chap 4

Question 1

what takes place when neurons haven’t been stimulated?

Answer 1

synaptic pruning

Question 2

what is synaptic pruning?

Answer 2

neurons lose their synapses and return to an uncommitted state because they haven’t been stimulated

Question 3

what happens to neurons in synaptic pruning?

Answer 3

they are either used for future development later, or they will die off if unused

Question 4

what is lateralization?

Answer 4

specialization of the right and left hemispheres of the cerebral cortex. they learn to do different jobs

Question 5

what is experience expectant growth?

Answer 5

development through types of experiences that everyone typically encounters

Question 6

what is experience dependent growth?

Answer 6

results from specific experiences that vary from person to person

Question 7

is star gazing experience expectant or experience dependant?

Answer 7

experience expectant

Question 8

is playing basketball experience expectant or experience dependent?

Answer 8

experience dependent

Question 9

what is the purpose of baby fat?

Answer 9

helps infants maintain body temperature

Question 10

should a parent be concerned if their baby is chubby?

Answer 10

for the most part no. most babies lean out as toddlers but there is a correlation between rapid weight gain as an infant and obesity later on.

Question 11

when is there a correlation between rapid weight gain in infancy and obesity?

Answer 11

when parents primarily feed kids unhealthy food

Question 12

what is classical conditioning?

Answer 12

neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that leads to an automatic response. the brain connects the two stimuli and the neutral stimulus brings about the response by itself

Question 13

how is classical conditioning different from operant conditioning?

Answer 13

classical is the stimuli in the environment causing the person to behave a certain way

operant conditioning is the person acting on the environment, and then stimuli follows that either reinforces to punishes behavior in the future

Question 14

when do mirror neurons fire according to studies on primates?

Answer 14

at precisely the same when the primate saw or heard an action and when it performed that same action

Question 15

what neurons account for the ability to imitate others?

Answer 15

mirror

Question 16

what social abilities do mirror neurons help infants and toddlers develop?

Answer 16

imitation, sharing emotions empathically, and understanding the intentions of others

Question 17

what kind of motor skills are crawling, standing, walking, rolling?

Answer 17

gross

Question 18

what kind of motor skills are reaching and grasping?

Answer 18

fine

Question 19

what is the ability to judge the distance of objects from each other and ourselves?

Answer 19

depth perception

Question 20

what is the first depth cue to develop?

Answer 20

motion

Question 21

what are the 3 visual depth cues that develop in babies?

Answer 21

motion, binocular, pictorial

Question 22

what depth cue is developed when babies can see something coming towards them and blink to protect their eyes?

Answer 22

motion

Question 23

what depth cue develops at 3-4 weeks?

Answer 23

motion

Question 24

what depth cue allows the brain to blend two different images from each eye to create one picture?

Answer 24

binocular

Question 25

what depth cue results in depth perception?

Answer 25

binocular

Question 26

what depth cue develops at about 2-3 months and improves greatly throughout the first year?

Answer 26

binocular

Question 27

what depth cue is developing when babies become sensitive to illusions of 3-D space, texture differences, overlapping objects, and shadows?

Answer 27

pictorial

Question 28

when do pictorial depth cues develop?

Answer 28

3-4 months and stronger between 5-7 months