Lecture 1

Question 1

Why study development?

Answer 1

1. Understand what children are capable of

2. To inform Social Policy

Question 2

2 Categories of development

Answer 2

1. Areas (moral vs math)

2. Periods (infancy vs adulthood)

Question 3

6 areas of development

Answer 3

1. Social
2. Perceptual
3. Action
4. Cognitive
5. Emotional
6. Moral

Question 4

6 development periods

Answer 4

1. Prenatal
2. Infancy (0-18months)
3. Preschool (-4yrs)
4. School age (-12yrs)
5. Adolescence (-20yrs)
6. Adulthood (-30/-60/60+)

Question 5

2 types of changes

Answer 5

1. Quantitative

2. Qualitative

Question 6

Different perspectives on development (6)

Answer 6

• Evolutionary
• Cross-cultural
• Neuroscience
• Behaviourist
• Psychoanalytic
• Cognitive science

Question 7

Ontogeny and phylogeny

Answer 7

the development of an organism (ontogeny) expresses all the intermediate forms of its ancestors throughout evolution (phylogeny).

Question 8

Ethology

Answer 8

Ethology is the scientific and objective study of animal behaviour

Question 9

4 ways of studying development

Answer 9

1. Observations
2. Experiments
3. Longitudinal studies
4. Cross-sectional studies

Question 10

Brain most plastic at age…?

Answer 10

0-3yrs

Question 11

Synaptic pruning at age…?

Answer 11

10yrs

Question 12

Relevance of experience before age of 10

Answer 12

Experience creates new synaptic connections and can account for 25% difference in the number of synapses after pruning

Question 13

Genes

Answer 13

Genes 
– Inherited 
– Made	of DNA 
- DNA is	found inside chromosomes 
– Instructions	for building proteins 
– Variations to genes = alleles 
– Dominant versus recessive; 
- homozygous  versus heterozygous

Question 14

Environment

Answer 14

• Hormones
• Substances consumed by mother
• Mother’s health
• Late gestation

Question 15

Gene / Environment interaction

Answer 15

• Environment influences how and whether genetic information is expressed

Question 16

Fertilization

Answer 16

• Millions of sperm
• 50-100 reach the egg
• 1 penetrates the egg
• Egg becomes a zygote and blocks other sperm cells
• Monozygotic twins vs Dizygotic twins

Question 17

Implantation

Answer 17

• Starts around 6 days after fertilization
• By 2 weeks egg is fully implanted
• Now becomes an Embryo

Question 18

Embryonic period

Answer 18

• Changes in body structure and size

- Weeks 4-8

Question 19

Fetal period

Answer 19

• Weeks 9-birth
• Heartbeat and facial features
• By 22 weeks can survive with neonatal intensive care
• By 28 weeks fully developed lungs

Question 20

Basic brain structures

Answer 20

1. Frontal lobe
2. Parietal lobe
3. Temporal lobe
4. Occipital lobe
5. Cerebellum
6. Brainstem
7. Cerebrum

Question 21

Brain grows until age…?

Answer 21

5yrs

Question 22

Speed of within-brain communication can increase up to _____ during development

Answer 22

100x