chapter 5

Question 1

Cephalocaudal Trend

Answer 1

-“Head to tail”
-Head develops more rapidly than lower part of the body.

Question 2

Proximodistal Trend

Answer 2

-“Near to far”
-Head, chest, and trunk grow ahead of extremities.

Question 3

epiphysis

Answer 3

growth center (epiphysis) and growth plates grow until they get thinner and disappear, which sets the final growth size of each bone

Question 4

skull fontanels

Answer 4

(soft spot) feature of the infant human skull comprising soft membrane gaps between the cranial bones
-allows for birth and brain growth until adolescence

Question 5

synaptic pruning

Answer 5

neurons that are seldom stimulated soon lose their synapses

Question 6

cerebral cortex

Answer 6

-outermost layer or brain
-85% of brain’s weight
-contains greatest number of neurons and synapses
-last part of the brain to develop fully therefore is sensitive to environmental factors

Question 7

lateralization

Answer 7

specialization of the two hemispheres

Question 8

cultural variation in infants sleeping
arrangements

Answer 8

-cultural emphasis on independent vs interdependent self strongly influences infant sleeping arrangements
interdependent: building a close parent-child bond, learn the ways of people around them
independent: instill early autonomy, prevent bad habits, parents protect their own privacy

Question 9

nutritional and health advantages of
breastfeeding over bottle feeding

Answer 9

-provides the correct balance of fat and protein
-ensures nutritional completeness
-helps ensure healthy physical growth
-protects against many diseases
-protects against faulty jaw development and tooth decay
-ensures digestibility
-smooths the transition to solid foods

Question 10

motor skills as dynamic systems

Answer 10

each new skill is a joint product of five factors…
-central nervous system development
-the body’s movement capacities
-the child’s goals
-child’s perceptual and cognitive capacities
-environmental supports for the skill

Question 11

developments in hearing

Answer 11

-4-7 months: sense of musical phrasing
-6-8 months: “screen out” sounds from nonnative languages
-7-9 months: divide the speech stream into wordlike units
-10 months: detect words that start with weak syllables

Question 12

developments in vision

Answer 12

-focus (2 months)
-color vision (4 months)
-visual acuity (4 years)
-scanning and tracking objects (improves over first 6 months, as other abilities improve)

Question 13

invariant features of the environment

Answer 13

those that remain stable

Question 14

affordances

Answer 14

the possibilities for action (which can be grasped, squeezed, bounced, or which surfaces are safe to cross)