PSYC 3316 - 3

What does Kuhl mean when she describes babies as "citizens of the world"?

Relevant quote from TED talk: Well, babies all over the world are what I like to describe as "citizens of the world." They can discriminate all the sounds of all languages, no matter what country we're testing and what language we're using, and that's remarkable because you and I can't do that. We're culture-bound listeners. We can discriminate the sounds of our own language, but not those of foreign languages.

Why do you think the findings about how babies raised with English can learn about sounds in Mandarin are so important in understanding early language development?

Relevant quote from TED talk: What it demonstrated is that babies take statistics on a new language. Whatever you put in front of them, they'll take statistics on.

What does Kuhl describe as the first critical period in development?

Relevant quote from TED talk: Work in my lab is focused on the first critical period in development, and that is the period in which babies try to master which sounds are used in their language.

All of the following points support nativist views about language acquisition except a. children learn the language that is spoken around them b. rate of acquisition varies across children, but there is a similar order for the acquisition of grammar c. children are able to apply rules of grammar to words they have never heard before d. deaf children reared without exposure to formal sign language invent their own rule-governed gestural systems of communication

a. children learn the language that is spoken around them

Based on the findings of the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, if expectant parents considering participating in Early Head Start were given a choice of services, they and their children would benefit most if they a. combined center-based care with home visits b. chose home visits only c. selected center-based care only d. chose the most convenient option, since no differences were found among the different types of service formats

a. combined center-based care with home visits

Which pattern of caregiving is most typical in middle-class North America and Europe families? a. proximal b. distal c. ethnocentric d. bidirectional

b. distal

In recent studies, it was found that the greatest proportion of nonparental care for children younger than age 5 was provided by a. fathers b. grandparents c. nonrelatives d. neighbours

b. grandparents

If Henry is a normally developing 9-month-old, he most likely a. has already produced his first recognizable word b. spends a lot of his time awake babbling meaningless sequences such as bababa and mamama c. is still only cooing and vocalizing randomly and infrequently d. has not reached the stage of gestural communication

b. spends a lot of his time awake babbling meaningless sequences such as bababa and mamama

If a mother, standing at the "deep" end of the visual cliff, displays a fearful facial expression for her 12-month-old infant at the "shallow" end of the apparatus, her child most likely will a. crawl across to see what is scaring her b. stay on the shallow end c. turn around and crawl backwards across the apparatus d. stand up and walk across the cliff in order to reach her more quickly

b. stay on the shallow end

All of the following are considered reliable indicators of child care quality except a. the caregiver-to-child ratio b. the education of the caregivers c. stimulating and nurturing interactions between children and caregivers d. cost

d. cost

What ages encompass the critical period for language learning, according to graph presented by Kuhl?

0-7 years is when we are optimally ready to learn language/s

In which cortical areas was the association between income and surface area strongest?

In which cortical areas was the association between income and surface area strongest? Relevant quote from TED talk: Now, here, every point you see in color is a point where higher family income was associated with a larger cortical surface area in that spot. And there were some regions, shown here in yellow, where that association was particularly pronounced. And those are regions that we know support a certain set of cognitive skills: language skills like vocabulary and reading as well as the ability to avoid distraction and exert self-control. And that's important, because those are the very skills that children living in poverty are most likely to struggle with. In fact, a child living with poverty is likely to perform worse on tests of language and impulse control before they even turn two.

In which families was the association between income and cortical surface area strongest?

In which families was the association between income and cortical surface area strongest? Relevant quote from TED talk: Now, there are a few points I'd like to highlight about this study. Number one: this link between family income and children's brain structure was strongest at the lowest income levels. So that means that dollar for dollar, relatively small differences in family income were associated with proportionately greater differences in brain structure among the most disadvantaged families. And intuitively, that makes sense, right? An extra 20,000 dollars for a family earning, say, 150,000 dollars a year would certainly be nice, but probably not game-changing, whereas an extra 20,000 dollars for a family only earning 20,000 dollars a year would likely make a remarkable difference in their day-to-day lives.

What are some factors that Noble cites that could explain these findings about income and brain development?

What are some factors that Noble cites that could explain these findings about income and brain development? Relevant quote from TED talk: So what about taking a step back and focusing on trying to change children's experiences? What particular experiences are associated with growing up in poverty and might be able to be targeted to promote brain development and learning outcomes for kids? Of course, there are many, right? Nutrition, access to health care, exposure to second-hand smoke or lead, experience of stress or discrimination, to name a few. In my laboratory, we're particularly focused on a few types of experiences that we believe may be able to be targeted to promote children's brain development and ultimately improve their learning outcomes.

What are the key features of the randomized study that Noble summarizes at the end of her talk? What do you think the results will be and why? What ethical issues can you see in this research?

What are the key features of the randomized study that Noble summarizes at the end of her talk? What do you think the results will be and why? What ethical issues can you see in this research? Relevant quote from TED talk: Now, the ambition of the study is large, but the premise is actually quite simple. In May of 2018, we began recruiting 1,000 mothers living below the federal poverty line shortly after they gave birth in a number of American hospitals. Upon enrolling in our study, all mothers receive an unconditional monthly cash gift for the first 40 months of their children's lives, and they're free to use this money however they like. But importantly, mothers are being randomized, so some mothers are randomized to receive a nominal monthly cash gift and others are randomized to receive several hundred dollars each month, an amount that we believe is large enough to make a difference in their day-to-day lives, in most cases increasing their monthly income by 20 to 25 percent. So in this way, we're hoping to finally move past questions of how poverty is correlated with child development and actually be able to test whether reducing poverty causes changes in children's cognitive, emotional and brain development in the first three years of life -- the very time when we believe the developing brain may be most malleable to experience.

What findings does she summarize in relation to the "home language environment". How well do these fit with what you learned about infant language development earlier in the course?

What findings does she summarize in relation to the "home language environment". How well do these fit with what you learned about infant language development earlier in the course? Relevant quote from TED talk: As one example, take something I'll call the home language environment, by which I mean, we know that the number of words kids hear and the number of conversations they're engaged in every day can vary tremendously. By some estimates, kids from more advantaged backgrounds hear an average of 30 million more spoken words in the first few years of life compared to kids from less advantaged backgrounds. Now, in our work, we're finding that kids who experience more back-and-forth, responsive conversational turns tend to have a larger brain surface in parts of the brain that we know are responsible for language and reading skills. And in fact, the number of conversations they hear seems to matter a little bit more than the sheer number of words they hear. So one tantalizing possibility is that we should be teaching parents not just to talk a lot, but to actually have more conversations with their children. In this way, it's possible that we'll promote brain development and perhaps their kids' language and reading skills. And in fact, a number of scientists are testing that exciting possibility right now.

What were the key findings about the variability from one child to the next?

What were the key findings about the variability from one child to the next? Relevant quote from TED talk: nd the final point -- and this one's key -- there was tremendous variability from one child to the next, by which I mean there were plenty of children from higher-income homes with smaller brain surfaces and plenty of children from lower-income homes with larger brain surfaces. Here's an analogy. We all know that in childhood, boys tend to be taller than girls, but go into any elementary school classroom, and you'll find some girls who are taller than some boys. So while growing up in poverty is certainly a risk factor for a smaller brain surface, in no way can I know an individual child's family income and know with any accuracy what that particular child's brain would look like.

According to widely used criteria for child care quality, which of the following caregiver-to-child ratios would be best for infants under 12 months? a. 1:4 b. 1:6 c. 1:8 d. 1:10

a. 1:4

Compared with children in higher income families, children living in poverty a. are more likely to attend lower quality child care programs b. have equal access to computers and books c. are exposed to less family instability d. have more opportunities to benefit from parent education programs

a. are more likely to attend lower quality child care programs

Studies of self-evaluation show that a. at 2 and 3 years of age, children increasingly respond to and look for evaluative feedback about their actions b. as the sense of self develops, children are less likely to look to parents and other adults for evaluative feedback about their actions c. children become increasingly likely to use words rather than nonverbal (whole-body) ways of communicating self-evaluative feelings such as pride and embarrassment d. children show negative self-evaluative emotions earlier than they show positive self-evaluative emotions

a. at 2 and 3 years of age, children increasingly respond to and look for evaluative feedback about their actions

All of the following statements about maternal depression are accurate except a. the effects of maternal depression on infants and their development are positive if the depression lasts less than 9 months b. infants who experience maternal depression show negative, "depressed" behavior themselves, even when interacting with nondepressed adults c. without intervention and treatment, depression-related disturbances in early infant-mother interactions are associated with poor cognitive outcomes at 18 months d. infants of depressed mothers who are cared for by a nondepressed parent or caregiver are more likely to be able to engage in positive interactions

a. the effects of maternal depression on infants and their development are positive if the depression lasts less than 9 months

Dyadic synchrony serves all of the following functions except a. to support the development of infants' independence b. to provide opportunities for infants to experience and process multisensory input c. to help develop infants' capacity for self-regulation d. to help infants experience effectance

a. to support the development of infants' independence

Compared with peer relationships, sibling relationships a. involve fewer conflicts b. are usually more emotional, in both positive and negative ways c. tend to be physically more distant d. involve more cooperation and flexibility

b. are usually more emotional, in both positive and negative ways

Four-month-old Marco is participating in a study of his response to a variety of novel stimuli. When his mother brings him to the laboratory, he is presented with mobiles, novel toys, the sound of an unfamiliar woman's voice, and a strong-smelling substance. According to the researchers, he is a "high reactive" infant. When Marco returns for the next phases of the longitudinal study at 14 and 21 months and is presented with a person wearing a gas mask, a blood pressure cuff, and other unusual situations, he will most likely a. be classified as "average"—a classic example of regression to the mean b. be classified as "high reactive" again c. have little or no reaction, making it impossible for the researchers to classify him d. be classified as 'low reactive"

b. be classified as "high reactive" again

Jade helps clean up toys without having to be prompted or reminded, and she claps her hands and says, "All done!" when the task is complete. Researchers would probably say that Jade is exhibiting a. situational compliance b. committed compliance c. signs of conscience d. emotion regulation

b. committed compliance

According to a classic study by Thomas and Chess, ratings on the major dimensions of temperament elicit three major classifications a. inhibited, uninhibited, and neutral b. easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up c. wired, mellow, and average d. irritable, placid, and average

b. easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up

Clarence, a "difficult" baby, often wakes during the night and is more easily upset than most infants his age. Studies of attachment suggest that Clarence a. will most likely become insecurely attached to his mother b. may become securely attached to his mother if she is able to be flexible and learn how to adapt her behavior to Clarence's needs c. will become securely attached if his mother follows a set schedule and does not "give in" when Clarence fusses d. will become securely attached once he grows out of his "difficult" stage

b. may become securely attached to his mother if she is able to be flexible and learn how to adapt her behavior to Clarence's needs

The capacity to adapt, function, or develop in a healthy way, despite significant risk, is known as a. mitigation b. resilience c. immunity d. asset-based development

b. resilience

All of the following statements about attachment are supported by research except a. securely attached infants use the caregiver as an effective source of comfort when the infant is distressed b. securely attached infants hug their caregivers, whereas insecurely attached infants rarely make physical contact with their caregivers c. infants with insecure-resistant attachment resist making contact or even show anger and distress when the caregiver returns d. insecure-avoidant infants may behave as they do because their caregivers have been overstimulating or intrusive during their interactions

b. securely attached infants hug their caregivers, whereas insecurely attached infants rarely make physical contact with their caregivers

Longitudinal studies of infant-caregiver attachment a. tend to contradict the findings of cross-sectional studies b. show that infants who are securely attached receive higher ratings in childhood and adolescence on measures of social skills c. indicate that a history of disorganized/disoriented attachment is not a risk factor for developing psychopathology d. infant attachment classifications rarely change, even when life circumstances and the caregiving environment change

b. show that infants who are securely attached receive higher ratings in childhood and adolescence on measures of social skills

In the phenomenon of ___, infants respond to emotional cues from parents and other adults, particularly in situations that are ambiguous or unfamiliar, in order to gather information about how to behave and feel in those situations. a. the still face b. social referencing c. self-evaluation d. mutual responsiveness

b. social referencing

All of the following statements about early language delays are accurate except a. there is compelling evidence of a genetic contribution b. they are a reliable indicator of the form of autism known as Asperger's Syndrome c. the majority of 2-year-olds with language delay have normal language abilities by the age of 3 or 4 years d. nearly all children who have language impairments in later years had some sort of prior language delay

b. they are a reliable indicator of the form of autism known as Asperger's Syndrome

The classic "wug test" was developed to determine whether young children are able to a. imitate a nonsense word b. use rules of grammar to modify nonsense words c. suggest real words that rhyme with nonsense words d. avoid overextending words in nonsensical contexts

b. use rules of grammar to modify nonsense words

Which new mother is least likely to take a paid maternity leave? a. Celeste, a college graduate whose baby was born in 1990 b. Carmen, whose baby was born in 1986 c. Jody, who did not finish high school and whose baby was born in 1990 d. Angela, an attorney whose baby was born in 1994

c. Jody, who did not finish high school and whose baby was born in 1990

Helena, a textbook author reviewing previous studies, finds that researchers using brain imaging techniques to study autism have found evidence for all of the following except a. the brains of children with autism process social stimuli differently than the brains of comparison children without autism b. brain activity in children without autism changes in response to certain characteristics of speech samples, but brain activity in children with autism does not change in response to the same samples c. deficits in theory of mind are the underlying cause of autism d. children with autism show a preference for nonspeech signals rather than speech samples—the opposite of the pattern that is usually found in children without autism

c. deficits in theory of mind are the underlying cause of autism

Josie and Jasmine attend the same child care center and are in the same classroom. Given that they are friends, they are likely to engage in all of the following activities except a. smiling and laughing together while looking at each other b. choosing the same activities during free play time c. frequent episodes of conflict about which games to play when they go outside d. excluding other children from their conversations and activities

c. frequent episodes of conflict about which games to play when they go outside

All of the following are evidence that 2-year-old Simon has begun to develop a conscience except a. he is aware of the rules in his child care setting and states them when other children misbehave (e.g., "we don't bite our friends") b. he tries to clean up juice after he spills it c. he makes little effort to fix a toy after he has broken it d. he shows emotional distress when he is told that he has violated a rule about sharing toys in his child care setting

c. he makes little effort to fix a toy after he has broken it

Primary emotions are a. a set of emotions that appear toward the end of the first year of life b. envy, shame, pride, and guilt c. relatively easy for most adults to notice and interpret correctly d. have no apparent survival value

c. relatively easy for most adults to notice and interpret correctly

Out of the following groups, the highest rate of disorganized/disoriented attachment has been found in a. middle-class samples b. lower income samples c. samples in which child has been physically abused or neglected d. samples in which the mother is an adolescent

c. samples in which child has been physically abused or neglected

Miranda is looking for quality childcare for her twins when she returns to work full-time. Which of the following is not a process variable signifying quality? a. interactions between caregivers and children are stimulating, educational, and age-appropriate b. caregivers are warm, responsive, and supportive c. the snacks and meals provided are nutritious d. discipline practices are positive, clear, consistent, and fair

c. the snacks and meals provided are nutritious

Twenty-month-old Jessie rejects offers of help at meal time and insists on serving herself, just like the rest of her family. She behaves the same way in her child care setting, insisting on putting on and trying to zip her jacket on her own. Based on this behavior, it is likely that Jessie a. was a "difficult" infant b. has not yet developed secondary emotions c. would show self-recognition in the rouge test d. is a "spoiled" child who has been indulged too much by her parents

c. would show self-recognition in the rouge test

Which of the following is an example of how contrasting semantic relations might help young children learn new words? a. A teacher says, "I want everyone to wear dungarees tomorrow." b. An older sibling says, "We want milk and cookies." c. A researcher says, "Where is a ZAV?" d. A parent says, "Bring me the chartreuse scarf, not the blue one."

d. A parent says, "Bring me the chartreuse scarf, not the blue one

Two-year-old Marcus and his family are participants in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. Compared to children and families in the control group, all of the following are likely except a. Marcus's parents read to him more often b. Marcus's parents spank him less frequently c. Marcus and his parents engage in fewer negative interactions d. Marcus's parents are less likely to be employed

d. Marcus's parents are less likely to be employed.

What is the term for the error in which children apply a word only to a specific instance or fail to use it to refer to other referents for which the word would be correct? a. Code switching b. Telegraphic speech c. Overextension d. Underextension

d. Underextension

Studies indicate that parents should influence children's peer relationships and social competence in all of the following ways except by a. providing rules and enforcing standards when their children play with peers b. monitoring play activities between their children and peers c. choosing specific social activities d. avoiding engaging with their sons in play that is physical and competitive, since those forms of play tend to elicit negative emotions

d. avoiding engaging with their sons in play that is physical and competitive, since those forms of play tend to elicit negative emotions

Which of the following language milestones typically occurs first? a. telegraphic speech b. one-word utterances c. using "-ed" to form the past tense of regular verbs in English d. gestural communication

d. gestural communication

All of the following conclusions are supported by studies of temperament except a. early temperament measures are relatively good predictors of later personality b. infant temperament provides a context for subsequent development but does not inevitably lead to particular outcomes c. neurophysiological measures of infant temperament tend to be consistent with measures that are based on parental ratings d. parental ratings of temperament are inevitably flawed due to their lack of objectivity

d. parental ratings of temperament are inevitably flawed due to their lack of objectivity

In all spoken languages, there are variations of sound that function as speech units and signal differences in words through combinations of vowels and consonants. These are called a. syllables b. vocal contrasts c. feature indicators d. phonemes

d. phonemes

Sam has not yet acquired all of the markers that are commonly used by speakers of English. As a result, he produces utterances like "mommy sock," "more juice," and "no cookie." These utterances are examples of a. early language delays b. underextensions c. autistic language d. telegraphic speech

d. telegraphic speech

All of the following statements about secondary emotions are accurate except a. they are also known as self-conscious emotions b. they are sometimes called social emotions c. they require the ability to engage in self-reflective thought d. they are expressed primarily through facial expressions rather than body posture

d. they are expressed primarily through facial expressions rather than body posture

Heather, who has just become a mother for the first time, has a high-paying job. Based on the findings of studies of mothers and employment, she probably a. will decide not to return to work b. will return to work later than women who earn less than she does c. will celebrate her 25th birthday soon d. worked during her pregnancy, very likely during the month before she gave birth

d. worked during her pregnancy, very likely during the month before she gave birth