week 2: Motor & Math

Question 1

With regards to the twin study: What do you predict Gesell found?
A. The trained twin was better at stair climbing only (but NOT other motor skills)
B. The trained twin was better at stair climbing AND at other motor skills
C. There was no difference between the twins on stair climbing

Answer 1

C. There was no difference between the twins on stair climbing
Explanation: The other twin caught up spontaneously, so this will really depends on maturation and the stair climbing training was really not necessary
Evidence that genetically guided maturational processes govern development

Question 2

How does cradling impact walking?
A. Cradling will delay walking onset
B. Cradling will speed up walking onset
C. Cradling will not influence walking onset

Answer 2

C. Cradling will not influence walking onset

Question 3

What was the Twin Study?

Answer 3

Gave one twin motor training (e.g., stair climbing) to observe whether this impacted their motor skills

Question 4

Cradleboards in Tajikstamd & Native American Tribes: Were the calculated averages between Western vs Tribe babies proven to be good evidence that cradling delayed walking onset?

Answer 4

No
- There’s a lot of variability
-The infants (as a whole) are walking later
The cradleboards do not seem to impact motor development
We can only speculate that the difference in averages is due to differences in nutrition

Question 5

When do infants begin to walk?

Answer 5

11-15 months of age

Question 6

What do infants tend to attempt prior to walking? (physical movements)

Answer 6

• Crawl on hands and knees
• Crawl on belly
• Scoot in a sitting position
• not crawl at all

Question 7

True or False: Locomotion is a cognitive challenge

Answer 7

True!

example: rock-climbing requires thinking of your next move

Question 8

Explain what was found in the Adolph study

Answer 8

Infant is placed in a standing position at the top of a slope, with an attractive toy at the bottom

• When experimenting with a baby who crawled, it was found that the baby could not assess the gap and consequently, fell off
• Reaching: infants were able to assess how far they could reach

Question 9

Where do number concepts come from?

Answer 9

• Infant beginnings “core knowledge” of number
• Important conceptual change
• Culture plays a big role: symbolic systems are different across cultures, and influence mathematical reasoning

Question 10

Core Knowledge: Infant Arithmetic

Answer 10

• Infants have a system for reasoning about small, exact representations of number
• 5 month olds viewed “addition” or “subtraction” events

Question 11

What are the two “core knowledge” number systems?

Answer 11

1) Exact small numbers (object tracking)

2) Approximate large numbers

Question 12

Motor Development

Answer 12

Motor development is the process of learning how to use muscles in the body to move. Motor development happens in a predictable sequence of events for most children, but each child varies in age when each skill is mastered.

Question 13

Infant Arithmetic: What about larger numbers?

Answer 13

• Infants can discriminate small numbers, but the system breaks down with larger numbers
• fail when 4 or more objects

Question 14

Core Knowledge: Approximate Number System

Answer 14

Adults (humans, rats, ducks, pigeons, and non-human primates) have a system for representing approximate numerosity of large sets.
-Without counting!

Question 15

How do children learn the meaning of number words?

Answer 15

• Children learn the meanings of number words one at a time
• Take 6ish months for a child to move up a knower-level
• Cardinal principle: Eventually kids have an insight that last word used in the count list gives represents the numerosity of the set

Question 16

How do children learn the meaning of number words?

Answer 16

• Input matters! Toddlers whose parents use more number words do better on “give a number” tasks at 4 years of age
• Parent counting and labeling of larger set (more than 3) is particularly important

Question 17

Regarding the Piraha people:
How would someone in this culture represent 18?
-One possible method to ask question: Experimenter taps the table a number of times, and subject is asked to repeat.

A. Like us! even without a word for “18” they could indicate it by tapping a table exactly 18 times.

B. They couldn’t! They could only represent small numbers, and would tap a totally random number if asked.

C. They would represent it approximately! For instance, they might tap the table somewhere between 12 and 24 times.

Answer 17

C. They would represent it approximately! For instance, they might tap the table somewhere between 12 and 24 times.

Question 18

What are two “core knowledge” number systems?

Answer 18

• Exact small numbers (object tracking)

- Approximate large numbers

Question 19

Is there evidence that both core knowledge systems can be present in non-human animals?

Answer 19

-Evidence that both core knowledge systems also present (to some degree) in non-human animals

Question 20

Which best describes the effects of cradle boards on the age of infants’ walking onset?

A. Cradle boards speed up walking: infants from Hopi communities who use cradle boards walk earlier than White American infants because they are motivated.

B. Cradle boards do not impact walking: there are significant age differences in walking onset age between Hopi infants and White American infants.

C. Cradle boards delay walking: infants from Hopi communities who use cradle boards walk later than White American infants because they lack experience moving.

D. Differences in walking between Hopi infants and White American infants are likely not due to cradle boards themselves, but to other differences between the cultural groups.

Answer 20

D. Differences in walking between Hopi infants and White American infants are likely not due to cradle boards themselves, but to other differences between the cultural groups.

Question 21

Which of the following best describes the results of Adolph’s study on motor learning?

A. New crawlers are cautious about reaching over a large gap in a sitting (experienced) position, but don’t show this same cautiousness when they are in a crawling position (novel).

B. New crawlers are cautious about reaching over a large gap when in both a sitting (experienced) position and in a crawling position(novel).

C. New crawlers are cautious about reaching over a large gap in a crawling position (novel), but don;t show this same cautiousness when they are in a sitting (experienced) position.

D. New crawlers are not cautious about reaching over a large gap, regardless of being in a sitting (experienced) position or a crawling position (novel).

Answer 21

A. New crawlers are cautious about reaching over a large gap in a sitting (experienced) position, but don’t show this same cautiousness when they are in a crawling position (novel).

Question 22

Which of the following is true about the approximate number system?

A. With age, people can discriminate approximate numbers that are closer together

B. Infants look longer at larger numbers of dots (16), than smaller numbers of dots (8).

C. Infants look longer at screens that flash a consistent (rather than changing) number of dots.

D. It is easier to discriminate smaller numbers (8 vs. 16) than larger ones (16 vs. 32).

Answer 22

A. With age, people can discriminate approximate numbers that are closer together

Question 23

Which of the following best describes the abilities of the Munduruku, a tribe whose number system only has words for “one”, “a few,” and “many”?
A. The Munduruku cannot discriminate approximate numbers nor pass exact number tests.
B. The Munduruku can both discriminate approximate numbers and pass exact number tests.
C. The Munduruku can pass exact number tests, but cannot discriminate approximate numbers.
D. The Munduruku can discriminate approximate numbers, but cannot pass exact number tests.

Answer 23

D. The Munduruku can discriminate approximate numbers, but cannot pass exact number tests.