![]() ![]() It was surprising how slowly he acquired the power of following with his eyes an object if swinging at all rapidly for he could not do this well when seven and a half months old. ![]() With respect to vision, – his eyes were fixed on a candle as early as the 9th day, and up to the 45th day nothing else seemed thus to fix them but on the 49th day his attention was attracted by a bright-coloured tassel, as was shown by his eyes becoming fixed and the movements of his arms ceasing. Although so sensitive to sound in a general way, he was not able even when 124 days old easily to recognise whence a sound proceeded, so as to direct his eyes to the source. We may infer from these several facts that the winking of the eyes, which manifestly serves to protect them, had not been acquired through experience. A few days before this same date, he first started at an object suddenly seen but for a long time afterwards sounds made him start and wink his eyes much more frequently than did sight thus when 114 days old, I shook a paste-board box with comfits in it near his face and he started, whilst the same box when empty or any other object shaken as near or much nearer to his face produced no effect. Once, when he was 66 days old, I happened to sneeze, and he started violently, frowned, looked frightened, and cried rather badly: for an hour afterwards he was in a state which would be called nervous in an older person, for every slight noise made him start. The same fact was observed with some of my other infants within the first fortnight. During the first fortnight he often started on hearing any sudden sound, and blinked his eyes. This must be considered as a reflex or an instinctive action, for it is impossible to believe that experience and association with the touch of his mother’s breast could so soon have come into play. ![]() At this time, though so early, it seemed clear to me that a warm soft hand applied to his face excited a wish to suck. The perfection of these reflex movements shows that the extreme imperfection of the voluntary ones is not due to the state of the muscles or of the coordinating centres, but to that of the seat of the will. On the seventh day, I touched the naked sole of his foot with a bit of paper, and he jerked it away, curling at the same time his toes, like a much older child when tickled. I feel sure, from what I have seen with my own infants, that the period of development of the several faculties will be found to differ considerably in different infants.ĭuring the first seven days various reflex actions, namely sneezing, hickuping, yawning, stretching, and of course sucking and screaming, were well performed by my infant. ![]() Taine, and with others which hereafter no doubt will be made. My chief object was expression, and my notes were used in my book on this subject but as I attended to some other points, my observations may possibly possess some little interest in comparison with those by M. I had excellent opportunities for close observation, and wrote down at once whatever was observed. 252), has led me to look over a diary which I kept thirty-seven years ago with respect to one of my own infants. Taine’s very interesting account of the mental development of an infant, translated in the last number of MIND (p. ![]()
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