Psychology

Edited by Schwartz  Cohn (1996), the book, Sexual Abuse and Eating Disorders focuses on the relationship between sexual abuse and eating disorders.  The book provides statistics revealing that there is sufficient evidence to support the theory that many of the sufferers of eating disorders have been sexually abused either in their childhood or as adults.  But, there is contradictory evidence, too, that the book does not shy away from revealing.  Vanderlinden  Vandereycken, two of the contributing authors, note that in a systematic study of 112 consecutive referrals of normal-weight bulimic women, Lacey (1990) found that only eight patients (7) mentioned a history of sexual abuse involving physical contact (Schwartz  Cohn, 18).  However, evidence for a relationship between sexual abuse and eating disorders outweighs evidence for no such relationship (Schwartz  Cohn, 20).
   
The first part of the book, Sexual Abuse and Eating Disorders, is dedicated to women, and the second part is dedicated to children.  False memory and dissociation are also discussed.  Dissociation as a topic is especially relevant to very young victims of sexual abuse.  Cognitive development is a gradual process, and a child may not be in the position to understand let alone explain sexual abuse, which is why countless child sexual abuse incidents go unreported.  But, an eating disorder in a child could be a symptom of sexual abuse for a psychotherapist to understand.  After all, children may develop eating disorders after being sexually abused because eating is often associated with family meals, nurturing, and proof that parents care for children.  Thus, feeding and then abusing the child are incongruent, confusing, and difficult to assimilate and integrate (Schwartz  Cohn, xi).  Van den Broucke  Vandereycken (1997) note that an eating disorder is akin to a scar of a violated body (89).  Despite cognitive underdevelopment, therefore, children are able to convey by means of their eating disorders that they have, in fact, been sexually abused.
   
In grown women, sexual abuse may lead to eating disorders as abused women deliberately leave scars on their bodies to fend off further sexual attacks through unattractiveness (Schwartz  Cohn, xi).  Even so, the fact remains that all women and children do not suffer from eating disorders after being sexually abused.  The book, Sexual Abuse and Eating Disorders, is limited in scope for this reason.  From what I have learned as an intern at the Sexual Assault Center of Family Services, I can be certain that although all victims of sexual abuse require therapeutic support, most of them do not complain of eating disorders.  Then again, I only have experience with the adult and child victims that approached me through the Sexual Assault Center for a limited period of time.  I was answering their crisis hotline for crisis intervention, supportive counseling as well as referrals to psychotherapists.  I also worked with the victims at the hospital with empathetic listening, emotional support, and accompanied victims as they went through medical screening.  I had the opportunity to help the victims make informed choices through the medical process as well.  Furthermore, I supported them through the legal process, including police reporting and court procedures.
   
My experience as a case manager at the Sexual Assault Center teaches me that most victims of sexual abuse are, indeed, women and children, and so Schwartz  Cohn are correct to dedicate entire parts of their book to these victims.  However, the book does not cover all types of psychological problems that sexual abuse may result it, which is why it is more appropriate for an investigator of the effects of sexual abuse to refer to general books on psychological disorders with reference to this form of abuse.  Most of my clients at the Sexual Assault Center seemed to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder rather than eating disorders.  Adopted by the American Psychiatric Association as part of its official diagnostics as recently as 1980, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or post-traumatic stress syndrome is a mental disorder that follows an occurrence of extreme psychological stress (Young, 1995, 3).  None of my clients appeared as though psychotherapy would not help them cope with the stress they suffered by way of sexual abuse.  Even the process of discussing the incidents of sexual abuse appeared difficult for some clients.  There is no doubt in my mind for this reason that cognitive impairments like memory problems or dissociation may follow this form of abuse.  After all, many of my clients were sexually abused by people they were familiar with.  
   
As Schwartz  Cohns book, Sexual Abuse and Eating Disorders, increased my knowledge of sexual abuse, my rewarding internship experience solidified my faith in working in the field of social work.  Still, I believe that a book on sexual abuse and mental disorders in general, instead of eating disorders alone, would have been more relevant in the context of my experience.  Schwartz  Cohns book is especially important for those that are investigating eating disorders rather than sexual abuse.  As a matter of fact, none of my clients reported having approached the Sexual Assault Center because their eating disorders were becoming unmanageable.  Sexual abuse was the focus of my internship experience, which is why Schwartz  Cohns book leaves me longing for further knowledge about psychological problems associated with sexual victimization.  Schwartz  Cohn write,
          When sexual abuse has occurred, the body and sex organs become the enemy in the
          context of the distorted survival strategy of children who must maintain the belief that
          adults are good (safe) and therefore they (the body) must be bad and deserve to be
          punished. (Schwartz  Cohn, xi)

It appears as though sexual abuse manifests itself as eating disorders through a process that psychoanalysts would understand best.  I was not granted permission to sit through psychotherapeutic sessions during my internship at the Sexual Assault Center.  Then again, if I had the opportunity to sit through psychotherapeutic sessions with my clients, I would increase my understanding of various other psychological disorders resulting from sexual abuse to boot, for example, post-traumatic stress syndrome.  Schwartz  Cohens book, Sexual Abuse and Eating Disorders, has led me to consider studying psychotherapy in depth.  Naming psychological problems apart from eating disorders, the book reveals that there is much to be learned about my clients problem and how to help them.
   
After all, I would like all victims of sexual abuse to recover as criminal justice systems are charged with the responsibility to punish the abusers.  As a psychotherapist, I would be the principle overseer of my clients process of recovery.  But even in that case, Schwartz  Cohens book, Sexual Abuse and Eating Disorders, would only provide me with relevant information to work with clients who are suffering from eating disorders as a result of sexual abuse.  In the case of children, however, it would further help to identify the abusers as children may not report incidents of abuse until after a trained psychotherapist has identified sexual abuse as the leading cause of eating disorders before asking the child for more information.  Regardless of whether I pursue psychotherapy as a subject of interest, however, the fact remains that perusing Schwartz  Cohens book is an essential step in the recovery process of victims of sexual abuse  just like a member of the support staff attending the crisis hotline at the Sexual Assault Center.  Neither the book nor a telephone attendant at the Sexual Assault Center makes a significant difference in the recovery process yet we are vital parts of the same.  

My lifes joys are really simple. Mostly, it revolves around my family life of being a sister to my siblings, a loving daughter to my parents, a wife to my loving husband, and above all, a mother to the most precious of gifts that I have been blessed withmy kids.  It comes natural then that I aspire to be the best of what I can become in my profession and my education, to serve as a role model for my kids on the true importance of achieving their lifes dreams through higher education.

Perhaps being an American-Samoan may have played a role in my desire to be in a position where I will be more capable of giving assistance to my family.  After all, my heritage is all about closely-knit family ties where intimacy is common even among relatives of third degrees.  Hence, this makes for the purpose of my endeavor of aspiring to finish my degree in Business Management and reach the apex of what I can achieve in my life.

With this in mind, I have embarked on yet another undertaking in my preparation for providing my family with a better future.  I realize that my present job of being a Management Analyst, although fulfilling, still holds the promise of being promoted to higher positions after I have earned my degree.  Likewise, it will serve as a defining example to my children on how to pursue the goals that they will set upon themselves in the near future.  It will be clear to them, based on what I have chosen to undertake, that setting ones goals is only half the journey, and that the more crucial half comes only after you have actively pursued that dream.        
In essence, I can only consider that I have lived a full and happy life after the realization of these goals.  My earning a degree in Business Management will open career avenues that were once out of reach and that I was able to give my family the best of what I can and most importantly, I have been a good role model to my children.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD is a disorder in which the patient feels compelled to perform an activity such as washing or rubbing in a repetitive manner. These activities serve to reduce the anxiety felt by the patient and when the activity is not done, the patients anxiety increases. The paper describes the research conducted upon OCD and the most commonly used treatment.

It was found that most people with OCD do not know the treatment for OCD. Surprisingly, even health professionals are not fully aware of the treatment for OCD. Researchers have come to the conclusion that CBT has shown the most improvement in patients.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD is a compulsive disorder in which the patient is forced to respond to a particular thought process by doing a particular task again and again in order to reduce their anxiety. It is fairly common in the population and is known to be present among most people to a small degree. But when the disorder moves on to dominate a persons mind completely it takes the form of a disease that has to be treated.

Lewin et al. (2005) pointed out that OCD was most prominent in children and adolescents. OCD for children is usually a means to fill up some other deficiency which could be familial, social or academic. If OCD is not treated in children, they carry it forward to their adulthood (Lewin, Storch, Merlo, Adkins, Murphy, Geffken, 2005).

OCD can be both harmless and harmful. In some people it remains an obsession to do certain things at certain times whereas in other people it turns itself into a disorder. Lewin et al. (2005) explain the term OCD by dissecting it into three parts. Obsession is a thought process which keeps occurring to the patient to do a particular task and when the required task is not done, the anxiety of the patient increases. Compulsion, on the other hand, is the execution of the task again and again to reduce the anxiety (Lewin et al., 2005).

The author here tries to explain the process or the development of OCD. OCD begins as a thought process to complete a particular activity. These activities are usually harmless to begin with washing hands, rubbing or tapping on something. It would probably start sometime in early childhood when a child would feel like tapping on wood. Then the same thought slowly becomes an obsession, it can go in such manner every time the child passes the dining table hisher mind asks him to tap on it. The child would do the harmless activity once and maybe continues doing it in future. Then would come a time when if he or she would not tap on the wood, heshe would start to feel nervous or anxious. In this way, a simple thought can easily turn into an obsession. This was a simple example there could be many different ways in which people could start displaying OCD and following it.

A child displaying OCD would never think about it as though it were a problem. For a childs simple mind it would only be a small game that heshe would be playing. The implication and understanding that it was actually a disorder would only come when the child grew up, but by then the person would be so used to it that not doing the activity would just add to hisher anxiety. Hence, Lewin et al. (2005) stress the fact that OCD should be treated in childhood (Lewin et al., 2005).

Lewin et al (2005) say that Cognitivebehavioral therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy with serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the treatment to use when dealing with pediatric OCD. In a recently conducted trial, it was found that CBT was showing marked improvement in children with OCD. On the other hand, another study has shown that pediatric OCD treatments have not been long-lasting (Lewin et al., 2005). Franklin, Abramowitz, Bux Jr., Zoellner, and Feeny (2002) believe that the treatments that have been suggested till now have had no proper backing from researchers. Without any proof of the superiority of the treatments like CBT etc, psychologists have had to depend on their own logic and belief in treating patients with OCD (Franklin, Abramowitz, Bux Jr., Zoellner, and Feeny, 2002).

This kind of double and conflicting information can only lead to more confusion to the doctors and the patients. The most important part in any disorder is the treatment of the patient, without a provable treatment, the treatment of OCD can become more complicated.

Another major hurdle in the treatment of OCD according to Lewin et al. (2005) is that the numbers of medical health professionals trained in CBT are very less (Lewin et al., 2005). Hence, even though treatment is available and can be used to benefit a number of patients, there has not been proper utilization of the treatment. .

For those children having treatment refractory pediatric OCD Lewin et al (2005) suggest Intensive CBT or I-CBT. The only difference between CBT and I-CBT is that I-CBT is more frequent and lasts longer than CBT. It has proven to be more beneficial to children and adults than CBT (Lewin et al., 2005).

During the I-CBT sessions, Lewin et al. (2005) says the children are first made to answer a test which gauges their level in the OCD. They are then explained what is obsession and compulsion. The children are engaged in activities which increase their anxiety to do the compulsion and then they are asked not to succumb to the activity (Lewin et al., 2005).

The I-CBT sessions tell the children that the compulsive habit that they have acquired is harmful to them. Before coming to the I-CBT sessions, most children would be unaware that they have any problem. For them, as mentioned before, it could be something very unimportant or negligible. Once they know that they have a disorder, they would be more adept at trying to cure themselves. And the fact that it is coming from a health professional usually helps them accept that they have a problem. It is more applicable to adults who might be reluctant to believe that they have a problem. In the session, as has been mentioned before, the children are made to do tasks that would cause them to go into the compulsive activity zone. And then they are asked not to engage in the particular compulsive activity. Once they are able to refrain from doing the compulsive activity the first time, the children would feel more relaxed and realize that they do not always have to finish the compulsion to reduce their anxiety.

For example, let us look at a boy who has to tap any wooden object every time he goes by it. In this case, he would be made to pass a wooden object a number of times through the day to increase his anxiety. The first time he passes by, he will know that he is being watched and has been told not to tap the wood, so he passes by without carrying through his compulsion. Next time he passes by again, it will be easier to fight the compulsion. The more times the child passes by the wood and does not tap it, he will start to feel more confident and more relaxed.

This does not mean that the disorder will be completely cured, there might be times when the child might give in and tap the wood but these will be few as compared to the childs previous history. And at the end of the sessions the participant will be asked to remain in contact via either some other clinic or via the telephone.

Even though a few studies have shown that CBT has been very helpful in treating OCD, there is research being conducted to find better medication. Franklin et al. (2002) conducted a study to determine whether CBT was to be used with any other additional medication or should be used alone. The results showed that there was a very small difference between the two groups only CBT and CBT plus some extra medication. The patients both showed significant progress at the end of the session (Franklin et al., 2002).

These kinds of conflicting data can be very confusing. If the data had shown that either one was more beneficial than the other one then there would have been some kind of conclusion drawn. But here the data seems to suggest that whether more medication is used or not, CBT has a substantial effect on the patients mental health. On the other hand, the data also seems to point out that extra medication has no effect at all on the patients mental health.

Franklin et al. (2002) also add that the study is incomplete as they have not yet received the follow-up data. They still have to see if the people who had showed improvement have lapsed back into OCD (Franklin et al., 2002). An important part of a study is whether the disorder has returned back. The results of the follow-up need to be studied to see if any group is going into relapse.

Almost all studies and researchers have concentrated on the patients and their mental distress. But the family of the patient also suffers just as badly as the patient. They are in a more distressing position of not being able to do anything to help the patients. A number of researchers have also blamed parents and relatives for OCD. Rachman (1976) says that most OCD patients are those whose parents are overcontrolling and critical (cited in Cooper, M., 1996).

Cooper (1996) conducted a survey on relatives of OCD patients. These were the people who were involved or living with an OCD patient. Most of them were depressed and wanted to find a way to deal with the disease. They had all at one time or the other tried some therapy or medication to deal with OCD. Some had found these therapies and medication a little helpful while others had not. The most disturbing behavior of OCD patients as told by the families was the depression that the patient faced. This depression not only caused pain to the patients but also caused anxiety to their families. A large number of OCD patients were unemployed causing an additional burden on their relatives (Cooper, 1996).

Being unemployed due to a disease can be a major irritant for any person. But when a person is already suffering from a disorder and is co-dependent emotionally on hisher relations, not having a job can only serve to increase the stress.

The situation with OCD is found to be stressing not just to the patients but also to the families. The treatment for OCD is also quite unclear. Though some researchers believe that CBT is the best option, others are not so sure. Such kind of conflict of opinions between health professionals can lead to more stress to the OCD patients. And even when the treatment is chosen, there are very few health professionals who are trained in CBT.

OCD is more common than it was a decade before, probably because of more information and understanding on the subject. The treatment of OCD is a much debated topic among health professionals but it is a topic which requires a solution. But right now, the most important thing to be concentrated upon is that health professional need to be trained in the use of CBT. There is an urgent need to give training to health professionals in CBT, so that the maximum number of patients can be treated. The information on the treatment also needs to be made easily available in order to make sure that OCD patients are detected and treated in an early stage.

According to The Merriam Websters Dictionary (2009), attention is defined as the act or state of applying the mind to something. The secondary definition of this term states a condition of readiness for such attention involving especially a selective narrowing or focusing of consciousness and receptivity (Definition of Attention, 2009). In reality this definition is much more complex than the simple wording suggests. Attention involves using ones cognitive skills to focus ones attention, as well as having the required level of motivation to pay attention to specific stimuli to being with. Paying attention is not just look at something, or reading something, it is the ability to process the information we are receiving.

Attention involves several different cognitive tasks including, perceiving the stimuli, focusing on the stimuli, and processing the information that we receive from the stimuli. Without appropriate levels of cognitive skills and perception, one loses the ability to focus ones attention on specific stimuli. Cognitive deficits that create attention difficulties may result in learning difficulties such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and other problems such as acting out in the classroom.

There is no one standardized definition of attention. Attention involves many different cognitive processes, and the use of several different skill sets. Especially, if one is deliberately paying attention to a specific set of stimuli or perceptions such as a classroom lecture, or a movie. It can also include factors such as motivation, learning ability, and information processing.

Attention can be either a deliberate or an involuntary act. According to Johnson, and Proctor (2004), people unconsciously pay attention to a limited amount of stimuli that we encounter each day. This is known as Selective Attention and this is involuntary. However if we are motivated to pay attention to specific stimuli we can focus our attention on that specific stimuli and pay attention to only that stimuli. For example, if you watch a child playing a video game, you will see the child   become deeply so immersed in that game to the point that nothing outside that video will disturb the child. They are choosing to pay attention to only a select set of stimuli intentionally and deliberately rather than involuntarily.

The problem with choosing to pay attention to a specific set of stimuli lies in the fact that the mind perceives so many different stimuli within the course of a single day that it is often difficult to determine which stimuli require ones attention. So all too often attention remains at the involuntary level at best. Paying attention to stimuli in a deliberate manner requires training the mind over the course of time. Children begin learning these skills in their early childhood and they continue developing over time. If someone is poorly trained in voluntarily focusing their attention on specific stimuli than they will have more difficulty paying attention to something than someone who has better training in this area.

According to Willingham (2006), there is a powerful connection between cognition, and attention. Paying attention requires the use of memory, and perception. One must perceive the stimuli one is going to pay attention to, as well as using ones memory and other cognitive skills to process the information or stimuli you are trying to pay attention to. It is rather like the chain link fence if even one link in the chain is broken than the fence will not be as effective at keeping out unwanted stimuli. If a person has cognitive deficits, specifically in the areas of memory or perception they will also have difficulties with their attention span. These cognitive difficulties can range from ADHD to brain damage however they almost inevitably result in difficulty paying attention to one specific set of stimuli while tuning the others out.

The links between cognition and attention have been studies throughout the history of psychology. According to Johnson and Proctor (2004) the first studies on attention began with Wundt in the 1870s and famous psychologists from every area of psychology from Watson, to Bandera have studied attention, and have attempted to develop suitable explanations of what attention is, and how attention works. These studies have provided a wealth of information that seeks to explain how cognition and attention are linked, and the information is too diverse to explain within the course of a three page paper.

As more research is done, the links between cognition and attention will probably become increasingly clearer. This is true, most specifically, because psychology has evolved from performing simple pencil and paper laboratory experiments involving cognition to experiments that use modern technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) to detect which parts of the brain are more active when a person is utilizing the various cognitive processes to pay attention to a specific set of stimuli.

It can be concluded that attention involves several complex cognitive processes. The person needs to perceive the stimuli, be motivated to pay attention to the stimuli, and process the information they receive from the stimuli in order for the process of paying attention to be complete. Attention is a crucial aspect of learning new information, and of utilizing any information that we learn. People can and do deliberately pay attention to specific stimuli deliberately, one example, is that of paying attention to a classroom lecture. Finally, it can be stated that cognition and attention are closely linked which is one reason why cognitive deficits often lead to problems with attention as well.

Recent studies show that the collective rather than the individual is the primary source of intricate meanings in the organizations. The collective becomes the existential focus of differential choices. Indeed, it is often the collective which denotes the conventional idea of sensemaking. The individual becomes an obscure entity of focus. It is the individual which destroys the efficacy of reality it is the engine in which overriding forces like rationality and irrationality converge. Indeed, the individual becomes a theoretical source of pragmatism.

Now, the cutting of the climbing rope that connected two individuals symbolized three essential things. First, it indicates a pragmatic breakdown of the shared symbolisms and goals. Second, it indicates the fragile nature of relationships, as they pertain to roles and goals. And lastly, the rope cannot be destroyed in the categorical sense of the word because it is an intricate part of a larger system. Now suppose the rope is cut, how will individuals make sense of the world

The answer lies in the idea of sensemaking itself. Sensemaking as an ordinary and ongoing process is rooted in identity construction. The cutting of the rope was a crisis associated with identity construction. Through the rope, each climber was responsible for the other, and in turn reliant upon the other for their own safety. If members of a rope team are responsible for each other, but one is forced to cut the rope, the resulting identity construction is potentially confused. Sensemaking, therefore, also becomes confused. However, this is momentarily because the individual is and will always be able to make sense of the world, as though heshe is part and parcel of a growing environment. Meanings, symbolisms, and languages serve to direct the individual into other meaningful experiences, experiences which creates the idea of sensemaking.

The question about what human consciousness is all about has presented itself from the very early stages of its conception. Human consciousness does not admit of an exact definition but it is explained by many people from scientific, religious and philosophical perspectives.

According to the original description of the Yahwist text, human consciousness is composed of the first testimony of an individuals discovery of his or her own body. Man is a  subject not because of his awareness about self but because the structure of his body allows him to make any human activity (Pope John Paul II, 1979). On the other hand, Karl Marx is of the view that consciousness is how humans define themselves. According to him, it is not mens consciousness that determines their existence but rather it is their social existence that determines their consciousness (Rojas, 1977). The science sector called the neuroscience has been attempting to solve the mystery that lies behind the human consciousness but according to their research, the key to what human consciousness is all about still remains hidden for now. Some scientists believe that they can explain the power of the mind by making an analysis of the brain mechanisms. They think that by finding out how the neutrons interact with each other, they can also discover the nature of the human consciousness (Knol, 2009). From a scientific perspective, consciousness is considered as a biological phenomenon and people must think of it as a part of their system.

What is the relationship of consciousness to the brain
The brain does not give consciousness to humans but it plays a role in consciousness in a sense that it is an instrument that transmits and limits the process of consciousness. Brain processes cause consciousness but this consciousness is not just an extra substance, it is rather a higher level feature of the system that is composed of lower level neuronal elements (Searle, 1980).

What does it mean to be human
What it means to be human is a question that elicits plenty of responses. Based on biological evidence, DNA can tell whether or not something is indeed human (Terminally Incoherent, n.d.). From a religious Christian perspective, to be human means to be made in the image and likeness of God (John Hopkins University, n.d.). Others feel that humanity can never be defined by DNA testing because it is a quality that is innate in a person. Human beings mean many things to many people and these definitions are just some of the few perspectives. I am of the opinion that to be human means to think and feel. This is what sets us apart from the rest of the living species in the planet.

According to Vaughn (2009), the first year of a babys life is a very significant stage of development. The infancy stage of development is the shortest stage of all stages that a baby undergoes in the process of development. At this stage, the fetus must first adjust to the life outside its mothers womb. The development during this stage is mainly concerned with increase in control of the babys muscles and development of consciousness. The facial structures and the brain of an infant are the first things to develop followed by the ability to control the facial and head movements. Physical development at infancy starts from head and continues towards the tail. According to Logsdon (2009), the baby also portrays a proximodistal type of development whereby development starts from the central part of the body and continues outwards. Smaller muscles of the body also develop at this phase.

The development of the fine muscles allows the baby to perform easy movements with the hands and the feet. The muscles of the babys fingers develop and the baby can grasp objects. The baby portrays considerable bodily plays which indicate development of motor capability. Babies also develop ability to control the larger muscles of their body such as the legs, hands, and other body muscles. The neck muscles build up and the baby can turn his head from side to side (Logsdon, 2009). Various body senses also develop at this phase. By the end of about a month, the baby develops the sense of taste and smell. His eyes also start to focus although he can only see objects which are very close. The baby also starts responding to noise in his surroundings and tracks them with his eyes as he turns his head. The baby also recognizes her mothers voice from familiar voices. By the end of the third month, he can recognize various human faces. At about the eighth month, the baby develops the ability to distinguish emotional expressions. The baby first learns that crying is her way of communication. The baby also starts making sounds as a way of learning how to control his voice. This is usually accompanied by facial expressions and tongue movements. The baby starts moving every object heshe grasps into the mouth. This greatly helps in building up muscle harmonization that will be useful later in speech development (Vaughn, 2009).

Cognitive development is composed of mental activities such as learning, memory, reasoning, and symbolization. According to Piaget, infants are born without mental framework. Piaget claims that mental framework of an infant develops later as a result of the environment the baby is encountering. Piaget argued that infants do not have perception of self or things and they simply experience a wash of feelings (Huitt  Hummel, 2003). They only have elementary schemas for interacting with the rest of the world. That is to mean that they will only hold things that are placed on their hands, move their eyes to trace moving objects and suck things placed on their mouth as an assimilation schema. If the infant wants to modify the sucking schema generated by sucking on a pacifier, then that would be referred to as an accommodation schema (Huitt  Hummel, 2003).

Later on, the infant develops a more advanced perception of the intricate world. As a result, a more comprehensive and conceptual sense of the world and the place of the infant in that world develops within the infant. At the end of infancy, the baby will have developed a primitive understanding of things and actions as separately existing in time and space. For Piaget, the end result of infancy is the development of figurative capacity which allows the baby to realize the existence of an object even when the object has been removed. Piaget helps us to identify the four stages of cognitive development. These include sensory motor or the infancy stage which has got six sub stages. Intelligence is demonstrated through the use of motor activity while perception of the world is limited but developing. According to Huitt  Hummel (2003), there is increased physical development which allows the babys intellectual ability to begin developing. The second stage is the preoperational stage in which intelligence is demonstrated through the use of signs. Memory and imagination are developed as use of language matures. The third stage is the concrete operational stage whereby intellectual capacity is demonstrated through reasonable and organized manipulation of symbols related to tangible objects. The last stage is the formal operational stage in which the intelligence is portrayed through rational use of symbols related to theoretical ideas (Huitt  Hummel, 2003).

Oswalt (2007), states that infants begin to develop trust for others when they start recognizing the work done for them by their caretakers. Infants start crying to express feelings of hunger, pain, and anger. Creation of attachments with the caregivers is the most important aspect in the development of a healthy social life during infancy. The baby reflexes such as crying during infancy helps in drawing the attention of caregivers. During the pre-attachment phase, the babies are not yet emotionally involved to any one caregiver and will accept even the care provided by strangers. Babies however have an exceptional way of recognizing their mothers voice and smell from delivery. Babies may smile in response to voices and touch at about the age of two months. Increased interactions with their caregivers help to increase their psychological, expressive and social development (Oswalt, 2007).

With time, babies start acting differently to strangers in relation to their primary caregivers. At the age of about eight months, babies make gestures that are aimed at encouraging their care givers to increase their relation to them. At this age, babies have developed a solid attachment to their primary care givers and any form of separation creates unnecessary anxiety which may include crying for example when the father leaves. Babies start enjoying participation in certain social ritual practices like biding someone goodbye or saying hello. Babies also watch how their caregivers react to definite rituals like a hug or a tap on the door. By the second year, babies learn how to negotiate with their caretakers to meet their needs. Environmental and other individual factors can hinder social and expressive development. A very good example is the identification of the symptoms persistent developmental disorders such as autism. These children experience problems even in relating to other children. They are also not able to interpret the emotional expressions of other people. The other environmental factor that can affect the emotional development of a child is the withdrawal of consistent love and affection (Oswalt, 2007).