Deck 8: Physical Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood

Question 1

Felicity and Samantha are identical twins. They are

A) probably both right-handed.
B) more likely than ordinary siblings to differ in hand preference.
C) probably both left-handed.
D) less likely than fraternal twins to differ in hand preference.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following U.S. children is most likely to get his or her permanent teeth first?

A) Brooke, an obese girl
B) Malik, an undernourished boy
C) Jack, a well-nourished boy of average weight
D) Sasha, an undernourished girl

Answer 2

A

Question 3

During early childhood, boys __________ than girls.

A) are less muscular
B) are slightly larger
C) have more body fat
D) are slightly smaller

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The hippocampus plays a vital role in

A) balance.
B) consciousness.
C) control of body movement.
D) memory.

Question 5

Which of the following skills develops at the fastest pace during early childhood?

A) giving directions
B) drawing pictures
C) recognizing geometric shapes
D) using language

Question 6

Handedness

A) reflects the greater capacity of one side of the brain to carry out skilled motor action.
B) is evident in a wide range of skills from birth.
C) is a heritable trait, especially for left-handed people.
D) is strongest for simple, rather than complex, skills.

Question 7

Growth norms

A) for one population are not good standards for children elsewhere in the world.
B) are very similar for children in every country of the world.
C) vary from child to child in each population.
D) are the best estimate of skeletal age.

Question 8

For the left-handed 10 percent of the population, language is

A) always housed in the right hemisphere.
B) always housed in the left hemisphere.
C) most often housed in the right hemisphere.
D) most often shared between the hemispheres.

Question 9

An __________ of __________ during early childhood supports plasticity of the young brain, helping to ensure the child will acquire certain abilities even if some areas are damaged.

A) underproduction; neurons
B) underproduction; synapses
C) overproduction; neurons
D) overabundance; synaptic connections

Question 10

Jim sometimes uses his right hand skillfully, but he prefers his left hand. Jim

A) is ambidextrous.
B) has a strongly lateralized brain.
C) is very likely to have left-handed children.
D) probably had early damage to the left hemisphere.

Question 11

Which of the following statements about body growth in early childhood is true?

A) On average, children add 1 to 2 inches in height and about 3 pounds in weight each year.
B) Children add "baby fat" and gradually become heavier and more muscular.
C) By age 5, children become more top-heavy, bowlegged, and potbellied.
D) The rapid increase in body size of the first two years tapers off into a slower growth pattern.

Question 12

Neurons in the __________ send out fibers to the prefrontal cortex, contributing to improvements in sustained, controlled attention.

A) cerebellum
B) hippocampus
C) reticular formation
D) corpus callosum

Question 13

The years from 2 to 6 are often called "the __________ years."

A) play
B) growth
C) beginning
D) me

Question 14

Which of the following statements regarding handedness is true?

A) For the majority of individuals, handedness is inherited from the mother's side of the family.
B) Ordinary siblings are more likely than identical or fraternal twins to differ in hand preference.
C) Rates of left-handedness are elevated among people with intellectual disabilities and mental illness.
D) Right-handed children are more likely to develop outstanding verbal and mathematical talents.

Question 15

Growth and myelination of fibers linking the cerebellum to the cerebral cortex contributes to __________ in early childhood.

A) a strong hand preference
B) suppression of impulses in favor of thoughtful responses
C) dramatic gains in motor coordination
D) dramatic gains in spatial skills

Question 16

For most children,

A) activity in the left hemisphere increases slowly throughout early and middle childhood.
B) activity in the left hemisphere peaks between 1 and 3 years and decreases slowly.
C) the left hemisphere is especially active between 3 and 6 years and then levels off.
D) activity in the right hemisphere increases dramatically between ages 2 and 6.

Question 17

The reticular formation is located in the

A) brain stem.
B) prefrontal cortex.
C) temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex.
D) left hemisphere of the brain.

Question 18

Between ages 2 and 6,

A) the brain increases from 40 percent of its adult weight to 60 percent.
B) synaptic pruning slows or ends in many parts of the cerebral cortex.
C) energy consumption of most cortical regions diminishes to near-adult levels.
D) the brain increases from 70 percent of its adult weight to 90 percent.

Question 19

X-rays of epiphyses enable doctors to estimate children's

A) adult weight.
B) loss of baby teeth.
C) brain development.
D) skeletal age.

Question 20

By age 4 to 5,

A) preschoolers show declines in sustained attention.
B) the number of synapses in the prefrontal cortex is nearly double the adult value.
C) energy metabolism in the cerebral cortex is at an all-time low.
D) synaptic pruning decreases sharply, reaching an adultlike level.

Question 21

When young children with psychosocial dwarfism are removed from their emotionally inadequate environments,

A) their dwarfism is permanent, even with immediate treatment.
B) they rarely exhibit catch-up growth.
C) they must be given high levels of iron to prevent anemia.
D) their growth hormone (GH) levels quickly return to normal and they grow rapidly.

Question 22

Which of the following statements about appetite in early childhood is true?

A) Preschoolers' appetites increase because their growth is at an all-time high.
B) Parents should be concerned if their preschooler varies the amount eaten from meal to meal.
C) Preschoolers' wariness of new foods is adaptive.
D) Preschoolers need a different quality of food than adults need.

Question 23

The amygdala

A) supports smooth coordination of movements on both sides of the body.
B) plays a vital role in memory and in images of space that help us find our way.
C) aids in balance and control of body movement.
D) is sensitive to facial emotional expressions, especially fear.

Question 24

During the preschool years,

A) children usually eat the same amount of food during each meal.
B) children can tolerate more fats, oils, and salt.
C) it is common for children's appetite to increase.
D) the emotional climate at mealtimes has a powerful impact on eating habits.

Question 25

Research on sleep demonstrates that

A) most American parents cosleep with their children into the preschool years.
B) sleepwalking in early childhood often signals a severe neurological problem.
C) parent-child cosleeping is associated with sleep disorders during the preschool years.
D) sleep terrors can be triggered by stress or extreme fatigue.

Question 26

Illnesses such as measles and chicken pox

A) typically do not appear until after age 3 throughout the world.
B) occur at about the same rate in all countries.
C) have been eradicated through mass immunization.
D) occur much earlier in developing nations than in industrialized nations.

Question 27

Sleep contributes to body growth because

A) growth hormone (GH) is released during the child's sleeping hours.
B) rest allows the awake body to produce GH at higher levels.
C) rest allows the awake body to produce thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) at higher levels.
D) REM sleep heightens the impact of environmental events.

Question 28

Dmitri, age 5, suffers from extreme emotional deprivation. He is very short in stature, shows decreased secretion of growth hormone (GH) and melatonin, has an immature skeletal age, and displays serious adjustment problems. These are typical characteristics of

A) a vitamin C deficiency.
B) psychosocial dwarfism.
C) inadequate thyroxine.
D) an iron deficiency.

Question 29

Which of the following statements is supported by research on nutrition?

A) Restricting access to tasty foods is an effective way to get young children to eat healthy foods.
B) Adding salt or sugar is an easy way to get children to eat healthy foods.
C) Offering bribes is an effective way to get preschoolers to eat healthy foods.
D) Offering children sweet fruit drinks or soft drinks promotes "milk avoidance."

Question 30

Which of the following may be a reason that disrupted sleep has a more pronounced effect on the cognitive functioning and emotional adjustment of low-SES children?

A) Low-SES children are less likely to cosleep, which harms their sense of security while asleep.
B) Insufficient sleep heightens the impact of other environmental stressors prevalent in their daily lives.
C) Low-SES children do not take regular naps, so disrupted nighttime sleep is more harmful to them.
D) Disrupted sleep cycles cause children's cortisol levels to rise, which is particularly harmful in low-SES children.

Question 31

Which of the following statements about nutrition in the United States is true?

A) By the school years, low-SES U.S. children are, on average, about ½ to 1 inch shorter than their economically advantaged counterparts.
B) Unlike children in developing countries, few children in the United States lack access to sufficient high-quality food to support healthy growth.
C) Because food products in the United States are vitamin fortified, children no longer suffer from vitamin A, calcium, zinc, or vitamin C deficiencies.
D) Parents who restrict their preschool children's eating decrease the likelihood that the children will be overweight or obese in adolescence.

Question 32

Poor diet

A) is not a major contributor to susceptibility to childhood diseases.
B) is usually unrelated to childhood illnesses such as measles and chicken pox.
C) depresses the body's immune system, making children more susceptible to disease.
D) can cause childhood illnesses such as measles and chicken pox.

Question 33

Sophia's parents will not allow her to eat any sugary foods. This practice will most likely

A) prompt Sophia to eat more healthy foods.
B) have no effect on Sophia's eating behavior.
C) focus Sophia's attention on sugary foods.
D) decrease Sophia's desire to eat sugary foods.

Question 34

Which of the following is a function of the corpus callosum?

A) It plays a central role in processing of novelty and emotional information.
B) It creates a link between the right cerebral hemisphere and the hippocampus.
C) It generates synapses and myelinates throughout early childhood and into adolescence.
D) It supports smooth coordination of movements on both sides of the body.

Question 35

Brianna, age 4, eats only pasta, bread, and chicken. Which of the following would you suggest to Brianna's parents to encourage their daughter to eat new foods?

A) Serve her only new foods so that she has no other choices.
B) Repeatedly expose her to new foods without any direct pressure to eat them.
C) Add sugar or butter to new foods, and offer dessert if she eats them.
D) Refuse to serve pasta until she tries at least one new food.

Question 36

The __________ plays a critical role in the rate of physical growth.

A) pituitary gland
B) hippocampus
C) reticular formation
D) corpus callosum

Question 37

Which of the following statements is supported by research on lead exposure during childhood?

A) Overall, poorer intelligence test scores associated with lead exposure seem to be permanent.
B) Lead-exposed children given drugs to induce excretion of lead improve in long-term outcomes.
C) Once lead-exposed children move away from contaminated areas, their intelligence test scores increase.
D) Negative lead-related cognitive consequences are evident only at high levels of exposure.

Question 38

Without medical intervention, children who suffer from __________ reach an average mature height of only 4 to 4½ feet.

A) growth hormone (GH) deficiency
B) estrogen deficiency
C) inadequate thyroxine
D) thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) deficiency

Question 39

Research on lead exposure during childhood reveals that

A) middle-SES children are more likely than low-SES children to experience lead exposure.
B) use of iron and zinc supplements increases lead concentration in the blood.
C) persistent childhood lead exposure is linked to diabetes in adulthood.
D) a stressed, disorganized home life seems to heighten lead-induced damage.

Question 40

Which of the following 3-year-olds is most likely to share a bedroom with a sibling?

A) Dante, who is African American
B) Ruby, who is Hispanic
C) Jacob, who is Caucasian
D) Jing, who is Asian American

Question 41

__________ are at greater risk for injury than __________.

A) Three- to 5-year-old girls; 3- to 5-year-old boys
B) Children with easy temperaments; irritable children
C) Middle-SES children; low-SES children
D) U.S. children from advantaged families; children in Western Europe

Question 42

In the United States, __________ is/are the most frequent source of childhood injury.

A) burns
B) falls
C) being struck by an object
D) motor vehicle collisions

Question 43

Which of the following children is most likely to lack immunizations?

A) Emma, who is from the United States
B) Kristen, who is from Canada
C) Nigel, who is from the United Kingdom
D) Elsa, who is from Sweden

Question 44

__________ are the leading cause of childhood mortality in industrialized nations.

A) Carcinogens
B) Unintentional injuries
C) Birth defects
D) Infectious diseases

Question 45

Harvey, age 3, can probably

A) gallop and skip with one foot.
B) copy some numbers and simple words.
C) zip and unzip large zippers.
D) ride a tricycle rapidly and steer smoothly.

Question 46

Between the ages of 2 and 3 years, most children learn how to

A) push a riding toy with their feet.
B) use a knife to cut soft foods.
C) tie their shoes.
D) pedal and steer a tricycle.

Question 47

Which of the following statements about preventing childhood injury is true?

A) During the past several decades, parents have changed a great deal in how much they do to protect their children from injury.
B) In the United States, 84 percent of infant seats and 40 percent of child booster seats are improperly used.
C) In the United States, 12 percent of parents fail to place their children in car safety seats.
D) Young children properly restrained in car safety seats have a 50 percent reduced risk of fatal injury.

Question 48

As children's bodies become more streamlined and less top-heavy,

A) balance improves greatly.
B) their center of gravity shifts upward.
C) gross-motor development slows.
D) fine-motor development slows.

Question 49

Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) and zinc supplement interventions

A) are effective for children with severe diarrhea, but they are expensive to administer.
B) must be administered by trained medical professionals or public health workers.
C) save the lives of millions of children each year.
D) are less effective than immunization in preventing childhood deaths due to diarrhea.

Question 50

In industrialized nations, childhood diseases have declined dramatically during the past half century, largely as a result of

A) generous government nutrition programs.
B) government-funded health care.
C) widespread immunization of infants and young children.
D) a reduction in the number of viral and bacterial infections worldwide.

Question 51

Childhood injuries

A) are typically "accidental" and usually cannot be prevented.
B) occur within a complex ecological system and can often be prevented.
C) rank second only to cancer as a cause of childhood mortality in industrialized nations.
D) are less common in the United States than in other industrialized nations.

Question 52

Which of the following children can likely dress and undress without supervision?

A) Shang, who is 2 years old
B) Penelope, who is 3 years old
C) Jason, who is 3½ years old
D) Lillian, who is 4 years old

Question 53

Caitlyn, age 4, can probably

A) tie her shoes.
B) ride a bicycle with training wheels.
C) draw a person with six parts.
D) use a fork effectively.

Question 54

Three-year-old Billy caught five colds during his first year in preschool. He also experienced repeated otitis media. If Billy is like other children with frequent otitis media, he may have trouble

A) attending to others' speech.
B) falling and staying asleep.
C) mastering large motor skills, such as running and climbing.
D) identifying the letters of the alphabet.

Question 55

Which of the following statements about otitis media is true?

A) Plastic tubes that drain the Eustachian tubes often are used to treat chronic otitis media in children.
B) Compared with children remaining at home, otitis media occurs less often in children who attend child-care centers.
C) Only about 20 percent of U.S. children have experienced three or more bouts of otitis media.
D) The incidence of otitis media is greatest between 3 and 5 years.

Question 56

In developing countries,

A) vaccines weaken the immune system and children's susceptibility to disease.
B) most childhood deaths due to diarrhea can be prevented with oral rehydration therapy (ORT).
C) most children receive government-funded immunizations.
D) widespread diarrhea leads to growth stunting but rarely to death.

Question 57

Most 5- to 6-year-olds learn how to

A) use scissors.
B) gallop and skip with one foot.
C) draw a person with six parts.
D) catch a ball against their chest.

Question 58

In developing countries, widespread __________, resulting from unsafe water and contaminated foods, leads to growth stunting and an estimated one million childhood deaths each year.

A) diarrhea
B) scurvy
C) rubella
D) tuberculosis

Question 59

When it comes to injury prevention, American parents

A) more often teach safety rules to their preschoolers as an advance preventive rather than a reaction to unsafe behaviors.
B) seem willing to ignore familiar safety practices, perhaps because of the high value they place on personal freedom.
C) take more safety precautions than parents in other industrialized nations.
D) place a high value on the use of safety devices, such as bicycle helmets, booster seats, and fire extinguishers.

Question 60

Which of the following statements about childhood immunizations is true?

A) The United States is ahead of Australia, Denmark, Norway, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom in immunization rates.
B) Overall, 17 percent of U.S. preschoolers lack essential immunizations, and the rate rises to 22 percent for poverty-stricken children.
C) Nearly 100 percent of U.S. children who receive a complete schedule of vaccinations in the first two years continue to receive the immunizations they need later, in early childhood.
D) Disease outbreaks of whooping cough and rubella have not occurred in the United States since the development of vaccines for these diseases.

Question 61

Discuss how motor vehicle use relates to childhood injuries. What are some ways to minimize unintentional injuries during automobile travel?

Question 62

Which of the following statements about artistic development in China is true?

A) China's artistic styles and conventions are enormously diverse compared to the United States.
B) Chinese art teachers typically assume that copying others' drawings stifles creativity.
C) When taught to paint, Chinese children follow prescribed brush strokes, at first copying their teacher's model.
D) Rather than promoting correct ways to draw, Chinese teachers emphasize imagination and self-expression.

Question 63

Discuss sex differences in motor skills in early childhood.

Question 64

Preschoolers' first attempts to print often involve

A) two- to three-letter words, such as "hi" and "mom."
B) a pretend grocery list.
C) a parent's or sibling's name.
D) their name.

Question 65

Direct instruction in which of the following activities is most likely to accelerate gross-motor development in early childhood?

A) throwing
B) running
C) dancing
D) tumbling

Question 66

In cultures with little interest in art,

A) children nonetheless create elaborate drawings.
B) children still draw the universal tadpole image to represent a person.
C) the first drawings of the human figure typically emphasize the head and face.
D) even older children and adolescents produce simple forms.

Question 67

Dominic is left-handed. He would like to know if his infant son is likely to be left-handed or right-handed. What can you tell him about research on handedness?

Question 68

When adults draw with children and point out resemblances between drawings and objects,

A) they stifle children's self-expression.
B) preschoolers' pictures become simpler so the adult can recognize items.
C) preschoolers' pictures become more comprehensible and detailed.
D) they interfere with the natural progression of childhood drawing.

Question 69

Discuss how sleep habits contribute to body growth in children, and explain how disrupted sleep affects cognitive functioning.

Question 70

Cross-cultural research indicates that children benefit from __________ in learning to draw.

A) exposure to a rich variety of art materials
B) freedom to use self-expression
C) independence
D) adult guidance

Question 71

Three-year-olds

A) use an adult grip pattern to hold a pencil.
B) vary their pencil grip, depending on the location of marks they want to make.
C) use a constant pencil angle across a range of drawing and writing.
D) grip pencils indiscriminately in either their left or right hand.

Question 72

Anya, age 4, is asked to draw a picture of a person. She will probably

A) draw a circular shape with lines attached, and add features such as eyes, nose, mouth, and hair.
B) make a realistically detailed image with primitive drawing techniques.
C) draw a large head with facial features but no body.
D) use depth cues, such as overlapping objects, in the background.

Question 73

Jesi, age 3, is asked to draw a cylinder. Based on her age, she will probably draw

A) nothing.
B) nonrepresentational scribbles.
C) a circle, an oval, or a rectangle.
D) two circles and some lines.

Question 74

Which of the following statements is supported by research on sex differences in motor skills?

A) Sex differences in motor skills increase with age, but they remain small throughout childhood.
B) Sex differences in motor skills are largely due to genetically based differences.
C) Boys' greater overall physical maturity may be partly responsible for their better balance and precision of movement.
D) From an early age, boys and girls are usually channeled into similar physical activities.

Question 75

Describe the development of drawing in children in Western nations.

Question 76

For preschoolers to easily acquire new motor skills,

A) direct adult instruction should focus on perfecting the "correct" technique.
B) they need formal lessons to master most gross- and fine-motor skills.
C) playgrounds must offer a range of equipment to meet the diverse needs of individual children.
D) they need adults to take a "hands-off" approach, providing supervision but no activity planning.

Question 77

A major milestone in drawing occurs when 3- and 4-year-olds learn to

A) use lines to represent the boundaries of objects.
B) use depth cues.
C) make gestures that leave marks.
D) draw "stick" or "contour" figures.

Question 78

Which of the following statements about individual differences in motor skills during early childhood is true?

A) Girls can run slightly faster than boys.
B) Girls can broad-jump slightly farther than boys.
C) Girls have an edge over boys in fine-motor skills.
D) Girls are ahead of boys in skills that emphasize force.

Question 79

Which of the following statements about self-help skills is true?

A) While young preschoolers can use a spoon well, they cannot serve themselves at mealtimes.
B) The use of child-sized eating utensils is unnecessary and inhibits fine-motor progress.
C) Between ages 4 and 5, children can dress and undress without supervision.
D) Shoe-tying skills are typically mastered in early preschool.

Question 80

Perhaps the most complex self-help skill of early childhood is

A) self-dressing.
B) shoe tying.
C) self-feeding.
D) tooth brushing.