Deck 12: Early Social and Emotional Development

Question 1

Psychologists have come to realize that human social behaviour is transactional, meaning that

A) each person's actions both affect and are affected by the actions of others.
B) the evolutionary context of social exchanges must be considered.
C) the learning histories of social exchanges must be considered.
D) the extent to which individual cognitive processes affect social exchanges must be considered.

Answer 1

each person's actions both affect and are affected by the actions of others.

Question 2

Social development during the first 2 years of life is distinctive in that

A) social relationships in infancy are merely ones of convenience and do not include an emotional component.
B) infants have a much broader social world than older children and adults.
C) social relationships take much longer to be established in infancy than they do later in life.
D) the social relationships formed in infancy tend to have greater impact on a child's social and personality development than relationships formed later in life.

Answer 2

the social relationships formed in infancy tend to have greater impact on a child's social and personality development than relationships formed later in life.

Question 3

Evolutionary perspectives on early social development in humans are based largely on the writings of

A) Albert Bandura.
B) Sigmund Freud.
C) Harry Harlow.
D) John Bowlby.

Answer 3

John Bowlby.

Question 4

The most effective means babies use to draw their mother near is

A) crying.
B) sleeping.
C) laughing and smiling.
D) pretending to be ill or in danger.

Question 5

In the first 6 months of life, babies encourage their mothers to provide adequate caregiving by

A) being incredibly cute and fun.
B) making caregiving pleasant for the mother.
C) reducing signs of distress in response to attention.
D) All of the alternatives are correct.

Question 6

According to ethologists, mothers are programmed to

A) "read" their infants' signals and respond with appropriate caregiving behaviour.
B) invest more resources in male infants.
C) avoid highly demanding infants.
D) All of the alternatives are correct.

Question 7

According to ethologists, the purpose of infant crying is to

A) release tension.
B) exercise the lungs.
C) serve as a stimulus to trigger innate caregiving behaviours by the mother.
D) stimulate development of the central nervous system and the speech apparatus.

Question 8

Many contemporary evolutionary psychologists believe that the environment in which humans evolved was not as ideal as John Bowlby theorized. Consequently, they contend that humans are equipped with

A) a single attachment system that works in all ecological and social conditions.
B) a relatively rigid set of attachment behaviours.
C) a flexible behavioural repertoire that allows persons to form bonds that are sensitive to local ecological and social conditions.
D) an extremely flexible behavioural repertoire that allows persons to form bonds in any possible conditions.

Question 9

The process by which a child's behaviour is moulded to fit with the society's roles, beliefs, and expectations is known as

A) social development.
B) social learning.
C) socialization.
D) social cognition.

Question 10

Hannah, a newborn, cries and vocalizes a lot. According to the environmental approach of socialization, what does this behaviour encourage?

A) It encourages her mother to let her be more autonomous
B) It encourages the extinction procedure
C) It encourages her mother to remain close to her
D) None of the alternatives are correct

Question 11

Learning theorists are most interested in explaining the processes by which

A) evolution helped shape human social behaviours.
B) children's cognitive development influences their social behaviour.
C) children's behaviour is moulded to fit societal expectations.
D) genes influence social development.

Question 12

Learning theorists believe that infants cry to bring their mothers near because

A) mothers provide reinforcing consequences such as food.
B) babies are genetically programmed to draw mothers near.
C) infants learn to associate mothers with food through the processes of classical conditioning.
D) babies are genetically predisposed to learn most effectively from mothers.

Question 13

According to learning theory, how would caregivers respond to infants who appear disinterested in social interaction, smile little, and dislike physical contact?

A) Human caregivers have an innate need to protect the young and would provide equally good care to all infants regardless of how unrewarding the interactions might be.
B) Unsociable infants should receive little attention from their caregivers because interacting with unresponsive infants is not reinforcing.
C) Unsociable infants should receive a good deal of attention from their caregivers, because they are so undemanding.
D) Unsociable infants should receive high amounts of attention from their caregivers, because adult humans are driven to elicit reactions from even the most passive of infants.

Question 14

When 6-month-old Katie sees her daddy, she smiles, waves her arms, and kicks her little legs vigorously. When Daddy sees Katie, he lets out a loud "Katie-my-baby!" and sweeps her into his arms and swings her in the air. According to learning theory,

A) Katie has constructed a "daddy" schema that includes exciting physical play.
B) Katie's excitement at seeing her father reinforces his behaviour, and his actions upon seeing Katie reinforce her smiling, waving, and kicking.
C) fathers are genetically predisposed to interact with infants differently than mothers do.
D) Katie's father clearly serves as her primary attachment figure.

Question 15

According to theorists, which of the following statements about babies' internal working models is FALSE?

A) Internal working models are a cognitive process unique to the infant.
B) Babies who have an internal working model of the mother as unresponsive and unavailable are likely to be more distressed when left alone than babies who have an internal working model of the mother as responsive and available.
C) Internal working models include expectations based on the caregiver's prior behaviour.
D) Babies use the internal working model to interpret events and make predictions, even when the caregiver is absent.

Question 16

Kylie is 6 months old and her mom, who has always been very responsive to her cries by attending to her, is starting to leave her in her baby crib to take her naps. According to the cognitive developmental model of socialization, which of the following is true?

A) Kylie will not respond positively to being left alone in her crib because she has learned that her mom is always there
B) Kylie will cry less because she knows her mother is available
C) Kylie will most likely present a developmental delay because she has never been left alone.
D) None of the alternatives are correct.

Question 17

Several frameworks help organize research on early development in its cultural context. Which is NOT one of these?

A) Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model
B) Whiting and Whiting's psychocultural model
C) Super and Harkness' developmental niche
D) Bandura's reciprocal determinism model

Question 18

Which model of cultural context provides a framework for thinking about parenting as a culturally constructed interface between the larger environment and the development of children? (Hint: It is the model that is composed of the physical and social settings, cultural customs of child rearing, and the psychology of caregivers.)

A) Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model
B) Whiting and Whiting's psychocultural model
C) Super and Harkness' developmental niche
D) Bandura's reciprocal determinism model

Question 19

Darwin believed that crying in newborns evolved as a means of providing the mother with information about

A) the environment.
B) attachment.
C) danger.
D) the baby's state.

Question 20

The communicative function of infant crying is indicated by the fact that

A) babies have similar cries for pain, hunger, and fear.
B) adult caregivers are unable to discriminate different types of infant cries.
C) crying soon comes under the baby's voluntary control and is used purposefully to summon care and attention.
D) crying behaviour is unrelated to parental responsiveness.

Question 21

Bob and Emma have just gotten home with their newborn baby. This is their first child. Suddenly, the baby starts crying. Which of the following statements is more likely to be true?

A) Emma will be able to decode her newborn's cries because it is innate for mothers to be able to do so.
B) Emma and Bob will probably not be able to decode the cries yet, but will learn to do so in time.
C) Since newborns cry all the time, they should ignore her and let her "cry it out".
D) The newborn is probably suffering from post partum depression because she is not in the womb anymore.

Question 22

How do newborns indicate interest?

A) By smiling
B) By vocalizing
C) By staring
D) All of the alternatives are correct.

Question 23

Babies are able to indicate

A) a full range of emotions at birth.
B) guilt and shame very early, by age two months.
C) interest and distress at birth.
D) sadness and anger only later, by age two or three years.

Question 24

While her mother's back was turned, Emiko started plucking the leaves off of a houseplant. When Emiko's mother discovered what Emiko was up to, she exclaimed, "Emiko!" to which Emiko responded by lowering her eyes and hiding her face in shame. What age is Emiko MOST likely to be?

A) 3 months
B) 6 months
C) 10 months
D) 24 months

Question 25

George fell and hurt his knee, but he resisted any displays of fear or pain. George is at least __________ old.

A) 6 months
B) 12 months
C) 18 months
D) 2 years

Question 26

Tommy, who is 3 years old, fell down and badly scrapped his knee, but he did not cry and he told his brother it didn't hurt. Tommy could be said to be

A) affectively mirroring his emotions.
B) utilizing cultural display rules.
C) exhibiting an easy temperament.
D) engaging in interactional synchrony.

Question 27

Which of the following correctly describes the sequence at which facial expressions take place in infant development?

A) Empathy, pleasure, embarrassment
B) Distress, pleasure, embarrassment
C) Pleasure, distress, embarrassment
D) All of the alternatives are correct.

Question 28

Roma is taking 12-month-old Steven for a walk when they encounter a small but frisky dog. Steven is initially uncertain as to how to respond and looks up into Roma's face to see her reaction to the small pooch. After Roma smiles and says, "Hi little doggy!", Steven smiles and vocalizes as well. This scenario illustrates the phenomenon known as

A) conditioning.
B) social referencing.
C) mutual regulation.
D) display rules.

Question 29

Social referencing refers to the process by which one

A) influences and adjusts to another's behaviour, producing a smoothly running interactive system.
B) determines one's social status in a peer group.
C) uses information gained from other people's reactions and emotional expressions to regulate one's own behaviour.
D) adapts one's behaviour to fit with societal expectations.

Question 30

Researchers have found that school-age children, when looking at faces, tend to confuse the expression of surprise with

A) happiness.
B) disgust.
C) sadness.
D) fear.

Question 31

Which of the following statements about children's ability to recognize emotions is true?

A) Happiness, sadness, and anger are generally recognized earlier than disgust, surprise, and fear.
B) Disgust, surprise, and fear are generally recognized earlier than happiness, sadness, and anger.
C) Guilt and shame are generally recognized earlier than happiness, sadness, and anger.
D) Although guilt is recognized earlier than happiness and sadness, shame is not recognized until much later.

Question 32

Using a video camera to tape faces of both a mother and a child, researchers examine face-to-face interactions. This technique is known as

A) microgenetic research.
B) modal action content analysis.
C) microanalysis.
D) Strange Situation procedure.

Question 33

Studies of the early face-to-face interactions of mothers and infants suggest that these interactions are important in establishing

A) a pattern of communication between infant and caregiver.
B) a baby's capacity for emotional self-regulation.
C) maternal control over infant behaviour.
D) infant influence on maternal behaviour.

Question 34

Babies typically cope with interactions they find to be overly arousing or stimulating by

A) falling asleep.
B) physically losing control of their limbs.
C) turning away or putting their thumbs in their mouths.
D) social referencing.

Question 35

Devon's mother read a lot of developmental books during her pregnancy. The books clearly indicated that babies need to be stimulated constantly, either by a parent always being in front of them, or by placing them in front of a television. If Devon, a three-month old, becomes over-aroused or over-stimulated, how is he most likely to react?

A) By throwing his blanket on the floor
B) By telling his mother that there is too many colors
C) By turning away
D) By displaying affect mirroring

Question 36

A mother who establishes interactional synchrony with her infant

A) is willing and able to adjust her behaviour to the baby's cycles.
B) maximizes her opportunities to "teach" the infant.
C) allows the baby to regulate their interaction.
D) All of the alternatives are correct.

Question 37

Babies forced to interact with mothers who are expressionless tend to

A) maintain an expressionless state as well.
B) show distress.
C) be overly expressive as a way to compensate for the flat affect of their partner.
D) ignore the mother.

Question 38

The still-face procedure involves

A) a mother trying to hide sad emotions from her baby.
B) having a mother present her baby with no expression at all.
C) a baby becoming habituated to the presence of a facial stimulus.
D) a baby becoming dishabituated to the presence of a facial stimulus

Question 39

The mother that would probably have the easiest time with affect mirroring is

A) a mother who is clinically depressed.
B) a mother with a preterm baby.
C) a mother who is less attentive to her infant.
D) a mother that developed interactional synchrony with her baby.

Question 40

Babies whose mothers are clinically depressed

A) still show strong synchronization with maternal behaviours.
B) display distress with nursery school teachers.
C) cry frequently.
D) monitor mothers more intently than babies whose mothers are not clinically depressed.

Question 41

The term _______ refers to the degree to which caregivers gauge their communicative behaviours to respond to input from their infants.

A) affect mirroring
B) social referencing
C) goodness of fit
D) turn-taking

Question 42

Ellie, a newborn, was born to a sixteen-year old mother. Since her mother gave birth to her, they have been constantly going back to their paediatrician's office because her mother complains that Ellie cries all the time. The doctor does not find any physical cause for Ellie's crying, but is quite worried about her mother, who has also been crying a lot and not sleeping well. Given this information, we can conclude that Ellie's mother has been acting in which way towards her baby?

A) She has not been responsive towards her baby
B) She is feeding Ellie too much
C) She is over stimulating Ellie
D) None of the alternatives are correct

Question 43

Temperament refers to

A) the components of personality studied in infants.
B) emotional expressiveness and responsiveness to stimulation.
C) a baby's behavioural style.
D) All of the alternatives are correct.

Question 44

Jamie and Jackie, identical six-month-old twins, participated in a study that found that they were similar in levels of irritability and responses to strangers. This study was probably examining the hypothesis that temperament

A) is inherited.
B) is stable over time.
C) emerges early in life.
D) is primarily a function of environmental influences.

Question 45

Studies examining the extent to which a child's response style is evident early in the child's life have found that

A) temperament does indeed begin in the womb.
B) temperamental differences between newborns are still evident years later.
C) irritability and negative responses are the only persistent temperamental differences between individual children.
D) infant development is so variable evidence can only be inconclusive.

Question 46

While she was pregnant, Victor's mom used to feel him kick and push around all the time. A few moments after he was born, he started crying uncontrollably and the nurse said "This one is going to be an active boy". Which of the following statements is true?

A) If Victor's mother plays him classical music early on, this will calm him down
B) Victor will probably continue to display a certain amount of activity as he grows up
C) Victor is displaying "goodness of fit"
D) None of the alternatives are correct

Question 47

The original goal of the New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS) was to

A) determine the impact of parenting styles on children's long-term development.
B) assess the impact of major life events on personality formation.
C) predict children's long-term psychological adjustment by identifying potential problems early on.
D) establish the genetic basis of personality.

Question 48

The three early behavioural styles identified by Thomas and Chess were

A) sanguine, melancholic, choleric.
B) easy, difficult, slow-to-warm-up.
C) secure, avoidant, ambivalent.
D) emotional, sociable, inhibited.

Question 49

By what procedure are babies assigned to one of the three behavioural styles established by Thomas and Chess?

A) Trained raters observe the infant in home and laboratory settings.
B) Parents interact with their infants in the Strange Situation procedure.
C) Observations of babies in a range of situations are supplemented with physiological measures associated with stress reactions.
D) Parents participate in interviews and complete questionnaires about their infants.

Question 50

At 6 months of age, Alan has a predictable sleep-wake cycle, is generally in a happy mood, and enjoys meeting new people and going to new places. According to the NYLS classification of temperament, Alan is BEST described as

A) easy.
B) uninhibited.
C) slow-to-warm-up.
D) unclassifiable.

Question 51

Billy, at 12 months, rules his household. Although he does not maintain a predictable schedule himself, he insists everything else in the world remain constant including his bedding, eating utensils, and even the shoes he wears. He reacts violently to new babysitters, and with extreme agitation when doing something he enjoys, such as rough-and-tumble play with his uncle. Based on the NYLS classification scheme, Billy is BEST described as

A) easy.
B) inhibited.
C) slow-to-warm-up.
D) difficult.

Question 52

How do babies classified as "slow-to-warm-up" according to the NLYS criteria differ from those classified as difficult?

A) The slow-to-warm-up baby adapts poorly to changing situations.
B) The slow-to-warm-up baby tends to be more active.
C) The slow-to-warm-up baby tends to react with less intensity.
D) The slow-to-warm-up baby enjoys meeting new people.

Question 53

Of babies who can be classified according to the Thomas and Chess typology, the majority are described as

A) easy.
B) unclassifiable.
C) sanguine.
D) slow to warm up.

Question 54

Critics contend that parents may not provide accurate reports of their infants' temperaments because

A) parents may report their own reactions to infant behaviours, rather than objectively describe what the infant does.
B) parents may report what they believe the researcher wishes to hear.
C) parents may not be skilled at observing or describing their infants.
D) All of the alternatives are correct.

Question 55

"EAS" in Plomin's classification of temperament refers to

A) emotionality, activity, and sociability.
B) excitability, appeasement, and security.
C) excitability, arousal, and self-regulation.
D) emotionality, arousal, and self-regulation.

Question 56

The "S" in Plomin's EAS model refers to

A) shyness.
B) sociability.
C) serenity.
D) sloppiness.

Question 57

Baby Mahina is described by her mother as liking to move all of the time and seeking out vigorous playtimes. Using Plomin's EAS model, which of the following dimensions is Mahina most likely high on?

A) Easiness
B) Agreeableness
C) Activity
D) Energy

Question 58

Plomin's dimension of emotionality is similar to Rothbart's dimension of

A) self-regulation.
B) shyness.
C) inhibition.
D) reactivity.

Question 59

To measure temperament according to the EAS model, researchers

A) use a modified Strange Situation.
B) use a modified Thomas and Chess protocol.
C) observe mother and infant interacting in a controlled lab setting.
D) parents complete a written questionnaire about their child's behaviour.

Question 60

Rothbart views temperament as consisting of individual differences in two areas

A) sociability and shyness.
B) inhibition and disinhibition.
C) reactivity and self-regulation.
D) emotionality and activity.

Question 61

In Rothbart's model of temperament, self-regulation is assumed to be

A) inborn and to vary from child to child.
B) inborn and stable across most children.
C) environmentally-determined and to vary from child to child.
D) environmentally-determined and stable across most children.

Question 62

The text discusses temperament and its relationship to what physiological indicator?

A) Heart rate
B) Respiration rate
C) Cortisol level
D) GSR

Question 63

When 5-year-old David was an infant, his mother believed that he had a difficult temperament. Based on research presented in the text, it is reasonable to expect that on tests of cognitive problem solving, David will perform

A) poorly compared to other 5-year-olds.
B) well above average for his age.
C) no differently than any average 5-year-old.
D) at a level consistent with his IQ.

Question 64

Some studies have reported positive correlations between difficult temperament during infancy and reports of behaviour and adjustment problems in later childhood, adolescence, or even adulthood. One possible reason for this positive correlation is that

A) frequent crying and irritability increase the chances that a parent will comfort the child more, causing the child to rebel.
B) frequent crying and irritability increase the chances that a parent will respond to the child in a negative manner, leading to a poorer parent-child relationship which affects the child negatively.
C) the samples in such studies are biased because only a small number of infants are difficult.
D) None of the alternatives are correct.

Question 65

Some studies have reported positive correlations between difficult temperament during infancy and reports of behaviour and adjustment problems in later childhood, adolescence, or even adulthood. One possible reason for this positive correlation is that

A) frequent crying and irritability increase the chances that a parent will comfort the child more, causing the child to rebel.
B) the parents' attitudes and expectations cause the parent to both rate their infants as difficult and to later report them as having behaviour problems.
C) that the samples in such studies are biased because only a small number of infants are difficult.
D) None of the alternatives are correct.

Question 66

Infants and children who respond to unfamiliar events and people with timidity and fear are currently referred to as

A) slow to warm up.
B) difficult.
C) inhibited.
D) melancholic.

Question 67

Longitudinal studies of inhibited children suggest that

A) inhibition is highly stable over childhood.
B) extreme inhibition is most likely due to socialization.
C) few children identified as highly inhibited at age 2 showed any unusual signs of inhibition in later childhood.
D) children identified at age 2 as being inhibited tended to show physiological signs of arousal in new situations in middle childhood.

Question 68

During Phase 1 of attachment

A) babies do not focus their attention exclusively on their parents and will at times respond positively to anyone.
B) babies are most interested in the caregiver and other familiar people and direct their social responses to them.
C) babies are wary of strangers and protest separations from their caregiver.
D) All of the alternatives are correct.

Question 69

Which of the following is true of maternal bonding?

A) It seems crucial for attachment to develop.
B) Mothers and infants separated by illness during the first few days after birth are unlikely to develop strong attachment relationships.
C) It does not appear necessary for the development of strong infant-caregiver attachment relations.
D) It develops slowly over the first half year of life.

Question 70

Baby Sebastien is 6 weeks old. His mother is very distressed because he reacts positively to being picked up by anyone who is around the home and does not seem to exhibit different behaviours when it is his mother who picks him up. If you were a developmentalist, what would you tell Baby Sebastien's mother?

A) They need to be bonding more and an attachment therapy would be beneficial for their relationship
B) Sebastien might be blind because he does not react differently to different caregivers who should be more significant
C) Sebastien is displaying normal behaviours for his age (indiscriminate social responsiveness)
D) None of the alternatives are correct

Question 71

Which of the following is the best description of a baby who is between 2 and 7 months of age?

A) The baby is indiscriminate and does not focus its attention exclusively on its mother.
B) Social referencing is evident.
C) Wariness of strangers becomes common.
D) Separation protest occurs.

Question 72

Which of the following occurs at the same time as focused attachment?

A) Maternal bonding
B) Separation protest
C) Discriminate social responsiveness
D) Adult attachment

Question 73

Developmental accomplishments that coincide with the emergence of clear attachment behaviours in infancy include

A) crawling.
B) the infant's first "real" words.
C) the social smile.
D) pretend play.

Question 74

The Strange Situation is a procedure developed in the 1960s by

A) Jerome Kagan.
B) John Bowlby.
C) Mary Rothbart.
D) Mary Ainsworth.

Question 75

The Strange Situation consists of

A) placing an infant on an elevated table with a shallow and deep end and attempting to get the infant to cross the deep end in order to reach its mother.
B) observing the infant's reactions to a series of structured laboratory episodes involving his or her mother and a stranger.
C) presenting the infant with an ambiguous stimulus (like a scary toy) to see whether he or she uses cues provided by others to regulate his or her own reactions to the strange event.
D) asking mothers to abruptly present an expressionless face (still-face) to infants after establishing a playful interaction.

Question 76

Researchers employ the Strange Situation procedure to assess

A) mother-infant bonding.
B) social referencing.
C) face-to-face interaction.
D) attachment.

Question 77

Janie was tested in the Strange Situation. Like most North American babies tested, she was classified as

A) securely attached.
B) anxious-avoidant.
C) anxious-ambivalent.
D) disorganized.

Question 78

When exposed to the Strange Situation procedure, Jan seemed unconcerned. He barely noticed when his mother left the room and preferred to continue playing with the toy truck he found in the toy bin to seeking contact with her when she returned. According to Mary Ainsworth's attachment classification scheme, Jan's attachment to his mother would be labelled

A) secure.
B) insecure avoidant.
C) anxious-ambivalent.
D) disorganized.

Question 79

Samuel, who responded to the Strange Situation procedure with extreme distress, but reacted to his mother's return with a mixture of relief and anger, would be classified as

A) securely attached.
B) anxious-avoidant.
C) insecure resistant.
D) disorganized.

Question 80

Insecure-disorganized/disoriented babies

A) display an unpredictable, distressed response to separation.
B) comprise about 15% of North American children.
C) appear to grow out of their problems by school age.
D) show little distress at separation.