The study of social psychology in the behavioral observation of a cryinginfant. AbstractAn infant crying is a behavioral trait of all new born babies. An infant’sfirst instinct when born is to cry. Why do infants cry? When infants cry itcan be for a various amount of reasons. As a parent it is theirresponsibility to figure out what is wrong and keep the infant from crying.
The research method used is naturalistic observation. The subject isobserved in its natural setting, so there is no influence on its behavior. This paper provides awareness of why infants may cry and what one can do toprevent this. Critical Observation PaperSubject A being the parent was observing subject B being the infant. Subject A observes that subject B cries for various reasons.
When aninfant expresses a need to cry it is the parents responsibility to find outwhy they are crying. A primary trait of infants is to cry when they wantto communicate their needs and discomforts that require some attention. The parent primarily needs to make sure the infant is not in any pain ordiscomfort that requires any medical attention. Once that is accomplishedits all about trial and error.
Infants who cry excessively may have gastrointestinal problems which,is a form of abdominal pain (Illingworth 1954). This form of abdominalpain is called “colic” which is a crying behavior in infants (Illingworth1954). During these crying episodes parents need to be more attentive andloving to the infant. Calmly acknowledging and accepting their feelingsmay be what the infant needs. When infants cry it may be difficult to know why they are crying.
There are many ways to find out why the infant is indeed crying. Forexample, subject B is crying and subject A feeds the infant. The infant isnot crying anymore. Now subject A realizes the reason the infants wascrying was because it was hungry. Some methods to try when an infant iscrying is to rock or simply try to distract the infant with singing ortalking etc. MethodNaturalistic Observation is the best method used in this situationsince the subject is an infant.
This observation method operates well whenusing it on infants because it prevents any abuse or forcing them to cryfor an observation. Using this method for the reason that researchers canobserve how infants react in the natural setting. For instance, aninfant’s reaction to their mother leaving the room in their own home wouldbe different to a mother leaving the room in a stranger’s home. Gathering information on why infants cry, the researcher chooses tostudy a large group of infants rather than an individual infant.
Forinstance, an individual infant that is chosen could be a special case andbe an infant who has colic, diaper rash, or an ear infection. The infantwho has colic, diaper rash, or an ear infection is going to cry more thanthe infants that do not. The group method can increase the results of theobservation because more than one infant is being used for the observation. In order for the research to be impartial, this observation consistedof more than one observer. Therefore, the research could be compared andwould not be one sided. This method would ensure that the researcher is notmaking an opinion of the observation rather than a general view.
Theinfants would also be monitored by video, so that the observation can beviewed in different perspectives. The researchers would in additionrandomly pick infants for the observation. Case in point, picking infantsfrom different parts of the country would prevent the observation frombeing prejudice because the infants are different ethnic backgrounds. Inthe observation the infants would be treated equally and attend to theirneeds in the same way.
These methods would increase the observation to be accurate andtruthful. The Naturalistic observation method can be a predicament. Theonly way to make an observation is for the infant to be crying. Since theinfant can not be influenced in anyway the researcher has to wait for theinfant to go through an emotion. ResultCrying is an infant’s way to communicate to their parents or others.
When infants cry they are communicating to have their needs taken cared ofand acknowledged. An infant who is crying because their diaper needs to bechanged gets their diaper changed, an infant who is hungry gets fed, and aninfant who is sleepy gets put down to sleep. These are all ways to solveinfant’s needs when they cry. Overall, the one reason infants cry is theywant to feel the love and embrace of the parents’ arms. Most infants justwant to be held, to feel the security and safety of their parents.
ReferenceAldrich, C. A. ; Sung, C. ; And Knop, C. (1945). The Crying of Newly BornBabies, II: The Individual Phase.
Journal of Pediatrics. RetrievedSeptember 19, 2004, from WebCo-HostAlter, M. (1981). When Cries. Do What? Mothering. Brazelton, T.
B. (1962). Crying in Infancy. Pediatrics. RetrievedSeptember 19, 2004, from WebCo-HostIllingworth, R. (1954).
Three-months Colic. Archive of the Disease ofChildhood. 29, 165-170. Wood, S.
E. ; Wood Green, E. ; Boyd, D. (2004).
Mastering the World ofPsychology
