Physical Development Flashcards
The adolescent growth spurt begins:
A. at about the same age for boys and girls.
B. about two years earlier for girls than boys.
C. about four years earlier for girls than boys.
D. about two years earlier for boys than girls.
Answer B is correct. The adolescent growth spurt usually begins at 10 or 11 years of age for girls and 12 or 13 years of age for boys.
Sexual fluidity is:
A. considered to be the same as bisexuality and is somewhat more common in women than in men.
B. considered to be the same as bisexuality and is somewhat more common in men than in women.
C. not considered to be the same as bisexuality and is somewhat more common in women than in men.
D. not considered to be the same as bisexuality and is somewhat more common in men than in women.
Answer C is correct. Sexual fluidity is transient and situation dependent, while bisexuality involves an enduring and consistent pattern of sexual attraction to both men and women. The research suggests that sexual fluidity is somewhat more common in women than in men.
Which of the following infants is at greatest risk for sudden infant death syndrome?
A. a Black male infant who is 4 months old
B. a Black female infant who is 7 months old
C. a White male infant who is 7 months old
D. a White female infant who is 4 months old
Answer A is correct. Risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) include male gender, African American race, and age under 6 months.
The studies have found that sensitivity to depth cues develops in infancy in a stage-like sequence, with sensitivity to ________ cues developing first.
A. stereoscopic
B. binocular
C. pictorial
D. kinetic
Answer D is correct. For the exam, you want to remember the three depth cues and the order in which infants use those cues to perceive depth – i.e., kinetic, binocular, and pictorial. Note that a stereoscopic cue is another name for a binocular cue.
Of the senses, __________ is least well-developed at birth.
A. hearing
B. sight
C. touch
D. taste
Answer B is correct. Sight is the least well-developed sense at birth, with the visual system taking several months to develop. For example, a newborn’s visual acuity is about 40 times worse than the visual acuity of an adult but becomes similar to the visual acuity of a normal adult by about six months of age.
Volitional (versus reflexive) auditory localization emerges after _________ of age and then improves to nearly adult levels by about 12 months of age:
A. six weeks
B. nine weeks
C. four months
D. nine months
Answer C is correct. Soon after birth, infants exhibit auditory localization and reflexively turn their heads toward the source of sounds, but this ability decreases when infants are between two and four months of age. It then re-emerges and becomes more deliberate (volitional) and precise and improves to nearly adult levels by about 12 months of age.
Which of the following areas of the brain is least well-developed at birth?
A. prefrontal cortex
B. cerebellum
C. hippocampus
D. basal ganglia
Answer A is correct. The cerebral cortex is the least developed area of the brain at birth, and it continues to develop, with the prefrontal cortex not reaching maturity until the late teens or early to mid-20s. As long as you remember that the cerebral cortex is the least developed area of the brain at birth and that, of the areas listed in the answers, only the prefrontal cortex is part of the cerebral cortex, you would have been able to identify the correct answer to this question.
Which of the following best describes the outcomes associated with early and late onset puberty for boys and girls?
A. Early onset puberty has more favorable outcomes than late onset puberty for both boys and girls.
B. Late onset puberty has more favorable outcomes than early onset puberty for both boys and girls.
C. Early onset puberty has more favorable outcomes for boys, while late onset puberty has more favorable outcomes for girls.
D. Early onset puberty has more favorable outcomes for girls, while late onset puberty has more favorable outcomes for boys.
Answer C is correct. For the exam, you want to remember that, in general, boys experience more positive outcomes from early onset puberty, while girls experience more positive outcomes from late onset puberty.
