Dev. Psych Exam 2
Define attachment. Identify and describe the types of attachment.
"An affectional tie" that an infant forms with a caregiver—a tie that binds them together in space and endures over time. *See Graphs* infants show their attachment through proximity-seeking (such as approaching and following their caregivers) and through contact-maintaining (such as touching, snuggling, and holding). Attachment needs are evident when a baby cries if the caregiver closes the door when going to the bathroom (lost proximity) or fusses if a back-facing car seat prevents the baby from seeing the parent (lost contact).
Describe brain growth after birth. What are the processes of brain development? What order do they go in? What parts of the brain develop first, next, last?
* 25 percent of adult weight at birth and almost 75 percent at age 2. Over the same two years, brain circumference increases from about 14 to 19 inches. *If teething or a stuffed-up nose temporarily slows weight gain, nature protects the brain, a phenomenon called head-sparing. *Communication within the central nervous system (CNS)—the brain and spinal cord—begins with nerve cells, called neurons *Cortex (the brain's six outer layers: where most thinking, feeling, and sensing occur) *The final part of the brain to mature is the prefrontal cortex, the area behind the forehead that is crucial for anticipation, planning, and impulse control. *Neurons connect to other neurons via intricate networks of nerve fibers called axons and dendrites: reaches toward the dendrites of other neurons at intersections called synapses, which are critical communication links within the brain. * The electrical impulses in axons cause the release of chemicals called neurotransmitters, which carry information from the axon of the sending neuron to the dendrites of the receiving neuron. * During the first months and years, rapid growth and refinement in axons, dendrites, and synapses occur, especially in the cortex. Dendrite growth is the main reason that brain weight triples from birth to age 2 *Early dendrite growth is called transient exuberance: exuberant because it is rapid and transient because some is temporary. This expansive growth is followed by pruning (rose ex). *Brain development is experience-expectant when it must happen for normal brain maturation to occur. *Certain facets of brain development are experience-dependent: They result from experiences that differ from one infant to another, resulting in brains that also differ.
Identify and describe the 6 (sub)stages of Piaget's Sensorimotor Intelligence. Make sure you know the terms that go along with each (sub)stage.
* First two years: sensorimotor intelligence because infants learn through their senses and motor skills. He subdivided this period into six stages *About 8 months, babies first understand the concept of object permanence—the realization that objects or people continue to exist when they are no longer in sight. *Stage-five toddler as a "little scientist" who "experiments in order to see* *the stage-six sequence may begin with thought followed by action. Of course, the urge to explore may overtake caution: Things that are truly dangerous (cleaning fluids, swimming pools, open windows) need to be locked and gated. The ability to combine ideas allows stage-six toddlers to pretend. For instance, they know that a doll is not a real baby, but they can strap it into a stroller and take it for a walk. At 22 months, my grandson gave me imaginary "shoe ice cream" and laughed when I pretended to eat it. Piaget describes another stage-six intellectual accomplishment involving both thinking and memory. Deferred imitation occurs when infants copy behavior they noticed hours or even days earlier.
Describe how sensory and motor skills develop after birth. When does each sense reach 'adult levels'? About when do children reach major motor milestones?
*Every sense functions at birth. Newborns have open eyes, sensitive ears, and responsive noses, tongues, and skin. *Sensation occurs when a sensory system detects a stimulus, as when the inner ear reverberates with sound or the eye's retina and pupil intercept light. *Perception occurs when the brain processes a sensation (happens in the cortex) *Almost immediately, experience combines with maturation of the visual cortex to improve vision. By 2 months, infants not only stare at faces, but also, with perception and the beginning of cognition, smile. Binocular vision (coordinating both eyes to see one image) cannot develop in the womb (nothing is far enough away), so many newborns use their two eyes independently, momentarily appearing wall-eyed or cross-eyed. Normally, between 2 and 4 months, experience allows both eyes to focus on a single thing. *Every basic motor skill (any movement ability), from the newborn's head-lifting to the toddler's stair-climbing, develops over the first two years. *READ TYPES OF REFLEXES* * Many newborn reflexes disappear by 3 months, but some morph into more advanced motor skills. Reflexes become skills if they are practiced and encouraged. *Deliberate actions that use many parts of the body, producing large movements, are called gross motor skills. These skills emerge directly from reflexes and proceed in a cephalocaudal (head-down) and proximodistal (center-out) direction. *SEE CHART OF AGES OF MOTOR MILESTONES*
What is the difference between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation? What are some examples of each? What are the outcomes of having each type of motivation?
*Intrinsic motivation arises from within*, when people do something for the joy of doing it: A musician might enjoy making music even if no one else hears it. Intrinsic motivation is thought to advance creativity, innovation, and emotional well-being Extrinsic motivation comes from outside the person, when people do something to gain praise or some other reinforcement. A musician might play for applause or money. If an extrinsic reward stops, the behavior stops, unless it has become a habit, continued because it feels right (intrinsic). Intrinsic motivation is crucial for children. They play, question, and explore for the sheer joy of it. That serves them well. A study found that 3-year-olds who were strong in intrinsic motivation were, two years later, advanced in early math and literacy.
What did Piaget say about cognitive development during early childhood? How did he use conservation tasks to determine which stage of development children were in?
*Read over*
Apply the major theories of development to the attachment relationship. (Psychoanalytic, Behavioral, etc.) How would the major theories of developmental psychology explain how and why the attachment relationship develops?
*Review attachment section*
Describe Rovee-Collier's research on infant memory and outline what it tells us about memory development. When can infants remember events? How long can they remember them for? When can infants remember events for longer periods of time?
*Within the first weeks after birth, infants recognize their caregivers by face, voice, and smell. Memory improves month by month. *Sensory and caregiver memories are apparent in the first month, motor memories by 3 months, and then, at about 9 months, more complex memories including for language *Apparently, watching the mobile the previous day revived their faded memory. Other research similarly finds that reminders are powerful. In real life, an infant who is reminded, day after day, is likely to remember several weeks later. If Daddy plays with a 3-month-old every day and then goes on a month-long trip, the baby might grin broadly when he reappears. *At 9 months, memory markedly improves. This may partly be the result of new motor ability, since 9-month-olds can usually crawl. At 12 months, more improvement is evident. One-year-olds learn from parents and strangers, from other babies and older siblings, from picture books and family photographs, from their own walking and talking. The dendrites of several areas of the brain grow to reflect remembered experiences. *infants can remember for up to two weeks, but needs reminders for longer time*
Evidence that biological growth is the foundation for cognitive and social maturity comes from the fact that, although 2-year-olds can barely talk and are totally dependent on adults, they have already reached half of their adult height and _____ percent of their adult brain size.
75%
Describe the Strange Situation. How would a child from each attachment category respond to the Strange Situation?
A laboratory procedure for measuring attachment by evoking infants' reactions to the stress of various adults' comings and goings in an unfamiliar playroom. Researchers are trained to distinguish types A, B, C, and D. They focus on the following: Exploration of the toys. A secure toddler plays happily. Reaction to the caregiver's departure. A secure toddler shows some sign of dismay when the caregiver leaves. Reaction to the caregiver's return. A secure toddler welcomes the caregiver's reappearance, usually seeking contact, and then plays again. *See table*
What is meant by Theory of Mind and how does it develop?
A person's theory of what other people might be thinking. Children gradually realize that other people do not always know and think what they themselves do. Theory of mind develops slowly in young children, typically emerging at about age 4 (Carlson et al., 2013). Some aspects of theory of mind develop sooner, and some later. Generally, the preschool years begin with 2-year-olds not realizing that other people think differently than they do and end with 6-year-olds aware that other minds might not know what they know
What are the different kinds of play? In what ways does play affect cognitive and emotional development?
American sociologist Mildred Parten described the development of five stages of *social play*, each more advanced than the previous one: Solitary play: A child plays alone, unaware of any other children playing nearby. Onlooker play: A child watches other children play. Parallel play: Children play with similar objects in similar ways but not together. Associative play: Children interact, sharing material, but their play is not reciprocal. Cooperative play: Children play together, creating dramas or taking turns. *Active* social play—not solitary play—correlates with peer acceptance and a healthy self-concept and may help regulate emotions. Adults need to remember this when they want children to sit still and be quiet. The most common form of active play is called *rough-and-tumble play* because it looks quite rough and because the children seem to tumble over one another (but there is no intent to harm). *Sociodramatic play*, in which children act out various roles and plots. Through such acting, children: Explore and rehearse social roles Learn to explain their ideas and persuade playmates Practice emotional regulation by pretending to be afraid, angry, brave, and so on Develop self-concept in a nonthreatening context
What details did Piaget get wrong?
As brain scans and computerized analysis of heart rate, muscle tension, gaze, and so on made it easier to study infant cognition, Piaget's emphasis on senses and motor abilities seems to have limited his understanding of infant cognition. Piaget missed many early cognitive accomplishments, particularly in memory. *Piaget's sweeping overview of four periods of cognition contrasts with information-processing theory, which breaks down cognition into hundreds of small steps between input and output.
Identify the typical sequence of emotional expression and development. What order do the emotions appear? When does each emotion first appear, on average?
At first there is pleasure and pain. Both are evident throughout infancy, even throughout life, but the triggers, reasons, and expressions change with development, and many new emotions appear. AT BIRTH ** Newborns are happy and relaxed when fed and drifting off to sleep. They cry when they are hurt or hungry, tired or frightened (as by a loud noise or a sudden loss of support). Some infants have bouts of uncontrollable crying, called colic, probably the result of immature digestion; some have reflux, probably the result of immature swallowing. About 20 percent of babies cry "excessively," defined as more than three hours a day, more than three days a week, more than three weeks (J. S. Kim, 2011). Curiosity is also present, although briefly, as sleep and hunger overtake almost every other reaction. Even a crying baby can suddenly grow quiet, when sucking and food overcome the emotion. SMILING AND LAUGHING Soon, additional emotions become recognizable. Happiness is expressed by the social smile, evoked by a human face at about 6 weeks for full-term babies, a few weeks later for preterm infants. Infants worldwide express social joy, even laughter, between 2 and 4 months (Konner, 2007; Lewis, 2010). Laughter builds as curiosity does; a typical 6-month-old laughs loudly upon discovering new things, particularly social experiences that balance familiarity and surprise, such as Daddy making a funny face. They prefer looking at happy faces rather than sad ones, even if the happy faces are not looking at them (Kim & Johnson, 2013). ANGER AND SADNESS The positive emotions of joy and contentment are joined by negative emotions. Obvious anger appears by 6 months, usually triggered by frustration, such as when infants are prevented from moving or grabbing. Infants hate to be strapped in, caged in, closed in, or even just held in place when they want to explore. In infancy, anger is generally a healthy response to frustration, unlike sadness, which also appears in the first months. Sadness indicates withdrawal and is accompanied by a greater increase in the body's production of cortisol. Since sadness produces physiological stress (measured by cortisol levels), sorrow negatively impacts the infant. All social emotions, particularly sadness and fear, probably shape the brain (Fries & Pollak, 2007; Johnson, 2011). As you learned in Chapter 3, experience matters. Sad and angry infants whose mothers are depressed become fearful toddlers (Dix & Yan, 2014). Too much sadness early in life correlates with depression later on. FEAR Fear in response to some person, thing, or situation (not just being startled in surprise) is evident at about 9 months and soon becomes more frequent and obvious. Two kinds of social fear are typical: Separation anxiety—clinging and crying when a familiar caregiver is about to leave Stranger wariness—fear of unfamiliar people, especially when they move too close, too quickly TODDLERS** SOCIAL AWARENESS Temper can be seen as an expression of selfhood. So can new toddler emotions: pride, shame, jealousy, embarrassment, disgust, and guilt. These emotions require social awareness, which typically emerges from family interactions. For instance, in a study of infant jealousy, when mothers deliberately paid attention to another infant, babies moved closer to their mothers, bidding for attention. Brain activity also registered social awareness (Mize et al., 2014). SELF-AWARENESS In addition to social awareness, another foundation for emotional growth is self-awareness, the realization that one's body, mind, and activities are distinct from those of other people (Kopp, 2011). Closely following the new mobility that results from walking is an emerging sense of "me" and "mine" that leads the infant to develop a new consciousness of self and others at about age 1.
What are Baumrind's parenting/caregiving styles? Which is best? In what ways are these categories limited in their usefulness?
Baumrind found that parents differed on four important dimensions: 1. Expressions of warmth. Some parents are warm and affectionate; others, cold and critical. 2. Strategies for discipline. Parents vary in how they explain, criticize, persuade, and punish. 3. Communication. Some parents listen patiently; others demand silence. 4. Expectations for maturity. Parents vary in expectations for responsibility and self-control. Styles: Authoritarian parenting. The authoritarian parent's word is law, not to be questioned. Misconduct brings strict punishment, usually physical. Authoritarian parents set down clear rules and hold high standards. They do not expect children to offer opinions; discussion about emotions and expressions of affection are rare. One adult from authoritarian parents said that "How do you feel?" had only two possible answers: "Fine" and "Tired." Permissive parenting. Permissive parents (also called indulgent) make few demands, hiding any impatience they feel. Discipline is lax, partly because they have low expectations for maturity. Permissive parents are nurturing and accepting, listening to whatever their offspring say, including cursing at the parent. Authoritative parenting. Authoritative parents set limits, but they are flexible. They encourage maturity, but they usually listen and forgive (not punish) if the child falls short. They consider themselves guides, not authorities (unlike authoritarian parents) and not friends (unlike permissive parents). Other researchers describe a fourth style, called neglectful/uninvolved parenting. Neglectful parents are oblivious to their children's behavior; they seem not to care. Their children do whatever they want, which makes some observers think the parents are permissive. But permissive parents care very much about their children, unlike neglectful parents. Results: Authoritarian parents raise children who become conscientious, obedient, and quiet *but not especially happy*. Such children tend to feel guilty or depressed, internalizing their frustrations and blaming themselves when things don't go well. As adolescents, they sometimes rebel, leaving home before age 20. Permissive parents raise children who lack self-control, especially in the give-and-take of peer relationships. Inadequate emotional regulation makes them immature and impedes friendships, so they are unhappy. They tend to continue to live at home, still dependent on their parents in adulthood. :) Authoritative parents raise children who are successful, articulate, *happy with themselves*, and generous with others. These children are usually liked by teachers and peers, especially in cultures that value individual initiative (e.g., the United States). Neglectful/uninvolved parents raise children who are immature, sad, lonely, and at risk of injury and abuse, not only in early childhood but also lifelong.
Describe how brain development is related to emotional development.
Brain maturation is involved in the developments just described because every reaction begins in the brain (Johnson, 2011). Experience produces connections between neurons and emotions. Links between expressed emotions and brain growth are complex and thus difficult to assess and describe with precision (Lewis, 2010). Compared with the emotions of adults, discrete emotions—the difference between fear and excitement, for instance—during early infancy are murky and unpredictable. The growth of synapses and dendrites is a likely explanation for the gradual refinement and expression of each emotion, the result of past experiences and ongoing maturation. Already by 6 months, an infant's brain patterns and stress hormones seem affected by caregiver responsiveness
What are the types of education that children may encounter during early childhood? What are the drawbacks and benefits of each?
Child-centered, or developmental, because they stress each child's development and growth. Teachers in such programs believe children need to follow their own interests rather than adult directions. Contemporary Montessori schools still emphasize individual pride and achievement, presenting many literacy-related tasks (e.g., outlining letters and looking at books) to young children. Specific materials differ from those that Montessori developed, but the underlying philosophy is the same. Children seek out learning tasks; they do not sit quietly in groups while a teacher instructs them. Reggio Emilia: A program of early-childhood education that originated in the town of Reggio Emilia, Italy, and that encourages each child's creativity in a carefully designed setting. Head Start: A federally funded early-childhood intervention program for low-income children in the United States. *Read about pros and cons*
Discuss emotional regulation and how it develops. How is emotional development related to Erikson's crisis of Initiative vs. Guilt?
Controlling the expression of their feelings, called emotional regulation **also called effortful control**, is the preeminent psychosocial task between ages 2 and 6. Emotional regulation is a lifelong endeavor, with early childhood crucial for its development Emotional regulation is one of the skills children acquire during Erikson's third developmental stage, initiative versus guilt. Initiative can mean several things—saying something new, expanding an ability, beginning a project, expressing an emotion. Depending on the outcome (especially reactions from other people), children feel proud or guilty. If parents ignore rather than guide those emotions of joy and pride, a child may not learn emotional regulation. Guidance, yes; brutal honesty, no. That helps them try new things, which advances learning of all kinds. As Erikson predicted, their optimistic self-concept protects them from guilt and shame.
How do parents teach emotional control? Does culture impact this development? What are some ways that emotions can get out of balance?
Cultural differences are apparent: Children may be encouraged to laugh/cry/yell or, the opposite, to hide emotions. Some adults guffaw, slap their knees, and stomp their feet for joy; others use their hands to cover their mouths if a smile spontaneously appears. No matter what the specifics, parents everywhere teach emotional regulation. Controlling outbursts is not easy, in childhood or later, for reasons that are biological as well as experiential. Effortful control is more difficult when people—of any age—are in pain, tired, or hungry.
Why do some children become obese? What factors influence whether or not a child will be obese? What types of influences are these?
Gender (girls have more body fat), ethnicity (Chinese children are genetically thinner), and income (poor children have worse diets) Appetite decreases between ages 2 and 6 because young children naturally grow more slowly than they did as infants. Moreover, if children play less outside, they burn fewer calories. Instead of adjusting to this ecological change, many adults cajole, threaten, and bribe ("Eat all your dinner and you can have ice cream"). Why do adults do that? Because they are still protecting children against famine. It is not easy to get 2- to 6-year-olds to eat well. One complication is that many young children are compulsive about daily routine, which may result in a very limited diet. Fortunately, as a team of experts contends, "Most, if not all, children exhibit normal age-dependent obsessive-compulsive behaviors [that are] usually gone by middle childhood" (March et al., 2004, p. 216). Meanwhile, however, children insist on only certain foods.
Define temperament and identify the categories and dimensions of temperament.
Inborn differences between one person and another in emotions, activity, and self-regulation. It is measured by the person's typical responses to the environment. Three dimensions: Effortful control (regulating attention and emotion, self-soothing) Negative mood (fearful, angry, unhappy) Exuberant (active, social, not shy) ***biological
Outline how the development of the things covered by questions 1-4 and 6, 7 support human interactions. (Remember that all types of development are connected to each other.) E.g. How would slow body/brain/motor skill growth influence memory development?
Negatively Influence
Describe body growth after birth. What are the rates and patterns of growth?
Newborns lose weight in the first three days and then gain an ounce a day for several months. Birthweight typically doubles by 4 months and triples by a year. An average 7-pound newborn will be 21 pounds at 12 months (9,525 grams, up from 3,175 grams at birth). Physical growth in the second year is slower but still rapid. By 24 months, most children weigh almost 28 pounds (13 kilograms). They have added more than a foot in height—from about 20 inches at birth to about 34 inches at age 2 (from 51 to 86 centimeters). This makes 2-year-olds about half their adult height and about one-fifth their adult weight, four times heavier than they were at birth. Weight at the 30th percentile means that 30 percent of all babies weigh less, and 70 percent weigh more. For any baby, an early sign of trouble occurs when percentile changes markedly, either up or down
Describe the long-term consequences of each attachment style. Which style is considered best? Which is considered worst? What behavioral, social, and emotional consequences go with each style?
Securely attached infants are more likely to become secure toddlers, competent preschoolers, high-achieving schoolchildren, and capable parents. Attachment affects early brain development, one reason these later outcomes occur (Diamond & Fagundes, 2010). But insecure infants are not doomed to later failure. Although attachment patterns form in infancy (see Table 4.2), they are not set in stone; a securely attached infant may become insecure if the family context changes, such as with new abuse or income loss. Poverty increases the likelihood of insecure attachment, and insecure attachment correlates with later learning problems, but a third variable may be the reason for this correlation. The third variable most often suggested is low SES. Hostile children, fearful adults, delayed language, and low school achievement all correlate with low parental education, as does insecure attachment. The premise—that responsive early parenting leads to secure attachment, which buffers stress and encourages exploration—seems valid, but lack of attachment may be a sign of deeper social problems. Low SES is problematic in many ways, but we should note that both secure and insecure attachment occur at every income level. Certainly infant responses in the Strange Situation are only one measure of the parent-child relationship. Linking attachment measured by the Strange Situation directly to later problems may not be warranted, especially in cultures with other patterns of mother-child interaction
Describe gender development. What are the different theories of how this development takes place?
Sex differences= biological Gender differences= culturally prescribed PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY: Freud--Oedipus complex: The unconscious desire of young boys to replace their fathers and win their mothers' exclusive love. phallic stage: Freud's third stage of development, when the penis becomes the focus of concern and pleasure. superego:the judgmental part of the personality that internalizes the moral standards of the parents. identification: considering the behaviors, appearance and and attitudes of someone else to be one's own. *Most psychologists have rejected Freud's theory regarding sex and gender. * BEHAVIORISM Behaviorists believe that virtually all roles, values, and morals are learned. To behaviorists, gender distinctions are the product of ongoing reinforcement and punishment, as well as social learning. COGNITIVE THEORY Cognitive theory offers an alternative explanation for the strong gender identity that becomes apparent at about age 5 gender schema: A child's cognitive concept or general belief about male and female differences. HUMANISM Humanism stresses the hierarchy of needs, beginning with survival, then safety, then love and belonging. The final two needs—respect and self-actualization—are not considered priorities for people until the earlier three have been satisfied. EVOLUTIONARY THEORY Evolutionary theory holds that male-female sexual passion is one of humankind's basic drives, because all creatures have a powerful impulse to reproduce. Therefore, males and females try to look attractive to the other sex—walking, talking, and laughing in gendered ways. If girls see their mothers wearing makeup and high heels, they want to do likewise.
Describe how emotional development, brain development, and temperament support or hinder the development of a secure attachment.
Supports
Identify and describe the major theories of language development.
THEORY ONE: INFANTS NEED TO BE TAUGHT The seeds of the first perspective were planted more than 50 years ago, when the dominant theory in North American psychology was behaviorism, or learning theory (see Chapter 1). The essential idea was that all learning is acquired, step by step, through association and reinforcement. THEORY TWO: SOCIAL INTERACTION FOSTERS INFANT LANGUAGE The second theory arises from the sociocultural reason for language: communication. According to this perspective, infants communicate because humans have evolved as social beings, dependent on one another for survival and joy. Language is designed to further social communication. THEORY THREE: INFANTS TEACH THEMSELVES A third theory holds that language learning is innate; adults need not teach it, nor is it a by-product of social interaction. It arises from the universal human impulse to imitate. It is experience-expectant: The brain expects language, so very young infants pay attention to speech. Chomsky labeled this hypothesized mental structure the language acquisition device (LAD), which enables children to derive the rules of grammar quickly and effectively from the speech they hear every day, regardless of whether their native language is English, Arabic, or Urdu. The social, cooperative habits of Homo sapiens 100,000 years ago allowed survival of the species, so evolution led to language. That is evident in every human infant. Research contends that language learning is neither the direct product of repeated input (behaviorism) nor the result of a specific human neurological capacity (LAD). Rather, "different elements of the language apparatus may have evolved in different ways," and thus a "piecemeal and empirical" approach is needed. **In other words, no single theory explains how babies learn language. An analogy can be made to other aspects of body and brain growth. Every newborn needs extensive care for years, but parents use diverse methods of child care, adjusting to their culture as well as to the particular needs of their baby at the moment. The result is children who become capable adults, walking, talking and contributing to their community. Diversity is evident, as are universals.
What is happening in brain development during the years of early childhood? How does brain development relate to impulse control and emotional control?
The 2-year-old's brain already weighs 75 percent of what it will weigh in adulthood; the 6-year-old's brain is 90 percent of adult weight. THE BRAIN'S CONNECTED HEMISPHERES One part of the brain that grows and myelinates rapidly during early childhood is the corpus callosum, a long, thick band of nerve fibers that connects the left and right sides of the brain. Growth of the corpus callosum makes communication between the hemispheres more efficient, allowing children to coordinate the two sides of their brains and hence, both sides of their bodies. Each side of the body and brain specializes. This is lateralization: literally, "sidedness." The entire human body is lateralized, apparent not only in handedness but also in the feet, the eyes, the ears, and the brain itself. Another significant brain development in early childhood is increased myelination, as the axons of the brain increase in myelin (the white matter of the brain), a fatty coating that speeds signals between neurons MATURATION OF THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX One major difference between human brains and the brains of other animals is a much larger frontal lobe, the site of the prefrontal cortex. That part of the brain supports what is called executive function, which is planning, reasoning, and anticipating. Executive function advances throughout childhood, including between ages 2 and 6. As a result: Sleep becomes more regular. Emotions become more nuanced and responsive. Temper tantrums subside. Uncontrollable laughter and tears are less common. A convincing demonstration that something in the brain, not simply in experience, underlies these changes comes from a series of experiments with shapes and colors. ****IMPULSIVENESS AND PERSEVERATION Neurons have only two kinds of impulses: on-off or activate-inhibit. Each is signaled by biochemical messages from dendrites to axons to neurons. Both activation and inhibition are necessary for thoughtful adults, who neither leap too quickly nor hesitate too long. A balanced brain is best throughout life: One sign of cognitive loss is when an older person becomes too cautious or too impulsive.
What is the universal sequence of language development? What are examples of language expression at each of these steps in the sequence?
The timing of language acquisition varies; the most advanced 10 percent of 2-year-olds speak more than 550 words, and the least-advanced 10 percent speak fewer than 100—a fivefold difference. But although timing varies, the sequence is the same. *LISTENING AND RESPONDING Hearing infants begin learning language before birth, via brain connections. Newborns prefer the language their mother speaks over an unheard language; if their mother is bilingual, newborns respond to both languages Baby talk and sometimes called motherese, since mothers universally speak it. official name-->* child-directed speech. No matter what term is used, this mode captures infants' attention. *BABBLING At first, babies mostly listen. By 6 months, they start practicing sounds, repeating certain syllables (ma-ma-ma, da-da) *FIRST WORDS Finally, the average hearing baby utters a few words, usually at about 12 months, although the range for normal babies is 10-18 months. Spoken vocabulary increases gradually (perhaps one new word a week). However, 6- to 15-month-olds learn meanings rapidly; they understand about 10 times more words than they can say. Initially, the first words are merely labels for familiar things (mama and dada are common), but soon tone conveys meaning. Imagine "Dada," "Dada?" and "Dada!." Each is a holophrase, a single word that expresses an entire thought. *VERBS AND NOUNS Once vocabulary reaches about 50 expressed words (understood words are far more extensive), it builds rapidly, at a rate of 50 to 100 words per month, with 21-month-olds saying twice as many words as 18-month-olds (Adamson & Bakeman, 2006). This language spurt is called the naming explosion because many early words are names of people and things. *Grammar can be defined as including all the methods that languages use to communicate meaning (verb forms, suffixes, etc) Children's proficiency in grammar correlates with the length of their sentences, which is why in every language mean length of utterance (MLU) is considered an accurate way to measure a child's language progress. The child who says "Baby is crying" is advanced compared with the child who says "Baby cry" or simply the holophrase "Baby."
What is meant by primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention?
Three levels of prevention: Primary prevention changes the social context; secondary prevention focuses on high-risk situations, and tertiary prevention limits harm after the injury. For motor-vehicle accidents, primary prevention includes sidewalks, pedestrian overpasses, streetlights, speed limits, traffic lights, and stop signs. Redesigned cars (e.g., better headlights, windows, and brakes) and improved driver competence (e.g., strong penalties against drunk driving, more effective licensing tests) are also primary prevention. Improved mass transit provides additional primary prevention. Secondary prevention reduces danger in high-risk situations, or for high-risk people. Car seats for children, school crossing guards and flashing lights on stopped school buses, salt on icy roads, warning signs before blind curves, and speed bumps are all secondary. Finally, tertiary prevention reduces damage after an accident. Examples include harsh penalties for hit-and-run drivers, use of speedy ambulances, efficient emergency room procedures, and effective follow-up care, all of which have been improved from decades ago.
Pruning
When applied to brain development, the process by which unused connections in the brain atrophy(shrivel up; waste away) and die.
What do Vygotsky's terms zone of proximal development and scaffolding mean? How are they related? How can educators and parents use scaffolding to advance cognitive development?
scaffolding: Temporary support that is tailored to a learner's needs and abilities and aimed at helping the learner take the next step in learning something. zone of proximal development (ZPD): In sociocultural theory, a metaphorical area, or "zone," surrounding a learner that includes all the skills, knowledge, and concepts that the person is close ("proximal") to acquiring but cannot yet master without help.
