Deck 3: Physical Growth and Aging Across the Life Span

Question 1

Which term best describes the meaning of "functional age?"

A)cognitive functioning
B)physical and psychological well-being
C)emotional/behavioral functioning
D)how quickly people recuperate from illness

Answer 1

physical and psychological well-being

Question 2

Why does physical appearance play a significant role in how women see themselves?

A)Workplace advancement depends on physical vitality.
B)Evolutionary forces lead older women to seek the company of younger men.
C)Women serve as the primary role model for their family members.
D)Societal pressures apply a double standard to women and men.

Answer 2

Societal pressures apply a double standard to women and men.

Question 3

What does an average infant's birth weight look like by her or his first birthday?

A)weight has quadrupled since birth
B)weight has doubled since birth
C)weight has tripled since birth
D)weight has increased only slightly in comparison to age 6 months

Answer 3

weight has tripled since birth

Question 4

What is the function of REM sleep in infants?

A)protection from predators
B)resetting a pattern of rhythms
C)autostimulation of the brain
D)establishment of goals

Question 5

Which statement is correct regarding brain development and aging?

A)The brain becomes smaller but denser and more efficient over time.
B)The brain grows,taking up double the amount of space between the brain and the skull.
C)The structure,function,and number of neurons in the brain are significantly reduced.
D)Blood flow is reduced within the brain,and less glucose and oxygen are used.

Question 6

Which term refers to the visible signs of sexual maturity that do not directly involve a person's sex organs?

A)primary sex characteristics
B)secondary sex characteristics
C)menarche markers
D)secular maturation

Question 7

Which definition applies to the "young old?"

A)some health problems and difficulties with daily living activities
B)healthy and active
C)frail and in need of care
D)senior citizen

Question 8

Which definition applies to the "oldest old?"

A)some health problems and difficulties with daily living activities
B)healthy and active
C)frail and in need of care
D)senior citizen

Question 9

Which occurrence represents a primary sex characteristic in boys?

A)the appearance of pubic,underarm,and facial hair
B)deepened voices
C)spermarche
D)changes in the vocal cords and larynx

Question 10

Across the lifespan,which period is the only time when girls are,on average,taller than boys?

A)by age 8
B)by age 11
C)by age 13
D)by age 15

Question 11

Which term is used to describe the natural physical decline brought about by aging?

A)maturation
B)puberty
C)senescence
D)deterioration

Question 12

Which term describes the period in which an individual's sexual organs mature?

A)maturation
B)puberty
C)latency
D)growth spurt

Question 13

Which term is used to describe changes in physical and cognitive functioning that are due to illness,health habits,and other individual differences,but which are not due to increased age itself and are not inevitable?

A)primary aging
B)secondary aging
C)outward aging
D)inward aging

Question 14

Norma is a 91-year-old woman who lives independently,has no major illnesses,and is able to take daily walks to the local grocery store.Which category best describes Norma's functional age?

A)oldest old
B)old old
C)young old
D)geriatric

Question 15

By age 8,what percentage of Caucasian American girls has developed breasts or pubic hair?

A)1 out of 2
B)1 out of 7
C)3 out of 4
D)4 out of 5

Question 16

Waking,eating,sleeping,and elimination are all examples of which aspect of an infant's experience?

A)patterns
B)cycles
C)training
D)rhythms

Question 17

Which statement correctly summarizes internal bodily changes due to aging?

A)The heart's capacity to pump blood through the circulatory system to the brain is increased due to the shrinking of blood vessels.
B)The reduction in gray matter makes the aging brain less efficient.
C)The respiratory system is more efficient with age.
D)The digestive system is less efficient in pushing food through the system,which often leads to constipation.

Question 18

Which term refers to the onset of menstruation?

A)spermarche
B)period
C)menopause
D)menarche

Question 19

Which term is used to describe aging that involves genetically programmed universal and irreversible changes?

A)inward aging
B)secondary aging
C)outward aging
D)primary aging

Question 20

What may be a factor in how much a child weighs and how tall she or he is?

A)sex;boys tend to gain more weight and height than girls
B)global economics;children in developing countries gain weight and height faster than children living in economically developed countries
C)poverty;U.S.children living in poorer families are likely to be taller and heavier than children from affluent families
D)quality of preschool;children who attend good-quality preschool programs receive better snacks and lunches

Question 21

The right hemisphere of the brain becomes more specialized during the preschool years in which of the following areas?

A)comprehension of spatial relationships
B)reading
C)thinking and reasoning
D)language production

Question 22

Sara is a 62-year-old woman who recently suffered a stroke,in addition to her chronic pulmonary disease and osteoporosis.She relies on relatives and caretakers to help her on a daily basis,even with some of her most basic tasks.Which category best describes Sara's functional age?

A)oldest old
B)old old
C)young old
D)geriatric

Question 23

Which part of a neuron receives messages sent by other neurons?

A)nucleus
B)dendrites
C)axons
D)synapses

Question 24

A neonate enters the world with unlearned,organized,and involuntary responses that occur automatically in the presence of stimuli.What are these responses called?

A)behavioral intentions
B)instincts
C)reflexes
D)preparations

Question 25

Which term describes the degree to which a developing structure or behavior is modifiable due to experience?

A)synaptic pruning
B)the principle of the independence of systems
C)myelination
D)plasticity

Question 26

By what age are babies typically first able to walk by supporting themselves on furniture or walls?

A)6 months
B)9 months
C)11 months
D)12 months

Question 27

Which area of the brain undergoes considerable development during the adolescent years?

A)occipital lobe
B)cerebral cortex
C)corpus callosum
D)prefrontal cortex

Question 28

Which activity represents a fine motor skill?

A)typing on a keyboard
B)swimming
C)jumping rope
D)riding a bicycle

Question 29

Madelaine is preparing to breastfeed her infant daughter,and,in doing so,the baby's cheek brushes across her mother's shirt.The baby immediately turns its head toward Madelaine's breasts in preparation for feeding.Which reflex is the infant demonstrating?

A)Babinski reflex
B)rooting reflex
C)Moro reflex
D)startle reflex

Question 30

What is the possible function of the Babinski reflex in infants?

A)prepares the infant for independent locomotion
B)its function is currently unknown
C)similar to primates' protection from falling
D)protection from predators

Question 31

Natasha is just over 8 months old.Which skill is she likely to begin demonstrating?

A)walking while supporting herself on furniture
B)walking by herself
C)sitting without support
D)crawling

Question 32

As Boris is laying his infant in the crib at bedtime,he gently removes his hand from the back of the baby's head and neck,and the baby thrusts its arms outward,appearing to grasp onto something.Which reflex is the infant demonstrating?

A)Moro reflex
B)Babinski reflex
C)startle reflex
D)swimming reflex

Question 33

What is the basic nerve cell of the nervous system called?

A)synapse
B)dendrite
C)neuron
D)myelin

Question 34

Why would babies be born with a variety of reflexes?

A)reflexes are primarily used to orient an infant upward,toward sunlight
B)reflexes reflect the most primitive form of learning,so this primes the infant for later learning of more complex information
C)most reflexes confer some survival value to the infant
D)there is no logical reason why reflexes should be present at birth

Question 35

At about what age can a child first stand alone well?

A)24 months
B)14 months
C)11 months
D)8 months

Question 36

What is the fatty substance that helps insulate neurons and speeds the transmission of nerve impulses?

A)dendrites
B)axons
C)myelin
D)synapse

Question 37

Pongracz is 6 months old.Which skill is he likely to begin demonstrating?

A)walking while supporting himself on furniture
B)walking by himself
C)sitting without support
D)crawling

Question 38

Which reflex allows an infant to turn its head toward things that touch its cheek?

A)Babinski reflex
B)Moro reflex
C)startle reflex
D)rooting reflex

Question 39

What is a specific but limited time,usually early in life,during which an organism is particularly susceptible to environmental influences relating to some particular facet of development?

A)latent period
B)sensitive period
C)critical period
D)plasticity period

Question 40

What does synaptic pruning refer to?

A)the deterioration of myelin in the cerebral cortex
B)the generation of new neurons as a child develops over time
C)the "clipping" of axons that don't receive strong enough signals from other axons
D)the elimination of neurons as a result of nonuse or lack of stimulation

Question 41

What is one significant reason for the advances in fine motor skills shown by children 6 to 8 years old?

A)Children have lived long enough to acquire practice with fine motor skills.
B)Children's cognitive development is increasing.
C)Children have greater opportunities to model fine motor skill behaviors from others.
D)The amount of myelin in the brain increases to protect,insulate,and surround neurons.

Question 42

José is beginning to lose the ability to detect fine spatial detail in close and distant objects.Which term refers to his condition?

A)loss of visual acuity
B)presbyopia
C)glaucoma
D)presbycusis

Question 43

Which term do theorists use to describe the options that a given situation or stimulus provides to a perceiver?

A)modalities
B)affordances
C)opportunities
D)sensations

Question 44

Alex and Nadine watch their 10-month-old baby as he tries to pick up an item.What type of grasp is the baby likely to use?

A)whole hand
B)pincer
C)3-finger
D)2-thumb

Question 45

Severe and early loss of hearing is often associated with difficulties in which other area?

A)abstract thinking
B)the ability to comprehend written words
C)cognitive development
D)physical brain development

Question 46

Which developmental researchers conducted a classic experiment utilizing the "visual cliff" apparatus?

A)Robert French and Edgar Morehouse
B)Eleanor Maccoby and John Bowlby
C)Friedrich Gretsch and Peter Amble
D)Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk

Question 47

At approximately what age should a child first be able to manipulate objects with almost as much capability as an adult?

A)11 to 12 years old
B)8 to 9 years old
C)7 to 8 years old
D)5 to 6 years old

Question 48

Which sense is not only well developed but reasonably sophisticated at birth?

A)touch
B)hearing
C)taste and smell
D)vision

Question 49

Which term refers to the sorting out,interpretation,analysis,and integration of stimuli involving the sense organs and brain?

A)perception
B)visualization
C)sensation
D)imagination

Question 50

What is problematic about the legal criteria used to determine degrees of visual impairment,especially with regard to the development of children?

A)No consistent federal guidelines for classifying visual impairment have been adopted.
B)Determining impairment is based on the judgment of a family physician,and that judgment may be flawed due to lack of training or special considerations.
C)Most insurance companies don't reimburse for corrective lenses;therefore,children and their parents are reluctant to admit to visual difficulties.
D)The criteria pertain solely to distance vision,whereas children with visual difficulties usually engage in close-up visual tasks in the classroom.

Question 51

Ivanhoe has difficulty hearing but also has a problem identifying the direction and origin of a sound.What function is Ivanhoe having trouble with?

A)presbycusis
B)sensory deprivation
C)sound frontation
D)sound localization

Question 52

The loss of ability to hear high-pitched,high-frequency sounds is known by what term?

A)presbycusis
B)hearing detention
C)echolalia
D)myopia

Question 53

Which term refers to speech that deviates so much from the speech of others that it calls attention to itself,interferes with communication,or produces maladjustment in the speaker?

A)stuttering
B)childhood-onset fluency disorder
C)auditory impairment
D)speech impairment

Question 54

Which term summarizes an overall perspective that identifies the process by which sensory information is integrated and coordinated?

A)sensory approach to perception
B)unimodal approach to perception
C)multimodal approach to perception
D)sensitivity approach to perception

Question 55

What do developmentalists call the average performance of a large sample of children of a given age?

A)a standard
B)a median
C)typical achievement
D)a norm

Question 56

Because the elderly begin to lose their sensitivity to taste and smell,they begin to engage in which behavior?

A)they eat less
B)they eat more,because they don't remember what they ate
C)they experience healthy levels of weight loss
D)they lose the ability to determine when food is spoiled and suffer more often from food poisoning

Question 57

Which statement regarding handedness is correct?

A)More girls than boys are left-handed.
B)By 5 years of age,most children display a clear tendency to use one hand over the other.
C)Handedness reflects psychological qualities,such as neuroticism or anxiety.
D)Handedness is not fully established until the adolescent years.

Question 58

Which term refers to cloudy or opaque areas on the lens of the eye that interfere with the passing of light?

A)glaucoma
B)myopia
C)age-related macular degeneration
D)cataracts

Question 59

What visual preference do newborn infants demonstrate?

A)Newborn infants prefer to look at simple stimuli rather than complex stimuli.
B)When given a choice of visual stimuli,newborn infants do not show a preference.
C)Newborn infants prefer to look at complex stimuli rather than simple stimuli.
D)Newborn infants are too young to concentrate on visual stimuli;therefore,it is impossible to measure their preference.

Question 60

Why should norms be interpreted with caution?

A)They are usually derived from representative samples.
B)They apply broadly to all cultural and racial groups.
C)They have not been in use very long by researchers and medical professionals.
D)They can mask substantial individual differences in attainment.

Question 61

Summarize current views regarding infants' perception of pain.

Question 62

Explain the process of "synaptic pruning" and describe why it is helpful to an infant's development.

Question 63

Summarize the changes in vision that can take place as people age.Which eye diseases can occur with increasing age?

Question 64

Compare the two major explanations for why people slow down with advancing age.What prediction do both approaches share in common?

Question 65

Blindness,the most serious visual impairment,is defined as visual acuity below __________ after correction.

A)20/70
B)20/100
C)20/200
D)20/500

Question 66

The ability of young infants to make fine discriminations between sounds is particularly important in the development of the ability to understand __________.

A)language
B)music
C)voices
D)syntax

Question 67

Although young adults are generally healthy,by their early 20s,__________,a natural physical decline brought about by increasing age,has already begun.

A)debilitation
B)senescence
C)maturation
D)senility

Question 68

During the preschool period,a child's __________ grow(s)faster than any other part of the body.

A)brain
B)heart
C)muscles
D)lungs

Question 69

The average annual weight gain for both boys and girls in middle childhood is __________.

A)3 to 6 pounds
B)5 to 7 pounds
C)8 to 10 pounds
D)more than 10 pounds

Question 70

Advances in gross motor skills are related to __________ in areas of the brain related to balance and coordination.

A)temperamental factors and lateralization
B)brain development and plasticity
C)lateralization and subcortical levels
D)brain development and myelination of neurons

Question 71

Which theory argues that overall processing speed declines in the peripheral nervous system with increasing age?

A)pulmonary hardening theory
B)peripheral slowing hypothesis
C)generalized slowing hypothesis
D)decreased myelination theory

Question 72

As children grow,the two halves of the brain become increasingly differentiated and specialized in a process called __________.

A)hemispheric preference
B)lateralization
C)sequential processing
D)resiliency

Question 73

Projections suggest that by 2050,people age 65 and over will account for nearly __________ of the population.

A)one-tenth
B)one-quarter
C)one-third
D)one-half

Question 74

The infant's tendency to turn its head toward things that touch its cheek is known as the __________ reflex.

A)Moro
B)rooting
C)Babinski
D)cuddling

Question 75

One of the most important ways behavior becomes integrated is through the development of various body __________,which are repetitive,cyclical patterns of behavior.

A)synapses
B)states
C)rhythms
D)movements

Question 76

Which theory proposes that processing in all parts of the nervous system,including the brain,is less efficient as aging takes place?

A)dendrite/axon theory
B)peripheral slowing hypothesis
C)generalized slowing hypothesis
D)decreased myelination theory

Question 77

The __________ approach to perception considers how information that is collected by various individual sensory systems is integrated and coordinated.

A)affordance
B)holistic
C)multimodal
D)conditional

Question 78

Explain the changes in the brain that contribute to changes in adolescent thinking.

Question 79

__________ is an example of a fine motor skill that infants typically master within the first year.

A)Lifting the head
B)Wiggling the fingers
C)Walking with support
D)Picking up small objects

Question 80

Secondary sex characteristics are the __________ that do not involve the sex organs directly.

A)changes in brain structure
B)hormone-induced mood swings
C)visible signs of sexual maturity
D)changes in height and weight