What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative change?
- Qualitative change: appearance of something new (e.g., structure, ability, process)
- Example: new motor behaviors such as sitting, crawling, walking, new understandings such as gramma (combining words into sentences)
- Quantitative change: changes that
Explain the following views of development: passive vs. active; continuous vs. discontinuous
- Passive: early developmental psychologists viewed children as passive organisms, who are largely the product of external force beyond their control
- Example: teacher or parent would be blamed for child's poor academic performances or peer group respons
Use the Little Albert study to describe the process of classical conditioning
Before conditioning
- Saw rat, no response (no fear)
- Neutral stimulus: rat
- Unconditioned stimulus: steel bar hit with hammer
- Unconditioned response: fear
During conditioning
- Pair rat with loud noise
- Pair neutral stimulus (rat) with the unconditi
* What are the two broad types of research questions that are asked by developmental neuroscientists?
- How are changes in brain structures related to changes in psychological development?
- How does experience in the world change the brain?
*** Identify and briefly describe all of the levels or systems in Bronfenbrenner's bio-ecological theory
- The qualities of the child and the characteristics of the external environment interact to influence how the child develops
Five levels of external influence
o Child (unique genetic makeup)
o Microsystem: immediate environment
- Family, home, school, sp
In the introductory lecture, we discussed the Romanian orphan study - be familiar with the study findings and what these results tell us about children's ability to overcome the negative effect of early deprivation
- Recent studies of development among children adopted from inadequate orphanages in Romania supports the principle that the timing of experiences often influences their effects
1st Study: children tested at age 6
- 3 groups of Romain orphans: 1st group a
What is resilience?
Refers to the successful development in the face of multiple and seemingly overwhelming developmental hazards
** What is reciprocal determinism?
Bidirectional influence between person and environment
- Environment and person influence each other in a reciprocal way that guides development
How many chromosomes are found in a normal somatic cell?
o TOTAL of 46 chromosomes in each somatic cell
o 23 PAIRS of homologous chromosomes
- 2 chromosomes that make up each pair are homologous (similar in function)
- 2 chromosomes in each pair are similar in size
- One chromosome comes from dad's sperm and th
What are gametes and how many chromosomes do they have?
o Mature reproductive cells
o 23 SINGLE chromosomes
- Half the number somatic cells have
** Which chromosomes are called autosomes?
Chromosomes that are identical in females and males (NOT sex chromosomes)
- 22 pairs
* What is mitosis?
Process of cell duplication and division that generates all new cells except sperm and eggs
**** Describe the process of MEIOSIS in males
Males: process begins at puberty in males
- Germs cells start to produce sperm
- Male germ cell: 46 chromosomes/23 pairs
1) Step A: duplication (each chromosome makes exact copy of themselves), now 92 chromosomes
2) Step B: crossing over, pairs of doubled
**** Describe the process of MEIOSIS in females
1&2) Step A (duplication) and B (crossover) occur PRENATALLY around 12 weeks (post-conception)
- Then cells go into a resting state once crossing-over had occurred until puberty
- Process begins again with ovulation at puberty
3) Step C (1st division duri
Understand the terms homozygous and heterozygous
- A person who inherits two of the same alleles for a trait is described as homozygous
� Example: A+A -> A, B+B -> B, O+O -> O
- A person who inherits two different alleles for a trait is described as heterozygous
� Example: A+B, B+O, A+O
Understand the following patterns of genetic transmission: co-dominance and dominant-recessive inheritance
Examples of what can happen when heterozygous
1) An intermediate (or blended) outcome (i.e., incomplete dominance)
- Blending outcome
- Example: white + red alleles for petal color -> pink carnation, curly + straight hair alleles -> wavy hair
2) Both alle
Why are recessive X-linked defects more common in males than females?
- Most of recessive genetic traits are on the X because it is longer and thus carries more genes than the Y
- Example: A girl (XX) inherits a harmful recessive allele on one X (via mom) but gets a normal dominant allele on the other X (via dad)
o Carrier
** Why are older women at greater risk of giving birth to a child with Down syndrome than younger women? (2)
1) Aging of ova
o Female born with all the eggs; eggs degenerate as we age
o Eggs are less likely to divide properly
2) More exposure to environmental hazards
*** What is the major cause of Down syndrome?
* Most cases due to non-disjunction of chromosome 21 (extra 21st chromosome in somatic cells)
- Typically, the non-disjunction occurs as an error during meiosis
- During meiosis, the 21st chromosome pair do not separate properly (supposed to go to separat
What are alleles?
Different versions of the same gene
- Alleles have small differences in their sequence of DNA bases
- Alleles of a given gene, influence the same trait or characteristic, but contribute to different developmental outcomes
*** In a small proportion of individuals with Down syndrome, some but not all of their cells have a defective chromosomal makeup. What chromosomal pattern do they display?
Mosaic trisomy 21: some but not all cells end up with an extra 21st chromosome (error occurs during early mitosis)
MOST chromosomal defects result from errors that occur during which cell division process - mitosis or meiosis?
Meiosis
**** Be familiar with the following prenatal diagnostic methods (e.g., what they are; at what point in pregnancy they are done; what are the risks, if any): ultrasound, chorionic villus sampling, and amniocentesis (see textbook)
Ultrasound
- What: high-frequency sound waves are beamed at the uterus; their reflection is translated into a picture on a video screen that reveals the size, shape, and placement of the fetus. Permits assessment of fetal age, detection of multiple pregna
**** Understand how twin and adoption studies inform us about the influence of genes and environment
A) Classic twin studies
- Identical or monozygotic (MZ)
o Share 100% of their genes
o Always same sex
- Fraternal or dizygotic (DZ)
o Share, on average, 50% of their genes (like regular siblings)
o Can be either same sex or different sex
o Increasing sinc
**** Identify and explain the 3 gene-environment correlations discussed in lecture. Make sure that you have a clear example for each of these
1) Passive G-E Correlation: parents provide an environment that is influenced by their own genetic makeup, that environment is correlated with the child's genetic tendencies and this will reinforce these tendencies (environment provided by parents will re
** What is epigenetics? How is it changed?
- Epigenetics is the study of how a gene's function or expression can be changed by the environment (WITHOUT affecting the DNA sequence of that gene)
- Experiences can create bio-chemical changes that affects gene expression
- This can occur at any age, e
**** Name the 3 major periods of prenatal development and the weeks when they occur
(Note - the answer is NOT the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimesters!)
1) Germinal period (or period of the zygote)
- Conception to implantation (about 2 weeks)
2) Embryonic Period
- Week 3 to 8 post conception
3) Fetal Period
- Week 9 post-conception to birth
What is the difference between fertilization and conception?
- Fertilization: when one sperm penetrates egg, chemical process stops other sperm from penetrating
o Tail of sperm fall off, contents of head of sperm gushes into the egg
- Conception: genetic material in the nuclei of the sperm and the egg unite to form
What is implantation? When is this usually completed?
- Process by which the blastocyst embeds itself into the uterine lining
- Around week 2
** What are the functions of the placenta? (4)
- Initially serves as liver and kidneys for embryo until embryo's own organs begin to function
- Secretes essential hormones: progesterone (stop uterus from contracting), estrogen (increase flow of mother's blood to uterus), prepare breast for nursing
- A
**** What are the two parts of the blastocyst? What develops from each of these?
o Cells inside the blastocysts are called inner cell mass
- Inner cell mass becomes the embryo/fetus
o Outer layer of the blastocysts is called the trophoblast
- Give rise to the amnion and the chorion (from which structures such as placenta and umbilical
**** What happens during the process of gastrulation?
- Inner cells mass of blastocyst differentiates into 3 layers of cells (process of gastrulation)
o Ectoderm: outer layer
- Forms teeth, skin, hair, nervous system
o Mesoderm: middle layer
- Forms muscle, skeleton, circulatory and excretory system
o Endode
** What is organogenesis? When does it occur?
Process of organ formation (major developments of body organs)
- Occurs during embryonic period
** What is meant by the term "age of viability"? What is the "age of viability"?
The age at which a fetus can live outside of the womb (earliest age of possibility of survival)
- 22 to 26 weeks
**** What are teratogens?
Environmental agents that have the potential to cause harm to the organism during prenatal environment
***** Identify and understand the 7 generalizations that can be made about the effects of teratogens
1) Time to exposure: crucial factor in the severity of the effects of a teratogen
In general:
- Before implantation, either no effect or miscarriage (all or nothing)
- Most vulnerable during embryonic period (organ system and body parts are forming)
- Lat
*** What are the 3 criteria used to diagnose Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)?
1) Facial abnormalities
- Thin upper lip, short upper eyelid openings, smooth or flatten philtrum (midline between top lip and nose) (three criteria needed to be diagnosed with FAS)
2) Pre- and/or postnatal growth deficiency
- Usually born small (physical
**** When women experience chronic stress and anxiety during pregnancy, their babies are at risk for various problems. Why does this happen? (2 reasons provided on lecture slides)
1) When stress hormones released, blood flow to the uterus is reduced (blood is sent to other organs), depriving the fetus of oxygen and nutrients
2) Stress hormones cross the placenta and may impact fetal neurological functioning
**** Be familiar with the following terms (as discussed in lecture): low birth weight, small for gestational age (SGA) and preterm babies
- Low birth weight (LBW) defined as < 5.5 lbs., regardless of gestational age (used during pregnancy to describe how far along the pregnancy is)
o At-risk for medical complications and range of other problems including low IQ, over-activity, motor problem
**** When discussing pregnancy loss, what is the difference between miscarriage and still-birth?
- Miscarriage: pregnancy loss BEFORE week 20
- Still-birth: pregnancy loss AFTER week 20
**** What are the two major causes of very early miscarriage?
- Chromosomal abnormalities
- Implantation problems
****
- Distinguish between primitive and survival reflexes
- Describe the three different types of primitive reflexes and have an example in mind for each of these
- Primitive: helped babies survive during the evolutionary past
- Survival: needed for survival
3 types of primitive reflexes
- Type 1: remnants of our evolutionary history, they were adaptive in the past but are no longer essential for survival
- Example
*** What does the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale evaluate and what can it be used for?
- Evaluates the baby's reflexes, muscle tone, state changes, responsiveness to physical and social stimuli and the reactions
- Can be used to help parents get to know their newborns through discussion or demonstration of the capacities these instrument as
**** What is the purpose of the APGAR?
To access the newborn's physical condition and overall health at birth and determine if immediate medical help is needed
**** Identify and understand the 3 major types of learning evident in young infants
1) Classical conditioning
- Difficult to establish in newborns; most likely to occur when it relates to feeding
o Example: Blass et al. (1984) - pairing head stroking with sugar water
- Young infants have difficulty learning negative associations
o Exampl
**** Identify and understand the 3 major paradigms used to study infants' sensory and perceptual capacities
1) Preferential looking paradigm: show infants two stimuli at a time to see which one they prefer
- If look longer at one than the other
o Have a visual preference and thus can visually discriminate between the two stimuli
- If look equally long at both (
****
- What is color perception like in a NEWBORN BABY?
- When does the infant perceive colors across the color spectrum in the same way as an adult?
- Newborns: distinguish some shades from white and prefer colored vs. gray stimuli; due to immature retinal cells (i.e., the cones)
* 2-3 months: similar to adults; colors across entire spectrum
**** What sorts of faces (STATIC) do NEWBORN BABY prefer to look at?
o Newborns prefer faces right side up rather than upside down
o A bias toward patterns with more elements in the upper than lower half
* They prefer right side up rather than upside down because they prefer stimuli with more elements in the upper than low
**** Do newborn infants discriminate between a regular upright face and a top-heavy "scrambled" face?
It depends on whether they are moving or not
- Not moving: no preference, does not discriminate
- Moving: preference for regular upright faces
*** What evidence is there that infants develop a face prototype? (hint: use the monkey face study to illustrate this idea)
Infants gradually develop a face prototype
o Adults, 9- and 6-month-olds discriminate between the two human faces but only the 6-month-olds easily discriminate between the two monkey faces
- Adults and 9-months-olds rely on a detailed prototype of human f
*** What did Campos et al. (1970) find when they lowered 1� month old infants over the shallow vs. deep side of the visual cliff? What do the findings tell us about infant depth perception?
- Heart rate deceleration over deep side but no heart rate change over shallow side
- Infants are able to perceive the difference between shallow and deep side
- Found deep side more interesting
**** Identify the three types of cues that enable us to perceive depth and provide an example of each type of cue
1) Kinetic depth cues
- Example: optical expansion
o An object occludes increasingly more of the background, indicating that the object is approaching
2) Binocular depth cues
- Brain uses degree of CONVERGENCE to help estimate distance
o Convergence: when
What is the order in which the ability to use these depth cues emerges?
1) Kinetic depth cues
2) Binocular depth cues
3) Pictorial depth cues
What is the main difference between the hearing of a newborn and that of an adult?
- Newborns can't hear soft sounds as well as an adult
- Newborns can determine the direction of a sound (auditory localization)
**** What is auditory localization? How does this ability change in the first 4 months of life?
Newborns turn toward sounds
- Turn away from loud aversive noise vs. turn toward softer pleasant noise
- Initially reflexive but by 4 months turn toward sound regardless of intensity (whether loud or soft) (become voluntarily)
*** A speech perception study was discussed in lecture in which infants from English-speaking homes had to discriminate between speech sounds in a foreign language (either Hindi or Salish). What did this study show in terms of age-related changes? What do
- Young infants can initially make discrimination inferences (highest in 6-8 month, become increasingly incentive to sound contrast not made in native language when 8-10 months and 10-12 months)
- We begin life biologically prepared to learn any language,
*** There is evidence that infants prefer their mother's voice over that a female stranger. Briefly describe the Cat in the Hat study and the main results of that study. On the basis of this study, what can we conclude about why infants' more generally de
Decasper and Spence (1986) - mothers read "Cat in the Hat" to their fetuses twice a day for the last six weeks of pregnancy
o Newborns heard mom reading old and new story (had different rhyme and pace)
o Needed to suck faster (or slower) to hear old story
Be familiar with the French study, in which babies were presented with an anise odor - what did they do and what did they find? What does this study tell us about the source of infants' early odor preferences? (see textbook)
- Certain dolor preferences are present at birth
- During pregnancy, the amniotic fluid is rich in tastes and smells that vary with the mother's diet - early experiences that influence newborns's preferences
- In a study carried out in the Alsatian region
What do we mean by cephalocaudal vs. proximodistal patterns of growth?
- Cephalocaudal development: human physical growth occurs from head to toe
- Example: the head and physical development moves gradually downwards
- Proximodistal development: human physical growth occurs from center outward to the extremities
- Example: e
**** Understand the general pattern of height and weight changes over the period birth through adolescence and be aware of any sex differences in this
- Body weight triples and add 10-12 inches in height in first year
- Growth slows in 2nd year and from age 2, steadily gain 2-3 inches in height and 5-6 pounds per year until adolescence
o Girls and boys experience similar growth rate until age 10-12
- Un
What is ossification?
Process of bone formation
**** What are fontanels?
The spaces that separate the cranial bones (bones of the skull that enclose the brain)
- Gaps between the bones gradually get filled in by minerals to form single connect skull
**** How does the composition of the body (i.e., muscle and fat) change over time? Where relevant, also note gender differences in muscle and body fat (see textbook)
Body Fat
- Body fat increases in the last few weeks of prenatal life and continues to do so after birth, reaching a peak at about 9 months of age
- Starting in the second year and continuing into middle childhood, most toddlers slim down
- At birth, girls
**** Describe the role of the pituitary and thyroid glands
Pituitary gland
- Produce growth hormone
- Growth hormone acts directly on body tissues
- Growth hormone also stimulates liver and epithyses to release somatomedin, which triggers cell duplication in bones
- Also secretes hormones that stimulate other gla
*** In very general terms, what are the short-term impacts of early vs. late maturation on adolescent adjustment?
Male
Early maturing boys
- Largely positive short-term impact
- Earlier involvement in "problem" behaviors
Late maturing boys
- Range of negative short term outcomes
Female
Early maturing girl
- A broad range of negative short-term outcomes
Late maturing
*** Why has the age of first menstruation changed so dramatically since the mid-1800's?
o Difference can be attributed to changes in lifestyle and diet
- Increase in fat intake and reduce physical exercise result in increase of proportion of body fat, more fat cells can trigger the onset of puberty
- Better healthcare
- Diets are lean and in
** In boys, early maturation is associated with generally positive adjustment whereas late maturation is associated with negative adjustment. Provide two reasons (as discussed in lecture) for why this is the case
- Physical attractiveness
o Early maturing boys: undesired to admired body type, positive body image
o Late maturing boys: keeps undesired body type
- Fitting in with peers
o Early maturing boys: stands out in a positive way, in synchrony with development
** In girls, early maturation is related to negative adjustment and late maturation either has no impact or is linked with positive adjustment. Provide two reasons (as discussed in lecture) for why this is the case
- Physical attractiveness
o Early maturing girl: moves from desired to undesired body
o Late maturing girl: retains desired body
- Fitting in with peers
o Early maturing girl: stands out
o Late maturing girl: does not stand out as she develop as similar r