Exam 3

Question 1

What is the difference between nature and nurture in development?

Answer 1

Nature: Biologically determined maturation causes development.
- Nurture: Environmental experiences cause development.

Question 2

What is a sensitive period?

Answer 2

A time window when development occurs best; nature sets the window, and **nurture provides the experience

Question 3

What did Johnson & Newport (1989) find about the language-sensitive period?

Answer 3

There is a negative relationship between age of arrival and grammar ability in English learners; learning before age 7 leads to native-like grammar

Question 4

How can experience affect biology according to Greenough’s “Rich Rats & Poor Rats” study?

Answer 4

Rats raised in enriched environments developed more complex neural structures than those in **basic cages*

Question 5

What are three reasons the “Mozart Effect” is not reliable for child development?

Answer 5

1. Studies were done on adults
2. It doesn’t replicate well
3. A caring home is already an enriched environment

Question 6

What is the significance of “Motherese” (infant-directed speech)?

Answer 6

It attracts attention and exaggerates sound features, helping infants learn phonemes. Goofy baby talk helps infants understand language

Question 7

What is over-regularization in language development?

Answer 7

Applying regular grammar rules to irregular verbs, like saying “goed” instead of “went.”

Question 8

What does past-tense learning suggest about language acquisition?

Answer 8

It supports the idea of an explicit mental rule for grammar plus a list of exceptions (irregular verbs).

Question 9

What are Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development?

Answer 9

1. Sensorimotor (0–2 yrs)
2. Preoperational (2–7 yrs)
3. Concrete Operational (7–11 yrs)
4. Formal Operational (11+ yrs)

Question 10

What are the two main processes Piaget believed drive cognitive change?

Answer 10

• Assimilation: interpreting new information using existing knowledge
• Accommodation: altering knowledge structures to fit new information

Question 11

What is the major milestone of the sensorimotor stage?

Answer 11

Development of the object concept, including object permanence

Question 12

What is the A-not-B task and what does it demonstrate?

Answer 12

Infants look for an object where it was previously found (A), not where it was last placed (B). Failure of this task under ~12 months suggests immature frontal lobe development. (Sensorimotor stage)

Question 13

What cognitive limitation is common in the preoperational stage?

Answer 13

Egocentrism – difficulty taking others’ perspectives (demonstrated by the three-mountains task).

Question 14

What is conservation and how do children struggle with it?

Answer 14

Conservation is understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape or appearance. Children in this stage fail conservation tasks (e.g., liquid in different-shaped containers). (Preoperational stage)

Question 15

What major ability develops in the concrete operational stage?

Answer 15

Children can perform mental operations but only on concrete, physical objects

Question 16

What type of thinking emerges in the formal operational stage?

Answer 16

Abstract reasoning – including logic, hypothetical thinking, and concepts like justice and algebra.

Question 17

What is counterfactual thinking?

Answer 17

Thinking about “what if” scenarios – a hallmark of the formal operational stage.

Question 18

How does Vygotsky’s theory differ from Piaget’s?

Answer 18

Vygotsky emphasized social and cultural influences on development, rather than purely logical stages.

Question 19

What is internalization in Vygotsky’s theory?

Answer 19

The process by which social behaviors become internal mental functions, like learning to point.

Question 20

How do Montessori-style classrooms relate to Vygotsky’s theory?

Answer 20

They promote peer interaction and guided learning, aligning with the idea of working within the ZPD.

Question 21

What are the three types of traits proposed by Gordon Allport?

Answer 21

1. Cardinal Traits – Rare, dominate personality (e.g., Dalai Lama’s compassion)
2. Central Traits – General dispositions (e.g., being outgoing)
3. Secondary Traits – Context-dependent (e.g., talkative with friends, quiet with family)

Question 22

What is the Lexical Hypothesis in trait theory?

Answer 22

If a trait exists, there should be a word for it in language. Allport and Odbert identified 18,000 unique terms to describe personality traits.

Question 23

What are the Big Five traits?

Answer 23

1. Openness to experience
2. Conscientiousness
3. Extraversion
4. Agreeableness
5. Neuroticism

Question 24

Which Big Five trait is associated with worrying a lot?

Answer 24

Neuroticism

Question 25

Which Big Five trait is linked with being the life of the party?

Answer 25

Extraversion

Question 26

What trait is someone displaying if they avoid philosophical discussions?

Answer 26

Low openness to experience

Question 27

How does temperament differ from personality?

Answer 27

Temperament applies to young children and toddlers; personality is tested in teens and adults.

Question 28

What are the three dimensions of temperament?

Answer 28

1. Positive emotionality 2. Negative emotionality 3. Self-regulation

Question 29

What personality traits might self-regulation in temperament predict?

Answer 29

Conscientiousness and agreeableness

Question 30

How is temperament measured?

Answer 30

Through self-reports by parents/teachers or behavioral paradigms.

Question 31

What is Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development primarily focused on?

Answer 31

The social construction of thought.

Question 32

What is "internalization" in Vygotsky's theory?

Answer 32

When social factors become part of the individual (e.g., using a pencil).

Question 33

What is the "zone of proximal development"?

Answer 33

The gap between current abilities and maximal potential; most learning occurs here.

Question 34

What is attachment in psychological development?

Answer 34

A strong social-emotional bond between a child and a caregiver.

Question 35

What is imprinting and which psychologist studied it?

Answer 35

A form of attachment seen in animals; studied by Konrad Lorenz.

Question 36

How did Mark Johnson’s research study how human infants show imprinting-like behavior?

Answer 36

Newborns orient more to faces than nonfaces

Question 37

What is the "cupboard theory" of attachment?

Answer 37

The idea that attachment is driven by biological needs, mainly food.

Question 38

Who proposed an alternative to the cupboard theory, and what was it?

Answer 38

Bowlby; he proposed that comfort, not food, is key to attachment.

Question 39

What did Harlow’s monkey studies demonstrate about attachment?

Answer 39

Monkeys preferred cloth-covered "mothers" for comfort over wire ones that provided food, supporting Bowlby’s theory.

Question 40

What is separation anxiety and when does it typically begin?

Answer 40

Distress when a caregiver leaves; begins around 8 months of age.

Question 41

What is the "Strange Situation" and who developed it?

Answer 41

A structured observation method to study attachment patterns by having the mother enter and leave the infant in a room with a stranger; developed by Mary Ainsworth.

Question 42

What are the characteristics of secure attachment?

Answer 42

Explores when mother is present, upset when she leaves, greets her upon return (~70% of infants).

Question 43

What are the characteristics of insecure-ambivalent attachment?

Answer 43

Doesn’t explore environment, upset when mother leaves, ambivalent when she returns (~15%).

Question 44

What are the characteristics of insecure-avoidant attachment?

Answer 44

Ignores mother, not upset when she leaves, aloof upon return (~15%).

Question 45

How do attachments with fathers compare to those with mothers?

Answer 45

Children show similar attachment behavior with dads; moms provide security and comfort, dads are associated with physical play

Question 46

How does early attachment style predict future behavior?

Answer 46

Securely attached infants tend to be well-adjusted, popular, and socially skilled later in life.

Question 47

What does research say about daycare and attachment?

Answer 47

Results vary; some studies show daycare children are as securely attached as those raised at home—quality of daycare is crucial.

Question 48

What is temperament and how does it affect attachment?

Answer 48

A biological/genetic disposition of personality; difficult temperaments can challenge secure attachment formation.