Deck 8: Emotional Development

Question 1

Which of the following statements about newborn infants' crying is FALSE?

A) Newborn infants cries primarily reflect physical discomfort, or reaction to a loud noise.
B) Newborn infants are likely to cry when they hear another newborn crying.
C) Newborn infants' cries of fear and frustration sound different, and are easily differentiated.
D) None of the statements above are false; all are true.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Newborn babies smile most often during .

A) rapid eye movement sleep
B) feeding
C) social interaction
D) play

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Infants typically begin social smiling, i.e. in response to another person's smile, at about of age

A) 3 weeks
B) 2 months
C) 6 months
D) 8 months

Answer 3

B

Question 4

A small baby is laying quietly in its crib when it hears a door slam, very loudly. What behavior is it likely to display?

A) The baby will fling its hands out, then contract into a fetal position with fingers clenched in order to grab onto whatever it can.
B) The baby will become very still, ceasing all movement in order to avoid being seen.
C) The baby will roll over onto its stomach, in order to protect the inner organs from damage.
D) The baby is likely to display all of the behaviors above.

Question 5

Which of the following situations is NOT one in which babies typically display the Moro reflex?

A) When is feels like it is being dropped
B) When it hears a loud, sudden noise
C) When it sees a large figure moving quickly in its direction
D) When it hears another baby crying

Question 6

In a study procedure called the "impossible outcome" task, babies watch as an experimenter covers two objects with a screen, and then takes the screen away to reveal either one or two objects. Which of the following accurately summarizes results when the babies are just a few months old?

A) The babies show no sign of noticing the impossible outcome, reacting the same when one or two objects are revealed.
B) The babies look longer at the impossible outcome, when just one object is revealed.
C) The babies look longer at the possible outcome, when two objects are revealed.
D) The babies show a facial expression of surprise to the impossible outcome (one object) but not the possible outcome (two objects).

Question 7

A baby is being held in a somewhat uncomfortable position by its pediatrician during a simple medical test. Crying, the baby looks at the doctor, and appears noticeably angry. According to a study discussed in your textbook, how old is the baby likely to be?

A) 1 month old
B) 4 months old
C) at least 7 months old
D) at least 12 months old

Question 8

While holding her 4-month-old niece, an aunt playfully holds the baby's legs tightly so the baby cannot move them. When the baby becomes annoyed by this, where does research suggest she is likely to look?

A) At her legs
B) At her aunt
C) At her parents
D) She will close her eyes in a tight squint, rather than looking anywhere.

Question 9

In one study described in your textbook (Sternberg & Campos, 1990), researchers restrained the arms of 1-, 4-, and 7-month-old infants to see what facial expressions they would display, and where they would look. According to the researchers, what did the results of this study suggest?

A) That babies can experience anger as early as 1 month of age
B) That a distinct anger expression does not emerge until at least the second year of life
C) That newborn babies are frightened by this experience, but by 7 months babies are angered by it
D) That changes in the expression of anger reflect development in the babies' ability to cognitively appraise the situation

Question 10

In a classic study (Lewis and Brooks-Gunn, 1979), researchers asked infants' and toddlers' mothers to put a small spot of rouge on their children's noses while pretending to wipe them. The researchers then observed the toddlers' behavior when looking in a mirror. What research question was this study designed to address?

A) At what age do young children begin to show facial expressions of surprise?
B) At what age do young children begin to laugh in amusement?
C) At what age do young children attribute the trick with the rouge to their mother?
D) At what age do young children begin to develop a sense of self?

Question 11

Which of the following species have NOT shown signs of self-recognition in a variant of the dot-on-the-nose test in human children?

A) Chimpanzees
B) Magpies
C) Elephants
D) All of the species above have been found to show self-recognition.

Question 12

Which of the following emotions do children only begin to display around the time they can recognize themselves in a mirror?

A) Amusement
B) Embarrassment
C) Sadness
D) Gratitude

Question 13

A 3-year-old boy is in a grocery store, and hears another child crying. He goes to the other child, observes the situation, and asks "Why are you crying? Are you scared because you can't find your mom?" What cognitive ability is the 3-year-old boy displaying?

A) The Moro reflex
B) Social referencing
C) Theory of mind
D) Socioemotional selectivity

Question 14

A 2-year-old girl is visiting the zoo for the first time, with her father. As they look at the monkeys, an adult monkey comes close to the girl and begins reaching out to her. The girl initially seems nervous but looks at her father and, seeing that he is smiling, looks back at the monkey, laughs, and talks to it playfully. This is an example of .

A) theory of mind
B) self-recognition
C) social smiling
D) social referencing

Question 15

In the "visual cliff" task, infants are placed on the "shallow" side of a table covered in clear glass, where the solid floor is immediately beneath the glass on one side, then drops sharply a few feet on the other. The mother stands beyond the "deep" side of the table, looking at the baby. Which of the following research questions was this task designed to address?

A) Do babies have an innate fear of heights, or does this develop at a certain age?
B) Are mothers are frightened by the sight of their baby on the deep side of the cliff?
C) At what age do babies respond to their mother's facial expression in deciding whether to cross to the deep side of the cliff?
D) At what age do babies realize that the "cliff" is not real, and they are in no danger?

Question 16

In the "visual cliff" task, babies are placed on the shallow side of a table covered in clear glass, where the solid floor is immediately beneath the glass on one side, then drops sharply a few feet on the other. The mother stands beyond the deep side of the table, facing the baby and either smiling or looking frightened. At what age do babies typically begin responding to the mother's expression when deciding whether to cross the "cliff" or not?

A) 6 months
B) 9 months
C) 12 months
D) 15 months

Question 17

Which of the following facial expressions of emotion do English-speaking children typically learn to recognize and label first, before learning the labels for other emotions?

A) Happiness
B) Fear
C) Surprise
D) Sadness

Question 18

At what age do children typically begin to use emotion words appropriately, in pretend play and in social interaction?

A) About 2 years
B) About 3 years
C) About 5 years
D) About 7 years

Question 19

In one study described in your textbook, mothers were asked how they would respond if their child misbehaved in public, such as knocking items of the shelf at a store. Which of the following best summarizes the results?

A) Japanese mothers would ignore the child; mothers in the United States would take the child outside the store.
B) Mothers in the United States would handle the situation themselves; Japanese mothers said they would allow other shoppers to help intervene.
C) Japanese mothers said they would make a joke about the situation; mothers in the United States said they would be embarrassed.
D) Mothers in the United States said they would order their children to stop, or physically restrain them; Japanese mothers said they would explain why the behavior hurt other people.

Question 20

The prefrontal cortex of the brain does not reach full maturity until:

A) late childhood, about 8-10 years of age.
B) puberty, about 11-13 years of age.
C) early-mid adolescence, about 14-16 years of age.
D) young adulthood, about 18-25 years of age.

Question 21

In one study described in your textbook (Qu et al., 2015), adolescents who engaged in fewer real-life risky activities showed less activity in the prefrontal cortex during a simple impulse-inhibition task than those who engaged in more risk-taking. Given what is known about the prefrontal cortex, which of the following is the most plausible interpretation of this finding?

A) Activation in the prefrontal cortex interferes with impulse control.
B) Adolescents who engage in less risky behavior have weaker impulses, so controlling them is easier.
C) People who do not take risks in real life are unused to inhibiting their impulses.
D) All of the above are equally plausible explanations.

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT typical of people's emotion trajectories throughout adulthood?

A) Happiness is lower during middle age than during young adulthood and late life.
B) Anxiety tends to decrease throughout adulthood.
C) Anger-proneness is lower among older adults than among young and middle-aged adults.
D) All of the above are typical of emotion trajectories throughout adulthood.

Question 23

At what stage of adulthood do people report the highest subjective well-being (assuming they are physically healthy), on average?

A) Young adulthood, ages 18-30
B) Early middle adulthood, 30-45 years of age
C) Late middle adulthood, 50-65 years of age
D) Older adulthood, over 70 years of age

Question 24

Which of the following most accurately summarizes socioemotional selectivity theory?

A) Individuals with higher socioeconomic status are more selective about the people they spend time with.
B) When people have less time to live ahead of them than behind them, they selectively prioritize emotional well-being and close relationships over achievement and building resources for the future.
C) People who invest more in developing close relationships tend to have higher emotional well-being.
D) Adolescents who are more selective about their relationships in high school tend to become happier adults, reporting greater satisfaction with their careers and marriages.

Question 25

In a study described in your textbook (Shiota & Levenson, 2009), young, middle-age, and older adults watched sad and disgusting video clips. Some participants were asked to think about the films in unemotional ways (detached reappraisal), and others to think about positive aspects and implications of the films (positive reappraisal). Which of the following best summarizes the study's results?

A) Older adults were generally better at regulating their emotions than young and middle-age adults.
B) Older adults were generally worse at regulating their emotions than young and middle-age adults.
C) Older adults were best at implementing positive reappraisal, whereas young adults were best at implementing detached reappraisal.
D) Young adults were best at implementing detached reappraisal, whereas older adults were best at implementing positive reappraisal.

Question 26

Infant's facial expressions of sadness, fear, and anger can be differentiated by the time they are a few weeks old.

Question 27

People who are blind from birth smile as much as sighted people do, and they begin smiling at around the same age.

Question 28

Newborn infants have an innate fear of heights.

Question 29

Research suggests that children do not begin to develop a sense of self until about 18 months of age.

Question 30

Parents throughout the world report wanting their children to be happy, not too fearful, and able to control their anger.

Question 31

Research suggests that adolescents weigh the pros and cons of risky decisions more deliberately than adults do, taking longer to decide.

Question 32

The rate of risky behavior declines from 10 to 20 years of age, as the prefrontal cortex matures.

Question 33

Subjective well-being is highest among adults between 25 and 40 years of age.

Question 34

List and three "emotional" behaviors that newborn infants reliably show, describing each behavior and the condition under which it is displayed.

Question 35

List the three major kinds of processes, described in your textbook, that play important roles in driving children's emotional development.

Question 36

Explain what social referencing is, and give an example not previously discussed in class or in your textbook.

Question 37

Strong evidence indicates that, provided that they are physically healthy, older adults experience anger and anxiety less often and less intensely than do young and middle-aged adults. List three possible explanations for this effect, discussed in your textbook.

Question 38

Physical maturation, cognitive development, and social interaction are all thought to play roles in supporting young children's emotional development. Describe one example supporting each of these mechanisms of emotional development.

Question 39

Describe one experience from your own childhood in which you learned an emotional rule from a parent, peer, or some other important social influence in your life. State whether the rule you learned was a display rule, a feeling rule, or both, and explain how the rule was conveyed. Was the rule conveyed by explicit verbal instruction; by modeling of expected behavior; by rewarding or punishing your own behavior; or by some other means?