher and keeps his arms a little straighter at the age of 16 weeks he assumes a frog likee posture appropriate enough for the water notice that his four quarters are more highly developed than his legs this illustrates a law of growth the head regions take the lead in the development of motor control and the legs naturally lag now at 20 weeks he rears his head higher in the water observe that he can even bring his knees to a creeping position he rocks back and forth but there is no coordination between arms and legs on the floor he seems even more helpless he lifts his hips occasionally but he claws the mat and is almost riveted to the spot but even the 24 weeks he is laying foundations for the future when held by his mother he supports a little weight makes a few stepping movements he holds his head and trunk upright indicating Ro toward an erect posture on the floor he is distinctly more agile he rolls from his stomach to his back but from impulse rather than deliberation when the metronome rattle begins to sound he notices it but he is still pretty well anchored to the spot four more weeks passed last month you Rec call Baby rolled from stomach to back this month he can roll in the reverse Direction a more difficult feet so he manages to secure the toy he needs control of posture not only for purposes of locomotion but for purposes of prehension and of manipulation now you see he is approaching the creeping stage he sustains his weight on straight rather than on bent arms he Pats his hands on the floor he can pivot slightly in the next 4 weeks he becomes still more locomotor minded in the creeping position take good notice he can now extend his right arm forward and his left leg backward this definitely anticipates creeping but pivoting comes before creeping here you see the infant executing a pivot in the clockwise Direction he almost Gates arms and legs are coming into better coordination PS out his right hand turns his head twists his body shifts his hands extending this pivoting pattern represents a growth gain the anchor is loosening pivoting promises progression ultimately four more weeks bring him to the verge of CR notice how well he supports himself by his arms his mother no longer needs to place her hand under his chin he pulls himself forward toward the water toy and manages finally to secure it on the floor notice how he puts his legs into the creeping position and advances by a combination of crawling creeping and wriggling observe the increased agility in his movement the flexibility of his trunk and now at 40 weeks he creeps he goes directly for the Rattle and venues his inveterate manipulation without assistance he assumes the erect posture he cruises around his pen by a combination of clambering and Sid stepping cruising is intermediate stage between creeping and walking both in cruising and in creeping the hands are still used for Locomotion when he feels the tingle of the grass he goes completely on all fours his hands become feet and you have a classic example of qual locomotion creeping on all fours notice at the age of 44 weeks how versatile his postural behavior has become see how he changes rapidly from from one attitude to another already he is less engrossed in pure Locomotion he sits he kneels he stands but never does he cease to exploit all objects within his reach he splashes dabes pokes and investigates constantly he brings his abilities into correlation posture prehension Locomotion and AD Behavior grow together he does not develop first one ability and then another he grows as a unit nature sees to it that he brings your a abilities into ever advancing combinations on the floor he is far from helpless he pivots and reaches his goal notice the screwdriver action of his wrist and forearms at 48 weeks you witness further changes there is little danger that this boy will prefer the quadrupedal method of locomotion he is extremely efficient on all fours but he cannot escape the force of intrinsic grow nor can his mother he is now under the irrepressible impulse to stand on his two own teeth he is truly becoming a bipad ready for his first guided steps his legs are willing but his trunk bends backwards his stomach forward but notice that even if this precarious early stage he tries to wave the Rattle and to walk at the same time nature does not divide his tasks into small bits he always makes demands on his total organ ISM one year long and he walks quite alone but not without some effort as testified by a protruding stomach and also by a protruding tongue during the next half year walk and with plenty of new action add that balance over sticks in storms the progressive stages by which this B attained his posture and Locomotion will now pass for us in Brief Review 8 weeks 12 weeks 16 weeks 20 weeks 24 weeks 28 weeks 36 weeks 40 weeks 44 weeks 48 weeks 52 weeks 18 months by these gradations this boy Lear to walk