Psychology Ch. 4

Between ages 1 and 2, the typical baby grows about _____ inches and gains about _____ pounds.

4; 8

Infants and toddlers grow

in little spurts.

Maggi is concerned because her 8-month-old daughter has gained 10 pounds since birth and has transformed into a round, plump baby. You can assure Maggi that her daughter’s rise in "baby fat."

helps her maintain a constant body temperature.

During infancy, __________. These sex differences will __________ during adolescence.

girls are slightly shorter and lighter than boys; be greatly magnified

Which of the following children is the most likely to be above the growth norms?

Isaiah, an African-American boy

Skeletal age is determined by __________ to determine the extent to which soft, pliable cartilage has hardened into bone.

X-raying the long bones of the body

When skeletal ages are examined at birth,

the sexes differ by about 4 to 6 weeks.

Which of the following statements is consistent with the cephalocaudal trend of body growth?

During the prenatal period, the head develops more rapidly than the lower part of the body.

Which of the following statements is consistent with the proximodistal trend of body growth?

During childhood, the arms and legs grow somewhat ahead of the hands and feet.

At birth, the brain is

nearer to its adult size than any other physical structure.

Neurons

store and transmit information.

The human brain has __________ neurons.

100 to 200 billion

Synapses are

tiny gaps where fibers from different neurons come close together but do not touch.

Neurons send messages to one another by releasing chemicals called

neurotransmitters.

A surprising aspect of brain growth is that

as synapses form, many surrounding neurons die.

As neurons form connections, stimulation

becomes vital to their survival.

When Baby Jaleel was born, stimulation in his brain resulted in a massive overabundance of synapses. Neurons that were seldom stimulated began to lose their synapses. This process is known as

synaptic pruning.

In all, about _____ percent of synapses are pruned during childhood and adolescence to reach the adult level.

40

For synaptic pruning to advance,

appropriate stimulation of the child’s brain is vital during periods in which the formation of synapses is at its peak

__________ are responsible for myelination.

Glial cells

Coating the neural fibers with an insulating fatty sheath during the process of __________ improves the efficiency of message transfer.

myelination

Which of the following statements about brain development is true?

Gains in neural fibers and myelination account for the extraordinary gain in overall brain size.

__________ provide(s) the most precise information about which brain regions are specialized for certain capacities.

Neuroimaging techniques

Mia, age 3, is about to undergo a neurobiological exam. The doctor wishes to examine the functioning of Mia’s cerebral cortex to measure blood flow and oxygen metabolism. The best method for the doctor to choose in Mia’s case is probably

near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).

The __________ is the largest brain structure, accounting for 85 percent of the brain’s weight

cerebral cortex

Which of the following statements about the cerebral cortex is true?

It is sensitive to environmental influences for a longer period than any other part of the brain.

The cortical regions with the most extended period of development are responsible for

thought.

Which of the following statements about the frontal lobes is true?

They are responsible for consciousness, inhibition of impulses, and integration of information.

In left-handed people, the

cerebral cortex may be less clearly specialized than in right-handed people.

The specialization of the two hemispheres of the brain is known as

lateralization.

A lateralized brain

may have evolved because it enabled humans to cope more successfully with changing environmental demands.

Which of the following statements about brain plasticity is true?

Many areas of a highly plastic cerebral cortex are not yet committed to specific functions.

Which of the following provides evidence that the brain hemispheres have already begun to specialize at birth?

Most newborns show greater ERP brain-wave activity in the right hemisphere while listening to nonspeech sounds.

__________ greatly influences the organization of the cerebral cortex.

Early experience

In the first few years of life, the brain is

highly plastic.

In a large study of children with injuries to the cerebral cortex that occurred before birth or in the first six months of life, researchers found that

undamaged areas—in either the left or the right hemisphere—took over certain language functions.

Sharon’s 46-year-old husband suffered a traumatic brain injury in an automobile accident. What information about brain plasticity can you provide to Sharon?

The adult brain can produce a small number of new neurons and generate new synapses.

Research reveals that

deaf adults who, as infants and children, learned sign language depend more than hearing individuals on the right hemisphere for language processing.

Animal studies on early sensory deprivation

verify the existence of sensitive periods in brain development.

Michael was born with cataracts in both eyes. What can you tell his parents about the possibility of recovery as it relates to sensitive periods in brain development?

The longer cataract surgery is postponed beyond infancy, the less complete the recovery in visual skills.

In the study of Romanian orphans adopted into British homes, children adopted __________ attained the highest mental test scores in childhood and adolescence.

before 6 months

The chronic stress of early, deprived orphanage rearing

disrupts the brain’s capacity to manage stress.

In the study of Romanian orphans adopted into Canadian homes, the longer the children spent in orphanage care, the __________ their __________.

higher; cortisol levels

In the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, where specially trained social workers provided foster parents with counseling and support,

the foster-care group exceeded the institutional-care group in intelligence test scores, language skills, and emotional responsiveness.

__________ brain growth refers to the young brain’s rapidly developing organization, which depends on ordinary experiences.

Experience-expectant

__________ brain growth consists of additional growth and refinement of established brain structures as a result of specific learning experiences that vary widely across individuals and cultures.

Experience-dependent

Which of the following learning experiences should Cheryl, a caregiver, use to promote experience-expectant brain growth?

playing a game of peekaboo

Which of the following statements regarding a sensitive period for mastering musical performance skills is true?

No evidence exists for a sensitive period in the first few years of life for mastering musical performance skills.

Between birth and 2 years,

the organization of sleep and wakefulness changes substantially.

Between the ages of __________, napping subsides.

3 and 5 years

Compared to U.S. babies, Dutch babies

sleep, on average, 2 hours more per day.

Parent-infant "cosleeping" is the norm for approximately _____ percent of the world’s population.

90

Cosleeping

babies breastfeed three times longer than infants who sleep alone.

Rachel is concerned that she might accidentally suffocate her baby if she shares a bed with him. What information can you share with Rachel about precautions taken in cultures where cosleeping is widespread?

Parents and infants usually sleep on hard surfaces, such as firm mattresses, floor mats, or wooden planks.

When __________ and __________ are adequate, height is largely determined by heredity.

diet; health

__________ growth is a return to a genetically influenced growth path once negative conditions improve.

Catch-up

The weights of adopted children

correlate more strongly with those of their biological than of their adoptive parents.

__________ percent of babies’ total caloric intake is devoted to growth.

Twenty-five

The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until age __________, with solid foods added at __________.

2 years; 6 months

Breastfeeding for just a few weeks

offers some protection against respiratory and intestinal infections.

In the U.S. today,

more than half of breastfeeding mothers stop by 6 months.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advises exclusive breastfeeding for the first __________ and inclusion of breast milk in the baby’s diet until at least __________.

6 months; 1 year

Breastfed and bottle-fed children in industrialized nations

do not differ in later emotional adjustment.

Most chubby babies

thin out during toddlerhood and early childhood.

In interviews with more than 1,500 U.S. parents of infants and toddlers, results indicated that

as many as one-fourth ate no fruits and one-third no vegetables.

Jack and Jami are concerned that their chubby infant son Angus will become an overweight adult. Which of the following steps can they take to help prevent that?

Limit the time Angus spends in front of the TV.

Shay suffers from a wasted condition of the body caused by a diet low in all essential nutrients. Shay most likely has

marasmus

Yokow gets just enough calories from starchy foods, but his diet is very low in protein. He has an enlarged belly, swollen feet, and a rash on his skin. Yokow probably suffers from

kwashiorkor.

When the diets of severely malnourished children improve, they

tend to gain excessive weight.

Today, inadequate nutrition

is not confined to developing countries.

Yolanda, age 2, is being raised in Texas by a single mother. While Yolanda’s mother works, she does not always have sufficient funds to purchase enough food for a healthy, active life. Yolanda is skinny and withdrawn. Yolanda suffers from

food insecurity.

Which of the following statements about infant learning is true?

Babies learn through their natural preference for novel stimulation.

Newborn reflexes make __________ possible in the young infant.

classical conditioning

In classical conditioning, once a baby’s nervous system makes a connection between two stimuli, the __________ stimulus produces __________.

neutral; the behavior by itself

Every time baby Gloria nurses, she is placed on a nursing pillow. Gloria’s mom later noticed that each time Gloria was placed on the pillow, she made sucking movements. In this example, __________ is the conditioned stimulus.

placement on the pillow

In classical conditioning, if the conditioned stimulus is presented alone enough times, without being paired with the unconditioned stimulus, __________ will __________.

extinction; occur

Young infants can be classically conditioned most easily when

the association between two stimuli has survival value.

Some responses, such as __________, are very difficult to classically condition in young babies because they do not yet have the motor skills needed to deal appropriately with stimuli.

fear

In __________, infants act on the environment, and stimuli that follow their behavior change the probability that the behavior will occur again.

operant conditioning

In operant conditioning, a reinforcer

is a stimulus that increases the occurrence of a response.

Removing a desirable stimulus or presenting an unpleasant one to decrease the occurrence of a response is called

punishment.

A researcher hangs a mobile over the crib of 4-month-old Anya. When the researcher attaches Anya’s foot to the mobile with a long cord, Anya can, by kicking, make the mobile turn. The turning of the mobile is an example of a(n)

reinforcer.

__________ refers to a gradual reduction in the strength of a response due to repetitive stimulation

Habituation

At first, baby Mario was easily awakened every night by a barking dog in his neighborhood. Several weeks later, Mario’s sleep is not bothered by the dog’s barks. This is an example of

habituation.

Following habituation, when a new stimulus causes responsiveness to return to a high level, the increase is called

recovery.

A baby who first habituates to a visual pattern and then recovers to a new one appears to

perceive the second pattern as new and different from the first pattern.

Dr. Eden studies a fetus’s sensitivity to external stimuli by measuring changes in fetal heart rate when various repeated sounds are presented. Dr. Eden is probably using

habituation and recovery.

By focusing on the shift from a novelty preference to a familiarity preference, researchers can use habituation to assess

remote memory.

Which of the following statements about imitation is true?

Babies several months old often do not imitate an adult’s behavior right away because they first try to play familiar social games.

__________ fire identically when a primate hears or sees an action and when it carries out that action on its own.

Mirror neurons

__________ refers to control over actions that help infants get around in the environment, whereas __________ has to do with smaller movements, such as reaching and grasping.

Gross-motor development; fine-motor development

Which of the following is an example of a fine-motor skill?

grasping

Four-month-old Logan’s parents are tracking his motor development. Which of the following motor skills is Logan likely to have already achieved?

when prone, lifts self by arms

Children acquire motor skills

in highly individual ways.

According to __________ of motor development, mastery of motor skills involves acquiring increasingly complex systems of action.

dynamic systems theory

Dynamic systems theory provides convincing evidence that the development of motor skills

is profoundly influenced by the physical environment.

Which of the following mothers is the most likely to actively discourage rapid motor development?

Biyaki, a Gusii mother

Kipsigi and West Indian infants walk considerably earlier than North American infants because

their parents emphasize early motor maturity, practicing formal exercises to stimulate particular skills.

Of all motor skills, __________ may play the greatest role in infant cognitive development.

reaching

Newborn Sam’s poorly coordinated swipes or swings toward an object in front of him is called

prereaching.

Four-month-old Kaitlyn reaches for a toy. She grabs it by closing her fingers against her palm. Kaitlyn is using

the ulnar grasp.

A baby’s ability to manipulate objects greatly expands with the development of __________, use of the thumb and index finger opposably

the pincer grasp

One-year-old Jameson sits on the sidewalk picking up blades of grass left after his mother mows the lawn. Jameson is using

the pincer grasp.

Dr. Sardoza is interested in research on the organization and interpretation of what we see. Dr. Sardoza studies

perception.

ERP brain-wave recordings reveal that around 5 months, babies

become sensitive to syllable stress patterns in their own language.

At first, babies are sensitive to virtually all speech sounds, but around 6 months, they

narrow their focus, limiting distinctions to the language they hear and will soon learn

Which of the following individuals is the most likely to be able to discriminate individual faces of both humans and monkeys equally well?

Jake, a 6-month-old

Research suggests that there is a sensitive period, __________, when babies are biologically prepared to "zero in" on socially meaningful perceptual distinctions.

in the second half of the first year

Around 7 to 9 months, infants

begin to divide the speech stream into wordlike units.

Which of the following statements about speech stream patterns is true?

When presented with controlled sequences of nonsense syllables, babies listen for statistical regularities.

For exploring the environment, humans depend on __________ more than any other sense.

vision

__________, infants can focus on objects about as well as adults can.

Around 2 months

__________ improves steadily, reaching 20/80 by 6 months and an adult level of about 20/20 by 4 years.

Visual acuity

__________ is the first depth cue to which infants are sensitive.

Motion

__________ depth cues arise because our two eyes have slightly different views of the visual field.

Binocular

Infants with a lot of crawling experience

are more likely than their inexperienced agemates to remember object locations.

Which of the following pictures is newborn Alex most likely to prefer to look at?

a black-and-white checkerboard with a few large squares

Which of the following statements about pattern perception is true?

If babies are sensitive to the contrast in two or more patterns, they prefer the one with more contrast.

One surprising finding of infant face perception is that infants will look longer at

attractive faces than unattractive ones.

Lana understands that an object’s shape is the same whether she sees it or touches it; that breaking a glass causes a sharp, crashing sound; and that the pattern of footsteps signals the approach of a person. This understanding is called

intermodal stimulation.

When baby Jon’s dad talks to him, Jon focuses on his dad’s voice and face. Jon is detecting

amodal sensory properties.

Which of the following statements about intermodal perception is true?

It fosters all aspects of psychological development.

According to __________ theory, infants actively search for invariant features of the environment in a constantly changing perceptual world.

differentiation

__________ make(s) crawlers and walkers more aware of the consequences of their movements.

Experience in trying to keep their balance on various surfaces

According to the cognitive perspective of perceptual development, babies

impose meaning on what they perceive.