Q&A Hero

Q: Which of the following children can likely dress and undress without supervision? A)Shang, who is 2 years old B)Penelope, who is 3 years old C)Jason, who is 3½ years old D)Lillian, who is 4 years old

Q: Most 5- to 6-year-olds learn how to A)use scissors. B)gallop and skip with one foot. C)draw a person with six parts. D)catch a ball against their chest.

Q: Caitlyn, age 4, can probably A)tie her shoes. B)ride a bicycle with training wheels. C)draw a person with six parts. D)use a fork effectively.

Q: Harvey, age 3, can probably A)gallop and skip with one foot. B)copy some numbers and simple words. C)zip and unzip large zippers. D)ride a tricycle rapidly and steer smoothly.

Q: Between the ages of 2 and 3 years, most children learn how to A)push a riding toy with their feet. B)use a knife to cut soft foods. C)tie their shoes. D)pedal and steer a tricycle.

Q: As children's bodies become more streamlined and less top-heavy, A)balance improves greatly. B)their center of gravity shifts upward. C)gross-motor development slows. D)fine-motor development slows.

Q: When it comes to injury prevention, American parents A)more often teach safety rules to their preschoolers as an advance preventive rather than a reaction to unsafe behaviors. B)seem willing to ignore familiar safety practices, perhaps because of the high value they place on personal freedom. C)take more safety precautions than parents in other industrialized nations. D)place a high value on the use of safety devices, such as bicycle helmets, booster seats, and fire extinguishers.

Q: Which of the following statements about preventing childhood injury is true? A)During the past several decades, parents have changed a great deal in how much they do to protect their children from injury. B)In the United States, 84 percent of infant seats and 40 percent of child booster seats are improperly used. C)In the United States, 12 percent of parents fail to place their children in car safety seats. D)Young children properly restrained in car safety seats have a 50 percent reduced risk of fatal injury.

Q: __________ are at greater risk for injury than __________. A)Three- to 5-year-old girls; 3- to 5-year-old boys B)Children with easy temperaments; irritable children C)Middle-SES children; low-SES children D)U.S. children from advantaged families; children in Western Europe

Q: Childhood injuries A)are typically "accidental" and usually cannot be prevented. B)occur within a complex ecological system and can often be prevented. C)rank second only to cancer as a cause of childhood mortality in industrialized nations. D)are less common in the United States than in other industrialized nations.

Q: In the United States, __________ is/are the most frequent source of childhood injury. A)burns B)falls C)being struck by an object D)motor vehicle collisions

Q: __________ are the leading cause of childhood mortality in industrialized nations. A)Carcinogens B)Unintentional injuries C)Birth defects D)Infectious diseases

Q: Which of the following statements about otitis media is true? A)Plastic tubes that drain the Eustachian tubes often are used to treat chronic otitis media in children. B)Compared with children remaining at home, otitis media occurs less often in children who attend child-care centers. C)Only about 20 percent of U.S. children have experienced three or more bouts of otitis media. D)The incidence of otitis media is greatest between 3 and 5 years.

Q: Three-year-old Billy caught five colds during his first year in preschool. He also experienced repeated otitis media. If Billy is like other children with frequent otitis media, he may have trouble A)attending to others' speech. B)falling and staying asleep. C)mastering large motor skills, such as running and climbing. D)identifying the letters of the alphabet.

Q: Which of the following statements about childhood immunizations is true? A)The United States is ahead of Australia, Denmark, Norway, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom in immunization rates. B)Overall, 17 percent of U.S. preschoolers lack essential immunizations, and the rate rises to 22 percent for poverty-stricken children. C)Nearly 100 percent of U.S. children who receive a complete schedule of vaccinations in the first two years continue to receive the immunizations they need later, in early childhood. D)Disease outbreaks of whooping cough and rubella have not occurred in the United States since the development of vaccines for these diseases.

Q: Which of the following children is most likely to lack immunizations? A)Emma, who is from the United States B)Kristen, who is from Canada C)Nigel, who is from the United Kingdom D)Elsa, who is from Sweden

Q: In industrialized nations, childhood diseases have declined dramatically during the past half century, largely as a result of A)generous government nutrition programs. B)government-funded health care. C)widespread immunization of infants and young children. D)a reduction in the number of viral and bacterial infections worldwide.

Q: Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) and zinc supplement interventions A)are effective for children with severe diarrhea, but they are expensive to administer. B)must be administered by trained medical professionals or public health workers. C)save the lives of millions of children each year. D)are less effective than immunization in preventing childhood deaths due to diarrhea.

Q: In developing countries, A)vaccines weaken the immune system and children's susceptibility to disease. B)most childhood deaths due to diarrhea can be prevented with oral rehydration therapy (ORT). C)most children receive government-funded immunizations. D)widespread diarrhea leads to growth stunting but rarely to death.

Q: In developing countries, widespread __________, resulting from unsafe water and contaminated foods, leads to growth stunting and an estimated one million childhood deaths each year. A)diarrhea B)scurvy C)rubella D)tuberculosis

Q: Poor diet A)is not a major contributor to susceptibility to childhood diseases. B)is usually unrelated to childhood illnesses such as measles and chicken pox. C)depresses the body's immune system, making children more susceptible to disease. D)can cause childhood illnesses such as measles and chicken pox.

Q: Illnesses such as measles and chicken pox A)typically do not appear until after age 3 throughout the world. B)occur at about the same rate in all countries. C)have been eradicated through mass immunization. D)occur much earlier in developing nations than in industrialized nations.

Q: Which of the following statements about nutrition in the United States is true? A)By the school years, low-SES U.S. children are, on average, about ½ to 1 inch shorter than their economically advantaged counterparts. B)Unlike children in developing countries, few children in the United States lack access to sufficient high-quality food to support healthy growth. C)Because food products in the United States are vitamin fortified, children no longer suffer from vitamin A, calcium, zinc, or vitamin C deficiencies. D)Parents who restrict their preschool children's eating decrease the likelihood that the children will be overweight or obese in adolescence.

Q: Sophia's parents will not allow her to eat any sugary foods. This practice will most likely A)prompt Sophia to eat more healthy foods. B)have no effect on Sophia's eating behavior. C)focus Sophia's attention on sugary foods. D)decrease Sophia's desire to eat sugary foods.

Q: During the preschool years, A)children usually eat the same amount of food during each meal. B)children can tolerate more fats, oils, and salt. C)it is common for children's appetite to increase. D)the emotional climate at mealtimes has a powerful impact on eating habits.

Q: Which of the following statements is supported by research on nutrition? A)Restricting access to tasty foods is an effective way to get young children to eat healthy foods. B)Adding salt or sugar is an easy way to get children to eat healthy foods. C)Offering bribes is an effective way to get preschoolers to eat healthy foods. D)Offering children sweet fruit drinks or soft drinks promotes "milk avoidance."

Q: Brianna, age 4, eats only pasta, bread, and chicken. Which of the following would you suggest to Brianna's parents to encourage their daughter to eat new foods? A)Serve her only new foods so that she has no other choices. B)Repeatedly expose her to new foods without any direct pressure to eat them. C)Add sugar or butter to new foods, and offer dessert if she eats them. D)Refuse to serve pasta until she tries at least one new food.

Q: Which of the following statements about appetite in early childhood is true? A)Preschoolers' appetites increase because their growth is at an all-time high. B)Parents should be concerned if their preschooler varies the amount eaten from meal to meal. C)Preschoolers' wariness of new foods is adaptive. D)Preschoolers need a different quality of food than adults need.

Q: Research on sleep demonstrates that A)most American parents cosleep with their children into the preschool years. B)sleepwalking in early childhood often signals a severe neurological problem. C)parent-child cosleeping is associated with sleep disorders during the preschool years. D)sleep terrors can be triggered by stress or extreme fatigue.

Q: Which of the following may be a reason that disrupted sleep has a more pronounced effect on the cognitive functioning and emotional adjustment of low-SES children? A)Low-SES children are less likely to cosleep, which harms their sense of security while asleep. B)Insufficient sleep heightens the impact of other environmental stressors prevalent in their daily lives. C)Low-SES children do not take regular naps, so disrupted nighttime sleep is more harmful to them. D)Disrupted sleep cycles cause children's cortisol levels to rise, which is particularly harmful in low-SES children.

Q: Which of the following 3-year-olds is most likely to share a bedroom with a sibling? A)Dante, who is African American B)Ruby, who is Hispanic C)Jacob, who is Caucasian D)Jing, who is Asian American

Q: Sleep contributes to body growth because A)growth hormone (GH) is released during the child's sleeping hours. B)rest allows the awake body to produce GH at higher levels. C)rest allows the awake body to produce thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) at higher levels. D)REM sleep heightens the impact of environmental events.

Q: When young children with psychosocial dwarfism are removed from their emotionally inadequate environments, A)their dwarfism is permanent, even with immediate treatment. B)they rarely exhibit catch-up growth. C)they must be given high levels of iron to prevent anemia. D)their growth hormone (GH) levels quickly return to normal and they grow rapidly.

Q: Dmitri, age 5, suffers from extreme emotional deprivation. He is very short in stature, shows decreased secretion of growth hormone (GH) and melatonin, has an immature skeletal age, and displays serious adjustment problems. These are typical characteristics of A)a vitamin C deficiency. B)psychosocial dwarfism. C)inadequate thyroxine. D)an iron deficiency.

Q: Without medical intervention, children who suffer from __________ reach an average mature height of only 4 to 4½ feet. A)growth hormone (GH) deficiency B)estrogen deficiency C)inadequate thyroxine D)thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) deficiency

Q: The __________ plays a critical role in the rate of physical growth. A)pituitary gland B)hippocampus C)reticular formation D)corpus callosum

Q: Research on lead exposure during childhood reveals that A)middle-SES children are more likely than low-SES children to experience lead exposure. B)use of iron and zinc supplements increases lead concentration in the blood. C)persistent childhood lead exposure is linked to diabetes in adulthood. D)a stressed, disorganized home life seems to heighten lead-induced damage.

Q: Which of the following statements is supported by research on lead exposure during childhood? A)Overall, poorer intelligence test scores associated with lead exposure seem to be permanent. B)Lead-exposed children given drugs to induce excretion of lead improve in long-term outcomes. C)Once lead-exposed children move away from contaminated areas, their intelligence test scores increase. D)Negative lead-related cognitive consequences are evident only at high levels of exposure.

Q: Which of the following is a function of the corpus callosum? A)It plays a central role in processing of novelty and emotional information. B)It creates a link between the right cerebral hemisphere and the hippocampus. C)It generates synapses and myelinates throughout early childhood and into adolescence. D)It supports smooth coordination of movements on both sides of the body.

Q: The amygdala A)supports smooth coordination of movements on both sides of the body. B)plays a vital role in memory and in images of space that help us find our way. C)aids in balance and control of body movement. D)is sensitive to facial emotional expressions, especially fear.

Q: Neurons in the __________ send out fibers to the prefrontal cortex, contributing to improvements in sustained, controlled attention. A)cerebellum B)hippocampus C)reticular formation D)corpus callosum

Q: The hippocampus plays a vital role in A)balance. B)consciousness. C)control of body movement. D)memory.

Q: The reticular formation is located in the A)brain stem. B)prefrontal cortex. C)temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex. D)left hemisphere of the brain.

Q: Growth and myelination of fibers linking the cerebellum to the cerebral cortex contributes to __________ in early childhood. A)a strong hand preference B)suppression of impulses in favor of thoughtful responses C)dramatic gains in motor coordination D)dramatic gains in spatial skills

Q: Which of the following statements regarding handedness is true? A)For the majority of individuals, handedness is inherited from the mother's side of the family. B)Ordinary siblings are more likely than identical or fraternal twins to differ in hand preference. C)Rates of left-handedness are elevated among people with intellectual disabilities and mental illness. D)Right-handed children are more likely to develop outstanding verbal and mathematical talents.

Q: Felicity and Samantha are identical twins. They are A)probably both right-handed. B)more likely than ordinary siblings to differ in hand preference. C)probably both left-handed. D)less likely than fraternal twins to differ in hand preference.

Q: Jim sometimes uses his right hand skillfully, but he prefers his left hand. Jim A)is ambidextrous. B)has a strongly lateralized brain. C)is very likely to have left-handed children. D)probably had early damage to the left hemisphere.

Q: For the left-handed 10 percent of the population, language is A)always housed in the right hemisphere. B)always housed in the left hemisphere. C)most often housed in the right hemisphere. D)most often shared between the hemispheres.

Q: Handedness A)reflects the greater capacity of one side of the brain to carry out skilled motor action. B)is evident in a wide range of skills from birth. C)is a heritable trait, especially for left-handed people. D)is strongest for simple, rather than complex, skills.

Q: Which of the following skills develops at the fastest pace during early childhood? A)giving directions B)drawing pictures C)recognizing geometric shapes D)using language

Q: For most children, A)activity in the left hemisphere increases slowly throughout early and middle childhood. B)activity in the left hemisphere peaks between 1 and 3 years and decreases slowly. C)the left hemisphere is especially active between 3 and 6 years and then levels off. D)activity in the right hemisphere increases dramatically between ages 2 and 6.

Q: An __________ of __________ during early childhood supports plasticity of the young brain, helping to ensure the child will acquire certain abilities even if some areas are damaged. A)underproduction; neurons B)underproduction; synapses C)overproduction; neurons D)overabundance; synaptic connections

Q: By age 4 to 5, A)preschoolers show declines in sustained attention. B)the number of synapses in the prefrontal cortex is nearly double the adult value. C)energy metabolism in the cerebral cortex is at an all-time low. D)synaptic pruning decreases sharply, reaching an adultlike level.

Q: Between ages 2 and 6, A)the brain increases from 40 percent of its adult weight to 60 percent. B)synaptic pruning slows or ends in many parts of the cerebral cortex. C)energy consumption of most cortical regions diminishes to near-adult levels. D)the brain increases from 70 percent of its adult weight to 90 percent.

Q: Which of the following U.S. children is most likely to get his or her permanent teeth first? A)Brooke, an obese girl B)Malik, an undernourished boy C)Jack, a well-nourished boy of average weight D)Sasha, an undernourished girl

Q: X-rays of epiphyses enable doctors to estimate children's A)adult weight. B)loss of baby teeth. C)brain development. D)skeletal age.

Q: Growth norms A)for one population are not good standards for children elsewhere in the world. B)are very similar for children in every country of the world. C)vary from child to child in each population. D)are the best estimate of skeletal age.

Q: During early childhood, boys __________ than girls. A)are less muscular B)are slightly larger C)have more body fat D)are slightly smaller

Q: Which of the following statements about body growth in early childhood is true? A)On average, children add 1 to 2 inches in height and about 3 pounds in weight each year. B)Children add "baby fat" and gradually become heavier and more muscular. C)By age 5, children become more top-heavy, bowlegged, and potbellied. D)The rapid increase in body size of the first two years tapers off into a slower growth pattern.

Q: The years from 2 to 6 are often called "the __________ years." A)play B)growth C)beginning D)me

Q: Discuss the involvement of fathers as it relates to attachment security. How do mothers and fathers differ in their caregiving?

Q: Describe Bowlby's four phases of attachment.

Q: Describe how living in a family with siblings might have an influence on a child's temperament.

Q: Using Thomas and Chess's model of temperament, identify and describe the three categories of children. Do all children fit into one of these categories? Explain.

Q: Describe the development of anger in infants, and explain why angry reactions increase with age.

Q: Describe Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory as it applies to the development of infant and toddler personality.

Q: Children whose parents __________ typically do well in delaying gratification. A)alternate using threats and bribes B)encourage selective and sustained attention C)emphasize independence and autonomy from an early age D)provide long, detailed reasons for waiting

Q: Two-year-old Aisha tells her mom, "I good girl." This statement demonstrates that Aisha is beginning to develop A)a categorical self. B)empathy. C)self-conscious emotions. D)scale errors.

Q: Ahmed, age 2, gives his favorite stuffed toy to his little brother when his brother falls down and starts to cry. Ahmed is displaying A)an internal working model. B)empathy. C)a categorical self. D)social referencing.

Q: When asked to push a wagon while standing on a towel attached to its rear axle, 21-month-old Maximus figures out that if he removes himself from the towel, the wagon will move. Maximus is displaying A)effortful control. B)an implicit sense of self-world differentiation. C)a categorical self. D)an explicit body self-awareness.

Q: Which of the following children, when placed in front of a mirror, is most likely to respond to the appearance of a red dot on his or her nose by touching or rubbing his or her nose? A)Reggie, an 8-month-old boy B)Melik, a 12-month-old boy C)Isabella, a 16-month-old girl D)Jayla, a 21-month-old girl

Q: Emmett, age 4 months, looks and smiles more at video images of others than video images of himself. This discrimination reflects an A)explicit sense of self-world differentiation. B)internal working model. C)implicit sense of self-world differentiation. D)external working model.

Q: Newborn Uli displays a stronger rooting reflex in response to an adult's finger touching her cheek than to her own hand touching her cheek. This finding demonstrates that Uli has the beginnings of A)self-awareness. B)effortful control. C)an internal working model. D)emotional self-regulation.

Q: Which of the following statements about attachment and later development is true? A)A child whose parental caregiving improves can bounce back from adversity. B)A child who experiences a secure attachment in infancy maintains that style, regardless of caregiving. C)By the end of early childhood, nearly 90 percent of U.S. children are securely attached to a caregiver. D)An insecure attachment in infancy almost always leads to severe behavior problems in childhood.

Q: Mounting evidence indicates that __________ determines whether attachment security is linked to later development. A)child temperament B)heredity C)continuity of caregiving D)family size

Q: Peer sociability is A)not present in the first two years. B)promoted by the early caregiver-child bond. C)extremely delayed in only children. D)delayed in children who spend time in child care.

Q: __________ is related to positive sibling interaction. A)High emotional intensity in one sibling B)Maternal warmth toward both children C)High physical activity in one sibling D)Lack of maternal involvement

Q: Which of the following statements about grandparents who are primary caregivers is true? A)Warm grandparent-grandchild bonds help protect children from worsening adjustment problems, even under conditions of great hardship. B)Less than 1 percent of the U.S. child population live with their grandparents but apart from parents. C)Grandparents in Caucasian families are more likely to serve as children's primary caregivers than grandparents in other ethnic groups. D)Grandparent caregivers rarely forge significant attachment relationships with their grandchildren.

Q: Many grandparent caregivers report feeling A)overjoyed to receive a second chance to raise children. B)unworried about what will happen to the child. C)emotionally drained and depressed. D)animosity toward their adult child for "shirking responsibility."

Q: Nearly 2.4 million U.S. children live with their grandparents but apart from parents, in so-called A)"non-traditional nuclear families." B)skipped-generation families. C)fractured households. D)extended-family households.