Lifespan Development - Exam 1
3. Be able to a) describe the 5 general principles of Teratogenic effects (see lecture also); b) provide examples of teratogens that illustrate each of the five principles (e.g., thalidomide and genotype), and c) explain what is known about how different teratogens exert their effects (e.g., tobacco → constriction of blood flow → carbon monoxide levels in blood → damage of CNS).
a. 5 principles of Teratogenic Effects i. Timing/Age (critical periods) ii. Specificity of Developmental Consequence 1. Mercury vs. Thalidomide iii. Variability in susceptibility (heredity) iv. Physiological state of mother 1. Age, diet, mental health v. Increased exposure = increased risk
1. Explain Piaget's concepts of scheme, assimilation, accommodation, and organization; how they relate to the idea of infants as "motivated explorers"; and why disequilibrium produces rapid cognitive change. What are the primary ways in which infants/toddlers expand their cognitive abilities during the sensorimotor period?
a. According to Piaget, specific psychological structures - organized ways of making sense of experience called schemes - change with age. In Piaget's theory, two processes, adaptation and organization, account for changes in schemes. i. Adaptation - involves building schemes through direct interaction with the environment. 1. During assimilation, we use our current schemes to interpret the external world. 2. In accommodation, we create new schemes or adjust old ones after noticing that our current ways of thinking do not capture the environment completely. ii. Organization 1. Schemes also change through organization, a process that takes place internally, apart from direct contact with the environment. Once children form new schemes, they rearrange them, linking them with other schemes to create a strongly interconnected cognitive system.
4. How does dynamic systems theory explain the motor development? Be able to identify and/or provide examples of specific motor behaviors that can be explained by DST.
a. According to dynamic systems theory of motor development, mastery of motor skills involves acquiring increasingly complex systems of action. When motor skills work as a system, separate abilities blend together, each cooperating with others to produce more effective ways of exploring and controlling the environment.
8. How does differentiation theory explain the ways in which infants makes sense of and explore their constantly changing perceptual world?
a. According to the Gibsons' differentiation theory, infants actively search for invariant features of the environment - those that remain stable - in a constantly changing perceptual world.
2. What do we know about the positive and negative outcomes of adoption and why these are believed to occur?
a. Adopted children and adolescents tend to have more learning and emotional difficulties than other children, a difference that increases with the child's age at the time of adoption. i. Biological mother may have passed down partially genetic problems, such as alcoholism or depression, or experienced poor diet, stress, or inadequate medical care during pregnancy ii. Children adopted after infancy often have a pre-adoptive history of conflict-ridden family relationships, including abuse and neglect, or deprived institutional rearing. iii. Adoptive parents and children, who are genetically unrelated, are less alike in intelligence and personality than are biological relatives, differences that may threaten family harmony.
Be able to explain how and why history-graded influences, age-graded influences, and non-normative influences might impact development. Be prepared to create and identify examples of each.
a. Age Graded Influences i. Events that are strongly related to age and therefore fairly predictable in when they occur and how long they last. 1. i.e. most individuals walk shortly after their first birthday ii. History-Graded Influences 1. Explain why people born around the same time - called a cohort- tend to be alike in ways that set them apart from people born at other times. a. Epidemics, wars, and periods of economic prosperity or depression. iii. Non-normative Influences 1. Events that are irregular: they happen to just one person or a few people and do not follow a predictable timetable. a. Piano lessons in childhood with an inspiring teacher
1. Be able to describe the different prenatal diagnostic tools, why they may be used, and any possible risks associated with each procedure.
a. Amniocentesis i. A small hollow needle is inserted through the abdominal wall to obtain a sample of fluid in the uterus. Cells are examined for genetic defects. Can be performed by the 14th week after conception, 1 to 2 more weeks are required for test results. Small risk of miscarriage. b. Chorionic villus sampling i. A procedure that can be used if results are needed very early in the pregnancy. A small plug of tissue is removed from the end of one or more chorionic villi, the hair-like projections on the chorion, the membrane surrounding the developing organisms. Cells are examined for genetic defects. Can be performed at 9 weeks after conception, results are available within 24 hours. Entails a slightly greater risk of miscarriage than amniocentesis and is also associated with a small risk of limb deformities. c. Fetoscopy i. A small tube with a light source is inserted into the uterus to inspect the fetus for defects of the limbs and face. Usually performed between 15 and 18 weeks after conception but can be done as early as 5 weeks. Entails some risk of miscarriage. d. Ultrasound i. High frequency sound waves are beamed at the uterus; their reflection is translated into a picture on a video screen that reveals the size, shape, and placement of the fetus. When used five or more times, increases the chances of low birth weight. e. Maternal blood analysis i. By the second month of pregnancy, some of the developing organism's cells enter the maternal bloodstream. An elevated level of alpha-fetoprotein may indicate kidney disease, abnormal closure of the esophagus, or neural tube defects. Isolated cells can be examined for genetic defects. No known risks. f. Ultrafast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) i. Sometimes used as a supplement to ultrasound, where brain and other abnormalities are detected and MRI can provide greater diagnostic accuracy. The ultrafast technique overcomes image blurring due to fetal movements. No evidence of adverse effects. g. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis i. After in vitro fertilization and duplication of the zygote into a cluster of cells, one or two cells are removed and examined for hereditary defects. Only if that sample is normal is the fertilized ovum implanted. No known risks.
Be able to explain and provide examples of the three main issues upon which developmental theories tend to take a stand.
a. Biological and Environmental influences on development and how they interact (nature vs. nurture) b. Continuous development or discontinuous development c. Universal vs. context/culture specific development (one course vs. many)
1. Describe the major changes in height, weight, fat, and muscle that occur over the first two years.
a. By the end of the first year, a typical infant's height is about 32 inches, more than 50% greater than at birth. By 2 years, it is 75% greater (36 inches). b. By 5 months of age, birth weight has doubled, to about 15 pounds. At 1 year it has tripled to 22 pounds, and at 2 years it has quadrupled, to about 30 pounds. c. In contrast, muscle tissue increases very slowly during infancy and will not reach a peak until adolescence.
6. Be able to explain what a heritability estimate is and how it is typically obtained.
a. Heritability Estimates - measures the extent to which individual differences in complex traits in a specific population are due to genetic factors. i. Heritability estimates are obtained from kinship studies, which compare the characteristics of family members.
3. Be able to describe and provide examples of the four primary ways in which infants and toddlers learn. Explain the underlying reasons why learning occurs through habituation and imitation.
a. Classical Conditioning i. In this form of learning, a neural stimulus is paired with a stimulus that leads to a reflexive response. Once the baby's nervous system makes the connection between the two stimuli, the neural stimulus produces the behavior by itself. b. Operant Conditioning i. Infants act, or operate, on the environment, and stimuli that follow their behavior change the probability that the behavior will occur again. 1. A stimulus that increases the occurrence of a response is called a reinforcer. 2. Removing a desirable stimulus or presenting an unpleasant one to decrease the occurrence of a response is called punishment. c. Habituation i. Refers to a gradual reduction in the strength of a response due to repetitive stimulation. d. Imitation i. Babies come into the world with a primitive ability to earn through imitation - by copying the behavior of another person.
7. Describe the different basic and developmental research designs and be able to explain how each is associated with specific strengths and weaknesses.
a. Descriptive Methods i. Self reports/surveys 1. Advantages: easy data collection 2. Disadvantages: possible biased sample, dishonest/inaccurate response, wording of questions ii. Observational - systematically observe and record behaviors 1. Naturalistic 2. Laboratory iii. Qualitative - describes phenomena from participants' perspectives b. Predictive Methods i. Correlational Studies 1. Measure two variables to see if related 2. Positive or negative relationships c. Explanatory Methods i. Experimental/Quasi-Experimental 1. Manipulate variables and measure effects ii. Independent Variable (IV) - manipulated variable iii. Dependent Variable (DV) - measured variable iv. Subject Variable - cannot be manipulated (age, gender, etc) (quasi)
4. Be able to describe what happens during the three stages of labor.
a. Dilation and effacement of the cervix - This is the longest stage of labor, lasting an average of 12 to 14 hours with a first birth and 4 to 6 hours with later births. Contractions of the uterus gradually become more frequent and powerful, causing the cervix, or uterine opening, to widen and thin to nothing, forming a clear channel from the uterus into the birth canal, or vagina. b. Delivery of the baby - This stage is much shorter, lasting about 50 minutes for a first birth and 20 minutes in later births. Strong contractions of the uterus continue, but the mother also feels the natural urge to squeeze and push with her abdominal muscles. As she does so with the contraction, she forces the baby down and out. c. Delivery of the Placenta - Labor comes to an end with a few final contractions and pushes. These cause the placenta to separate from the wall of the uterus and be delivered in about 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Be able to explain how Vygotsky's sociocultural theory might add to the research findings on deferred and inferred imitation.
a. Earlier we saw how infants and toddlers create new schemes by acting on the physical world (Piaget) and how certain skills become better developed as children represent their experiences more efficiently and meaningfully (information processing). Vygotsky adds a third dimension to our understanding by emphasizing that many aspects of cognitive development are socially mediated.
9. Be able to explain the epigenetic framework and provide examples to illustrate it. How does the research on ADHD, prenatal exposure to nicotine, and gene expression illustrate the epigenetic framework?
a. Epigenesis - means development resulting from ongoing, bidirectional exchanges between heredity and all levels of the environment.
2. How does the brain change over the first two years of life? How does the environment interact with brain development to yield either positive or negative outcomes? Be able to differentiate between experience-expectant and experience-dependent brain growth and how these interact with impoverished or stimulating environments to yield differences in brain development.
a. Experience-Expectant Brain Growth - refers to the young brain's rapidly developing organization, which depends on ordinary experiences - opportunities to explore the environment, interact with people, and hear language and other sounds. b. Experience-Dependent Brain Growth - It consists of additional growth and refinement of established brain structures as a result of specific learning experiences that vary widely across individuals and cultures. It occurs throughout our lives.
7. We know that genes and environment interact to influence development. Be able to explain and provide examples of the following: gene-environment interaction, passive and evocative gene-environment correlation, niche picking.
a. Gene-Environment Interaction - which means that because of their genetic makeup, individuals differ in their responsiveness to qualities of the environment. In other words, people have unique, genetically influenced reactions to particular experiences. b. Gene-Environment Correlation - our genes influence the environments to which we are exposed i. Passive and Evocative Correlation 1. Passive - the child has no control over it. 2. Evocative - Children evoke responses that are influenced by the child's heredity, and these responses strengthen the child's original style. c. Niche Picking - the tendency to actively choose environments that complement our heredity.
6. How do changes in vision, hearing, depth and pattern perception, and intermodal perception occur during infancy and how do these impact an infant's ability to interact with his/her world?
a. Hearing i. Between 4 and 7 months, infants display a sense of musical phrasing. Around 6 to 7 months, they can distinguish musical tunes on the basis of variations in rhythmic patterns. And by the end of the first year, infants recognize the same melody when it is played in different keys. b. Vision i. Around 2 months, infants can focus on objects about as well as adults can, and their color vision is adult-like by 4 months. Scanning the environment and tracking moving objects improve over the first half-year as infants better control their eye movements and build an organized perceptual world. 1. Depth perception - is the ability to judge the distance of objects from one another and from ourselves. 2. Because of their poor vision, very young babies cannot resolve the features in complex patterns, so they prefer, for example to look at a checkerboard with large, bold squares than one with many small squares (pattern perception). c. Intermodal Perception - we make sense of these running streams of light, sound, tactile, odor, and taste information, perceiving them as integrated wholes. i. 3 to 4 month olds can match faces with voices on the basis of lip-voice synchrony, emotional expression, and even age and gender of the speaker. ii. Between 4 and 6 months, infants can perceive and remember the unique face-voice pairings of unfamiliar adults.
5. Describe the features and benefits of natural childbirth. What aspects greatly contribute to favorable outcomes, and why?
a. In a typical natural childbirth program, the expectant mother and a companion participate in three activities: i. Classes ii. Relaxation and breathing techniques iii. Labor Coach b. In Guatemalan and American hospitals, some mothers were assigned a doula, a Greek word referring to trained lay attendant, who stayed with them throughout labor and delivery, talking to them, holding their hands, and rubbing their backs to promote relaxation. Doula support resulted in shorter labors, reduced use of pain-relieving medication, fewer birth complications, higher newborn Apgar scores, more positive mother-newborn interaction, and greater likelihood of breastfeeding.
9. Explain how cohort effects can affect the findings of both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. How do sequential designs reveal cohort effects?
a. Longitudinal i. Individuals born in the same time period are influenced by a particular set of historical and cultural conditions. Results based on one cohort may not apply to people developing at other times. b. Cross-Sectional i. Comparisons of 10-year-old cohorts, 20-year-old cohorts, and 30-year old cohorts - groups born and reared in different years - may not really represent age related changes. Instead, they may reflect unique experiences associated with the historical period in which the age groups were growing up. c. Sequential Designs i. We can find out whether cohort effects are operating by comparing participants of the same age who were born in different years.
2. Why do many infants show stranger anxiety in the second half of the first year? What factors can increase or decrease wariness of strangers?
a. Many infants and toddlers are quite wary of strangers, although the reaction varies with temperament, past experiences with strangers, and the current situation. b. Cross-cultural research reveals that infant-rearing practices can modify stranger anxiety.
3. What has research taught us about the effects of SES on timing of marriage & birth, family interaction, and parenting styles? How might these effects be explained from the perspective of direct and indirect family influences?
a. Marriage and Birth i. People who work in skilled and semiskilled manual occupations (For example, construction works and custodians) tend to marry and have children earlier as well as give birth to more children than people in professional and technical occupations b. Parenting Styles i. Lower-SES parents 1. Tend to emphasize external characteristics, such as obedience, politeness, and cleanliness. ii. Higher-SES parents 1. Emphasize psychological traits, such as curiosity, happiness, and cognitive and social maturity. c. Family Interaction i. Higher - SES parents 1. Talk to, read to, and otherwise stimulate their infants and preschoolers more. With older children and adolescents, they use more warmth, explanations, and verbal praise; set higher academic and other developmental goals; and allow their children to make more decisions. ii. Lower- SES parents 1. Commands, criticism, and physical punishment occur more often.
1. How does maternal or paternal depression impact infants and children?
a. Maternal Depression i. Delays in motor and mental development, an irritable mood, and attachment difficulties. b. Paternal Depression i. Strongly predicts child behavior problems, especially over activity, defiance, and aggression in boys.
7. When do different depth cues emerge during infancy and how do they impact depth perception? How are independent movement and depth perception related?
a. Motion - babies 3 to 4 weeks old blink their eyes defensively when an object moves toward their face as if it is going to hit. b. Binocular Depth Cues - arise because our two eyes have slightly different views of the visual field. Emerges between 2 and 3 months and improves rapidly during the first year. c. Pictorial Depth Cues - beginning at 3 to 4 months and strengthening between 5 and 7 months. d. As infants discover how to avoid falling in different postures and situations, their understanding of depth expands.
5. How is a child's development likely to be positively and/or negatively impacted as a function of the neighborhood in which she lives, the primary culture to which she is exposed, and the public policies that are present/absent to improve her development.
a. Neighborhood i. In low-income neighborhoods, in-school and after-school programs that substitute for lack of other resources by providing art, music, sports, scouting, and other enrichment activities predict favorable child and adolescent development, including increased self-confidence, school achievement, and educational aspirations. b. Primary Culture i. Cultures shape family interaction and community settings beyond the home - in short, all aspects of daily life. Many of us remain blind to aspects of our own cultural heritage until we see them in relation to the practices of others. c. Public Policies i. Health care policies may negatively affect children.
2. Describe the effects of inadequate nutrition (including low levels of folic acid), maternal stress, and maternal age on prenatal development. Where known, how does each of these exert their effects?
a. Nutrition i. The poorer the mother's diet, the greater the loss in brain weight, especially if malnutrition occurred during the last trimester, when the brain is increasing rapidly in size. An inadequate diet during pregnancy can also distort the structure of the liver, kidney, pancreas, and cardiovascular system, resulting in lifelong health problems. ii. Taking a folic acid supplement around the time of conception reduces by more than 70% abnormalities of the neural tube, such as anencephaly and spina bifida. b. Maternal Stress i. When women experience emotional stress during pregnancy, especially during the first two trimesters, their babies are at risk for a wide variety of difficulties, including miscarriage, prematurity, low birth weight, infant respiratory and digestive illnesses, colic (persistent infant crying), sleep disturbances, and irritability during the first three years. c. Maternal Age i. Women who delay childbearing until their thirties or forties face increased risk of infertility, miscarriage, and babies born with chromosomal defects. ii. Infants born to teenagers have a higher rate of difficulties, but not directly because of maternal age. Most pregnant teenagers come from low-income backgrounds, where stress, poor nutrition, and health problems are common.
8. How might environment be able to "overcome" less than optimal gene-environment interactions?
a. Parents and other caring adults can uncouple unfavorable gene-environment correlations by providing children with positive experiences that modify the expression of heredity, yielding favorable outcomes.
1. List and describe the 3 periods of prenatal development, the timing of each period, and the major physical developments/milestones associated with each period.
a. Period of the Zygote i. Lasts about two weeks 1. The one-celled zygote multiplies and forms a blastocyst. The blastocyst burrows into the uterine lining. Structures that feed and protect the developing organism begin to form. b. Period of the Embryo i. The period of the embryo lasts from implantation through the eighth week of pregnancy. During these brief six weeks, the groundwork is laid for all body structures and organs. 1. Brain and spinal cord appear at 3-4 weeks, heart, muscles, ribs, backbone, and digestive tract begin to develop 2. At 5-8 weeks, many external body structures (face, arm, legs, toes, fingers), and internal organs form. The sense of touch begins to develop, and the embryo can move. c. Period of the Fetus i. Lasts about 9-12 weeks 1. Rapid increase in size begins 2. Nervous system, organs, and muscles become organized and connected, and new behavioral capacities (kicking, thumb sucking, mouth opening, and rehearsal of breathing) appear. 3. External genitals are well formed, and the fetus's sex is evident.
4. Be able to compare and explain the negative effects of both poverty and affluence on children. What is the rate of poverty among different ethnicities? What are explanations for the effects on children of poverty and affluence?
a. Poverty i. Children of poverty are more likely than other children to suffer from lifelong poor physical health, persistent deficits in cognitive development and academic achievement, high school dropout, mental illness and antisocial behavior. ii. More than 21% of U.S. children are poor, a rate that climbs to 32% for Hispanic children, 34% for Native American children, and 38% for African American children. b. Affluence i. Affluent children more likely to engage in alcohol and drug use and report high levels of anxiety and depression. Report less emotional closeness and supervision from their parents, who lead professionally and socially demanding lives.
5. Describe the 4 phases and 4 styles of the attachment relationship. How do culture, SES, quality of caregiving, and consistent caregiving influence attachment security and insecurity? (See parenting style handout from class)
a. Preattachment phase (birth to 6 weeks) - built in signals - grasping, smiling, crying, and gazing into the adult's eyes - help bring newborn babies into close contact with other humans, who comfort them. b. "Attachment in the making" phase (6 weeks to 6-8 months) - during this phase, infants respond differently to a familiar caregiver than to a stranger. c. "Clear-Cut" attachment phase (6-8 months to 18 months - 2 years) - babies display separation anxiety, becoming upset when their trust caregiver leaves. d. Formation of a reciprocal relationship (18 months to 2 years and on) - Rapid growth in representation and language permits toddlers to understand some of the factors that influence the parent's coming and going and to predict her return.
7. What are some of the known effects of an infant being born preterm, low birth weight, and small-for-term? How are some interventions able to ameliorate these negative effects?
a. Preterm i. Most low birth weight infants go on to lead normal lives. ii. Despite being relatively low-risk for disabilities, a substantial number of 34-week preterms are below average in physical growth and mildly to moderately delayed in cognitive development in early and middle childhood. iii. Special infant Stimulation is a type of intervention. b. Small-For-Term i. More serious problems 1. More likely to die, catch infections, and show evidence of brain damage. By middle childhood, they have lower intelligence test scores, are less attentive, achieve more poorly in school, and are socially immature. c. Low Birth Weight i. Brain abnormalities, frequent illness, inattention, over activity, sensory impairments, poor motor coordination, language delays, low intelligence test scores, etc
5. What are the "typical" orders of fine and gross motor skills development? (I.e., seeing a toy of interest, how would the fine motor behaviors of a child of different ages reveal interest in obtaining the object?)
a. Reaching and Grasping i. Newborn: Prereaching - poorly coordinated swipes toward an object in front of them ii. 3 - 4 months: Ulnar grasp - a clumsy motion in which the fingers close against the palm. iii. 4-5 months: Transferring object from hand to hand - when infants begin to sit up, both hands become coordinated in exploring objects. iv. 9 months: Pincer grasp - infants use the thumb and index finger opposably.
3. What types of skills emerge as a function of the acquisition of mental representation?
a. Representation enables older toddlers to solve advanced object permanence problems involving invisible displacement - finding a toy moved while out of sight, such as into a small box while under a cover. It permits deferred imitation - the ability to remember and copy the behavior of models who are not present. And it makes possible make-believe play, in which children act out every day and imaginary activities.
6. Explain what the research on resilience reveals concerning the interaction between biology and environment on developmental outcomes.
a. Research on resilience highlights the complex connections between heredity and environment. Armed with positive characteristics, which stem from native endowment, favorable rearing experiences, or both, children and adolescents can act to reduce stressful situations.
6. What did the NICHD study reveal about factors that lead to positive and negative outcomes for children in childcare?
a. Research suggests that some infants may be at risk for attachment insecurity and later adjustment problems due to inadequate child care, long hours in such care, and parental pressures of full time employment and child rearing.
3. Be able to explain what temperament is, the dimensions that underlie it (i.e., Rothbart's model), and both positive and negative outcomes associated with different types of temperaments and dimensions.
a. Temperament - early appearing, stable individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation. b. Rothbart's Model of Temperament i. Activity Level - Level of gross-motor activity ii. Attention span/persistence - duration of orienting or interest iii. Fearful distress - wariness and distress in response to intense or novel stimuli, including time to adjust to new situations iv. Irritable Distress - extent of fussing, crying, and distress when desires are frustrated v. Positive affect - frequency of expression of happiness and pleasure vi. Effortful control - capacity to voluntarily suppress a dominant, reactive response in order to plan and execute a more adaptive response.
5. Be able to provide an in-depth example of how some aspect of a person's development is impacted at each level of Bronfenbrenner's bioecological system. Be able to identify the central features of each level. What are the basic tents of this theoretical approach? What role to bi-directional and third-party influences play in this theory?
a. The Microsystem i. The innermost level of the environment, the microsystem, consists of activities and interaction patterns in the person's immediate surroundings. 1. All relationships are bidirectional. ii. Third parties -other individuals of the microsystem - also affect the quality of any two-person relationship. b. The Mesosystem i. Encompasses connections between microsystems. c. The Exosystem i. Consists of social settings that do not contain the developing person but nevertheless affect experiences in immediate settings. d. The Macrosystem i. Consists of cultural values, laws, customs and resources.
4. In what ways do the more recent theoretical perspectives differ in their approach to understanding human development across the lifespan?
a. They focus on different domains of development b. Every theory contains a point of view about development.
4. What is the goodness-of-fit model and how does it impact temperament and adaptive functioning?
a. Thomas and Chess (1977) proposed a goodness of fit model to describe how temperament and environment together can produce favorable outcomes. Goodness of fit involves creating child-rearing environments that recognize each child's temperament while encouraging more adaptive functioning.
6. What is the Apgar and how does it assess a newborn's physical state immediately following birth?
a. To assess the newborn's physical condition quickly, doctors and nurses use the Apgar scale. A rating of 0, 1, or 2, on each of five characteristics is made at 1 minute and again at 5 minutes after birth. A combined Apgar score of 7 or better indicates that the infant is in good physical condition.
2. How and why has use of the violation-of-expectation method allowed us to learn that infants understand more than Piaget's theory suggested? Be prepared to share examples of research that revealed this.
a. To discover what infants know about hidden objects and other aspects of physical reality, researchers often use the violation-of-expectation method. Heightened attention to the unexpected event suggests that the infant is "surprised" by a deviation from physical reality and, therefore, is aware of that aspect of the physical world.
9. Be able to describe the sensory capacities of a newborn and how these might contribute to its earliest social relationships? Be familiar with the research that has revealed what we know about the newborn's sensory systems.
a. Touch i. The newborn baby responds to touch, especially around the mouth, on the palms, and on the soles of the feet. Newborns even use touch to investigate their world. When small objects are placed in their palms, they can distinguish shape and texture, as indicated by their tendency to hold on longer to objects with an unfamiliar shape or texture. b. Taste and Smell i. Like adults, they relax their facial muscles in response to sweetness, purse their lips when the taste is sour, and show a distinct arch like mouth opening when it is bitter. ii. Certain odor preferences are present at birth. The smell of bananas or chocolate causes a relaxed, pleasant facial expression, whereas the odor of rotten eggs makes the infant frown. c. Hearing i. Newborn infants can hear a wide variety of sounds, and their sensitivity improves greatly over the first few months. At birth, infants prefer complex sounds, such as noises and voices, to pure tones. And babies only a few days old can tell the difference between diverse sound patterns, a series of tones arranged in ascending versus descending order, utterances with two versus three syllables, etc d. Vision i. Vision is the least developed of the newborn baby's senses. Visual structures in both the eye and the brain are not yet fully formed. Visual acuity is limited.
8. Explain why ethical concerns are especially complex when conducting developmental research.
a. When children or the aged take part in research, the ethical concerns are especially complex. Immaturity makes it difficult or impossible for children to evaluate for themselves what participation in research will mean. And because mental impairment rises with very advanced age, some older adults cannot make voluntary and informed choices. The life circumstances of others make them unusually vulnerable to pressure for participation.
Describe why the lifespan perspective is beneficial for studying human development. Be able to describe and provide examples of the four key features of the lifespan perspective.
a. Why Important i. Basic Research ii. Improves understanding of complex behaviors 1. E.g. Kagan and temperament iii. Applied Research 1. Explores how research findings can be applied in specific situations to improve people's lives iv. Social policy, education practices, parenting, etc. b. Lifespan Perspective i. Development is a dynamic system of ongoing processes: 1. Development is: a. Lifelong b. Influenced by multiple, interacting forces i. History-graded, age-graded, non-normative c. Plastic (pg. G-9 in glossary) d. Multidimensional and multidirectional i. Growth and decline at all stages ii. Multiple influences - biology, psychology, social
8. The U.S. has a very high infant mortality rate when compared to other developed countries. What are some of the hypothesized explanations for this trend? Given what is known about countries with much lower infant mortality, how might the U.S. reduce our rates?
a. Widespread poverty and weak health-care programs for mothers and young children are largely responsible.
