Deck 4: Physical Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood

Question 1

A malnutritive disease that is characterized by lethargy, wrinkled skin, and a bloating and swelling of the stomach, face, legs and arms is called:

A) kwashiorkor.
B) marasmus.
C) muscular dystrophy.
D) cerebral palsy.

Answer 1

kwashiorkor.

Question 2

What age do children reach one half of their adult height?

A) About 2 years of age
B) About 3 years of age
C) About 1.5 years of age
D) About 3.5 years of age

Answer 2

About 2 years of age

Question 3

How would a researcher attempt to examine experience-expectant brain development?

A) A researcher would conduct tests of motor skill ability on infants.
B) A researcher would observe toddlers playing in a playground with a lot of equipment and toddlers in a playground with minimal equipment.
C) A researcher would do sensory deprivation research with animals to see what impact that had on abilities.
D) A researcher would put some animals in stimulating environments and some animals in deprived environments and measure brain size.

Answer 3

A researcher would do sensory deprivation research with animals to see what impact that had on abilities.

Question 4

The loss of unused neural connections is a process called:

A) neuronal pruning.
B) synaptic pruning.
C) transient exuberance.
D) neurogenesis.

Question 5

Which growth pattern explains why an infant's head at birth is one third the size of its body?

A) Bidirectional
B) Cephalocaudal
C) Proximodistal
D) Continuous

Question 6

Which growth pattern explains why a toddler catches a ball with both of his or her arms instead of with only one hand?

A) Bidirectional
B) Cephalocaudal
C) Proximodistal
D) Continuous

Question 7

Which area of the brain is least likely to show a peak in synaptogenesis in the first year of life?

A) The sensorimotor cortex.
B) The subcortical part of the brain.
C) The visual cortex.
D) The prefrontal cortex.

Question 8

The creation of new neurons is called:

A) neurogenesis.
B) glial formulation.
C) synaptogenesis.
D) myelination.

Question 9

After birth, which part of the body grows last using the proximodistal growth principle?

A) Trunk
B) Arms
C) Legs
D) Feet

Question 10

When the brain depends on experiencing certain basic events and stimuli at key points in time in order to develop normally, it is called:

A) neural-dependent myelination.
B) synaptogenesis.
C) experience-dependent brain development.
D) experience-expectant brain development.

Question 11

At which age does myelination proceed the most rapidly?

A) During the prenatal time period.
B) The first three months of life.
C) From birth to age 4.
D) From age 4 to age 8.

Question 12

Which of the following is not an example of a benefit of breast-feeding?

A) Rachel is asked when she goes in for a mammogram if she has ever breast-fed because it lowers her risk of breast cancer.
B) Mary, a 75-year-old, breast-fed all her children and has never broken a bone.
C) Carol breast-fed her child for 6 months and gets the flu at much lower rates than her friends who did not breast-feed.
D) Jennifer's doctor has not put her at high risk for cardiovascular disease because she breast-fed her twin boys.

Question 13

Jordan is an infant who lives in a Romanian orphanage. She does not receive any sort of stimulating environment, but she does receive all the food and basic care she needs. She is not read to and she spends most of her days sitting in her crib. What can we conclude about Jordan's neural development?

A) Jordan will experience higher than average levels of myelination.
B) Jordan will experience a greater degree of synaptic pruning.
C) Jordan will experience higher than average levels of synaptogenesis.
D) Jordan will produce more neurons to compensate for the deficit in experiences.

Question 14

Which time period in a child's life is considered to be a very important time in terms of experience and neural development?

A) Before birth, during the initial time of the brain formation.
B) The first three years of life when connections are forming between neurons.
C) Once a child begins formal education, approximately at the age of 5.
D) Once a child begins puberty and the final growth in brain development begins.

Question 15

Why does transient exuberance occur in the early years of life?

A) Because the brain has developed very rapidly during the prenatal period and needs to catch up.
B) Because the brain makes more connections than it needs in preparation to receive any and all conceivable kinds of stimulation that an infant may encounter.
C) Because infants are most interested in external stimuli in the early years of life.
D) Because infants have not experienced myelination yet and so they need transient exuberance to start the process.

Question 16

Jeffrey is a toddler who lives in the United States and has regular medical checkups. Anna is a toddler who lives in a nonindustrialized country and does not receive regular medical checkups. Which of the following statements best describes the expected growth of Jeffrey and/or Anna?

A) Anna will grow just as tall and fast as Jeffrey because growth is mainly due to maturation.
B) Jeffrey will grow taller and faster than Anna because he lives in a country will good sanitation, nutrition, and access to medical care.
C) Jeffrey will grow taller and faster than Anna because he is a boy.
D) Anna will grow taller and faster than Jeffrey because she does not have access to good nutrition.

Question 17

Which of the following is not one of the most common nutrients missing from infants and toddlers' diets?

A) Iron
B) Vitamin C
C) Zinc
D) Calcium

Question 18

Which of the following would be an appropriate first solid food for a baby between 4 and 6 months of age?

A) Iron-fortified baby cereal mixed with breast milk or formula
B) Grapes cut up into very small pieces
C) Pureed meats
D) Pureed vegetables

Question 19

Ashley lives in Sweden where she receives paid maternity leave until her baby is 1 year old. What can we predict about Ashley's choice in feeding for her baby?

A) Ashley will be equally likely to use formula or breast milk for her baby.
B) Ashley will most likely feed her baby solid foods at an earlier age.
C) Ashley will most likely feed her baby a formula substitute for breast milk.
D) Ashley will most likely breast-feed her baby.

Question 20

Olivia is an infant with parents who provide her with stimulating toys, read to her every day, and take her on walks where she can see, hear, smell, and touch various things in her environment. What can we conclude about Olivia's neural development?

A) Olivia will experience higher than average levels of myelination.
B) Olivia will experience a greater degree of synaptic pruning.
C) Olivia will experience higher than average levels of synaptogenesis.
D) Olivia will produce more neurons than other children who do not receive the same experiences.

Question 21

Which of the following is not an example of influences on experience-dependent brain development?

A) Going for a walk and stepping in the fall leaves.
B) Building with blocks.
C) Painting with finger paints.
D) Practice using the vocal cords with babbling at approximately 3 months of age.

Question 22

What is the newest perspective as to why infants won't crawl across the visual cliff?

A) Infants avoid the deep side of the cliff because they perceive that they are unable to successfully navigate the drop.
B) Infants are afraid of heights.
C) Infants are typically unlikely to crawl across it because it is an unnatural situation.
D) Infants are not motivated to crawl across the visual cliff.

Question 23

Andrew, a 3-month-old baby, is participating in an experiment using the visual cliff. When the researcher places him facedown on the deep side of the visual cliff, he quiets and shows a decrease in heart rate. When he was placed on the shallow side of the cliff, his heart rate didn't decrease. Why did Andrew react this way?

A) Andrew doesn't perceive a drop; he just was reacting to the change in position.
B) Andrew's reduced heart rate demonstrates that he is feeling fear at being placed on the deep side of the visual cliff.
C) Andrew is experiencing an innate reaction to a perceived drop when placed on the deep side.
D) Andrew noticed the difference between the shallow and deep drops, but he didn't yet associate fear with deep drops.

Question 24

Based on what researchers have learned regarding experience and neural development, which statement best reflects their findings?

A) At all points in development, intrinsic and environmental factors interact to support the structures and functions of the brain.
B) In infancy, genetics and biological functioning are more important to neural development.
C) In infancy, experience plays a more significant role in neural development than genetics.
D) The brain experiences the most growth during prenatal development, leading researchers to conclude that genetics plays a greater role than the environment in neural development.

Question 25

Carter is 3 years old. His mother breast-fed his baby sister. Carter's mom was at work and he was home with his grandmother. Carter took one of his stuffed animals and put it under his shirt. His grandmother asked him what he was doing and he replied, "I am feeding my baby." Which of the following does this illustrate?

A) Deferred imitation
B) Imitation
C) Habituation
D) Neurogenesis

Question 26

Which of the following statements does not accurately describe classical conditioning?

A) Classical conditioning is successful in newborns only for biological reflexes.
B) Classical conditioning requires only one exposure in newborns because newborns are primed to learn based on the innate nature of their development.
C) Premature infants can demonstrate associative learning, though at slower rates than full-term infants.
D) As infants grow older, classical conditioning occurs more quickly.

Question 27

The ability to imitate an absent model is called:

A) imitation.
B) deferred imitation.
C) delayed imitation.
D) dishabituation.

Question 28

Which area of the brain is thought to underlie age-related gains in habituation skill?

A) The visual cortex.
B) The amygdala.
C) The occipital cortex.
D) The prefrontal cortex.

Question 29

Learning through association is known as:

A) classical conditioning.
B) operant conditioning.
C) neurogenesis.
D) habituation.

Question 30

Which of the following statements is not reflective of an older infant's ability to imitate?

A) An older infant has the ability to imitate after shorter demonstration periods.
B) An older infant is more likely to imitate a peer than they are another adult.
C) An older infant can display imitation after a long delay.
D) An older infant can generalize what they learn through imitation.

Question 31

How would a researcher know that an infant experienced dishabituation?

A) The infant goes to sleep after being shown the same photo for a period of time.
B) The infant continues to look at different pictures without showing a behavioral response.
C) The infant notices that the picture of a face they were looking at for a period of time changed to a picture of a puppy.
D) The infant smiles when they see a picture of his or her mother.

Question 32

Which of the following behaviors is an example of deferred imitation?

A) Karlie's mother is mopping the kitchen floor so Karlie takes her toy mop and pretends to mop the laundry room at the same time.
B) Hannah, a newborn baby, is being held by her mother. Her mother sticks her tongue out and Hannah repeats the behavior and sticks her tongue out.
C) Jack is at day care eating lunch. The boy sitting next to him puts his bowl on his own head. Jack laughs and puts his bowl on his head too.
D) Alex is a 12-month-old who was watching his older brother put blocks into an ice cream bucket. A week later, Alex was sitting next to an ice cream bucket and started putting blocks into the bucket.

Question 33

Learning to engage in behaviors based on their consequences is known as:

A) classical conditioning.
B) operant conditioning.
C) neurogenesis.
D) habituation.

Question 34

Which sense is the most developed at birth?

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

Question 35

The sharpness of vision or the ability to see is called:

A) visual perception.
B) preferential looking.
C) visual acuity.
D) visual clarity.

Question 36

Which of the following statements accurately describes an infant's ability to imitate?

A) Infants are not able to engage in deferred imitation until they reach 1 year of age.
B) An infant is more likely to imitate an adult than they are another child.
C) Imitation is purely based on experience.
D) A 12-month-old infant is capable of demonstrating deferred imitation 4 weeks after observing a person perform an action.

Question 37

How would a researcher study depth perception?

A) Visual tracking
B) The visual cliff
C) Preferential looking
D) Neuroimaging

Question 38

Which type of brain development is required for infants to develop normally?

A) Experience-expectant brain development
B) Experience-independent brain development
C) Experience-dependent brain development
D) Experience-equivalent brain development

Question 39

Which type of brain development depends on contextual and cultural circumstances of a child's life?

A) Experience-expectant brain development
B) Experience-independent brain development
C) Experience-dependent brain development
D) Experience-equivalent brain development

Question 40

Which of the following statements is false regarding deferred imitation?

A) Infants are capable of deferred imitation as early as 6 months of age.
B) Once an infant is capable of deferred imitation, they are able to display it for an unlimited delay in time no matter how old they are.
C) Infants are equally as likely to imitate an adult as they are a peer.
D) The time delay between when a behavior was first observed and when the imitation takes place is dependent on age.

Question 41

Voluntary reaching is an example of:

A) finger motor development.
B) fine motor development.
C) gross motor development.
D) physical motor development.

Question 42

Anna is asleep in her crib. Her brother comes into her bedroom and slams her door very loudly. Anna throws her arms out, arches her back, and brings her arms back together. She starts to cry. What reflex is Anna demonstrating?

A) Babinski reflex
B) Palmer grasp
C) Moro reflex
D) Rooting reflex

Question 43

Which area(s) of the brain shows activity when newborns are discriminating different speech patterns?

A) The temporal and left frontal cortex.
B) The temporal and right frontal cortex.
C) The cerebellum.
D) The amygdala and right frontal cortex.

Question 44

The first developmental milestone infants reach is:

A) lifting their heads while lying on their stomachs.
B) lifting the chest.
C) rolling over.
D) sitting up with support.

Question 45

Which statement below is consistent with the maturational view of motor development?

A) Preterm infants reach motor milestones later than do full-term infants.
B) Infants who spend the first two years of life lying on their backs walk at later ages than other children.
C) Infants who practice the stepping reflex daily walk earlier than those who do not.
D) Infants who spend time lying on their stomachs each day will crawl earlier.

Question 46

Max is a baby who hears his father's voice and turns his head in the direction of the sound. He also tries to track where his father is in the room with his eyes. What is this an example of?

A) Dishabituation
B) Temporal tracking
C) Reactivity
D) Intermodal perception

Question 47

How do we know that intermodal perception is evident at birth?

A) Because infants are born with fully developed sensory abilities.
B) Because neonates have demonstrated the ability to show a preference for viewing their mother's face.
C) Because intermodal perception is necessary for survival.
D) Because fetuses are able to demonstrate intermodal perception in the womb.

Question 48

When do infants discriminate colors as well as adults?

A) When they reach about 7 months of age.
B) At birth.
C) When they begin crawling.
D) When they reach 1 to 2 months of age.

Question 49

Which of the following reflexes are present the longest?

A) Swimming reflex
B) Babinski reflex
C) Stepping reflex
D) Palmar grasp

Question 50

Which of the following is not a sign that infants begin the process of learning language at birth?

A) Newborns are attentive to voices.
B) Newborns can detect their mothers' voices.
C) Newborns prefer to hear languages different from their native language.
D) Newborns prefer to hear speech sounds over nonspeech sounds.

Question 51

Voluntary reaching appears at about _____ months of age.

A) 3
B) 4
C) 5
D) 6

Question 52

What is necessary for newborns to be able to visually recognize their mother's face?

A) They need to hear more people talk than just their mother.
B) Nothing is necessary because preference for their mother's face is innate.
C) Their mother's face must be paired with her voice at least once after birth.
D) They need to have visual acuity that is comparable to an adult's visual acuity.

Question 53

Dr. Andrews is a researcher interested in studying newborn vision. She wants to know if infants see objects that move and how well they can follow objects with their eyes. What strategy should Dr. Andrews use?

A) Preferential looking
B) Habituation/dishabituation
C) Brain imaging
D) Visual tracking

Question 54

Which of the following statements is true regarding the choice of clothing and motor development?

A) Babies who wear diapers have an easier time learning to walk than those who do not.
B) In the nineteenth century, 40% of American infants skipped crawling because the long, flowing gowns they wore impeded the movement on hands and knees.
C) Babies who wear clothes that cover their knees are more likely to crawl than those who do not.
D) Babies from cold climates who wear more layers of clothing have more delayed motor development than babies from warm climates who wear less clothing.

Question 55

Connor is a newborn who is being breast-fed. Every time his mother holds him and touches his cheek, he demonstrates a specific reflexive behavior. Which of the following behaviors is Connor most likely doing?

A) He curls his finger around his mother's finger.
B) He holds out his arms and arches his back.
C) He fans and curls his toes and hands.
D) He turns his head and tongue toward his mother.

Question 56

What is the earliest age that infants show a preference for viewing their mother's face?

A) Immediately at birth.
B) Four hours after birth.
C) One week after birth.
D) Four months after birth.

Question 57

The ability to control the large movements of the body is called:

A) small motor development.
B) fine motor development.
C) gross motor development.
D) physical motor development.

Question 58

Which of the following situations is considered to be an example of intermodal matching?

A) A newborn's ability to recognize a difference between the shallow and deep side of the visual cliff.
B) A newborn's ability to imitate facial expressions.
C) A newborn's ability to recognize his or her mother's voice.
D) A newborn's ability to see differences in primary colors.

Question 59

How do researchers know that infants can integrate touch and vision early in life?

A) After infants are allowed to suck on either a smooth or a bumpy pacifier, they prefer to look at the one they had previously sucked on.
B) Infants like to touch soft items when compared to hard items.
C) Infants reach for a toy and try to put the toy in their mouth.
D) After infants see an object, they will show a preference for that object in pictures.

Question 60

Which of the following does not support the role of maturation in motor development?

A) Infants from 1 to 7 weeks of age who practice stepping reflexes each day retain the movements and walk earlier than infants who receive no practice.
B) Babies who are swaddled walk at the same time as non-swaddled babies.
C) Identical twins share a similarity in the timing and pace of motor development.
D) Cross-cultural research finds that infants around the world display roughly the same sequence of motor milestones.

Question 61

Experience-expectant brain development is influenced by exposure to enriching experiences.

Question 62

An infant or a toddler can grow up to one quarter of an inch overnight.

Question 63

Motor development reflects an interaction between maturation and environment in which the infant acquires increasingly complex _____ of action.

A) reflex
B) maturation
C) continuity
D) dynamic systems

Question 64

The speed at which infants habituate is associated with cognitive development when they grow older.

Question 65

Habituation indicates that an infant detects a change in one stimulus from another stimulus.

Question 66

An infant's ability to imitate someone sticking out his or her tongue is clearly a learned ability and not related to an innate ability.

Question 67

The physical structure of our brain does not change from infancy.

Question 68

Which statement is true regarding the maturational view of motor development?

A) Infants who practice motor skill development develop faster than those who do not.
B) Identical twins do not show similarity in reaching motor milestones.
C) Infants who are swaddled walk later than those who are not.
D) Infants from around the world display roughly the same sequence of motor milestones.

Question 69

Operant conditioning is not possible during the prenatal period.

Question 70

Dr. Anderson is researching motor skill development in identical and fraternal twin infants. What would his hypothesis be based on what we know about motor skill development?

A) Fraternal twins will share more similarities in the timing and pace of motor development than identical twins.
B) Both identical and fraternal twins will share the same similarities in the timing and pace of motor development.
C) Twins will be no more likely to be similar in the timing and pace of motor development than siblings spaced apart in age.
D) Identical twins will share more similarities in the timing and pace of motor development than fraternal twins.

Question 71

Maggie is an infant who has a mother that is very concerned about her motor development because she was born premature. What recommendation does her pediatrician give to make sure Maggie rolls over and crawls when she should?

A) Maggie should spend time sitting up on her mother's lap.
B) Maggie should spend supervised playtime prone on her stomach every day.
C) Maggie should spend a great deal of time lying on her back each day.
D) Maggie should be held more often than children who are born full term.

Question 72

Over 75% of women who breast-feed continue until the child is 1 year of age.

Question 73

As infants grow to become toddlers, their appetites increase.

Question 74

If synaptic pruning occurs in an infant's or toddler's brain, it signifies that there is a significant cognitive deficit in that child.

Question 75

Which statement below is not representative of the contextual view of motor development?

A) Preterm infants reach motor milestones later than do full-term infants.
B) Infants who spend the first two years of life lying on their backs walk at later ages than other children.
C) Infants who practice the stepping reflex daily walk earlier than those who do not.
D) Infants who spend time lying on their stomachs each day will crawl earlier.

Question 76

Proximodistal development refers to the principle that growth and development proceed from the center of the body outward.

Question 77

An infant is just as likely to imitate an intentional action as they are an accidental action.

Question 78

Babies who are breast-fed longer than 6 months tend to have higher scores in language ability at ages 5 and 10.

Question 79

Newborns do not understand imitation; rather, their facial expressions naturally mimic others.

Question 80

The growth that occurs in response to learning experiences is called experience-dependent brain development.