Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

 
Module 37 
Infancy and Childhood 
397
age, infants can distinguish between their native tongue and foreign languages, and 
they can discriminate between such closely related sounds as ba and pa when they 
are 4 days old. By 6 months of age, they can discriminate virtually any difference 
in sound that is relevant to the production of language. Moreover, they can recog-
nize different tastes and smells at a very early age. There even seems to be some-
thing of a built-in sweet tooth: Neonates prefer liquids that have been sweetened 
with sugar over their unsweetened counterparts (Cohen & Cashon, 2003; Rivera-
Gaxiola et al., 2005).
Infancy Through Childhood
It was during the windy days of March that the problem in the day-care center fi rst 
arose. Its source: 10-month-old Russell Ruud. Otherwise a model of decorum, Russell 
had somehow learned how to unzip the Velcro chin strap to his winter hat. He would 
remove the hat whenever he got the urge, seemingly oblivious to the potential health 
problems that might follow. 
But that was just the start of the real diffi culty. To the chagrin of the teachers in 
the day-care center, not to speak of the children’s parents, soon other children were 
following his lead, removing their own caps at will. Russell’s mother, made aware of 
the anarchy at the day-care center—and the other parents’ distress over Russell’s 
behavior—pleaded innocent. “I never showed Russell how to unzip the Velcro,” claimed 
his mother, Judith Ruud, an economist with the Congressional Budget Offi ce in 
Washington, DC. “He learned by trial and error, and the other kids saw him do it one 
day when they were getting dressed for an outing.” (Goleman, 1993, C10)
At the age of 10 months, Russell asserted his personality, illustrating the tremendous 
growth that occurs in a variety of domains during the fi rst year of life. Throughout 
the remainder of childhood, moving from infancy into middle childhood and the 
start of adolescence around age 11 or 12, children develop physically, socially, and 
cognitively in extraordinary ways. In the remainder of this module, we’ll consider 
this development.