5.1 Developmental Issues, Prenatal Development, and the Newborn

Which statement is MOST relevant to evaluating the stability and change developmental issue?

Our temperament is more predictable than our social attitudes.

Which statement BEST exemplifies the influence of continuity rather than stages?

Students learn new facts about history from taking a school course.

Jean Piaget proposed a stage theory of __________ development.

cognitive

Body organs first begin to form and function during the period of the _______; within 6 months, during the period of the _______, the organs are sufficiently functional to allow a good chance of survival.

embryo;fetus

Zygotes

fertilized eggs

Infants' _____________ to repeated stimulation helps developmental psychologists study what they can learn and remember. .

habituation

The first two weeks of prenatal development is the period of the _________. The period of the _________ lasts from 9 weeks after conception until birth. The time between those two prenatal periods is considered the period of the _________.

zygote; fetus; embryo

Average rate of production of sperm is about ______ per second.

1000

Which statement provides evidence in favor of the idea that our development is mostly continuous? Please choose the correct answer from the following choices, and then select the submit answer button.

Adult life does not seem to progress through the fixed, predictable series of steps that Erik Erikson envisioned.

What is the course of prenatal development, and how do teratogens affect that development?

Conception-zygotes-embyro-fetus. Teratogens are potentially harmful agents that can pass through the placenta and harm embryo or fetus.

_______ psychology examines growth and changes in physical, cognitive and social areas across the life span.

Developmental

Meena and several classmates are participating in a debate concerning continuity versus stages in development. Meena's task is to support stage theories. Which of these points is Meena LEAST likely to make in the debate?

Most contemporary developmental psychologists are stage theorists

What are some newborn abilities, and how do researchers explore infants' mental abilities?

Newborns are born with sensory equipment and reflexes that help with their survival and their social interactions. Like, identifying their mother's smell and preferring the sound of adult voices. Researchers use techniques that test habituation.

Every time Mrs. Thomas touches her baby's left cheek, the baby turns that cheek toward her mother and opens her mouth. The reflex that is triggered by the mother's touch is known as the ______ reflex.

Rooting

What findings in psychology support (1) the stage theory of development and (2) the idea of stability in personality across the life span? What findings challenge these ideas?

Stage theory is supported by the work of Piaget (moral development), and Erikson ( psychosocial development). Some traits, such as temperament, exhibit remarkable stability across many years.

Although development is lifelong, there is stability of personality over time. For example,

Temperament tends to remain stable throughout life.

Chemicals that the placenta isn't able to screen out that can harm an embryo or fetus is called _____________.

Teratogens

What three issues have engaged developmental psychologists?

They focus on: nature and nurture; continuity and stages and stability and changes.

developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

Teratogens

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

The three major issues that interest developmental psychologists are nature/nurture, stability/change, and _________/_________.

continuity and stages

Developmental researchers who emphasize learning and experience are supporting ____________ ; those who emphasize biological maturation are supporting ____________ .

continuity; stages

Habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.

fetal alcohol syndrome

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking

In elementary school, Jessica thought boys had "cooties" and refused to be within inches of them. Now in high school, she flirts with boys and is anticipating dancing close with some of them at an upcoming dance. Her attitude toward boys represents:

the change side of the stability and change developmental issue.

fetus

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

embryo

the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month