Developmental Psychology Lecture 2-Physical and Cognitive Development in Infancy

Question 1

Apart from prenatal development, the greatest degree of physical change occurs when?

Answer 1

During the first 2 years of life

Question 2

Synaptogenesis:

Answer 2

Formation of connections (synapse) among neurons
Proceeds rapidly during the brain growth spurt

Question 3

Synaptic Pruning:

Answer 3

Refinement and elimination of neurons
Begins near the time of birth and completed near end of sexual maturation

Question 4

Plasticity:

Answer 4

Capacity for changes; a developmental state that has the potential to be shaped by experience

Question 5

Myelination:

Answer 5

Is the process by which neurons are enclosed in waxy myelin sheaths that will facilitate the transmission of neural impulses (creates efficiency!!!)

Question 6

What parts of the brain develop first?

Answer 6

The lower subcortical brain regions (primitive areas and regions)

Question 7

What parts of brain develop last?

Answer 7

Higher order functions, things that control executive functioning (pre frontal cortex) develop last

Question 8

By 6 months what happens to infants brain?

Answer 8

primary motor areas of the cerebral cortex directs most of the infant’s movements
Inborn responses disappear by now (palmar grasp)

Question 9

What are newborn reflexes?

Answer 9

Involuntary, automatic responses to stimuli

Question 10

What are survival Reflexes:

Answer 10

Help newborns survive
Some survival reflexes disappear in infancy or childhood but others persist throughout life (swallowing)

Question 11

What are primitive reflexes?

Answer 11

Are controlled by primitive parts of the brain
Disappear by about 6 months of age - not being used as much
Babinski, palmer

Question 12

Cries

Answer 12

Basic Cry
Angry Cry
Pain Cry

Question 13

Does picking up your baby when they cry reduce amount of crying later on?

Answer 13

YES

Question 14

Colic:

Answer 14

An infant behavior pattern of unknown cause, involving intense daily bouts of crying, totalling 3 or more hours a day for several months

Question 15

What is prenatal bone structure like?

Answer 15

soft cartilage that gradually hardens into bony material (ossification)

Question 16

What is bone structure like at birth?

Answer 16

most of infant’s bones are soft, pliable and difficult to break

Question 17

When is a child’s skull formed?

Answer 17

by age 2 will pliable points (sutures)

Question 18

Locomotor skills (gross motor)-

Answer 18

crawling

Question 19

Manipulative Skills (fine motor control)-

Answer 19

use of hands and fingers

Question 20

When should routine immunization check-up commence

Answer 20

2 months

Question 21

What is sensation

Answer 21

A mental process resulting from the external information experienced through the sensory organs and transmitted to the brain

Question 22

What is perception?

Answer 22

The interpretation of sensory input

Question 22

What is Visual Acuity:

Answer 22

How well one can see details at a distance

Question 22

What is babies visual acuity compared to adults?

Answer 22

40 times worse but reach adult visual acuity at around age 7
Prefer to have moderately complex patterns

Question 23

Tracking?

Answer 23

The ability to track and follow a moving object

Question 24

Color vision

Answer 24

Very similar to adults

Question 25

Which sense is best developed of them all in infants?

Answer 25

Touch and Motion

Question 26

3 different methods researchers will use to look at perceptual skills

Answer 26

Preference Technique Habituation/dishabituation operant conditioning

Question 27

Stereopsis

Answer 27

Depth perception: by 3 months of age (both eyes come together to create one image)

Question 28

What is sleeper effect?

Answer 28

When early experience is lacking, visual capability fails to develop normally many years later

Question 29

what is Intermodal Perception:

Answer 29

(reaching behind back into bag example in class) Formation of a single perception of a stimulus that is based on information from 2 or more sense (seen later on in infant development)

Question 30

Cross-Modal Transfer:

Answer 30

The transfer of information from one sense to another

Question 31

Who influenced study of cognitive development?

Answer 31

Piaget

Question 32

The majority of neurons a person has are formed by when?

Answer 32

Most neurons are formed by second trimester before brain growth spurt

Question 33

Jamie has brown eyes even though one of his biological parents has blue eyes. Genes for blue eyes are part of Jamie's: genotype phenotype genotype and phenotype cannot be determined from the information given

Answer 33

genotype

Question 34

According to the principles of Piaget's theory of cognitive development, _____ shape our responses to new information.

Answer 34

Schemes

Question 35

Intermodal perception is the formation of a single perception of a stimulus that is based on information from two or more senses T F

Answer 35

T

Question 36

Early development of brain

Answer 36

Synaptogenesis Synaptic pruning Plasticity

Question 37

Schemas:

Answer 37

The organization of experiences into expectancies, or “known” combinations Schematic learning involves categories Behaviors are schemes that we are constantly adapting and adjusting to be more complicated and more complex

Question 38

Milestones of sensorimotor stage

Answer 38

1. Reflexive schemes (birth-1 month) newborn reflexes 2.Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months) Simple motor habits centers around own body 3.Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months) Repeat interesting effects in soundings 4.Coordination of secondary circular reactions (8-12 months) Intentional, goal-directed behavior 5. Tertiary circular reactions (12-18 months) Explore properties of objects through novel actions 6.Mental Representations (18 months-2 years) Internal depictions of objects or events;defferd limitation

Question 39

When do babies start to develop imitation

Answer 39

During the tertiary circular reactions

Question 40

Main milestones of sensorimotor stage

Answer 40

Imitation Object permenance (Invisible displacement)

Question 41

When do young kids develop object permenance?

Answer 41

by around 2 years old

Question 42

What would a behaviorist think about language

Answer 42

That it is learned through reinforcement

Question 43

What would a natavist think about language

Answer 43

language acquisition device, born with it

Question 44

What would aninteractionist think about language

Answer 44

That it involves both nature and nurture

Question 45

Infant-directed speech (IDS)

Answer 45

simplified, higher-pitched speech that adults use with infants and young children