AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -For example, your baby is born with a rooting reflex that prompts him to turn his head toward your hand if you stroke his cheek or mouth. This helps him find the nipple at feeding time. At first, he’ll root from side to side, turning his head toward the nipple and then away in decreasing arcs.

Detailed explanation-2: -The rooting reflex in babies is a basic survival instinct. This reflex helps your baby find and latch onto a bottle or your breast to begin feeding. When you gently stroke the corner of your baby’s mouth with your nipple, they should instinctively turn their head toward it to nurse.

Detailed explanation-3: -The rooting reflex is one of the involuntary primitive motor reflexes, which are also known as the frontal release reflexes, that are mediated by the brainstem. It initiates when the corner of an infant’s mouth is stimulated.

Detailed explanation-4: -The rooting reflex is an innate response of the head due to the stimulation of the face, mouth, or cheek by touching/stroking (the head is turned towards the side of the stimulus). It is a brainstem mediated primitive motor reflex also called the frontal release reflex.