Q&A Hero

Q: When 4- and 5-year-olds scramble over jungle gyms and race their friends, they demonstrate their: A. cognitive skills. B. fine harboring skills. C. gross motor skills. D.

Q: Toby is 3 years old. His parents are concerned because he is always running and jumping around. He cannot seem to sit still. Even when watching his favorite movie on TV, he fidgets and wiggles. It is especially frustrating for his parents when Toby does not sit still through dinner. Which of the following should Toby's parents do? A. They should have him tested for attention deficit disorder. B. They should start him on a behavior modification program. C. They should provide structured, cognitively challenging activities for Toby to develop his attention span. D.

Q: Researchers have found that in children from 3 to 6 years of age, the most rapid growth takes place in the _____ lobe areas of the brain. A. temporal B. parietal C. frontal D.

Q: Scientists have found that there _____ the brains of children between the ages of 3 and 15. A. are dramatic changes in local patterns within B. are phenomenal increases in the overall size of C. are insignificant anatomical changes in D.

Q: _____ involves an increase in the speed and efficiency of information traveling through the nervous system during brain development in children between the ages of 3 and 15. A. Centration B. Myelination C. Tropism D.

Q: _____ is a process in which nerve cells are covered and insulated with a layer of fat cells. A. Centration B. Myelination C. Tropism D.

Q: Which of the following statements about brain development and early childhood is TRUE? A. The development that occurs inside the brain ends at the onset of adolescence. B. By the time a child is 3 years of age, the brain is 25 percent of its adult size. C. By age 6, the brain has reached about 95 percent of its adult size. D.

Q: Who among the following 5-year-olds is most likely to be the tallest? A. TimothyWhite boy, urban, middle-socioeconomic-status, and later-born B. TinaWhite girl, urban, middle-socioeconomic-status, and firstborn C. TyroneAfrican American boy, urban, middle-socioeconomic-status, and firstborn D.

Q: What are the two most important contributors to height differences among children the world over? A. Nationality and culture B. Education and exercise C. Prenatal care and emotional challenges D.

Q: When comparing the heights and weights of preschool children around the world, it can be observed that there are: A. congenital differences. B. ethnic differences among them. C. no visible differences. D.

Q: By the end of early childhood, girls have more _____ tissue than boys. A. fatty B. muscle C. epithelial D.

Q: During early childhood, girls are _____ than boys. A. much lighter B. more muscular C. slightly smaller D.

Q: Sandra has been informed by a pediatrician about the weight gained by her 4-year-old son, Manuel, over the last one year. She learns that Manuel has gained 6 pounds. Sandra should: A. be alarmed because this is too much weight gain. B. be concerned because this is too little weight gain. C. be positive and change Manuel's diet. D.

Q: The Reggio Emilia approach is a(n): A. nutrition program for young children. B. educational program for young children. C. program for training kindergarten and elementary school teachers. D.

Q: What are the current controversies in early childhood education?

Q: What are the criticisms of the Montessori approach to early education? Critics of the Montessori approach believe that it neglects children's socioemotional development. For example, although Montessori fosters independence and the development of cognitive skills, it deemphasizes verbal interaction between the teacher and child and between peers. Montessori's critics also argue that it restricts imaginative play and that its heavy reliance on self-corrective materials may not adequately allow for creativity and for a variety of learning styles.

Q: Briefly describe what is meant by a child's theory of mind? How are false-beliefs tasks useful in assessing the theory of mind? Even young children are curious about the nature of the human mind. They have a theory of mind, which refers to awareness of one's own mental processes and the mental processes of others. One of the ways to assess a childs theory of mind is by false-belief tasks. The realization that people can have false beliefsbeliefs that are not truedevelops in a majority of children by the time they are 5 years old. This point is often described as a pivotal one in understanding the mind recognizing that beliefs are not just mapped directly into the mind from the surrounding world, but that different people can also have different, and sometimes incorrect, beliefs.

Q: Identify the factors that can influence the accuracy of a young child's memory.

Q: Describe two reasons for developmental changes in memory span. One of the reasons that memory span improves with age is that rehearsal of information is important in increasing short-term memory. Older children rehearse the digits from the test more than younger children do. Speedespecially the speed with which memory items can be identifiedand efficiency of processing information are important, too.

Q: Briefly state two criticisms leveled against Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development.

Q: List three ways by which Lev Vygotsky's theory can be incorporated in classrooms. Some of the ways by which Vygotsky's theory can be incorporated in classrooms are: 1) Assess the child's zone of proximal development. 2) Use the child's ZPD in teaching. 3) Use more-skilled peers as teachers. 4) Place instruction in a meaningful context. 5) Transform the classroom with Vygotskian ideas.

Q: What is the zone of proximal development (ZPD)? What are its lower and upper limits? How can one use peer scaffolding to teach children mathematics within the zone? The zone of proximal development (ZPD), developed by Lev Vygotsky, consists of the range of tasks that are too difficult for children to master alone but can be learned with the guidance and assistance of adults or more-skilled children. The lower limit of the ZPD is the level of skill reached by the child working independently. The upper limit is the level of additional responsibility the child can accept with the assistance of an able instructor.

Q: Briefly describe the two stages of preoperational thought. Provide an example of children's thinking at each stage.

Q: Define what Piaget meant by an operation. What would be one task that preoperational children fail at because they lack operations?

Q: Aubrey is in a school that takes into account the typical development of children within an age span as well as the uniqueness of the child. It also emphasizes the importance of creating settings that encourage active learning and reflect the child's interests and capabilities. This view represents a _____. developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)

Q: Identify the term that refers to the awareness of one's own mental processes and the mental processes of others.

Q: Identify the term for the range of tasks that are too difficult for children to master alone but that can be learned with the guidance and assistance of adults or more-skilled children. Zone of proximal development

Q: Identify the term for awareness of young children that helps them to know that altering an object's or a substance's appearance does not change its basic properties.

Q: Two-month-old Trey is crying loudly. It is a sudden long, initial loud cry followed by breath holding. This type of cry indicates that Trey is: A. experiencing pain. B. experiencing embarrassment. C. very angry. D.

Q: Which of the following statements is NOT true of crying? A. It is the most important mechanism newborns have for communicating with their world. B. The first cry verifies that the baby's lungs have filled with air. C. It provides information about the health of the newborn's central nervous system. D.

Q: Which of the following terms is used to describe the mutually regulated interactions between parents and infants? A. Other-conscious B. Innate C. Regulated D.

Q: When one-month-old Mai is sleeping, it often looks like she is smiling. This is an example of a _____ smile. A. private B. reflexive C. natural D.

Q: Most of the _____ emotions occur for the first time at some point in the second half of the first year through the second year. A. unconscious B. primary C. negative D.

Q: Mario brings his mother his favorite teddy bear to comfort her when she has had a bad day at work. This demonstrates a(n) _____ emotion. A. primary B. self-conscious C. negative D.

Q: Five-month-old Caitlyn demonstrates surprise when an unexpected event occurs. This is a demonstration of a(n) _____ emotion. A. negative B. self-conscious C. other-conscious D.

Q: _____ emotions appear in the first 6 months of the human infant's development. A. Primary B. Tertiary C. Other-conscious D.

Q: _____ emotions are present in humans and other animals. A. Self-conscious B. Tertiary C. Primary D.

Q: What is the opinion of experts on infant socioemotional development, such as Jerome Kagan, on the infant's capacity to display emotions like guilt, pride, despair, shame, empathy, and jealousy in the first year? A. The structural immaturity of the infant brain makes it unlikely that such emotions can be experienced in the first year. B. Infants characterized by negative affectivity are more prone to experience such emotions in the first year. C. The excitability of the amygdala plays an important role in the development of such emotions. D.

Q: Experts on infant socioemotional development, such as Jerome Kagan, conclude that _____ makes it unlikely that emotions which require thought can be experienced in the first year. A. lack of innate emotions in the infant brain B. the structural immaturity of the infant brain C. incomplete myelination in the first two months D.

Q: Which of the following statements about self-conscious emotions is TRUE? A. They are emotions that are present in humans and other animals. B. These emotions appear in the first six months of the infant's development. C. They include emotions like surprise, interest, joy, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust. D.

Q: Which of the following is an "other-conscious" emotion? A. Interest B. Pride C. Disgust D.

Q: Makiko feels ashamed when her friend comes over for a playdate and teases her about wearing night-time diapers. This is an example of _____ emotions. A. primary B. other-worldly C. other-conscious D.

Q: Which of the following is NOT a primary emotion? A. Joy B. Anger C. Fear D.

Q: Emotions that are present in humans and animals and that appear in the first 6 months of the human infant's development are known as: A. primitive emotions. B. innate emotions. C. primary emotions. D.

Q: Which of the following statements about emotions is FALSE? A. Emotions are the first language with which parents and infants communicate. B. Social relationships provide the setting for the development of a rich variety of emotions. C. Biological evolution has endowed human beings to be emotional. D.

Q: The infant's ability to regulate emotions is tied to: A. the gradual maturation of the frontal regions of the cerebral cortex. B. parental history of emotional control. C. the pace of myelination in the parietal lobe. D.

Q: Especially in infancy, emotions play important roles in: A. independence. B. reciprocal socialization. C. sensation. D.

Q: Which of the following is an important role played by emotions during infancy? A. Cognition B. Communication C. Sensation D.

Q: Which of the following statements about emotions is NOT true? A. Emotions are generally classified as positive or negative. B. Emotions are influenced by biological foundations and experiences. C. The ability to regulate emotions is present at birth. D.

Q: Feelings or affects that occur when a person is in a state or an interaction that is important to him or her, especially to his or her well-being are known as: A. temperament. B. emotions. C. personality trait. D.

Q: Explain reciprocal socialization and scaffolding. Reciprocal socialization is socialization that is bidirectional; children socialize their parents, and parents socialize their children. Scaffolding is parental behavior that supports children's efforts, allowing them to be more skillful than they would be if they were to rely on only their own abilities.

Q: Describe the Strange Situation. What is an important criticism of this method? The Strange Situation is an observational measure of infant attachment that requires the infant to move through a series of introductions, separations, and reunions with the caregiver and an adult stranger in the prescribed order. Some critics believe that the isolated, controlled events of the setting might not necessarily reflect what would happen if infants were observed with their caregiver in a natural environment.

Q: Briefly describe the four phases of attachment as identified by John Bowlby.

Q: List & describe the three types of temperament as classified by Alexander Chess and Stella Thomas. Provide examples of how a baby with each type might respond to meeting a new person in a new situation. Psychiatrists Alexander Chess and Stella Thomas identified three basic types, or clusters, of temperament: Easy: An easy child is generally in a positive mood, quickly establishes regular routines in infancy, and adapts easily to new experiences. Difficult: A difficult child reacts negatively and cries frequently, engages in irregular daily routines, and is slow to accept change. Slow-to-warm-up: A slow-to-warm-up child has a low activity level, is somewhat negative, and displays a low intensity of mood. In their longitudinal investigation, Chess and Thomas found that 40 percent of the children they studied could be classified as easy, 10 percent as difficult, and 15 percent as slow to warm up. 35 percent did not fit any of the three patterns.

Q: What is temperament? Temperament involves individual differences in behavioral styles, emotions, and characteristic ways of responding. With regard to its link to emotion, temperament refers to individual differences in how quickly the emotion is shown, how strong it is, how long it lasts, and how quickly it fades away.

Q: Describe the emotional regulation and coping techniques that infants develop over the initial years.

Q: What is stranger anxiety, and when does it develop? What is separation protest, and when does it peak? Stranger anxiety is when an infant shows a fear and wariness of strangers. It first appears at about 6 months and continues to escalate through the infant's first birthday. Separation protest is an infant's expression of distress over being separated from its caregiver. It peaks at about 15 months of age among U.S. infants.

Q: Distinguish between reflexive and social smiles.

Q: List the three types of cries that have been identified in babies.

Q: Distinguish between primary emotions and self-conscious or other-conscious emotions. Give an example of each type of emotion. Primary emotions are emotions that are present in humans and animals; these emotions appear in the first 6 months of the human infant's development. Self-conscious or other-conscious emotions require self-awareness that involves consciousness and a sense of "me." Examples of primary emotions include surprise, fear, joy, anger, disgust, and sadness. Examples of self-conscious emotions include embarrassment, shame, guilt, and pride.

Q: Identify a form of reciprocal socialization in which parents time interactions in such a way that the infant experiences turn taking with parents.

Q: Identify the attachment classification that is characterized by the infants' behaviors in the Strange Situation. These infants engage in little interaction with the caregiver, are not upset when the caregiver leaves the room, and do not reestablish contact with the caregiver upon reunion.

Q: Name the ethological psychiatrist who believes that both infants and their primary caregivers are biologically predisposed to form attachments.

Q: What is the term for "reading" emotional cues in others to help determine how to act in a particular situation.

Q: Name the theorist who suggested that the primary task for infants was to develop a sense of trust in others. Erik Erikson

Q: Identify the match between a child's temperament and the environmental demands with which the child must cope.

Q: Name the temperament dimension, according to Mary Rothbart and John Bates, which includes positive anticipation, impulsivity, activity level, and sensation seeking.

Q: Identify the smile that does not occur in response to external stimuli. It happens during the month after birth and usually during sleep.

Q: Baby Tia is crying. Her crying is characterized by the sudden appearance of loud crying without preliminary moaning, followed by breath holding. Identify this type of cry.

Q: _____ has been the most consistent predictor of a secure attachment. A. Genetic predisposition B. Parental sensitivity C. Extraversion D.

Q: The results of the study conducted by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in 1991 indicate that: A. extensive use of day care hurts parent-child relationships. B. the influence of families and parenting is not weakened by extensive use of day care. C. a majority of the child care in the first three years of life was of high quality. D.

Q: The longitudinal study conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in 1991 concluded that: A. a majority of the child care in the first three years of life was of very high quality. B. a child in child care, regardless of the quality, will be more socially incompetent. C. the home environment is the most important predictor of attachment to caregivers. D.

Q: Which of the following statements about child care and socioeconomic status is TRUE? A. High-quality child care is available only to those children whose parents are wealthy. B. Children are more likely to experience poor quality child care if their parents have few resources. C. Children staying in day care for longer than 40 hours/week tend to experience depression regardless of the quality of the care. D.

Q: What is the main difference between most child-care policies available in the United States and in Sweden? A. Level of inclusion of the father B. Provision of low-cost child care C. Level of inclusion of the extended family D.

Q: One study of 2- and 3-year-old children revealed that an increase in the number of child-care arrangements the children experienced is linked to a(n): A. decrease in reciprocal socialization. B. increase in behavioral problems. C. increase in prosocial behavior. D.

Q: The United States currently allows up to _____ weeks of _____ leave for caring for a newborn. A. 12; unpaid B. 14; paid C. 18; paid D.

Q: Fathers engage in more _____ than mothers do. A. peek-a-boo games B. reciprocal socialization C. rough-and-tumble play D.

Q: Which of the following BEST exemplifies the difference between how mothers and fathers interact with their children? A. Mothers smile more at their children. B. Fathers are more physical with their children. C. Mothers express more emotions with their children. D.

Q: The research on fathers as caregivers indicates that fathers: A. are less able to be nurturing caregivers than mothers. B. are biologically more suited for a nurturing caregiver role than are mothers. C. interact with their babies in different ways depending on whether they are the primary caregiver. D.

Q: Which of the following statements regarding paternal caregiving is FALSE? A. Stay-at-home fathers were as satisfied with their marriage as traditional parents. B. They tended to be ostracized when they took their children to playgrounds. C. Fathers have the ability to act as sensitively and responsively as mothers with their infants. D.