Test Answers on Psychology Exam 2 – Flashcards
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In what ways does a baby's weight and height change in the first two years?
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The norms are 3x a baby's birthweight by 1 and 12 inches taller than birth height by age 2.
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Describe the process of communication within the central nervous system.
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1. Dendrites receive messages from other neurons. 2. Electrical encoding. 3. Axon sends messages to other cells 4. Chemical neurotransmitter
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Why is pruning an essential part of brain development?
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The brain prunes the neurons in the brain that are not used and makes use of them elsewhere in the brain for different skills.
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What should caregivers remember about brain development when an infant cries?
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Infants cry as a reflex to pain; they are too immature to decide to stop crying, as adults do. Source of anger in adults.
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How do a baby' sleep patterns change over the first 18 months?
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Newborns sleep 15-17 hours/day in 1-3 hr segments. At 2 months 14 1/4 hours At 3 months 13 1/4 hours At 6-17 months 12 3/4 hours
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What is the relationship among perception, sensation, and cognition?
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Sensation occurs when a sensory system detects a stimulus and perception occurs when the brain processes a sensation and cognition occurs when people think about what they have perceived.
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How does an infant's vision change over the first three months?
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Least mature at birth. By 2 months, infants stare at faces. By 3 months, binocular vision occurs and visual scanning improves.
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Give examples to describe how an infant's gross motor skills develop over the first year.
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Infants first control their heads, letting them up to look around. Then they control their upper bodies, their arms, and finally their legs and feet. Sitting. By 5 months they use their arms and then legs to inch forward or backward on their bellies. By 8-10 months they are crawling on their hands and knees .
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Describe how a baby's hand skills develop over the first two years.
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Newborns have a strong reflexive grasp but lack control. During the first 2 months, babies stare and wave their arms at objects dangling within reach. By 3 months, they can usually touch such objects, but they cannot yet grab and hold on. By 4 months, infants sometimes grab but their timing is off. By 6 months most babies can reach, grab, and grasp almost any object. 1st year and throughout the 2nd, finger skills improve as babies master the pincer movement.
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Why has there been a decrease in infant mortality rates? What other measures could lead to a further decrease?
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Infant survival and maternal education. If doctors and nurses were made available in third world countries.
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What is the purpose of immunization?
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To defend against attack by a particular contagious disease. Immunization may be accomplished either naturally or by vaccination.
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In what ways does herd immunity save lives?
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If 90 percent of the people in a community are immunized, the disease does not spread to those who are vulnerable. Without herd immunity, some community members die of a "childhood" disease.
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Why has the rate of immunization decreased over the past decade?
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Parents are opting out of immunizations. Worried with the side affects. Media airs problems with vaccinations and it horrifies parents.
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What are the reasons for and against breast-feeding until a child is at least 1 year old?
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Balance of nutrition, less illness, protection against many childhood diseases, Later puberty, less teen pregnancy, higher IQ, more likely to attend college. Can be difficult, babies need to nurse almost every 2 hours and this makes it difficult if the mother has to return to work.
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In what ways does malnutrition affect infants and children?
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Their brains may not develop normally. Malnourished children hove no body reserves to protect them against common diseases. Some diseases result directly from malnutrition.
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Why did Piaget call cognition in the first two years "sensorimotor intelligence"?
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For the way infants think by using their senses and motor skills during the first period of cognitive development.
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Describe the first two stages of sensorimotor intelligence.
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1st stage is the stage of reflexes that lasts only a month. It includes senses as well as motor reflexes. 2nd stage is called the first acquired adaptations. Reflexively suck on anything but by 1 month they have adapted this reflex to bottles or breasts, pacifiers or fingers. They have begun to interpret their perceptions.
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In sensorimotor intelligence, what is the difference between stages three and four?
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Stage three is responding to objects and making them last whereas stage four is responding to people and is more deliberate, making mom's hands touch to play patty-cake.
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Why is the concept of object permanence important to an infant's development?
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Plays an important role in the theory of cognitive development by Piaget. In the sensorimotor stage of development, Piaget suggested that children understand the world through their motor abilities such as touch, vision, taste, and movement.
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What does the active experimentation of the stage-five toddler suggest for parents?
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That they are little scientists and learn through experiments. Experiments in order to see.
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Why did Piaget underestimate how rapidly early cognition occurs?
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He relied only on direct observation of behavior, such as noticing whether or not a baby pulled away a cloth to search for a hidden object.
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What conditions help 3 mo olds remember something?
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Experimental conditions are similar to those of real life. Motivation is high. Retrieval is strengthened by reminders and repetition.
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What have researchers discovered about the way adults talk to babies?
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Child-directed speech. Adults everywhere use higher pitch, simpler words, repetition, varied speeds, and exaggerated emotional tones when they speak to infants. Sounds are preferred over content. They like alliteration, rhymes, repetition, rhythm, and varied pitch.
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How would a caregiver who subscribes to the behaviorist theory of language learning respond when an infant babbles?
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Spontaneous babbling is usually reinforced.Typically, every time a baby says "ma ma ma ma ma" a grinning mother appears, resting the sound as well as showering the baby with attention, praise, and perhaps food.
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What is the typical of the rate and nature of the first words that infants speak?
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At 1 year, the average hearing baby utters a few words, although some babies don't being to talk until 18 months. Usually "Dada" or "Mama"
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What indicates that toddlers use some grammar?
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Obvious between 18-24 months. Two-word combos begin. "Baby cry" and "More Juice" follow the proper word order.
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According to behaviorism, how do adults teach infants to talk?
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Skinner believed that most parents are excellent instructors, responding to their infants' gestures and sounds, thus reinforcing speech.
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According to sociocultural theory, why do infants try to communicate?
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Infants communicate because humans have evolved as social beings, dependent on one another for survival and joy. Talking i a practice that furthers social interaction.
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What is Chomsky's theory about how young children learn language?
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Infants are innately ready to use their minds to understand and speak whatever language is offered.
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What does the hybrid model of language learning suggest to caregivers?
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Language learning occurs in many ways, depending on the specific age, culture, and goals of the infant. I
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What are the first emotions to appear in infants?
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Pleasure and pain.
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What experiences trigger anger and sadness in infants?
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Anger is triggered by frustration, such as when infants are prevented from moving or grabbing. Sadness indicates withdrawal and is accompanied by an increase in the body's production of cortisol.
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What do 1-year-olds fear?
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Separation anxiety and stranger wariness.
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How do emotions differ between the first and second year of life?
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Older babies exhibit curiosity, laughter, anger, and fear whereas toddlers express many emotions that indicate awareness of themselves and others.
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How do family interactions and culture shape toddler's emotions?
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Many north american parents encourage toddler pride saying you did it yourself (even when untrue) whereas Asian families typically discourage pride. They cultivate modesty and shame. Teaching fear...child hides behind mom when a friendly dog approaches, she can either pick the child up or encourage petting.
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How are memory and emotion connected?
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All emotional reactions, particularly those connected to self-awareness depend partly on memory. Vivid memories of the previous time a sibling frustrated them or the doctor gave them a shot. Remember how they feel.
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How does stress affect early brain development?
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Excessive stress harms the developing brain. They hypothalamus in particular grows more slowly if an infant is often frightened.
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Why are temperamental traits more apparent in some people than others?
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Temperamental traits are inborn as a result from the 7-repeat allele of the DRD4VNTR gene.
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Give examples of how infants and caregivers demonstrate proximity-seeking and contact-maintaining behaviors.
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Proximity-Seeking: approaching and following their caregivers. Contact-Maintaining: Touching, snuggling, and holding.
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Describe the four types of attachment.
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Secure attachement, insecure-avoidant attachement, insecure-resistant/ambivalent attachement, and disorganized attachment.
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How do negative circumstances affect attachment (divorce, abuse, low ses)
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Low school achievement, hostile children, and fearful adults more likely.
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What can be done to improve the parent-child bond?
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Foster or adoptive parents need to be found quickly so that synchrony and attachment can develop. A professional helps parents in the first days after birth to encourage bonding.
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How is social referencing important in infancy?
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Toddlers use other people as social references, to guide them in their exploration.
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How does father involvement affect infants?
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Elicit more smiles and laughter from their infants than mothers do. Close father-infant relationships can teach infants appropriate expressions of emotion, particularly anger.
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What might happen if a person is stuck in the oral or anal stage of development?
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Eats, drinks, chews, bites, or talks excessively in quest of the mouth-related pleasure denied in infancy.
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How might the crisis of "trust vs. mistrust" affect later life?
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Adults are suspicious and pessimistic.
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How might the crisis of "autonomy vs. shame and doubt" affect later life?
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Adults are easily shamed.
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How do behaviorists explain the development of emotions and personality?
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Parents who respond joyously to every glimmer of a grin will have children with a sunny disposition. Infants learn from the people around them.
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Why does "working model" arise from cognitive theory instead of from the other theories?
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Holds that thoughts and values determine a person's perspective. Early experiences are important because beliefs, perceptions, and memories make them so, not because they are buried in the unconscious. Working model becomes a frame of reference for later life.
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According to humanism, how might caregivers' needs affect their response to an infant?
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Self-actualized people are no longer needy for themselves, so they can nurture an infant well. But most young parents are at level 3 or 4, seeking love or respect. They may be troubled by "ghosts in the nursery" from their own babyhood.
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How does evolution explain the parent-child bond?
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Reproductive nurturance depends on years of self-sacrificing investment, and humans have evolved to provide it. Hormones increase the impulse to bond with others, especially one's children.
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Why is allocare necessary for survival of the human species?
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If mothers were the exclusive caregivers of each child until children were adults, able to provide for themselves and their own children, a given woman could rear only one or two offspring, not enough for the species to survive.
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Why is it difficult to draw conclusions about infant day care?
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Family income, culture, religion, and and education affect choice of care , and those same variables affect child development.
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How are growth rates, body proportions, and motor skills related during early childhood?
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Children slim down as the legs and arms lengthen and fat turns to muscle. As the body gains strength children develop motor skills.
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Why might lower-income children be more vulnerable to nutritional problems?
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Can't afford food. Don't eat=malnutrition.
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What factors help children develop their motor skills?
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Safe spaces, time, and playmates, skills develop.
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Why do public health workers prefer to speak of "injury control" rather than "accident prevention"?
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The word accident implies that an injury is random and unpredictable. If anyone is at fault, it's a careless parent or an accident-prone child, not public policies.
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What are the differences among the three levels of harm reduction?
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Primary prevention occurs in the macro system to make harm less likely, reducing the iso of sickness, injury, or death for everyone of any age. Secondary prevention is more specific, averting harm in high-risk situations or for vulnerable individuals. Tertiary prevention begins after harm has occurred, limiting the damage.
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What changes in the brain's functioning are evident between ages 2 and 6?
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Neurological increases are especially notable in the areas of the cortex, where planning, thinking, social awareness, and language occur.
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Why is myelination important for thinking and motor skills?
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It speeds signals between neurons. Especially when it is important for several thoughts and actions to occur in rapid succession.
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How does the prefrontal cortex affect impulsivity and perseveration?
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They are both opposite manifestations of a prefrontal cortex that is too immature to check activation or halt inhibition.
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What is the function of the corpus callosum?
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It connects the two hemispheres together so that they can communicate to each other.
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Why might left-handed children have thicker corpus callosa than right-handed children?
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They need to vary the interaction between the two sides of their bodies, depending on the task.
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What role do the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalmus play in the expression and regulation of emotions?
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The amygdala registers emotions, the hippocampus processes memory, especially memory for locations, and the hypothalamus responds to the amygdala and the hippocampus to produce hormones that activate other parts of the brain and body.
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In what way does symbolic thought advance cognition?
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Allows of the language explosion when children can talk about thoughts and memories.
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What barriers to logic exist and the preoperational stage? How might these affect children's thinking?
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Children can use symbolic thought but are illogical and egocentric, limited by appearance and immediate experience.
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According to Vygotsky, what should parents and other caregivers do to encourage children's learning?
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Present challenges, offer assistance w/o taking over, add crucial information, and encourage motivation.
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How does scaffolding increase a child's zone if proximal development?
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Children are ready to move beyond their current understanding, especially if deliberate or inadvertent scaffolding occurs.
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What does the idea of theory-theory suggest about how children think?
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The idea that children attempt to explain everything they see and hear.
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What factors spur the development of theory of mind?
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In order to have a theory of mind, children must realize that other people are not necessarily thinking the same thoughts that they themselves are. That realization is seldom achieved before age 4.
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In what ways do theory-theory and theory of mind help explain why older children lie with greater skill than younger children do?
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Theory-theory the best explanation for cognition is that humans seek reasons, causes and underlying principles to make sense of their experience. Children like to connect bits of knowledge and are curious. In theory of mind, realizing that thoughts don't mirror reality is beyond very young children, but that realization dawns on them sometime after age 3. It then occurs that people can be deliberately deceived or fooled.
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What is the evidence that early childhood is a sensitive time for learning language?
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Young children are sponges because they soak up every drop of language they encounter. They are not self0critical about what they say. They believe they know more than they do and they readily and confidently talk about it.
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How does fast-mapping aid the language explosion?
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It is one way children learn. Errors in precision, over regularization, and mispronunciation are common and are not problematic at this age.
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Explain how code-focused teaching, book reading, parent education, language enhancement, and preschool programs each contribute to children's literacy.
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In code-focused teaching, children are fought to learn the sounds of the alphabet in order to break from spoken word to written word. In book reading children ask questions and start convos. In Parent education, when teachers and other professionals teach parents how to stimulate cognition, children become better readers. In Language Enhancement, mentors can expand vocabulary and grammar during a child's zone of proximal development, based on what the child knows and experiences. In Preschool Programs, Children learn from teachers, songs, excursions, and other children.
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How does overregularization signify a cognitive advance?
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Many children first stay words correctly, repeating what they have heard. Later, when they grasp the grammar and try to apply it, they overregularize.
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In child-centered programs, what do the teachers do?
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Teachers guide and scaffold the children so that they each advance.
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Why are Montessori schools still functioning, 100 years after the first such schools opened?
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How might positivity bias lead to a child's acquisition of new skills and competencies?
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What are examples of intrisinc vs. extrinsic motivations for reading a book?
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What is the connection between psychopathology and emotional regulation?
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In what ways might playing with peers teach emotional regulation, empathy, and cultural understanding?
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How is the development of social play affected by culture?
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Why might children's muscle strength and control develop better when playing with peers than when playing alone?
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What do children learn from rough-and-tumble play?
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What do children learn from sociodramatic play?
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Describe the characteristics of the parenting style that seems to promote the happiest, most successful children.
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Why might American child professionals advise nor or limited electronic media for young children?
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What did Piaget believe about the moral development of children? Hw might evolutionary theory explain moral development?
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What is the nature perspective on how people develop morals? What is the nurture perspective?
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How might children develop empathy and antipathy as they play with one another?
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What is the connection between empathy and antipathy as they play with one another?
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What is connection between empathy and prosocial behavior?
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What are the similarities and differences of the four kinds of aggression?
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How does moral development relate to discipline?
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Why have many nations made corporal punishment illegal?
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When is time-out an effective punishment and when is it not?
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of using induction as punishment?
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What does psychoanalytic theory say about the origins of sex differences and gender roles?
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What do behaviorists say about the origins of sex differences and gender roles?
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How does evolutionary theory explain why children follow gender norms?
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Why might poverty, isolation of parent, and lack of good child care contribute to child maltreatment?
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Why is it difficult to know exactly how often childhood maltreatment occurs?
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What are the short-term and long-term consequences of childhood maltreatment?
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What are the three levels of prevention of maltreatment? Give examples of each.
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