Deck 4: Physical, Sensory, and Perceptual Development in Infancy

Question 1

At birth we lack the ability to perceive, think, or use language because which area of our brain is not well developed?

A) Medulla
B) Midbrain
C) Cortex
D) Glial cells

Answer 1

Cortex

Question 2

Which of the following is a primary function of brain development in the first year of life?

A) Development of neurons and glial cells
B) Ossification
C) Formation of synapses
D) Proximodistal development

Answer 2

Formation of synapses

Question 3

Each burst of synaptogenesis is followed by which of the following processes?

A) Degeneration
B) Formation of dendrites
C) Loss of axons
D) Pruning

Answer 3

Pruning

Question 4

Which of the following is true of synaptogenesis?

A) It refers to the separation of connections between neurons.
B) Once it begins shortly after birth, it continues at a steady and constant pace.
C) It results in an decreases in brain size of four times by age four.
D) Each period of synaptogenesis is followed by a period of pruning.

Question 5

According to many neurophysiologists, which of the following will result in the pruning of redundant neural pathways and the selective retention of the most efficient pathways in an infant's brain?

A) Diet and nutrition
B) Experiences
C) Phenotype
D) Inborn predispositions

Question 6

What is the name of the sheath around the axons that serves as insulation and speeds neural transmissions?

A) Fontanel
B) Glial fiber
C) Myelin
D) Dendrite

Question 7

What effect does watching television have on the developing brain?

A) Any television watching prior to age two is likely to inhibit healthy brain development.
B) Toddlers might improve their vocabulary and social skills by watching high-quality television programs.
C) Television programs such as Sesame Street can interfere with synaptogenesis.
D) The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children between 18 months and two years of age watch 2 - 3 hours per day of educational programming.

Question 8

_________ of neurons and glial cells are present at birth.

A) Hundreds
B) Thousands
C) Millions
D) Billions

Question 9

Which of the following processes is an emphasis of brain development in the second year of life?

A) Development of neurons and glial cells
B) Formation of synapses
C) Myelinization
D) Proximodistal development

Question 10

Johann lives in a family with five siblings. There is always a lot of activity and interaction between the children and parents. There are many brightly colored toys and things to play with. Suzanne's family can't afford many toys at all, and she has only old hand-me-downs to play with, most of which are broken. Which of the following best describes a likely difference in brain development between Johann and Suzanne?

A) The "use it or lose it" idea which says that since Johann is in a more stimulating environment than Suzanne, his brain will have a denser network of neurons and synapses.
B) Johann's neurons will myelinate more quickly and completely than Suzanne's.
C) Since Johann and Suzanne are both under two years of age, the differences in environment will have little impact.
D) The principle of synaptic pruning says that since Johann is in a more stimulating environment than Suzanne, his brain will have a smaller number of synapses.

Question 11

The myelinization in the reticular formation makes which of the following possible?

A) Dexterity in manipulation of small objects, such as a needle and thread
B) Judgment in decision making, such as evaluating various options
C) Speed and agility in motor skills, such as running to catch a ball
D) Concentration in thinking, such as focusing attention on a task

Question 12

Your brain has the ability to change in response to experience. This ability is known as

A) flexibility.
B) plasticity.
C) responsiveness.
D) reactivity.

Question 13

A baby will splay out its toes then curl them under in response to stroking the bottom of the foot. Which reflex is this?

A) Moro
B) Nisod
C) Bronfenbrenner
D) Babinski

Question 14

Animal studies have shown which of the following to be true?

A) Impoverished environments can actually help shield a young brain from damage caused by teratogens.
B) Enriched environments, unfortunately, have no influence on brains damaged by a mother's drug use during pregnancy.
C) Enriched environments help the young overcome brain damage by increasing myelinization.
D) Enriched environments can help the young brain overcome damage caused by some teratogens.

Question 15

Brain development in the first year of life emphasizes

A) development of neurons and glial cells.
B) formation of synapses.
C) synapto-atrophy.
D) a proximodistal pattern.

Question 16

What does your text suggest about the persistence of the Moro reflex or the Babinski reflex beyond six months of age?

A) It is normal and is used as a sign of neurological maturation.
B) They aid in the infant's developing social skills and emotional relationships.
C) It may signal the existence of some type of neurological problem.
D) It is due to positive or negative reinforcement.

Question 17

What is another name for the startle reflex?

A) Babinski
B) Moro
C) Nisod
D) Brazelton

Question 18

An infant's sleep/wake cycle lasts approximately how long?

A) 30 to 45 minutes
B) 4 - 6 hours
C) 2 hours
D) 8 hours

Question 19

What is the name of the process of creating new synapses which happens very quickly in the first couple of years after birth?

A) Synaptic pruning
B) Synaptomiosis
C) Myelinization
D) Synaptogenesis

Question 20

Attention is regulated by the which of the following structures?

A) Reticular formation
B) Spinal cord
C) Temporal lobe
D) Hypothalamus

Question 21

Which of the following describes the basic cry of an infant who is hungry?

A) A piercing, grating shriek or scream
B) A loud, intense cry that begins abruptly
C) A cry that begins with a scream and becomes loud and intense with no variation in rhythm or volume
D) A cry that begins with a whimper and becomes an alternating pattern of crying, silence, and breathing

Question 22

Fine motor skills of the hand develop, in part, because of which of the following?

A) The progressive development of cartilage in the wrist bones.
B) The progressive development and separation of the wrist bones.
C) The development of bones in the fingers.
D) The growth of new neurons in the hands.

Question 23

If two-month-old Andrew has colic, which of the following characteristics will be most noticeable to his parents?

A) His diarrhea and vomiting
B) His intense crying
C) His lack of appetite
D) His high fever and listlessness

Question 24

Which of the following defines the ability of children to engage in long periods of activity without rest?

A) Ossification
B) Fine motor skills
C) Stamina
D) Development of bone density

Question 25

A child's ability to place round pegs in round holes requires which type of motor skills?

A) Combination of gross and fine
B) Locomotive
C) Nonlocomotive
D) Specific

Question 26

An infant begins whimpering and moaning and then begins to cry very loudly and intensely. Which of the following is the infant most likely expressing?

A) Anger
B) Hunger
C) Fear
D) Pain

Question 27

Typically, infants move into a predictable sleep pattern by what age?

A) Two weeks
B) One month
C) Six weeks
D) Six months

Question 28

By 8 weeks of age, infants show signs of day/night sleep rhythms. What are these rhythms called?

A) Biorhythms
B) REM
C) Sleep cycling
D) Circadian rhythms

Question 29

Which of the following statements is correct regarding motor skill development?

A) Boys and girls are virtually identical in the rate at which they develop motor skills.
B) Children with mental retardation will go through a different sequence of motor skill development than normal children.
C) Even though boys and girls may differ in the rate at which they develop motor skills, they still develop these skills in the same sequence.
D) The development of motor skills is most likely controlled by environmental circumstances.

Question 30

Which of the following is an application of Thelen's Dynamic Systems Theory?

A) Infants lose the stepping reflex if they lose an abnormal amount of weight.
B) The stepping reflex disappears as a result of environmental factors.
C) True walking is likely to happen regardless of environmental influences.
D) True walking is as much dependent on environmental influences as genetic ones.

Question 31

Which of the following is typically true of parents in the United States?

A) They view an infant's erratic sleep patterns as a normal and healthy part of development.
B) They are more likely than European parents to attend to their crying child.
C) They view an infant's erratic sleep patterns as a problem that needs to be fixed.
D) They are more likely than European parents to ignore their crying child.

Question 32

Macie and Darius have a new baby girl. Although they complain that the baby wakes them a lot at night, the truth is the baby probably sleeps as much as ______ of the time?

A) 25 percent
B) 50 percent
C) 75 percent
D) 80 percent

Question 33

Your friend Olga is a new, first-time mother. Her six-week-old infant has shown a recent increase in crying. She doesn't know whether this is because she is picking the child up every time that it cries. She is asking you for advice. What would you say to her?

A) She should take her child to the doctor to see if she has colic.
B) It is normal for crying to increase over the first six weeks of life, and picking her child up will not reinforce the crying.
C) Increased crying in the first six weeks of life is normal, but Olga should not pick up the infant every time it cries.
D) Olga should not worry, the crying usually decreases by the second week of life.

Question 34

Kaye has just mastered sitting up without support. About how old would you expect Kaye to be?

A) 7 months old
B) 3 months old
C) 4 months old
D) 5 months old

Question 35

Under which circumstances might a doctor recommend that a breast-fed infant be given nutritional supplements?

A) If the mother wishes to promote faster-than-average growth of her infant
B) If the baby is more active or energetic than most babies
C) In order for the nursing mother to reduce her own nutritional intake and lose weight more quickly
D) If the infant is preterm

Question 36

Most experts recommend that an infant's first solid food be

A) thoroughly cooked or pre-packaged multi-grain cereals.
B) a source of protein, such as ground chicken.
C) an iron-fortified single-grain cereal, such as rice.
D) one or two fruits that the baby seems to prefer.

Question 37

Lilly has just learned to walk backward. How old would you expect Lilly to be?

A) Between 10 and 12 months
B) Between 13 and 18 months
C) Between 19 and 24 months
D) At least two years old

Question 38

With regard to breast-feeding, which statement is correct?

A) Breast-feeding facilitates the development of superior social interactions between mother and child.
B) Breast milk provides antibodies to protect infants against diseases such as gastrointestinal and upper respiratory tract infections.
C) Human breast milk does not appear to promote the growth of nerves or development of the intestinal tract.
D) Breast-feeding meets the nutritional needs of relatively few infants.

Question 39

Which of the following is true regarding colic?

A) Almost all infants develop colic.
B) Colic is a pattern of intense daily periods of crying for one to three hours per day.
C) The cause of colic is usually an allergy to infant formula.
D) Colic typically begins at about two weeks of age and then disappears spontaneously at three or four months of age.

Question 40

Which of the following is true of the process of ossification?

A) Once it begins it progresses sporadically.
B) It is the process of bone softening.
C) It follows a proximodistal pattern.
D) It begins during the 10th and 11th weeks of gestation.

Question 41

Which of the following gives us the ability to tell from which direction a sound is coming?

A) Perceptual differences in the temporal lobes.
B) The fact that our ears are on the outsides of our heads.
C) The fact that our ears are spaced on either side of our heads.
D) Directional hearing is a learned phenomenon.

Question 42

Your daughter is 20 months old. Which of the following statements is most likely true regarding her auditory acuity and skills?

A) While her auditory acuity is as good as an adult's, she does not yet have the ability to locate sounds.
B) She has the ability to locate sounds but is not yet able to distinguish between pitch and loudness.
C) Both her auditory acuity and ability to locate sound are not likely to full develop for another four months.
D) Her auditory acuity and ability to distinguish location of sound is nearly as good as that of an adult.

Question 43

The disease kwashiokor is caused by which of the following?

A) Restricted caloric intake
B) Excess dietary vitamin B₁₂
C) Insufficient dietary protein
D) Impaired immune system functioning

Question 44

Immunizations are most effective if begun at what time in a child's life?

A) The first month
B) Six months
C) One year
D) Adolescence

Question 45

What is the special, often unexpected urgency in treating infants' respiratory illnesses promptly?

A) Respiratory illnesses are easily spread to other members of the family and more difficult to treat in older children.
B) Respiratory illnesses may affect the ears, and ear infections may impair hearing and interfere with the development of brain areas that are essential for language development.
C) Early respiratory illnesses are likely to result in asthma.
D) Infant immunizations cannot be given while a child is ill.

Question 46

Which of the following is true of the research conducted by Steiner regarding the taste abilities of infants?

A) Most cannot distinguish between the five basic flavors: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami.
B) He conducted his research by feeding infants various unfamiliar flavors of waters.
C) He drew pictures of the facial expressions of infants as they reacted to different tastes or flavors.
D) Children born in non-Asian countries cannot taste umami.

Question 47

Which of the following is the simplest precaution that a parent can take to reduce the risk of SIDS?

A) Position the infant on his/her back to sleep
B) Feed the infant a high-fat diet
C) Ensure that the infant does not become ill with a respiratory infection
D) Position the child to sleep on his stomach

Question 48

Which the following is associated with SIDS?

A) A history of apnea
B) Bacterial infections that cause ear aches
C) Drinking by the mother after pregnancy
D) Greater than average birth weight

Question 49

Seth is six weeks old. You are holding three balloons in your hand: one red, one blue and one green. Which of the following statements is most likely true?

A) Seth has already developed the required cones in his eyes to differentiate between the three different colored balloons.
B) Since Seth is only six weeks old, he can only distinguish between red and green.
C) Seth probably only has the rods for blue vision in his eyes, so he won't be able to distinguish between red and green.
D) At this age, Seth's cones are still too underdeveloped for him to distinguish any colors at all.

Question 50

Which of the following is the most common nutritional problem in industrialized countries such as the United States?

A) Kwashikor
B) Micronutrient malnutrition
C) Macronutrient malnutrition
D) Marasmus

Question 51

In the United States, which group has the lowest infant mortality rate?

A) Caucasians
B) Asian Americans
C) African Americans
D) Native Americans

Question 52

What is the leading cause of death in the United States among infants between the ages of one month and one year?

A) Accidents
B) Respiratory infections
C) Micronutrient deficiency
D) Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Question 53

Amy is three years old and has 20/40 vision. What does this mean?

A) Amy's visual acuity is average for a three-year-old.
B) In order for Amy to see an object, she has to be 20 feet away from it, whereas most people can see the object from 40 feet away.
C) Amy is considered legally blind.
D) In order for Amy to see an object, she has to be 40 feet away from it, whereas most people can see the object from 20 feet away.

Question 54

In the United States, which group has the highest infant mortality rate?

A) Puerto Rican Americans
B) Mexican Americans
C) African Americans
D) Asian Americans

Question 55

The five basic flavors that humans register are

A) bitter, sweet, salty, spicy, umami.
B) sweet, sour, bitter, umami, salty.
C) salty, sweet, spicy, piquant, bittersweet.
D) bittersweet, sour, sweet, umami, spicy.

Question 56

Between 1992 and 1999 what happened to the rate of infant vaccinations in the United States?

A) They increased dramatically.
B) The number of required vaccines dropped.
C) The rate increased by 15%.
D) They declined sharply.

Question 57

Moesha and Nick have a newborn. If their baby is an average infant, by his first birthday he will have had which of the following?

A) Measles
B) Several instances of sleep apnea
C) No illnesses whatsoever
D) Seven respiratory illnesses

Question 58

Your text mentions a coexisting condition that causes chronic diarrhea in many infants who suffer from marasmus. What is this coexisting condition?

A) Low birth weight
B) Premature delivery
C) Parasitic infections
D) Colic

Question 59

What is micronutrient malnutrition?

A) Protein insufficiency
B) Lack of sufficient vitamins and minerals
C) Insufficient intake of carbohydrates
D) Insufficiency of total calories

Question 60

Which of the following terms represents the smooth movement that allows the eyes to follow a moving object?

A) Tracking
B) Acuity
C) Tracing
D) Visualization

Question 61

Which of the following is the best example of intermodal perception?

A) A baby who has been sucking a nubby pacifier will look longer at a picture of a nubby pacifier.
B) An infant will drink more sweetened water than unsweetened water.
C) An infant who had habituated to a singing, rotating toy will look longer when the toy produces a new song as it rotates.
D) An infant who saw his father shave imitated the action by moving a crayon over his own face.

Question 62

The "visual cliff" is used to measure which of the following?

A) Visual acuity
B) Color vision
C) Depth sensitivity
D) Depth perception

Question 63

Children will begin to show some signs of hand preference by age ________ .

Question 64

Dishabituation is best described by which of the following?

A) Responding to a familiar stimulus as if it was new
B) Focusing on a stimulus that has not been successfully reinforced
C) Focusing on a stimulus that has not been completely conditioned
D) The transition to preoperational thought

Question 65

An infant has lost interest in a familiar stimulus. After the stimulus has been removed for a time, and then re-appears, the infant shows renewed interest. This defines which of the following?

A) Dishabituation
B) Perception
C) Habituation
D) Disperception

Question 66

Researchers determine an infant's interest in an object by measuring which of the following?

A) Whether or not they look directly at the object
B) How long they look at the object
C) Whether or not they show signs of boredom such as yawning
D) Whether or not they smile at the object

Question 67

The AAP's policy on television watching in children under age 2 assumes that watching television may ________ affect brain development.

Question 68

Which of the five senses is most fully developed at birth?

A) Taste
B) Touch
C) Smell
D) Hearing

Question 69

________ rhythms affect sleep cycles as well as other bodily processes.

Question 70

Which of the following is most likely responsible for infants' preference for their mothers' voices?

A) Biological predisposition
B) In-vitro hearing
C) The survival instinct
D) In-utero learning

Question 71

The growth of axons and dendrites is known as ________ .

Question 72

Which of the following statements is true regarding the well-known research carried out by Gibson and Walk on depth perception?

A) It provided little information regarding depth perception in children under the age of six months.
B) Children who had developed depth perception would continue to crawl beyond the boundaries of the cliff.
C) Children use aesthetic cues to determine the depth of a cliff.
D) Flinching is observed in children as young as 3 months of age.

Question 73

Habituation is best defined by which of the following?

A) Shaping behavior patterns through operant conditioning
B) The decline in attention that occurs because a stimulus becomes too familiar
C) The development of repetitive behaviors that are characteristic of the secondary circular reactions substage
D) Strengthening or increase in behaviors that results from reinforcement

Question 74

A developmental psychologist is showing a four-month-old infant a series of drawings. Each drawing shows a series of heavy black dots arranged in the shape of a square. After seeing a series of such pictures, the infant looks for shorter and shorter periods of time until she is barely glancing at each new version of the black dots in a square. Suddenly the researcher presents a new drawing of heavy black dots in the shape of a circle, and the baby shows renewed interest by gazing for a longer period of time. What is illustrated by this research project?

A) The baby's response was an example of discriminatory social referencing.
B) The baby became habituated to the pattern of the dots in the shape of a square.
C) The baby demonstrated dislike of the square pattern of black dots.
D) The baby was illustrating intersensory integration.

Question 75

Of the following statements, which is an accurate description of an infant's perceptual abilities?

A) When newborns gaze, they can see the edges of objects.
B) Infants as young as one week of age seem to prefer attractive faces to less attractive faces.
C) Infants will display habituation to an unfamiliar pattern of objects or features of objects.
D) Infants develop depth perception only after a prolonged experience of walking toward and away from objects.

Question 76

Elisa is growing up in a home where both Russian and English are spoken. Which of the following statements is most likely true of seven-month-old Elisa?

A) She will be confused by the mixture of languages and will be delayed in her ability to distinguish contrasting sounds.
B) She can accurately discriminate all sound contrasts that appear in both languages.
C) She will respond to all sounds in the same way.
D) She will be able to respond to distinctions in sounds when her mother speaks, but not when her father or male siblings speak.

Question 77

The sequence of myelinization follows both a ________ and ________ pattern.

Question 78

Depth perception is possible because of which of the following types of cues?

A) Monocular
B) Nocturnal
C) Binocular
D) Habitual

Question 79

Which of the following involve processing information based on body motion or the motion of an object in relation to the body?

A) Kinetic cues
B) Monocular cues
C) Binocular cues
D) Linear cues

Question 80

When a child combines information from several senses into one perception, this is called

A) inhabituation.
B) synesthesia.
C) intermodal perception.
D) sensory integration.