Q&A Hero

Q: Which of the following statements about infant learning is true? A) Babies do not come into the world with built-in learning capacities. B) Infants are capable of learning through classical, but not operant, conditioning. C) Babies learn through their natural preference for novel stimulation. D) Toddlers, but not infants, learn by observing others.

Q: Yolanda, age 2, is being raised in Texas by a single mother. While Yolanda's mother works, she does not always have sufficient funds to purchase enough food for a healthy, active life. Yolanda is skinny and withdrawn. Yolanda suffers from A) marasmus. B) anorexia. C) kwashiorkor. D) food insecurity.

Q: Today, inadequate nutrition A) is not confined to developing countries. B) rarely leads to death. C) affects approximately 40 percent of American children. D) is confined to developing countries.

Q: When the diets of severely malnourished children improve, they A) rarely show catch-up growth. B) rarely have lasting damage. C) usually continue to undereat even when food is plentiful. D) tend to gain excessive weight.

Q: Yokow gets just enough calories from starchy foods, but his diet is very low in protein. He has an enlarged belly, swollen feet, and a rash on his skin. Yokow probably suffers from A) marasmus. B) iron-deficiency anemia. C) kwashiorkor. D) nonorganic failure to thrive.

Q: Shay suffers from a wasted condition of the body caused by a diet low in all essential nutrients. Shay most likely has A) iron-deficiency anemia. B) kwashiorkor. C) nonorganic failure to thrive. D) marasmus.

Q: Jack and Jami are concerned that their chubby infant son Angus will become an overweight adult. Which of the following steps can they take to help prevent that? A) Bottle-feed Angus for the first six months. B) Give Angus foods containing saturated fats. C) Limit the time Angus spends in front of the TV. D) Cut back on Angus's caloric intake throughout infancy and toddlerhood.

Q: In interviews with more than 1,500 U.S. parents of infants and toddlers, results indicated that A) few routinely served older infants and toddlers french fries, candy, and soda. B) as many as one-fourth ate no fruits and one-third no vegetables. C) infants consumed 20 percent fewer calories than they needed. D) toddlers consumed 30 percent fewer calories than they needed.

Q: Most chubby babies A) become overweight adults. B) are bottle-fed rather than breastfed. C) are less active than normal-weight babies. D) thin out during toddlerhood and early childhood.

Q: Breastfed and bottle-fed children in industrialized nations A) do not differ in later emotional adjustment. B) differ slightly in later emotional adjustment and intelligence. C) differ greatly in later emotional adjustment, but do not differ in intelligence. D) differ greatly in later emotional adjustment and intelligence.

Q: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advises exclusive breastfeeding for the first __________ and inclusion of breast milk in the baby's diet until at least __________. A) 6 weeks; 6 months B) 4 months; 6 months C) 6 months; 1 year D) 1 year; 2 years

Q: In the U.S. today, A) less than half of mothers breastfeed. B) more than half of breastfeeding mothers stop by 6 months. C) mothers who return to work sooner breastfeed their babies longer. D) breastfeeding is less common than it was in previous decades.

Q: Breastfeeding for just a few weeks A) is a reliable method of birth control. B) can lead to later obesity. C) is not helpful because, in the beginning, breastfeeding causes constipation. D) offers some protection against respiratory and intestinal infections.

Q: The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until age __________, with solid foods added at __________. A) 6 months; 4 months B) 1 year; 4 months C) 1 year; 6 months D) 2 years; 6 months

Q: __________ percent of babies' total caloric intake is devoted to growth. A) Ten B) Fifteen C) Twenty-five D) Forty

Q: The weights of adopted children A) correlate more strongly with those of their biological than of their adoptive parents. B) correlate more strongly with those of their adoptive than of their biological parents. C) show little or no correlation to either their biological or adoptive parents. D) correlate strongly with their adoptive siblings.

Q: __________ growth is a return to a genetically influenced growth path once negative conditions improve. A) Cephalocaudal B) Proximodistal C) Catch-up D) Thyroid-stimulating

Q: When __________ and __________ are adequate, height is largely determined by heredity. A) the brain; lungs B) sunlight; air quality C) diet; health D) sleep; stimulation

Q: Rachel is concerned that she might accidentally suffocate her baby if she shares a bed with him. What information can you share with Rachel about precautions taken in cultures where cosleeping is widespread? A) Parents and infants usually sleep on soft surfaces and use quilts and comforters. B) Parents typically place their infants to sleep on their stomachs. C) Parents and infants usually sleep on hard surfaces, such as firm mattresses, floor mats, or wooden planks. D) Parents usually assume a distinctive sleeping posture by turning their backs to the infant.

Q: Cosleeping A) babies breastfeed three times longer than infants who sleep alone. B) reduces mothers' total sleep time. C) promotes excessive dependency. D) works best when mattresses are soft and blankets are heavy.

Q: Parent"infant "cosleeping" is the norm for approximately _____ percent of the world's population. A) 35 B) 50 C) 65 D) 90

Q: Compared to U.S. babies, Dutch babies A) are put to bed later. B) sleep, on average, 2 hours less per day. C) sleep, on average, 2 hours more per day. D) have less predictable sleep schedules.

Q: Between the ages of __________, napping subsides. A) 6 to 8 months B) 9 to 11 months C) 1 and 2 years D) 3 and 5 years

Q: Between birth and 2 years, A) fussiness increases. B) crying increases. C) the organization of sleep and wakefulness changes substantially. D) total sleep time increases slowly.

Q: Which of the following statements regarding a sensitive period for mastering musical performance skills is true? A) The sensitive period for mastering musical performance is birth to two years of age. B) The sensitive period for mastering musical performance is two to three years of age. C) The sensitive period for mastering musical performance is three to five years of age. D) No evidence exists for a sensitive period in the first few years of life for mastering musical performance skills.

Q: Which of the following learning experiences should Cheryl, a caregiver, use to promote experience-expectant brain growth? A) reading and writing B) playing a game of peekaboo C) playing computer games D) practicing the piano

Q: __________ brain growth consists of additional growth and refinement of established brain structures as a result of specific learning experiences that vary widely across individuals and cultures. A) Early-dependent B) Experience-expectant C) Experience-dependent D) Early-expectant

Q: __________ brain growth refers to the young brain's rapidly developing organization, which depends on ordinary experiences. A) Early-dependent B) Experience-expectant C) Experience-dependent D) Early-expectant

Q: In the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, where specially trained social workers provided foster parents with counseling and support, A) the foster-care group moved ahead of never-institutionalized agemates living with Bucharest families. B) the foster-care group exceeded the institutional-care group in intelligence test scores, language skills, and emotional responsiveness. C) earlier foster placement did not improve the scores of the foster-care group on any measure. D) the EEG and ERP assessments of brain activity were substantially the same for the foster-care group and the institutional-care group.

Q: In the study of Romanian orphans adopted into Canadian homes, the longer the children spent in orphanage care, the __________ their __________. A) higher; cortisol levels B) lower; cortisol levels C) greater; anger control D) greater; impulse control

Q: The chronic stress of early, deprived orphanage rearing A) seems to affect girls more severely than boys. B) fosters resilience, as it prepares children for later stressful events. C) has no effect on the brain's capacity to manage stress. D) disrupts the brain's capacity to manage stress.

Q: In the study of Romanian orphans adopted into British homes, children adopted __________ attained the highest mental test scores in childhood and adolescence. A) before 6 months B) between 6 months and 2 years C) between 2 and 6 years D) between 6 and 11 years

Q: Michael was born with cataracts in both eyes. What can you tell his parents about the possibility of recovery as it relates to sensitive periods in brain development? A) Michael should not have corrective surgery until adulthood, as earlier surgery may permanently damage his eyes. B) The longer cataract surgery is postponed beyond infancy, the less complete the recovery in visual skills. C) Corrective surgery should be postponed until early childhood so that Michael can fully recover his visual skills. D) There is only a slight chance that corrective surgery can repair Michael's severe impairment.

Q: Animal studies on early sensory deprivation A) confirm that even extreme deprivation is reversible as long as it occurs in the first year of life. B) verify the existence of sensitive periods in brain development. C) refute the existence of sensitive periods in brain development. D) cannot be generalized to human brain development.

Q: Research reveals that A) deaf adults who, as infants and children, learned sign language depend more than hearing individuals on the right hemisphere for language processing. B) adolescents and adults show more diffuse fMRI activity than children. C) deaf infants depend more than hearing infants on the left hemisphere for language processing. D) toddlers advanced in language development show greater right-hemispheric specialization for language than their agemates.

Q: Sharon's 46-year-old husband suffered a traumatic brain injury in an automobile accident. What information about brain plasticity can you provide to Sharon? A) Brain plasticity is restricted to early childhood, when the brain is forming many new synapses. B) At older ages, specialized brain structures are in place, and after injury they cannot reorganize. C) The adult brain can produce a small number of new neurons and generate new synapses. D) Adults with brain injuries rarely show deficits in spatial skills, even if language development is impaired.

Q: In a large study of children with injuries to the cerebral cortex that occurred before birth or in the first six months of life, researchers found that A) language functioning was highly lateralized from birth to age 5. B) compared with spatial skills, language skills were more impaired after early brain injury. C) undamaged areasin either the left or the right hemispheretook over certain language functions. D) children never fully caught up in vocabulary or grammatical skills.

Q: In the first few years of life, the brain is A) highly plastic. B) less plastic than in middle childhood and adolescence. C) more lateralized than at any other period. D) unable to recover from injury.

Q: __________ greatly influences the organization of the cerebral cortex. A) Heredity B) Body weight C) A quiet and subdued environment D) Early experience

Q: Which of the following provides evidence that the brain hemispheres have already begun to specialize at birth? A) Most newborns show greater ERP brain-wave activity in the left hemisphere when reacting to stimuli that evoke negative emotion. B) Most newborns use the right eye more than the left eye when viewing objects using peripheral vision. C) Most newborns show greater ERP brain-wave activity in the right hemisphere while listening to nonspeech sounds. D) Most newborns favor the left side of the body in their head position and reflexive responses.

Q: Which of the following statements about brain plasticity is true? A) A highly plastic cerebral cortex has a low capacity for learning. B) Damage to a highly plastic cerebral cortex means that the abilities it controls cannot be recovered. C) Many areas of a highly plastic cerebral cortex are not yet committed to specific functions. D) The brain is the most plastic during adolescence.

Q: A lateralized brain A) is more common in left-handed than right-handed individuals. B) is more effective at regulating emotion than a nonlateralized brain. C) means that many areas of the cerebral cortex are not yet committed to specific functions. D) may have evolved because it enabled humans to cope more successfully with changing environmental demands.

Q: The specialization of the two hemispheres of the brain is known as A) lateralization. B) brain plasticity. C) pruning. D) cortical dominance.

Q: In left-handed people, the A) right hemisphere always handles spatial abilities. B) cerebral cortex may be less clearly specialized than in right-handed people. C) left hemisphere is always responsible for positive emotion. D) left hemisphere is always responsible for verbal abilities.

Q: Which of the following statements about the frontal lobes is true? A) They are responsible for auditory development. B) Before 2 months of age, the frontal lobes function most effectively. C) The frontal lobes reach an adult level by the preschool years. D) They are responsible for consciousness, inhibition of impulses, and integration of information.

Q: The cortical regions with the most extended period of development are responsible for A) receiving sensory information. B) movement. C) thought. D) language development.

Q: Which of the following statements about the cerebral cortex is true? A) It is the first brain structure to stop growing. B) It is sensitive to environmental influences for a longer period than any other part of the brain. C) It is the smallest, but most important, brain structure. D) It is surrounded by the rest of the brain.

Q: The __________ is the largest brain structure, accounting for 85 percent of the brain's weight. A) cerebral cortex B) cerebrum C) cerebellum D) corpus callosum

Q: Mia, age 3, is about to undergo a neurobiological exam. The doctor wishes to examine the functioning of Mia's cerebral cortex to measure blood flow and oxygen metabolism. The best method for the doctor to choose in Mia's case is probably A) an electroencephalogram (EEG). B) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). C) positron emission tomography (PET). D) near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).

Q: __________ provide(s) the most precise information about which brain regions are specialized for certain capacities. A) Neuroimaging techniques B) Brain-wave patterning C) Event-related potentials (ERPs) D) Brain sculpturing

Q: Which of the following statements about brain development is true? A) At birth, the brain is nearly 70 percent of its adult weight. B) By age 2, the brain is approximately 50 percent of its adult weight. C) Brain development is complete by the end of the first year. D) Gains in neural fibers and myelination account for the extraordinary gain in overall brain size.

Q: Coating the neural fibers with an insulating fatty sheath during the process of __________ improves the efficiency of message transfer. A) myelination B) neuroimaging C) synaptic pruning D) neurotransmission

Q: __________ are responsible for myelination. A) Neurons B) Neurotransmitters C) Glial cells D) Synapses

Q: For synaptic pruning to advance, A) the neural tube must produce fewer neurons during the prenatal period than the brain will need. B) the prefrontal cortex must attain adult levels of synaptic connections during the prenatal period. C) appropriate stimulation of the child's brain is vital during periods in which the formation of synapses is at its peak. D) between 80 and 90 percent of the neurons produced during the first two years must undergo programmed cell death.

Q: In all, about _____ percent of synapses are pruned during childhood and adolescence to reach the adult level. A) 10 B) 20 C) 30 D) 40

Q: When Baby Jaleel was born, stimulation in his brain resulted in a massive overabundance of synapses. Neurons that were seldom stimulated began to lose their synapses. This process is known as A) myelination. B) synaptic pruning. C) neuroimaging. D) neurotransmission.

Q: As neurons form connections, stimulation A) becomes unnecessary. B) results in fewer and fewer synapses. C) becomes vital to their survival. D) causes synaptic pruning.

Q: A surprising aspect of brain growth is that A) as synapses form, many surrounding neurons die. B) the neural tube produces far fewer neurons than the brain will need. C) less than 5 percent of neurons die. D) neurons that are seldom stimulated never lose their synapses.

Q: Neurons send messages to one another by releasing chemicals called A) synapses. B) neurotransmitters. C) glial cells. D) myelins.

Q: Synapses are A) tiny gaps where fibers from different neurons come close together but do not touch. B) nerve cells that store and transmit information. C) chemicals released by neurons. D) responsible for myelination.

Q: The human brain has __________ neurons. A) 100 to 200 million B) 500 to 600 million C) 100 to 200 billion D) 500 to 600 billion

Q: Neurons A) are gaps between body cells. B) are tightly packed together C) are responsible for myelination. D) store and transmit information.

Q: At birth, the brain is A) fully developed. B) farther from its adult size than any other physical structure. C) nearer to its adult size than any other physical structure. D) strongly lateralized.

Q: Which of the following statements is consistent with the proximodistal trend of body growth? A) During the prenatal period, the head develops more rapidly than the lower part of the body. B) During infancy, the body grows from "head to tail." C) During the prenatal period, the trunk grows first, followed by the chest and the head. D) During childhood, the arms and legs grow somewhat ahead of the hands and feet.

Q: Which of the following statements is consistent with the cephalocaudal trend of body growth? A) During the prenatal period, the head, chest, and trunk grow first, then the arms and legs. B) During infancy and childhood, the hands and feet grow ahead of the arms and legs. C) During the prenatal period, the head develops more rapidly than the lower part of the body. D) By age 2, the head accounts for nearly one-half of the body length.

Q: When skeletal ages are examined at birth, A) the sexes differ by about 4 to 6 weeks. B) boys are considerably ahead of girls. C) Caucasian-American children tend to be ahead of African-American children. D) there are no discernable differences between boys and girls.

Q: Skeletal age is determined by __________ to determine the extent to which soft, pliable cartilage has hardened into bone. A) X-raying the long bones of the body B) measuring the circumference of the skull C) X-raying the spinal cord and teeth D) measuring the length of the arms and legs

Q: Which of the following children is the most likely to be above the growth norms? A) Mai, an Asian girl B) Isaiah, an African-American boy C) Eleanor, a Caucasian girl D) Nygen, an Asian boy

Q: During infancy, __________. These sex differences will __________ during adolescence. A) boys are slightly shorter and lighter than girls; disappear B) boys are slightly shorter and lighter than girls; be greatly magnified C) girls are slightly taller and heavier than boys; reverse D) girls are slightly shorter and lighter than boys; be greatly magnified

Q: Maggi is concerned because her 8-month-old daughter has gained 10 pounds since birth and has transformed into a round, plump baby. You can assure Maggi that her daughter's rise in "baby fat." A) insulates her brittle bones until proper cartilage is formed. B) is a trend that will continue into middle childhood. C) serves to strengthen her muscles. D) helps her maintain a constant body temperature.

Q: Infants and toddlers grow A) by making steady gains over time. B) slower than at any other time during childhood. C) in little spurts. D) in dramatic spurts.

Q: Between ages 1 and 2, the typical baby grows about _____ inches and gains about _____ pounds. A) 2; 4 B) 3; 6 C) 4; 8 D) 5; 10

Q: Explain intermodal perception and its importance to perceptual development.

Q: Describe the development of depth perception, giving the order of when depth cues emerge. Define both binocular and pictorial depth cues.

Q: Explain dynamic systems theory of motor development.

Q: Are chubby babies at risk for later overweight and obesity? How can concerned parents prevent their infants from becoming overweight children and adults?

Q: What influence does heredity have on physical growth?

Q: Describe the sex differences in body growth. How does this help explain girls' lower infant and childhood mortality rates?

Q: According to the cognitive perspective of perceptual development, babies A) analyze stable relationships in the environment. B) impose meaning on what they perceive. C) actively search for discontinuous stimuli. D) always follow the cephalocaudal trend.

Q: __________ make(s) crawlers and walkers more aware of the consequences of their movements. A) Experience in trying to keep their balance on various surfaces B) Adult protection from steep inclines C) Repeated falls on steep inclines D) Training infants and toddlers to use the visual cliff