Develop 1 - unit 1

Question 1

What is Developmental Psychology?

Answer 1

Discipline that describes and explains changes in thought, behaviour, reasoning and functioning due to biological, individual and environmental influences over the whole lifespan.

Question 2

What are the three inter-connected domains of human development?

Answer 2

• Biosocial
• Cognitive
• Psychosocial

Question 3

What does ‘growth’ refer to in developmental psychology?

Answer 3

Progressive increase in the size of the body and specific body parts.

Question 4

What does ‘maturation’ refer to in developmental psychology?

Answer 4

The unfolding of a genetically programmed sequence of events.

Question 5

What is the typical weight gain of babies in their first year?

Answer 5

By 1 year, they almost triple their weight.

Question 6

What is the cephalocaudal direction of development?

Answer 6

Development proceeds from head downwards.

Question 7

What is the proximodistal direction of development?

Answer 7

Development proceeds from the center outwards.

Question 8

What are fontanelles?

Answer 8

Soft spots in the neonate skull that allow for compression during birth.

Question 9

At what age is skeletal development typically complete?

Answer 9

By age 18.

Question 10

What is the role of the environment in human development?

Answer 10

The environment encompasses physical, cultural, and psychosocial factors that can influence development.

Question 11

According to J.B. Watson, what primarily dictates human development?

Answer 11

The environment in which a subject is raised.

Question 12

What is Gesell’s Maturational Theory?

Answer 12

All physical and psychological changes occur because they are biologically and genetically determined.

Question 13

What do behavioral genetics study?

Answer 13

The extent to which a behaviour or characteristic is influenced by genes, the environment, or both.

Question 14

What is the Twin Design in behavioral genetics?

Answer 14

A study comparing monozygotic twins raised together versus dizygotic twins to assess genetic influence.

Question 15

What is the focus of Adoption Design?

Answer 15

To determine whether adopted children resemble their biological or adoptive parents.

Question 16

What are concordance rates?

Answer 16

The percentages of pairs of people in which both members display a particular trait if one has it.

Question 17

What do correlation coefficients indicate?

Answer 17

Whether scores on a given variable are related between individuals.

Question 18

What is heritability?

Answer 18

An estimate of the amount of variation in an attribute that is due to hereditary factors.

Question 19

How is the heritability coefficient calculated?

Answer 19

H = (r identical twins − r fraternal twins) × 2

Question 20

What is the Canalization Principle?

Answer 20

The extent to which genes limit development to a small number of outcomes.

Question 21

How do personality traits relate to genetic influence?

Answer 21

Many personality traits are moderately heritable (H= +.40).

Question 22

What is the relationship between genes and behavioral disorders?

Answer 22

People inherit predispositions to develop certain illnesses or patterns of behavior, not the disorders themselves.

Question 23

What is the typical growth rate of children from 2 years old until puberty?

Answer 23

Children gain ~5-8cm and ~2.5-3 kg each year.

Question 24

What is the average percentage of muscle tissue at birth?

Answer 24

~35% water and accounts for ~18-24% of total body weight.

Question 25

What is the significance of the central nervous system in development?

Answer 25

It begins with the development of the neural tube which forms brain regions and the spinal cord.

Question 26

What does synaptic connection refer to in the nervous system?

Answer 26

The connections that are always changing throughout life.

Question 27

What is the primary motor and sensory areas development timeline in the cerebral cortex?

Answer 27

These areas are the fastest to develop, around ~6 months after birth.

Question 28

What is the importance of the hippocampus?

Answer 28

It's important for learning and memory, and new neurons can form here throughout life.

Question 29

What environmental factors influence human development?

Answer 29

* Physical * Cultural * Psychosocial

Question 30

What happens to the influence of shared environment on IQ as children age?

Answer 30

The influence of shared environment declines over time.

Question 31

What is the heritability coefficient of intelligence?

Answer 31

It increases over time, suggesting that genetic influence becomes more significant.

Question 32

At what age do monozygotic twins show observable genetic influence on intelligence?

Answer 32

By 18 months old.

Question 33

What is the significance of the study by Wilson (1978, 1983) on intelligence?

Answer 33

It showed that genetic influence on intelligence becomes observable as children grow.

Question 34

What does the term 'nonshared environmental influences' refer to?

Answer 34

Environmental factors that affect individuals differently within the same household.

Question 35

What is canalization in the context of genetics?

Answer 35

The extent to which genes limit/restrict development to a small number of outcomes ## Footnote Highly canalized traits have minimal environmental influence, such as eye color.

Question 36

Give an example of a highly canalized trait.

Answer 36

Eye color ## Footnote The environment has almost no effect on this observable trait.

Question 37

What is an example of a low canalized trait?

Answer 37

Weight ## Footnote The environment has a large effect on this observable trait.

Question 38

What does the Canalization Principle suggest about infant babbling?

Answer 38

All infants babble in the same way over the first 8 to 10 months of age ## Footnote This indicates that the environment has little effect on this behavior.

Question 39

What are some traits that are more susceptible to environmental influences?

Answer 39

Personality and intelligence ## Footnote These traits show greater variability based on environmental factors.

Question 40

What is the Range-of-Reaction Principle?

Answer 40

Genes establish a range of possible behaviors/traits that the subject may develop in response to an environment ## Footnote It explains how genetic potential interacts with environmental conditions.

Question 41

How do genes influence the range of potential IQ scores?

Answer 41

Genes set boundaries on the range of possible phenotypes ## Footnote The environment dictates where within that range an individual's IQ falls.

Question 42

What does the continuity perspective in human development suggest?

Answer 42

Human development is an additive process that occurs gradually without sudden changes ## Footnote It focuses on quantitative changes.

Question 43

What is the discontinuity perspective on human development?

Answer 43

It involves a series of abrupt changes elevating the subject to a more advanced level of functioning ## Footnote It emphasizes qualitative changes.

Question 44

Name a developmental theory that supports the discontinuity perspective.

Answer 44

Freud’s psychosexual stages of development ## Footnote Other examples include Erikson’s psychosocial stages and Piaget’s stages of development.

Question 45

List the stages of Freud's psychosexual development.

Answer 45

* Oral * Anal * Phallic * Latency * Genital ## Footnote Each stage is characterized by specific abilities and behaviors.

Question 46

What are Piaget's stages of development?

Answer 46

* Sensorimotor * Pre-operational * Concrete operations * Formal operations ## Footnote Piaget proposed that children progress through these stages with distinct cognitive abilities.

Question 47

True or False: The continuity perspective focuses on qualitative changes in development.

Answer 47

False ## Footnote The continuity perspective focuses on quantitative changes.