Deck 5: Cognitive Development and the Innateness Issue

Question 1

If we were to find out that differences among people were entirely environmental, would this show that genes are unimportant in development?

A) Yes because it shows that people are entirely shaped by the environment
B) Yes because it shows the importance of nurture over nature
C) No because genes could still account for similarities among people
D) No because nature and nurture are not separate entities

Answer 1

No because genes could still account for similarities among people

Question 2

According to Baron-Cohen (2002) which of the following requires systemizing?

A) Recognising faces
B) Understanding mathematical systems
C) Understanding emotional states
D) Understanding what people think

Answer 2

Understanding mathematical systems

Question 3

According to Karmiloff-smith, domain specific mental modules represent...

A) The starting point and the end point of development
B) Neither the starting point of development nor the end point
C) An end point of development rather than the starting point
D) The starting point of development rather than the end point

Answer 3

An end point of development rather than the starting point

Question 4

According to Johnson & Morton (1991), for babies, learning about faces involves:

A) Imprinting and learning
B) Domain specificity and learning
C) Domain specificity and imprinting
D) Conspec and conlearn

Question 5

If learning can be shown to occur during a particular period but never before or after this period, we call this:

A) Imprinting
B) A crucial period
C) A sensitive period
D) A critical period

Question 6

Karmiloff-Smith suggests that the notion that children are born with innate modules has been:

A) Overstated
B) Understated
C) Supported by all the available evidence
D) Unsupported by all the available evidence

Question 7

Tager-Flusberg and Sullivan (2000) suggest people with Williams syndrome have:

A) Preserved social cognition but impaired social perception
B) Impaired social cognition but preserved social perception
C) Impaired social cognition and impaired social perception
D) Preserved social cognition and preserved social perception

Question 8

Technically, what is heritability?

A) The probability that a particular trait is inherited by a person
B) The proportion of variation within population of a particular trait due to genes
C) The proportion of a particular trait that is inherited due to sexual recombination
D) The extent to which particular traits are explainable via nature rather than nurture

Question 9

Piaget's notion of the interaction between incoming information and the knowledge structures we possess has been labelled:

A) Programming
B) Imprinting
C) Constructivism
D) Cortical plasticity

Question 10

The technique that allows particular brain regions to be temporarily 'knocked out' is known as

A) Magneto Encephalopathy
B) Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
C) Ablation
D) Temporary Induced Haematoma

Question 11

According to Temple Grandin, compared to clinically normal individuals, people with autism have cognitions that are more similar to what?

A) Non-human animals
B) Children
C) Ancestral humans
D) People with Prada-Willi syndrome

Question 12

The knowledge that an object continues to exist independently of your ability to perceive it is known as:

A) Object permanence
B) Theory of Mind
C) Concrete operations
D) Formal operations

Question 13

If a trait develops later in life, which of the following can we dismiss

A) The trait is learned
B) The trait is produced by environment
C) The trait is innate
D) None of the above

Question 14

What is the crucial diagnostic difference between autism and Asperger syndrome?

A) Asperger syndrome shows higher IQ than autism
B) Autism has higher IQ than Asperger syndrome
C) Autism has no delay in language acquisition, autism does
D) Asperger syndrome has no delay in language acquisition, autism does

Question 15

Clinically normal children generally become capable of passing the deceptive box (Smarties) Theory of Mind test when they turn:

A) One year
B) Two years
C) Four years
D) Six years

Question 16

Habituation means:

A) Learning not to attend to a stimulus
B) Learning to attend to a stimulus
C) Becoming imprinted
D) Learning a habit

Question 17

What did the research of Ruffman, Perner, Naito, Parkin and Clements (1998) show to be true about theory of mind and siblings?

A) Children with younger siblings tend to develop theory of mind earlier
B) Only children develop theory of mind earlier
C) Children with older siblings tend to develop theory of mind earlier
D) Siblings have no effect on the age at which children develop theory of mind

Question 18

According to Baron-Cohen's (2002) which of the following is true?

A) Females are better at systemizing, males better at empathizing
B) Males are better at systemizing, females better at empathizing
C) People with autism are better at empathizing than systemizing
D) People with Williams syndrome are better at systemizing than empathizing

Question 19

What is the typical cognitive profile of someone with Williams syndrome?

A) Deficits in spatial cognition with language and theory of mind preserved
B) Deficits in language with spatial cognition and theory of mind preserved
C) Deficits in spatial cognition and language with theory of mind preserved
D) Deficits in theory of mind with language and spatial cognition preserved

Question 20

Whiten and Byrne call the ability to manipulate and deceive others:

A) Emotional intelligence
B) Multiple intelligence
C) Machiavellian intelligence
D) Manipulative intelligence