RT Book, Section
A1 Sandler, Adrian D.
A2 Rudolph, Colin D.
A2 Rudolph, Abraham M.
A2 Lister, George E.
A2 First, Lewis R.
A2 Gershon, Anne A.
SR Print(0)
ID 6738566
T1 Chapter 89. Repetitive Behaviors
T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 22e
YR 2011
FD 2011
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-149723-7
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=6738566
RD 2024/09/14
AB Parents  often  raise  concerns  about  rhythmic  and  repetitive  behaviors  such  as  rocking,  head  banging,  and  thumb  sucking.  Some  are  common;  others  are  unusual  and  idiosyncratic.  The  high  prevalence  and  heterogeneity  of  repetitive  behaviors  raise  questions  about  the  origins  and  biological  significance  of  these  common  pediatric  concerns.  Learning  theorists  contend  that  rhythmic  movements  begin  as  normal  behaviors  that  are  reinforced  over  time.  If  these  activities  are  pleasurable  or  tension  relieving,  they  tend  to  be  repeated.  However,  prenatal  ultrasounds  show  the  human  fetus  sucking  its  thumb  by  the  28th  week  of  gestation,  suggesting  that  some  complex  repetitive  movements  represent  genetically  coded,  species-specific  behavior.  Observations  of  picking  and  grooming  behaviors  among  primates  suggest  that  hair  twisting  and  pulling  may  originate  from  social  behavior  of  our  human  ancestors.