Download short answer questions sample answers

Short answer questions key. Note, that this key was compiled from answers some students
in the class actually wrote down during this exam. Therefore, these are examples of what
was deemed a really good answer for each question.
1. Can infants learn in the womb? Describe one study that investigated this question.
What did the authors do (1 point)? What did the authors find (1 point)? How did
the authors interpret their findings (1 point)?
a. Answer1: Yes. Researchers played two syllables: “babi” next to the
mother’s abdomen and then checked for interest. The baby turned towards
the sound and had a decrease in heart rate which was interpreted as
interest. The fetus was habituated to the two syllables until the heart rate
did not change anymore (did not decrease when the sounds were played,
signaling habituation with the sound). Next, the researchers played the
syllables again, but this time in the opposite order: “biba” and the fetus
turned toward the sound and had a decrease in heart rate, suggesting that
it had learned the first combination of syllables and could discern that the
second combination was different.
b. Answer2: Yes, infants can learn in the womb. DeCasper did a study where
he had mothers read one of three Dr. Seuss stories during their last few
weeks of pregnancy repeatedly. Once the baby was born, they measured
their baseline sucking rate and then when the baby either sucked above or
below the baseline they got to hear their mother’s voice reading the
familiar story. When their sucking rate went into the opposite direction,
they got to hear a different story. What the researchers found was that the
babies sucked at the appropriate rate to hear their mother reading the
familiar story. They interpreted these findings to mean that learning
occurs prenatally because babies remembered and preferred the familiar
story.
2. The article you read by Patricia Rodier discusses the origins of autism. What is
autism (1 point)? When and how does autism originate; identify one potential
cause (1 point)? How have researchers studied the causes of autism; provide one
example (1 point)?
a. Answer1: Autism is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by
cognitive deficits, inability to recognize emotions and facial expressions,
and persistence on certain tasks. There is evidence to suggest that autism
develops really early in the developmental stages, even before a mother
even knows she is pregnant. Studies have found that autism is a result of
the interaction of many different genes (polygenetic disorder). One study,
for example, found similarities between the brain of a woman with autism
and the brains of genetically engineered, knock out mice. They found
structural differences (e.g. shorter brain stems, absence of superior olive
and smaller facial nucleus) and linked these differences to the absence of
the HOXA1 gene (knocked out in the altered mice). Although the HOXA1
gene was found to be involved in autism, it is definitely not the only gene
responsible for the disorder.
b. Answer2: Autism is defined by an individual’s inability to interpret other
people’s emotions, by his or her lack of social skills, and by their
repeated and difficult to control fixation on an object or action. One
potential cause of autism is exposure to a teratogen called Thalidomide
sensitive developmental stages (usually between 20-24 days of prenatal
development). Researchers have studied physical abnormalities
(specifically facial features) of autistic children and have concluded that
such events occurred early in embryonic development. Also, researchers
have compared normal brain structures with brain structures from brains
of people with autism, and recently have started screening genetic
mutations of the HOXA 1 gene. Brain samples have shown that those with
autism are born with an altered cerebellum with plays a (not the) role in
autism onset.
3. How do genes and the environment interact to produce development? Describe,
and provide an example of, 3 heredity-environment interactions (1 point each).
a. Answer1: Genes and the environment both play a role in development and
three interactions between the two include active, evocative and passive
interactions. A passive interaction occurs when the parent has good genes
for a specific trait and then encourages their children’s participation in
similar activities, such as when an athletic parent will put their child in
athletic classes. An evocative interaction occurs when a child’s genes
create a temperament and a way of being which influences the ways in
which their environment reacts to them. An example is when pleasant and
happy babies smile a lot, and adults, in turn, give them a lot of attention.
An active interaction occurs when children have genes that allow them to
be good at certain activities and they actively seek such activities, such as
when a musically inclined child signs up for music electives.
4. Describe the “visual cliff” and what it measures (1 point). How did infants
perform on the visual cliff in Gibson and Walk’s study (1 point)? According to
Gibson and Walk when will a seeing animal discriminate depth (1 point)?
a. Answer1: The visual cliff is a manipulated device that presents the illusion
of a shallow surface on one side and a deep drop on the other side. The
visual cliff measures depth perception, and Gibson and Walk were able to
create it by using a checkered pattern close to a piece of lass on one side
and placing the patter lower on the other side. When infants were placed
on a board in between the two sides they showed that they had depth
perception by gladly going onto the shallow side when being called by
their mothers in that direction, but showed hesitation and frustration when
being called to the deep side. Babies would tap the glass but would still
not move onto the deep side despite knowledge of the solid surface.
According to Gibson and Walk, a seeing animal will discriminate depth
when they achieve locomotion and begin to navigate independently.
5. Do young infants possess object permanence? Describe one study that challenged
Piaget’s claims regarding object permanence. What did the author(s) do (1 point)?
What did the author(s) find (1 point)? How did the author(s) interpret their
findings with respect to Piaget’s claims (1 point)?
a. Answer1: Yes, young infants possess object permanence. There was a
study done to challenge Piaget’s claims. They use a rotating board in
front of the infant. There were 3 scenes made. One was the revolving
(rotating) board going up (back) and forth. The authors saw that the child
didn’t find this interesting. Then the board was blocked by some object,
and the board stopped its rotation when it reached the obstruction. This
was also uninteresting to the infant. But when the rotating board appeared
to “go through” the obstruction, infants showed interest, showing they
had object permanence. The authors disproved Piaget’s claims because
they showed object permanence even younger than Piaget claimed without
experience by acting on the world.
6. Describe the difference between continuous and discontinuous development (1
point). Identify and discuss how one of the theories that we learned about claims
that development is discontinuous (1 point). Identify and discuss how another
theory that we learned about claims that development is continuous (1 point).
a. Answer1: Continuous development states that child development is a
gradual process, like the growth of a tree, and cognitive skills are being
added on and developing. Older children are just more complex and
developed version of younger children. Discontinuous development claims
children develop in stages, like a caterpillar that grows into a butterfly.
Children are completely different at each developing stage. Piaget’s
cognitive theory of development claims that children go through four
stages (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal
operational), and he believes these stages are universal and produce new
ways of thinking about the world. Information processing theory claims
that development is continuous and capacities are limited at first but
develop over time (like a computer who receives new information).
Information processing focuses on continuous developments in attention,
knowledge, memory, and speed of processing.