infant and child development
Theory is best defined as
interconnected statements, ideas or principles that explain observable events.
Gait-mats are useful to assess infant walking ability, however they are limited in that they
require infants to walk in a straight line.
Scientists' ability to locate a gene thought to be involved in an inherited disease has greatly increased because of
the Human Genome Project.
Errors in the number of chromosomes that affect early development typically occur
during the meiotic divisions that produce gametes
Research in brain growth and functioning has led to greater understanding of why some children are _______, while others suffer great harm under adverse environmental conditions.
resilient
Being able to detect a sound is defined as _______ threshold, whereas being able to detect that a change in sound occurred from a first sound to a second sound is called _______ threshold.
absolute; difference
Gesell's work involved documenting the motor abilities and physical growth of infants, including changing skills in prehension, which refers to
approaching, grasping, and releasing objects.
Electrical impulses travel from the cell body to _______ where neurotransmitters are released to send signals to other neurons.
axon terminals
Cruising behavior in infants is functionally similar to _______ behavior because of the heavy reliance on _______.
crawling; muscles in the arms
In a longitudinal design, a researcher
studies a cohort of similarly aged individuals over an extended period of time
A(n) _______ has been used to describe the unique components and interactive influence genetic and environmental aspects have on human development.
library metaphor
Klinefelter syndrome and Turner syndrome provide evidence that
random negative mutations can occur.
Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development is best characterized by which example?
A child counts to five, but the teacher helps the child count a few more numbers to 10.
Synaptogenesis begins prenatally and is especially rapid
before and after birth.
Children whose mothers consumed high levels of fish oil (DHA) while pregnant are more likely to
show advantages on visual attention and processing speed at 24 months.
A reason that an infant may experience anoxia can be due to
a baby being in the breech position.
Which finding is consistent with the theory that regions of the brain specialized for experience-expectant plasticity are not necessarily locked into their "expected" paths of development?
A deaf child's auditory processing areas become specialized for visual processing.
Mai and Clifton are both sitting upright on an experimenter's lap and are presented with an interesting toy that is slightly beyond their reach. Although Clifton attempts to lean forward to grab the object, Mai does not, knowing it is too far away. Based on your knowledge of the development of reaching, you could conclude that
Clifton is likely younger than Mai.
The Swiss psychologist best known for his theory of cognitive development is
Jean Piaget
Zoe noticed that, while sleeping, she rarely dreams and does not change position in her bed. Zoe is likely to be mostly in what type of sleep?
Non-REM
At age 6, Karen entered school and had difficulty learning to read. At age 8, she concluded she was not smart enough to learn as easily as her classmates did. At age 14 she decided she would leave school as soon as she turned 16. This demonstrates
a negative developmental cascade over time
Fetal alcohol syndrome is characterized in children by
a small forehead, short nose, and thin upper lip.
In contrast to cultural practices of sleep in the United States, the Kipsigi community in rural Kenya practice
allow infants to take many naps and wake several times throughout the night to nurse on demand.
According to the Gestalt theory of perception, infants' perceptual skills would result in
an adultlike capacity to organize visual stimuli into meaningful patterns.
The part of the brain responsible for higher-order skills and that distinguishes humans from other animals is the
cerebral cortex.
A researcher wants to study the impact of prenatal nutrition on motor development. To rigorously test his hypothesis that protein content in the prenatal diet affects timing of motor milestones, the researcher
designs a prospective longitudinal study
The Barker hypothesis was established as a result of
detailed records of women's life histories and pregnancies being combined with national health records to reveal developmental origins of disease.
A main benefit due to the process of myelination is the
improvement in the conductivity of the nerve impulses.
The ecological theory of perception proposed a significant departure from earlier views on infant perceptual development because the theory emphasized the
infant's role in piecing together dynamic, visual experiences in their environment in a way that allowed them to make sense of their experiences.
One explanation advanced for the "attractiveness effect" in infants is that
infants prefer "attractive" faces as they resemble the "prototype" face that would result from averaging many faces.
Henry is being fed by his mother. Each time her mouth moves, he hears sounds ("Open wide! This is yummy!") and then feels the cold, smooth texture of the food in his mouth. After each bite of food, he hears the spoon lightly tapping against the applesauce container as his mother prepares another bite of food for him. Henry's integration of these experiences into an understanding of being fed is an example of
intermodal perception.
The use of the ghavora among mothers in Tajikistan contributes to our understanding of the role of culture in influencing motor development because
it significantly restricts infant movement when used, and as a result, infants who spend many hours in the gahvora may show delays in certain motor skills based on norms established by the World Health Organization.
Developmental changes in motor development such as learning to crawl and walk are likely to lead to changes in
language, socio-emotional, and cognitive development
During the embryonic period, cells of the embryo begin to fold into three layers. The layer that contains cells for bone tissue is called the
mesoderm.
A condition in which an infant is born with an abnormally small head and brain is called
microcephaly.
A child has the impulse to hit other children when he gets upset. However, the child realizes such behaviors are inappropriate and unacceptable, and therefore the child refrains from hitting. According to Freud's theory, the
superego is imposing societal demands on the id.
The brain's volume gradually increases over childhood through the processes of
synaptogenesis and myelination.
Research shows that a large number of neural connections are formed during the first few months and years of life. This process is known as
synaptogenesis.
A large influence on U.S. parents' avoidance of co-sleeping with their infant stems from
the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation for infants not to share a bed to minimize the risk of SIDS.
Developmental onset refers to
the approximate age at which a skill emerges
Comparisons of siblings who were versus were not breastfed has revealed that
the benefits of breastmilk may be overstated and confounded by other family factors.
A person's _______ has a higher degree of phenotypic plasticity than their _______.
weight; eye color
When Juan witnessed the birth of his newborn, he noticed that the tiny human was covered with a slimy, white substance and small hairs all over the baby's body. This slimy, white substance is called _______, and the small hairs are called _______.
vernix;lanugo
When viewing objects at different distances, the lens of the eye automatically changes shape in a process known as
visual accommodation.
Kendra is beginning to display evidence of prospective control. This means that
when reaching for objects, she will adjust her hand to match the object's size before touching the object.
Maternal malnourishment may lead to fetal growth retardation and low birth weight due to
"starvation" signals to the fetus that food is likely to be scarce in the future.
Policies and programs are developed to improve and enhance the lives of families and children. Which national program discussed in the book has been implemented to benefit children's learning?
A library reading program that encourages children to explore many books
Which is an example of a developmental cascade?
As the fetus moves, it generates feedback that leads to improved motor coordination, which is important for later motor development.
_______ appear(s) to adjust in line with human experience and can serve to accelerate or delay the opening of a sensitive period.
Brain plasticity
Lilly and Max are dizygotic twins. A doctor once explained to their parents that Max has a higher chance of inheriting color blindness than Lilly. Why would that be?
Color blindness is a sex-linked trait associated with the X chromosome.
A child has difficulty processing information early on, leading to challenges in making friends and later, to experiences of being bullied. What are these related effects called?
Developmental cascades
Darius and Xavier are identical twins. At age 20, Darius was diagnosed with cancer but recovered with treatment. The two men are now 50 years old and Xavier has never been diagnosed with cancer. What concept might explain this difference?
Epigenetics
Which of the following structures in the retina is responsible for determining the overall visual acuity of infants?
Fovea
Aiden's parents consistently placed him on his tummy whenever he went to sleep. Gertrude, on the other hand, was consistently placed on her back. Based on the findings from the Back-to-Sleep campaign, it is likely that
Gertrude will likely be delayed compared to Aiden in skills related to related to rolling over, sitting, and crawling.
What surrounds and protects neurons, and influences communication among neurons by helping in the formation and strengthening of synapses?
Glial cells
Which of the following best illustrates how infants' ability to perceive color is different from adults'?
Infants categorize colors in the same way as do adults.
Which of these scenarios best illustrates the concept of perceptual narrowing?
Infants raised by their fathers show greater ability to distinguish among male faces compared to female faces.
Which is not a developmental cascade related to low birth weight?
None of the above—all are possible developmental cascades related to low birth weight
Laticia loved eating spicy foods when she was pregnant, while Anne preferred foods that were heavily salted. Their interests in these foods continued as they breastfed their babies. Given what you know about the development of infant taste preferences, it is likely that
Laticia's child will prefer spicy foods and Anne's child will prefer salty foods.
Molly and her mother are playing with several different size balls in their living room. With the small balls, Molly has learned how to grasp them in her hands and throw them back towards her mother. With the larger balls however, when Molly attempts to grasp them, as she touches and tries to hold them, she finds it is too difficult to do. As a result, she switches to rolling them back and forth. Which concept explains Molly's behavior?
Perception-action feedback loop
As an infant, Bryan started using his hands to grasp objects with his whole hand before he was able to use his fingers to press small buttons and turn knobs. The ability to grasp objects before being able to use fingers individually is an example of what principle of growth?
Proximodistal development
Jess was born with cataracts in both eyes. Considering brain-expectant plasticity, which is the best course of action?
Remove the cataracts during infancy, as removing them after infancy increases the chance of visual impairments.
A group of researchers attempted to recreate several studies with identical procedures. These researchers discovered that most repeated studies were unable to match the original results. This shows a problem in which phenomenon?
Scientific replicability
Robyn and Marlene climbed the neighbors' fence to use their trampoline. Robyn's mom got angry and put Robyn on a timeout before giving a chore to Robyn. Marlene saw Robyn get scolded and punished and never climbed the fence again. Why?
She saw what could happen to her (vicarious reinforcement learning).
What is the name of the membrane that contains a clear, watery fluid in which the fetus floats?
The amniotic sac
The first six weeks after childbirth is what period of development?
The postnatal period
Infants were initially habituated to the category "vehicles" by being shown images of different cars and trucks. Following this, they were shown a picture of a school bus next to a picture of an apple. Based on your knowledge of how infants form categories for different objects, which of the following statements would best illustrate how infants would respond?
They would look less at the school bus compared to the apple, having grouped the bus as a type of vehicle.
Four-month-old Emile watches as a researcher rolls a ball down a plank, through a colorful tunnel. Although he can smoothly track the progress of the ball's movement down the track, he doesn't look to the other side of the tunnel until the ball pops out. On the other hand, 7-month-old Bella anticipates its appearance after entering the tunnel and shifts her eyes to the end of the tunnel before the ball appears. Compared to Emile, Bella shows
anticipatory eye movements.
The process of implantation involves the
blastocyst becoming firmly embedded in the lining of the uterus.
Cognitive development, physical development,socio-emotional development, language development are referred to as
different domains of development
Champagne and Meaney's study of rat licking provided evidence that
early experience may alter gene expression.
Hubel and Wiesel's experiments with kittens helped to better understand
experience-expectant plasticity.
Jackson's mother presented him with a new toy, a colorful rattler. At first, Jackson stared intently at the toy, but after attending to it for a few minutes, he began to look away, and eventually did not show interest in the toy at all. Jackson's behavior would signal that he had
habituated to the toy.
The placement of a man's sperm into a woman's uterus using a long, narrow tube, which is sometimes used to address infertility, is referred to as
intrauterine insemination (IUI).
Dr. Tay is interested in examining at what age infants' visual acuity improves. She shows infants of various ages two photos of the same object, a flower. In one of the photos, the picture is slightly blurred. In the other photo, the picture is sharp. Based on the concept of preferential looking, if infants can see the difference between the two photos, they will likely
look longer at the clear photo compared to the blurred one
A researcher has designed a study that will involve obtaining frequent, closely spaced observations of children. This is a _______ study.
microgenetic
Imani grew up in a region of Africa where malaria is prevalent. Many in her community that have lived there for generations seem to have increased resistance to the disease compared to families who have recently moved to the area. However, others moved away from Africa to areas without malaria where the gene was not needed to protect against the disease. This instance is an example of a
mixed mutation.
In a study on infant depth cue perception, researchers found that older infants could judge the distances of objects using only one eye, but that younger infants needed both eyes to do so. Older infants are therefore able to rely on _______ cues to gauge distance whereas younger infants need to still rely on _______ cues.
monocular; binocular
Ainsley was looking out the window of her parents' car as they were taking a trip to the beach. To her eyes, it appeared as though the trees and fences nearest to the car went past her very quickly, but the large clouds overhead moved very slowly, a phenomenon known as
motion parallax.
Three-year-old Lila's mom is angry on the phone, raises her voice, and yells before slamming the phone on a table. Later, her mom sees the little girl yelling at her doll for being late and abruptly pushing the doll onto the floor. This is an example of
observational learning.
Rutter (1981) conducted a study on children from an orphanage: When infants received adequate care in adoptive homes, they became more affectionate, more cheerful. This is an example of
plasticity—infants can adapt and even change in response to improved environments or experiences.
An evolutionary argument for how the adaptive response to maternal stress may aid a fetus to survive postnatally includes the idea that
prenatal exposure to cortisol can affect infant negativity and lateraggression which may help children compete for resources and cope with a hostile and threatening world.
Children who have highly responsive mothers
produce two word utterances earlier than average
The death of superfluous neuronal connections is referred to as
pruning.
Learning a language is substantially easier up until the age of 12. This is evidence of
sensitive periods.
Jeremy and Sam are identical twins. However, Sam is slightly taller than Jeremy. Differences such as this
show differences in phenotype.
The main difference between premature infants and small-for-date infants is that
small-for-date infants weigh less than expected at birth based on the time they spent in the womb.
A great deal of developmental research is correlational rather than experimental because
the ethical principle of benevolence prohibits some forms of experimentation with children
Cortisol regulates body processes such as metabolism and _______ and helps the body respond to _______.
the immune response; stress
In comparing both animal studies and twin studies, researchers feel confident in the finding that
the same principles of gene-environment interactions observed in animals apply to humans.
During Meredith's pregnancy, Meredith had a procedure performed thatresulted in an image of her fetus. This technique is called
ultrasonography.
Dr. Sahel is interested in age differences in theory of mind. To design a study in a way that enables the most rapid data collection, she should
use a cross-sectional design
A researcher wishes to study the electrical brain activity of infants as they process stimuli. They are likely to use which technology to record the electrical activity in the surface of infants' brains?
EEG
What process occurs during the prenatal period that assists the development of the digestive system?
The fetus swallows amniotic fluid regularly
Isha and Tybere are both 10 months old. Isha is considered an "experienced" crawler whereas Tybere is not. When placed at the top of a steep flight of stairs, it is most likely that
Tybere would attempt to crawl down the stairs, but Isha would remain on the landing.
