Chapter 3: Physical and Cognitive Development

Question 1

infancy

Answer 1

time of changes in the brain and body

Question 2

basic brain principles

Answer 2

1. development unfolds “in its own neurological time”
   
   • can’t teach before relevant part of the brain comes on line
2. stimulation sculpts the brain
3. brain is still “under construction”
   
   • wider world experiences physically change the brain

Question 3

infant reflexes

Answer 3

• healthy neurological development, automatic

- some remain after 1 yr.

Question 4

rooting

Answer 4

if anything touches baby’s cheek, automatic sucking

Question 5

sucking

Answer 5

all the time

Question 6

synaptogenesis

Answer 6

• creates connections between neurons at synapses

- occurs as a result of both maturation and experiences

Question 7

myelination

Answer 7

speeds neural impulses

Question 8

myelination and synaptogenesis

Answer 8

occur at different rates in specific regions of the brain

Question 9

pruning

Answer 9

• eliminating unused or unnecessary connections

- allows the brain to be more efficient

Question 10

Plasticity

Answer 10

malleability of the brain

-damage to the left hemisphere, neurons in the right hemisphere ‘take over’

Question 11

Breast milk is considered ideal

Answer 11

• Antibodies
• cheap and sterile
• correlated with less colds, flu, gastrointestinal problems, and ear infections, and higher IQ during infancy

Question 12

How long to breast feed?

Answer 12

• recommended that infants breast feed for at least 6 months.
• more common among well-educated women, however, only 22% make it to 6 mns.
• Why? Work is a major reason

Question 13

under nutrition

Answer 13

lack of adequate food

Question 14

stunting

Answer 14

excessively short in stature due to under nutrition

- Africa/Asia

Question 15

micro-nutrient deficiencies

Answer 15

inadequate levels of nutrients like zinc, iron, vitamin A

Question 16

SNAP

Answer 16

Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program

- food stamps

Question 17

WIC

Answer 17

Women, Infants, Children

Question 18

TANF

Answer 18

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

- welfare

Question 19

Crying

Answer 19

• is communication

- different cries express different needs

Question 20

colic

Answer 20

• frantic, continual cry caused by immature digestive system
• lasts 3 mns

Question 21

Swaddling

Answer 21

wrap baby tightly in blanket

Question 22

Massage

Answer 22

helps sleep and weight gain

Question 23

Kangaroo care

Answer 23

hold close to body

Question 24

How long do babies sleep?

Answer 24

• Newborns sleep 18 of 24 hours,

- 1 yr olds about 12 hours a night

Question 25

Who spends most of the sleep in REM?

Answer 25

Infants spend more time in REM sleep than adults do

Question 26

REM

Answer 26

Rapid Eye Movement

• deepest sleep where dreams are intense
• brain waves frequencies, virtually identical to the lightest sleep stage

Question 27

self soothe

Answer 27

• putting themselves back to sleep

- 6 months

Question 28

co-sleeping

Answer 28

• sharing a bed with the child

- collectivist culture

Question 29

SIDS

Answer 29

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

• Infant dies in sleep during 1st year of life (most often 1-10 months)
• Autopsy shows no explainable cause
• New research suggests abnormalities in the brain stem may play a role (esp. if mom smoked during pregnancy)

Question 30

Preferential-looking

Answer 30

• Novel items
• Attractive (symmetrical) faces
• Faces, especially their mother’s face
• (They even imitate faces!)

Question 31

Habituation

Answer 31

infants get “bored” with the same stimulus! (looks away)

Question 32

Dishabituation

Answer 32

infant becomes interested in a new stimulus

Question 33

depth perception

Answer 33

“seeing” variations in height

Question 34

visual cliff

Answer 34

infants perceive depths at 2 months

- fear of heights before leaning to crawl

Question 35

face perception

Answer 35

making sense of human face

Question 36

cephalocaudal, proximodistal, and mass-to-specific principles

Answer 36

head up, then sit, then crawl

- Individual variability in timing is expected

Question 37

Jean Piaget (born 1896)

Answer 37

a pioneer in studying cognitive development in humans

• recent research has both validated and extended Piaget’s ideas about infant’s cognitive abilities
• first stage of cognitive development, characterized by learning through senses and motor actions

Question 38

Primary circular reactions

Answer 38

repetitive actions with the infant’s own body

Question 39

Secondary circular reactions

Answer 39

interacting with people and objects

Question 40

Tertiary circular reactions

Answer 40

child actively experiments with objects (“little scientist ”)

Question 41

Means-end behavior

Answer 41

performing one activity to get to a goal

- turn doorknob to get outside, turn lightswitch to turn on light, pull a cloth to receive a toy, etc

Question 42

object permanence

Answer 42

• Infants gradually learn that objects still exist even when they can’t see them!
• A-not-B error: 1 yr olds search in the first place something was hidden

Question 43

Renee Baillargeon

Answer 43

found that infants understand basic principles of the physical world far earlier

Question 44

social cognition

Answer 44

Understanding feelings and negotiating interpersonal interactions

Question 45

Language acquisition device

Answer 45

(LAD) enables (only) humans to learn language.

Question 46

Social-interactionist View:

Answer 46

both infants and adults desire to communicate

Question 47

Babbling

Answer 47

repeating certain syllables (e.g., da-da-da)

Question 48

Holophrase

Answer 48

one word to express a thought (“juice”)

Question 49

Telegraphic speech

Answer 49

2-3 word sentences

Question 50

Language explosion

Answer 50

after 2 years old

Question 51

infant-directed speech

Answer 51

simplified, exaggerated, high pitched tones