A Baby Stops Playing When His/Her Parents Go Out of Sight
Of course it is known that an adult's heart shows this kind of response as well. That is to say, when an adult looks at a drawing of his/her interest, or thinks about many things, his/her heart rate goes up and down. This phenomenon can be used to analyze his/her mental functionalities.
There is a good example to explain this. For instance, when adults like us try to think of some words or details when writing, or calculate numbers, our heart rate clearly goes up.
A polygraph is used to identify criminals. This is a practical application of this phenomenon. Parameters that are measured by the machine include not only the heart rate but also the skin moisture to see perspiration.
Therefore the change in a baby's heart rate can be used to analyze his/her mental conditions just like the case of an adult.
The heart rate of an infant who is eight-to twenty-four-months-old clearly shows this phenomenon when his/her mother goes out of sight or complete strangers appear in front of him/her. Even a six-month-old baby reacts to strangers and the reaction gets stronger as s/he grows up.
Using the machine called thermography which shows a distribution of skin temperature, we have discovered the fact that the facial skin temperature of a baby goes down when his/her mother who is always with him/her goes away. This reaction is observed by the time a baby becomes two months old at the latest. A two-month-old baby can feel anxiety when s/he is separated from his/her mother. Putting it the other way, an attachment for his/her mother has already been established.
In case of a baby who is a few months old, his/her heart rate naturally responds more strongly to the disappearance of his/her parents than that of strangers.
An infant who is one year old and over, especially twelve to fifteen months, shows a strong change in his/her heart rate. It is reported that babies of twelve- to fifteen-months-old show the strongest reaction when their parents go away and left alone with strangers; they cry out most loudly and stop playing.
The Baby Sets Up a Hypothesis
It is understood that a baby of one year old can set up a hypothesis. When his/her mother goes out of sight, s/he wonders where his/her mother has gone, whether she will come back, or what people being there are doing. When s/he has no answers to those hypotheses, his/her heart rate changes; s/he stops playing and starts to cry. S/he is so much worried that his/her mother, who should be always with him/her, is gone.
It can be said, therefore, that by the time a baby becomes one year old, s/he can tell the difference between the old information s/he got using his/her sense organs such as eyes, ears, mouth and skin, and new types of information. S/he sets up a hypothesis and tries to solve the problem presented in front of him/her. And most of the information s/he gets mainly comes from his/her mother with whom s/he has so much rapport. The baby is already "The Thinker" at one year old.
By the time a baby becomes about eighteen months old, s/he tries to defend him/herself when a foreign object comes approaching; s/he is happy to see someone s/he knows very well and feel concerned to see someone who is a stranger. S/he can feel moving objects. A mother and her baby communicate each other through an eye-to-eye contact. The baby starts to look at the directions pointed out by his/her mother; s/he comes to be able to point his/her finger at something to draw people's attention as well as to express what s/he wants to do. When s/he becomes about four years old, s/he looks at what other people do and reads their minds. That is to say, s/he can establish theories on events taking place around him/her.
Advanced mental-psychological functionality develops together with exercise functions to move one's body as well as sensuous functions like feeling pain and coldness. Even though a baby gets information through his/her senses and moves his/her body in response to that, this is not a simple thing at all. It seems that the baby analyzes the situations around his/her mother mainly whom s/he trusts most and takes some actions.
That is to say, the baby starts setting up hypotheses on everything in his/her relationship with his/her mother, followed by various theories corresponding to these hypotheses.
As the baby gets older, his/her relationship with others expands one after another on top of the mother-child relationship. There is also an interaction with environment. The baby's mind will play a more complicated functional role as s/he physically grows up. This becomes the basis to live in a human society with various cultures.
Kobayashi, Noboru (1981). "Akachan mo Kangaeru Hito - 2." (written in Japanese). Tokyo: Child Research Net. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2004, from the World Wide Web http://www.crn.or.jp/LIBRARY/KOBY/MIRAI/cbs0112.html
Of course it is known that an adult's heart shows this kind of response as well. That is to say, when an adult looks at a drawing of his/her interest, or thinks about many things, his/her heart rate goes up and down. This phenomenon can be used to analyze his/her mental functionalities.
There is a good example to explain this. For instance, when adults like us try to think of some words or details when writing, or calculate numbers, our heart rate clearly goes up.
A polygraph is used to identify criminals. This is a practical application of this phenomenon. Parameters that are measured by the machine include not only the heart rate but also the skin moisture to see perspiration.
Therefore the change in a baby's heart rate can be used to analyze his/her mental conditions just like the case of an adult.
The heart rate of an infant who is eight-to twenty-four-months-old clearly shows this phenomenon when his/her mother goes out of sight or complete strangers appear in front of him/her. Even a six-month-old baby reacts to strangers and the reaction gets stronger as s/he grows up.
Using the machine called thermography which shows a distribution of skin temperature, we have discovered the fact that the facial skin temperature of a baby goes down when his/her mother who is always with him/her goes away. This reaction is observed by the time a baby becomes two months old at the latest. A two-month-old baby can feel anxiety when s/he is separated from his/her mother. Putting it the other way, an attachment for his/her mother has already been established.
In case of a baby who is a few months old, his/her heart rate naturally responds more strongly to the disappearance of his/her parents than that of strangers.
An infant who is one year old and over, especially twelve to fifteen months, shows a strong change in his/her heart rate. It is reported that babies of twelve- to fifteen-months-old show the strongest reaction when their parents go away and left alone with strangers; they cry out most loudly and stop playing.
The Baby Sets Up a Hypothesis
It is understood that a baby of one year old can set up a hypothesis. When his/her mother goes out of sight, s/he wonders where his/her mother has gone, whether she will come back, or what people being there are doing. When s/he has no answers to those hypotheses, his/her heart rate changes; s/he stops playing and starts to cry. S/he is so much worried that his/her mother, who should be always with him/her, is gone.
It can be said, therefore, that by the time a baby becomes one year old, s/he can tell the difference between the old information s/he got using his/her sense organs such as eyes, ears, mouth and skin, and new types of information. S/he sets up a hypothesis and tries to solve the problem presented in front of him/her. And most of the information s/he gets mainly comes from his/her mother with whom s/he has so much rapport. The baby is already "The Thinker" at one year old.
By the time a baby becomes about eighteen months old, s/he tries to defend him/herself when a foreign object comes approaching; s/he is happy to see someone s/he knows very well and feel concerned to see someone who is a stranger. S/he can feel moving objects. A mother and her baby communicate each other through an eye-to-eye contact. The baby starts to look at the directions pointed out by his/her mother; s/he comes to be able to point his/her finger at something to draw people's attention as well as to express what s/he wants to do. When s/he becomes about four years old, s/he looks at what other people do and reads their minds. That is to say, s/he can establish theories on events taking place around him/her.
Advanced mental-psychological functionality develops together with exercise functions to move one's body as well as sensuous functions like feeling pain and coldness. Even though a baby gets information through his/her senses and moves his/her body in response to that, this is not a simple thing at all. It seems that the baby analyzes the situations around his/her mother mainly whom s/he trusts most and takes some actions.
That is to say, the baby starts setting up hypotheses on everything in his/her relationship with his/her mother, followed by various theories corresponding to these hypotheses.
As the baby gets older, his/her relationship with others expands one after another on top of the mother-child relationship. There is also an interaction with environment. The baby's mind will play a more complicated functional role as s/he physically grows up. This becomes the basis to live in a human society with various cultures.
Kobayashi, Noboru (1981). "Akachan mo Kangaeru Hito - 2." (written in Japanese). Tokyo: Child Research Net. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2004, from the World Wide Web http://www.crn.or.jp/LIBRARY/KOBY/MIRAI/cbs0112.html
