Developmental Psychology - Quiz 2

Front 1

Are there gender differences in growth in infancy? Do these differences persist?

Back 1

- Yes there are gender differences in growth during infancy. In infancy, Girls are slightly shorter and lighter than boys, with a higher ratio of fat to muscle. At birth, the sexes differ by about 4 to 6 weeks, a gap that widens over infancy and childhood and explains why girls reach their full body size several years before boys. Girls greater physical maturity may contribute to their greater resistance to harmful environmental influences.

Front 2

What are neurons and what purpose do they serve?

Back 2

Neurons are nerve cells that store and transmit information. They send messages to one another by releasing chemicals called neurotransmitters, which cross the synapse.

Front 3

What is synaptic pruning?

Back 3

Neurons that are seldom stimulated soon lose their synapses, in a process called synaptic pruning that returns neurons not needed at the moment to an uncommited state so they can support future development.

Front 4

What has brain research revealed in early infancy? Why is brain lateralization adaptive?

Back 4

The brain is more plastic during the first few years than it will ever be again. An overabundance of synaptic connections supports brain plasticity and young children's ability to learn.

Brain lateralization is adaptive because it enabled humans to cope more successfully with changing environmental demands.

Front 5

Why do infants spend so much time in REM sleep?

Back 5

It aids in their brain development.

Front 6

What are the advantages of breast feeding? Why is it beneficial for infants living in poverty stricken regions of the world?

Back 6

The advantages of breastfeeding are that it provides the correct balance of fat and protein, ensure nutritional completeness, ensures healthy physical growth, protects against many diseases, protects against faulty jaw development and tooth decay, ensures digestibility, smoothes the transition to solid foods.

Breast feeding is beneficial to infants living in poverty stricken regions of the world because kids are least likely to be malnourished, and are more likely to survive their first year of life. It also provides protection against some respiratory and intestinal infections.

Front 7

Which 2 conditions are related to malnutrition? How do they differ?

Back 7

Two conditions related to malnutrition are Marasmus and kwashiorkor. Marasmus is a wasted condition of the body caused by a diet low in all essential nutrients. It usually appears in the first year of life when a baby's mother is too malnourished to produce enough breast milk and bottle-feeding is also inadequate. Kwashiorkor is caused by an unbalanced diet very low in protein. The disease usually strikes after weaning, between 1 and 3 years of age. Children get just enough calories from starchy foods but get little protein and their bodies respond by breaking down its own protein reserves, which causes swelling and other symptoms.

Front 8

What is nonorganic failure to thrive?

Back 8

Nonorganic failure to thrive is a growth disorder resulting from lack of parental love, usually present by 18 months of age. Infants who have it show all the signs of Marasmus, their bodies look wasted, and they are withdrawn and apathetic. But no organic ( biological ) cause for the baby's failure to grow can be found.

Front 9

What does research with orphans in Eastern Europe reveal about their mental and physical well-being? Can these effects be reversed? What determines how severe the effects of deprivation are?

Back 9

Research with orphans in Eastern Europe reveal the importance of generally stimulating environment for psychological development. This can also deprive the ability to manage stress. This is displayed through low cortisol or high cortisol. Children institutionalized for more that the first 6 months showed mental health problems like inattention, overactivity, and unruly behavior, which are seldom seen in children adopted before 6 months of age.

Front 10

What emotion is a difficult response to condition in babies? Why?

Back 10

It is difficult to condition fear in young babies because they do not have the motor skills to escape unpleasant events, therefore they do not have the biological need to form these associations.

Front 11

Understand the concepts of: habituation, imitation

Back 11

Habituation refers to a gradual reduction in the strength of a response due to repetitive stimulation. Once the loss of interest has occurred, a new stimulus causes responsiveness to return to a high leve, an increase called recovery.

Newborn babies come into the world with a primitive ability to learn through imitation which is when they copy the behavior of another.

Front 12

What are gross motor skills? Fine motor skills?

Back 12

Gross motor skills refers to control over actions that help infants get around in the environment, such as crawling, standing and walking.

Fine motor development has to do with smaller movements such as reaching and grasping.

Front 13

Which skill plays the greatest role in infant cognitive development? Why?

Back 13

The skill that plays the greatest role in infant cognitive development is the reaching because it opens up a whole new way of exploring the environment. By grasping things, turning them over, and seeing what happens when they are released, infants learn a great deal about the sights, sounds and feel of objects.