Question 1

When 16-month-old Simon was visiting his relatives, he observed his older cousin stomp his foot to the beat of music, something Simon had never seen before. The next day, when Simon heard music on the radio, he stomped his foot to the beat. Simon's "foot stomping" behavior would best be considered an example of:

Accepted Answer

Simon's foot stomping behavior is an example of deferred imitation, as he observed and then imitated his cousin's behavior the next day, after the initial observation. Deferred imitation is the ability to imitate a behavior after a delay in time. The other options are not relevant to Simon's behavior in this scenario.

Question 2

Which of the following was NOT one of the six arousal states identified in newborns by Peter Wolff?

Accepted Answer

Peter Wolff identified six arousal states in newborns, including crying, regular sleep, irregular sleep, drowsiness, alert inactivity, and active alert. "Thinking" is not an arousal state identified by Wolff.

Question 3

Frank argues that early experiences are very important because these "early lessons" shape the way the brain develops. Frank's view that experience influences brain development is the central idea behind the concept of:

Accepted Answer

Frank's view that experience influences brain development is the central idea behind the concept of brain plasticity. Brain plasticity describes the brain's ability to change and adapt in response to experience.

Question 4

In adulthood, a typical person's head is about one-tenth of the person's total body length. At birth, the head is about _________ of the newborn's total body length.

Accepted Answer

At birth, a newborn's head is approximately one-fourth of the total body length, reflecting the larger proportion of the head compared to the rest of the body at this stage of development.

Question 5

The basic sounds in a language are referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Phonemes are the basic sounds in a language. Semantics refers to the meaning of language, morphemes are the smallest units of meaning in a language, and syntax refers to the rules governing the structure of sentences.

Question 6

Which of the following abilities is the newborn infant capable of performing as early as the first week of life?

Accepted Answer

Newborn infants are capable of recognizing the smell of their mother from that of other women as early as the first week of life. A, C, and D are not abilities that newborns typically possess in the first week of life.

Question 7

In spite of his injury, Jake was able to recover most of the abilities that he had before the injury. Which of the following terms is most directly related to Jake's ability to regain these lost functions?

Accepted Answer

Brain plasticity refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt in response to experience or injury. In Jake's case, his brain was able to reorganize and recover lost functions through this process of plasticity. The brain growth spurt occurs during early childhood when the brain is rapidly developing new neural connections, while neural pruning refers to the process of eliminating unused neural connections. These processes are not directly related to Jake's recovery. Habituation training involves gradually reducing the response to a repeated stimulus, and while it may be a useful technique in certain situations, it is not directly related to Jake's recovery either.

Question 8

Suppose you show a newborn infant four photographs, one of his mother smiling, one of his mother making a fearful face, one of a stranger smiling, and one of a stranger making a fearful face. Which photograph should you expect the newborn to look at for the longest time?

Accepted Answer

Newborn infants are born with a preference for faces and are able to distinguish between different facial expressions, even within the first few hours of life. They are also more responsive to familiar faces, such as their mother, than to unfamiliar faces. Therefore, the newborn is likely to look at the photograph of the smiling mother for the longest time because it combines the familiarity of the mother's face with a positive emotion that the infant is likely to find attractive and soothing.

Question 9

The type of malnutrition that is caused by an insufficient total quantity of food and in which muscles waste away and stored fat is depleted is:

Accepted Answer

Marasmus is a type of malnutrition that occurs as a result of an insufficient total quantity of food, leading to the wasting away of muscles and the depletion of stored fat. Anemia is a condition caused by a deficiency of iron, while kwashiorkor is a type of malnutrition caused by a lack of protein. Stunting occurs when a child's growth and development are impaired due to poor nutrition.

Question 10

If you were to record the activity of a mirror neuron, you should expect that it would act in the same way when we perform an action - such as picking up an object - as when we:

Accepted Answer

Mirror neurons are activated not only when an individual performs an action but also when they observe someone else performing that same action. The mirror neuron system is said to play a critical role in social cognition, imitation, empathy, and language acquisition. Thus, the correct choice is D, which implies observing someone else performing that action.

Question 11

When a child produces a single word, such as "bottle," it may mean a variety of things, such as "I want the bottle" or "there's the bottle" or "I like the bottle." This type of usage is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Holophrastic speech is when a child uses one word to convey a whole sentence or idea. For example, "bottle" could mean "I want the bottle," "there's the bottle," or "I like the bottle." This is a common stage in language development for young children.

Question 12

Kwashiorkor results when a person's diet contains too little:

Accepted Answer

Kwashiorkor is a form of protein-energy malnutrition caused by a deficiency of dietary protein, especially in young children.

Question 13

Suppose you observe a researcher interacting with an infant by shaking a rattle while the baby is watching, and then placing the rattle underneath a pillow. The researcher then records whether or not the baby can find the rattle under the pillow. The concept this researcher is studying is most likely:

Accepted Answer

The researcher's actions of shaking a rattle and then placing it under a pillow is an example of testing object permanence, which is the concept that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. The researcher is observing whether the infant is able to search for the object after it has been moved out of sight, which requires an understanding of object permanence. Assimilation and accommodation relate to the process of adapting to new information or experiences, while deferred imitation involves the ability to imitate a behavior that was observed at an earlier time. None of these concepts are being directly tested in this scenario.

Question 14

In contrast to how scientists working in earlier decades have conceptualized the neonatal period, scientists today understand that:

Accepted Answer

Scientists now understand that newborns are capable of much more than previously thought. They have innate reflexes and behaviors that allow them to interact with their environment and communicate with their caregivers. This shift in understanding has led to a greater emphasis on the importance of early experiences and interactions for infant development.

Question 15

Suppose you see a grandparent at the toy store buying a set of 5 "stacking" blocks, a box of large-size crayons, and a toy telephone. Based on this selection of toys, your best guess is that the child these toys are intended for is about how old?

Accepted Answer

The selection of toys, including stacking blocks, large-size crayons, and a toy telephone, indicates that the child is likely around 18 months old. At this age, children are typically starting to work on their fine motor skills and may enjoy stacking and sorting objects. The large crayons suggest that the child is beginning to explore art and coloring, and the toy telephone is a common toy for this age range as children start to engage in pretend play.

Question 16

Suppose you visit a child development laboratory and observe a researcher working with an 8-month-old baby. The baby is sitting on top of a piece of Plexiglas, which rests partly over a table top and then extends out over the end of the table. The apparatus being used in this experiment is typically called a:

Accepted Answer

The visual cliff is an apparatus commonly used in developmental psychology to assess infants' depth perception abilities. It typically consists of a glass top over a checkered pattern, creating the illusion of a sudden drop-off. Infants are placed on the glass and encouraged to crawl towards a visual stimulus (usually a toy) placed at different distances either on the shallow or deep side of the cliff. Since the glass is transparent, the infant must use depth cues to determine whether to traverse the cliff or not.

Question 17

Which of the following activities would an 8-month-old be LEAST likely to be able to do?

Accepted Answer

An 8-month-old may not have developed enough dexterity to be able to pick up a small object like a quarter with one hand.

Question 18

The basic units of sounds in a language are referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Phonemes are the basic units of sounds in a language. They are the smallest distinct units of sound that can change the meaning of a word. Semantics refer to the meanings of words and their relationships, morphemes are the smallest units of meaning in a language, and syntax refers to the rules governing the arrangement of words in sentences.

Question 19

When a child produces a single word, such as bottle, it may mean a variety of things, such as "I want the bottle" or "there's the bottle" or "I like the bottle." This type of usage is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Holophrastic speech is the use of a single word to convey a complete thought or idea. It is a common stage in language development in young children, where they may use a single word to express a whole sentence worth of meaning. For example, when a child says "bottle," they may mean "I want the bottle," "give me the bottle," "I dropped the bottle," etc.

Question 20

At about what age do most children learn to use the "pincer grasp," which allows them to use their thumb and forefinger to "pinch" a small object to pick it up?

Accepted Answer

Most children learn to use the pincer grasp around 9-12 months of age. While some may develop this skill earlier or later, 12 months of age is the most common timeframe for the development of the pincer grasp.

Quiz 4: Infancy and Toddlerhood: Physical, Cognitive, and Language Development