Human Development Test 1 Study Guide

Distinguish age-graded, history-graded, and nonnormative influences on lifespan development. Give an example of each

Age Graded Influences are events that are strongly related to age and therefore fairly predictable in when they occur and how long they last. Ex: Most individuals walk shortly after their first birthday. Nonnormative Influences are events that are irregular and only happen to a few people. For example piano lessons while young with an inspiring teacher. History Graded Influences are affected by forces unique to a particular historical era. For example a war or an epidemic during a certain time frame

Amy, two months pregnant, wonders how the embryo is being fed and what parts of the body have formed. "I don't look pregnant yet, so does that mean not much development has taken place?" she asks. How would you respond to Amy?

Although the child appears small it is developing. During the first month the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm develop, and in the second month the body further continues to form but the embryo remains small which is normal. The child is fed through the placenta which provides navigation for food and oxygen to the child and pushes negative things away.

Anna, a high school counselor devised a program that integrates classroom learning with vocational training to help adolescents at risk for school dropout stay in school and transition to work life. What is Anna's position on stability versus plasticity in development? Explain

Anna would be an advocate of plasticity as she believes even if the people she teaches are a step behind and subject to increased difficulties in school, through her influence these at risk students can change positively. She believes they have the ability to be influenced and adapt to adversity and get through the issues they face

How does emotional self regulation affect the development of empathy and sympathy? Why are these emotional capacities vital for positive peer relations?

As with emotional self regulation children will reflect how their parents act being more empathetic and sympathetic is their parents are. They will also be more temperamental if that is how their parents act. The ability to have empathy and sympathy will allow children to better connect and understand those around them

Explain how findings on ethnic and gender differences in temperament illustrate gene-environment correlation

Ethnic differences are reflected in passive or evocative correlation as parental styles will be reflected through a child's passivity or lack there of, for example Asian parents are said to be more passive. Gender differences play a role in active correlation and niche picking as boys are generally taught to be more physically active and girls are not

Mandy and Jeff are parents of 2 year old inhibited Sam and 3 year old difficult Maria. Explain the importance of effortful control to Mandy and Jeff, and suggest ways they can strengthen it in each of their children

For both effortful control is essential as the parents must remain even keel and calm as well as adaptive rather than temperamental. For Sam I would encourage them to be warm and supportive to foster development. Also to push their children out of their comfort zone appropriately. The must make sure to also be aware of the inhibited temperament and tailor their parenting accordingly. For Maria I would make sure to be more sensitive especially while the child is very young. Also to make sure to instill good social values in the child. Lastly I would say to not self blame as that can lead to a cycle of negativity that will be felt by the child

Cecelia and Anna each gave birth to a 3-pound baby seven weeks preterm. Cecelia is single and on welfare. Anna and her partner are happily married and earn a good income. Plan an intervention appropriate for helping each baby develop

For the wealthier family I would recommend an intensive care nursery that uses many technologies in order to foster development. For the poor family who likely would not be able to afford an expensive daycare I would recommend Kangaroo care as body to body contact can be essential to a preterm babies development.

Bianca's parents are accomplished musicians. At age 4, Bianca began taking piano lessons. By age 10, she was accompanying the school choir. At age 14, she asked to attend a special music high school. Explain how gene-environment correlation promoted Bianca's talent.

Gene Environment Correlation promoted Bianca's talent in that her genetic makeup lead to increased responsiveness to a musical stimulation and subsequent success in music

How are experiences that best support preschoolers' gross motor development consistent with experience expectant brain growth of the early years?

Gross motor development and experience expectant brain growth are similar in that they are both steady processes that expand as the child grows older simply through the normal experiences a child is exposed to

Three year old Ben lives in this country, with no other preschoolers nearby. His parents wonder whether it is worth driving Ben into town once a week to participate in a peer play group. What advice would you give Ben's parents, and why?

I would tell them that they should take him to the peer play group in that it is extremely important towards social ability, if the child is always isolated social growth will be stagnant but by being around peers social skills can grow.

Which learning capacities contribute to an infant's first social relationships? Explain/Provide Examples

Imitation is important in an infant's first social relationships as an infant is able to communicate through mirroring facial expressions and head movement. Operant conditioning is also important for example a baby learning to smile back if the parent smiles once the two make eye contact. Motor skills are also important as a child will learn whether or not something is okay or not through parents reactions to their actions

Using one example, explain why intermodal perception is vital for infants' developing understanding of their physical and social worlds

Intermodal perception allows infants to notice meaningful correlations and for greater understanding of communication and emotion. For example socially a child can view a persons facial expressions and hear the words they say and begin to associate meaning. Also in the physical world they can touch and see something and form an understanding for what an object is and realize what it feels like from just seeing it

Explain how children's strategies for word learning support the interactionist perspective on language development

Learning for both word learning and the interactionist perspective on language development is based upon social interaction as well as analysis. Learning language correlates with Interactionist as both cognition and social abilities have strong influence on learning new words so communication and socializing or interaction is essential to development

Lena wonders why her 4 year old son Gregor's teacher provides extensive playtime in learning centers during each preschool day. Explain to Lena how adult-supported play can promote literacy and math skills essential for academic success

Math can often be interwoven into many activities to make early learning productive and enjoyable for example counting blocks as well as language and interactive reading. These games will help cognitive skill and promote development by improving language and literary skills.

Referring to ecological systems theory, explain why parents of children with genetic disorders often experience increased stress. What factors, within and beyond the family, can help these parents support their children's development?

Often these disorders lead to a much greater task of managing the child. Children with genetic disorders may face cognitive and social difficulties. Parents can handle this with exosystem and macrosystem support including affordable child care, as well as work settings that accommodate the parents. Attention to their own well being will help them to be less stressed and handle the adversity their children may be subject to.

Imagine that you must counsel a couple considering in vitro fertilization using donor ova to overcome infertility. What is one medical and one ethical risk you would raise?

One ethical question I would raise is if they do have a healthy child the child may not be able to understand and have a healthy relationship with their parents due to the manner in which they were conceived. Also medically I would raise the risk of miscarriage as well as unhealthy children which is much more common using in vitro fertilization.

Links between family and community foster development throughout the lifespan. Provide one example of this linkage that affects development

One example of linkage within the community is attending mass at the same church. By repetitively attending the same mass positive associations can be raised as well as immerse the child and their family into the community and feel part of a larger group around them.

Which infant enrichment program would you choose: one that emphasizes gentle talking and touching and social games, or one that includes reading and number drills and classical music lessons? Explain

Option 1 because brain growth depends on ordinary, stimulating experiences. Too much emphasis on training can lead to interference with access to everyday experiences and brain growth.

Select two of the following feautures of peoperational thought: Egocentrism and hierarchal classification

Piaget could be proven wrong in his thoughts on egocentricism. Preschoolers are able to react and adapt to others for example types of emotional regulation show a preschoolers awareness and longing to please and be viewed positively. Also with a hierarchal classification it is shown that preschooler can in fact distinguish and put things into classes. For example a preschooler can distinguish between inanimate and animate object and classify each

Eight Month Old Shaun is well below average in height and painfully thin. What serious growth disorder does he likely have, and what type of intervention, in addition to dietary enrichment with help restore development?

Shaun is likely dealing with marasmus a wasted condition of the baby caused by a diet low in essential nutrients. In addition to a more nutritional diet it is important that cognitive support and care is emphasized in Shaun's life to further development

Nora, pregnant for the first time, believes that a few cigarettes and a glass of wine a day won't be harmful. Provide Nora with research based reasons for not smoking or drinking.

Smoking even at a minimum can lead to low weight, death, and many cognitive issues throughout the child's life. Small amounts of alcohol can lead to reduced head size, slow body growth, behavior problems and many other disorders

How do the diverse capacities of newborn babies contribute to their first social relationships?

States of arousal have a strong effect on cognitive development as alert children receive more opportunities and social stimulation. Babies with strong sleep organization are able to learn easier and interact with caregivers more effectively. Crying also helps children in initial interaction with parents as they are able to make parents aware if they need something. Sensory abilities allow children to understand and communicate more easily the emotions of somebody by seeing and hearing what they say

After several weeks of crawling, Ben learned to avoid going headfirst over a drop-off. Now he has started to walk. Can his parents trust him not to step over a risky drop off? Explain, using the concept of Affordances

The concept of affordances states that babies must learn to fall in different positions and they will not understand the risk of falling in all positions due to falling in one. They must in fact fall in each to learn the risk in each.

At age 14 months, Reggie built a block tower and gleefully knocked it down. At age 2, he called to his mother and pointed proudly to his tall block tower. What explains this change in Reggie's emotional behavior?

The first time he likely knocked the blocks down as he thought it was fun and probably did not understand the reaction he got but by 2 years Reggie is well aware of what causes positive reactions and begins to actively seek them out. The child is developing both self-conscious emotions and emotional self regulation now having greater control of his emotions and seeking out positive stimuli

Using what you learned about brain development in Chapter 4, explain why it is best to initiate intervention for poverty stricken children in the first two years rather than later

The reason intervention should begin as soon as possible is the earlier it starts the longer it will last and the greater scope and intensity will lead to better results in academics and cognition

Nine Month Old Brian has a toy with large, colored push buttons on it. Each time he pushes a button, he hears a nursery tune. Which learning capacity is the manufacturer of this toy taking advantage of? What can Brian's play with the toy reveal about his perception of sound patterns?

The toy is taking advantage of intermodal perception as the child is using multiple senses as he plays with the toy and begins to be able to coordinate them together. Brian's play reveals early understanding and preferences for different more pleasing sounds.

Explain how Piaget and Vygotsky theories complement each other. How would classroom practices inspired by these theories be similar? How would they differ?

The two theories of Vygotsky and Piaget would compliment each other by emphasizing both learning in isolation as well as learning with several social factors. They would likely be similar in practice in that both would use groups in some manner. They would also seek to push a child slightly further then they believe they can go with Piaget's Equilibration as well as Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. They would differ in that the groups they use would have different makeups Piaget would put similar students into groups and Vygotsky would mix different skill levels. Another way they would likely differ is in their beliefs that development drives learning Piaget and that learning drives development Vygotsky

Alice and Wayne want their two children to become morally mature, caring individuals. What should and shouldnt they do to make that happen?

They should introduce them to positive morals that tehy themselves use, they should also use empathy based guilt to make them accountable for what theyve done, and to maintain a mild temperament to show calmness and avoid being negative. They should avoid being physical in disciplining their children, avoid being inconsistent in their actions, and they should avoid trying to be overly forceful and understand they must adapt to the child and nurture them accordingly

Explain how either too little or too much stimulation can impair cognitive and emotional development in the early years.

Too little stimulation can lead to falling behind in cognitive development, although work can be done to catch up they will still remain largely behind as the early years are so essential and the size of the cerebral cortex can actually decrease. Too much stimulation can lead to withdrawal and threaten interest if they are forced to learn things too early.

When Timmy was 18 months old, his mother stood behind him, helping him throw a large ball into a box. As his skill improved, she stepped back, letting him try on his own. Using Vygotsky's ideas, explain how Timmy's mother is supporting his cognitive development.

With Vygotsky's Zone of proximal development the mother can choose something a child is capable of with assistance and by working with them the child is able to do it. Each attempt the mother will lessen her influence until the child can do it on its own furthering development that a child could not have done without intervention