Developmental 3

Question 1

describe the natural variation in human population

Answer 1

Physical variation: Hair/Eye colour, height, baldness.
• Cognitive variation: IQ, language, memory.
• Behavioural variation: personality.

Question 2

Describe chromosomes in genes

Answer 2

• 46 chromosomes (22 pairs of autosomes, 2 sex
chromosomes)

Question 3

what is on each chromosome

Answer 3

On each chromosome there are set of genes, which code
for organism functions either in isolation or through
interaction with other gene

Question 4

what does genetics suggest

Answer 4

• We inherit traits from our familial group.

• Some instances of inheritance are simple (i.e.,
involving one gene).

• Others are more complex: polygenic inheritance

Question 5

what is dominant gene

Answer 5

Dominant gene: requires one copy of gene to reveal trait

Question 6

what is recessive trait

Answer 6

requires two copies of a gene to reveal
trait.

Question 7

what are genetic disorders caused by dominant genes

give an examine

Answer 7

Disorders caused by dominant genes: one copy of gene sufficient.

• **Huntington’s Disease: **
• Nervous system deterioration after the age of 40 years.
• All carriers develop the disease.

Question 8

describe genetic disorders caused by recessive genes

give example

Answer 8

both copies of genes required

• Phenylketonuria (PKU):
• inability to metabolise phenylalanine, an amino acid found in food.
• Phenylalanine accumulates in blood, causing severe cognitive deficits
and other abnormalities.

Question 9

describe how chromosomal abnormalities amount

Answer 9

chromosomal abnormalities occur when there are errors in cell division during gamete formation (sperm and ovum)

Question 10

Give an example of a syndrome resulting from chromosal abnormality

Answer 10

Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21).

• Low IQ (average = 55).
• Memory and speech problems.
• Limited vocab.
• Motor problems.
• Congenital eye, ear, heart and
intestinal defects.
• More common in older mothers

Question 11

abnormality of sex chromosome syndromes

Answer 11

**Turner Syndrome **female, short, webbed neck, heavy
build, infertile, poor memory and
spatial ability.

Poly-x syndrome female, tall, fertile, impaired verbal
intelligence.

Question 12

what is phenotype

Answer 12

genetics + environment

Question 13

what is polygenic inheritance

Answer 13

polygenic trait is one whose phenotype is influenced by more than one gene. Traits that display a continuous distribution, such as height or skin color, are polygenic

Question 14

what is behavioural genetics explore

Answer 14

influence of genetics on behaviour

Question 15

what is heritability

Answer 15

the proportion of a given behaviour that is due
to genetics rather than environmental factors.

Question 16

What are two types of natural experiment that distinguishes behaviour from environment

Answer 16

Twin studies

adoption studies

Question 17

differences between identical and fraternal twins

Answer 17

Identical
• Splitting of a **single fertilized
egg. **
• Same DNA (although the rise
of epigenetics does admit
differences)/Same
environment.

• **Fraternal **twins
• Separate fertilisation of two
eggs. **
• Same environment/different **
DNA.

Question 18

what was the assumption made from twin studies?

Answer 18

If identical twins are more similar on a given behaviour than
fraternal twins, then that behaviour has a **heritable **
component.

Question 19

limitation to twin studies

Answer 19

each type of twin share the
same environment

Question 20

3 comparison groups in adoption studies

which one of the traits is most typical

Answer 20

• Leads to three comparison groups:

1. Genetics + environment.
2. Shared environment.
3. Shared genetics.

number 1

Question 21

limitations of adoption studies

Answer 21

Generalisability:

adoption agencies ‘match’ children to families of simlar background - confounds interpretation of environment

Question 22

what is pre-natal development

what is the developing child influenced by

Answer 22

most rapid and dramatic period of change across
the lifespan

• Teratogenic
• • External influences eg. pathogens, drugs cause birth deficits
• Alcohol syndrome

Question 23

FAS is?

Answer 23

• fetal alcohol syndrome
• Smaller brains lacking in cortical convolutions.
• Excessive irritability, hyperactivity, seizures, & tremors.
• Retarded physical growth.

• Moderate alcohol intake (1 drink per day) can cause minor physical and behavioural abnormalities (not FAS).

Heavy drinkers (5 per day) have a **30%** chance of having children with 
FAS.

Question 24

are children born with knowledge of world?

Answer 24

no, they are not

Question 25

conceptual development

what is a concept and category

Answer 25

Concept: a mental representation of a class of things or events.

**Category:** a class of things or events in the world 
• e.g., humans, animals, plants.

Question 26

in early life, what 3 categories do children divide the world into?

Answer 26

• Very early in life children divide the world into three
general categories:
1. People.
2. Animals (excl. plants).
3. Inanimate objects.

Question 27

how old can children categorise

Answer 27

3-4 months through the habituation and dishabituation paradigm

Question 28

at what age do categories expand in children?

Answer 28

6 months

Question 29

how to young infants categorise?

Answer 29

by perceptual similarity.

Infants attend to a number of perceptual dimensions:
colour, size, movement

**eg. Children < 18 months: legs = animal, wheels = vehicle. **

Question 30

as children grow older, what happens?

Answer 30

their categories become hierarchical

Question 31

what are the 3 hierarchies and which are acquired first

Answer 31

superordinate level

Basic level (acquired first): covers important features shared by most instances of category. eg. dog, cat

subordinate level

Question 32

describe role of causal understanding in categorising

Answer 32

causal understanding of features helped with memory

Question 33

knowledge of self and other people

what 3 concepts do we use to understand human behaviour?

Answer 33

naiive psychology concepts We use our understanding of three concepts to
understand human behaviour

1. Desires.
2. Beliefs.
3. Action.

Question 34

what are 3 noteworthy properties of psychological concepts:

Answer 34

1. Many refer to invisible mental states.
   • You can’t see desires or beliefs – how do children understand
   them?
2. They are linked to each other in **cause-effect **
   relationships.
   • I eat when I’m hungry; I cry because I’m sad.
3. Naïve psychological concepts develop very early in life.

Question 35

describe infant’s naiive psychology

Answer 35

Infants have enormous interest in other humans:

• Prefer to look at human faces rather than at objects.
• Prefer to watch human bodies moving rather than other displays
with equal amounts of movement.
• Imitate people’s facial movements.

Question 36

infant’s naive psychology

what is joint attention and what age do infants engage in it?

what is joint attention a prerequisite to

Answer 36

Around 12 months of age children begin engaging in
joint attention.

Direct their attention to the same direct as the other

prerequisite to understanding contents of others minds

Question 37

in what circumstances may theory of mind develop early

Answer 37

when children show interest in others

Question 38

how long does it take to develop theory of mind

Answer 38

a considerably long time

Question 39

what is theory of mind?

Answer 39

an organised understanding of how 
mental processes (intentions, emotions, beliefs, desires, perceptions) influence behaviour.

Question 40

describe the development stages of theory of mind

Answer 40

12 month olds understand actions linked to desire

2 year old desires are
subjective

2-3 do not understand beliefs undermine actions

Question 41

what does failure of false belief task indicate?

Answer 41

• Failure indicates children have difficulty understanding that people act according to belief (their representation
of reality

Question 42

does children’s development of theory of mind continue into adult hood what benefits does it have?

Answer 42

Children’s understanding others’ minds continues to
develop into adulthood.
• Predicts development of empathy

Question 43

when is theory of mind impaired or delayed ?

Answer 43

• Language impairment.
• Deaf children.
• Autism Spectrum Disorder.