Developmental psychology (1)

Question 1

At what stage in pregnancy does brain development begin?

Answer 1

3rd week

Question 2

What happens during the 4th week of pregnancy regarding brain development?

Answer 2

The neural tube begins to divide into the spinal cord, forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain

Question 3

What happens at week 6 of pregnancy regarding brain development?

Answer 3

The forebrain divides into two areas- they go onto develop the thalamus and cortex.
Neurons and synapses begin to develop in the spinal cord.

Question 4

What happens at week 15 of pregnancy regarding brain development?

Answer 4

The cerebellum has formed from the hindbrain.

Question 5

What happens at 6 months of pregnancy regarding brain development?

Answer 5

The brain is fully formed, but doesn’t reach its full size for a while

Question 6

What is the frontal lobe responsible for?

Answer 6

Cognitive abilities like thinking, planning and problem solving

Question 7

What is the temporal lobe responsible for?

Answer 7

Contains the auditory cortex, that’s responsible for processing sound.

Question 8

What is the parietal lobe responsible for?

Answer 8

Processing sensory information like touch, heat and pain.

Question 9

What is the occipital lobe responsible for?

Answer 9

Contains the visual cortex, which processes visual information from our eyes- makes sense of images during perception.

Question 10

What is the brain stem responsible for?

Answer 10

Basic functions like breathing, digestion and your heart beating.

Question 11

What is the cerebellum responsible for?

Can you give an example?

Answer 11

Coordination of movement, balance, motor learning and reflex memory.

EG: used during dance

Question 12

What is the thalamus responsible for?

Answer 12

Sends messages from senses to the cortex

Question 13

define nature

Answer 13

Behaviors and traits caused naturally

(genes, hormones, brain structure)

Question 14

define nurture

Answer 14

Traits and behaviors caused by the environment

(friends, culture, socialisation)

Question 15

IQ, height and weight are all examples of [nature/nurture/both].

(pick one)

Answer 15

IQ, height and weight are all examples of both nature and nurture.

Question 16

What are dizygotic twins?

Answer 16

“non-identical” twins - share 50% DNA - two separate eggs during conception

Remember: Di - two - two eggs

Question 17

What are monozygotic twins?

Answer 17

“identical” twins - share 100% DNA - one egg split into two

remember: mono - one - one egg

Question 18

Give 3 influences on development in the womb.

Answer 18

• alcohol and caffeine consumption of the mother
• the mother smoking - nicotine slows down brain development
• the mother coming into contact with the rubella virus/german measles- it can lead to brain damage

Question 19

How do we know that babies recognise their mothers’ voices immediately after birth?

Answer 19

When a tape was played of the mother’s voice, the baby sucked more on a special device compared to when a tape of someone’s else’s voice was played.

(DeCasper and Spence)

Question 20

What’s the independent variable?

Answer 20

The variable you change/alter

Question 21

What’s the dependent variable?

Answer 21

The variable you measure

Question 22

What’s the control variable?

Answer 22

The variable that is kept the same

Question 23

What issues might a damaged cortex cause?

Answer 23

Speech issues

(add more later using textbook)

Question 24

What issues might a damaged brain stem cause?

Answer 24

death, paralysis, motor issues

Question 25

What might happen if someone developed a tumor in the thalamus?

Answer 25

Messages wouldn’t be sent around, so you might not be able to smell or taste properly.

Question 26

What issues might an undeveloped cerebellum cause?

Answer 26

Issues with muscle coordination and balance- eg cerebellar hypoplasia