Читать книгу Lifespan Development - Tara L. Kuther - Страница 228

1 In your view, what are the most important considerations in making a decision about whether to circumcise a newborn boy?

2 Imagine that you had a newborn boy. Would you choose to circumcise your son? Why or why not?

Infants show innate preferences for some tastes (Ross, 2017). For example, both bottle-fed and breastfed newborns prefer human milk—even milk from strangers—to formula (Marlier & Schaal, 2005). Newborns prefer sugar to other substances, and a small dose of sugar can serve as an anesthetic, distracting newborns from pain (Gradin, Eriksson, Schollin, Holmqvist, & Holstein, 2002). Experience can modify taste preferences, beginning before birth: Fetuses are exposed to flavors in amniotic fluid that influence their preferences after birth (Beauchamp & Mennella, 2011; Forestell, 2016). In one study, the type of formula fed to infants influenced their taste preferences at 4 to 5 years of age (Mennella & Beauchamp, 2002). Infants who were fed milk-based formulas and protein-based formulas were more likely to prefer sour flavors at 4 to 5 years of age compared with infants who were fed soy-based formulas, who, in turn, were more likely to prefer bitter flavors.