Question 1

Which of the following pairs are examples of fine-motor activities?

Accepted Answer

Fine-motor activities involve the use of small muscles, such as those in the hands and fingers, to perform precise actions. Reaching and grasping involve these small muscles and require precise movements, making them examples of fine-motor activities. Sitting, crawling, standing, and walking involve larger muscle groups and are examples of gross-motor activities.

Question 2

Baby Rolf first demonstrated the ability to kick and reach, then learned to rock on all fours, and later combined the skills to crawl. Rolf is exhibiting evidence of

Accepted Answer

The dynamic systems theory of motor development suggests that motor development occurs through the interaction of multiple systems, including the nervous system, musculoskeletal system, and environmental factors. As Rolf demonstrates the ability to combine and sequence motor skills to achieve specific goals, such as crawling, he is exhibiting evidence of the dynamic systems theory. The cephalocaudal and proximodistal trends both refer to the order in which motor skills develop, with the former referring to the trend for development to begin at the head and move downward, and the latter referring to the trend for development to begin at the center of the body and move outward. A built-in maturational timetable suggests that development occurs in a predetermined sequence and timeline, which is not consistent with the evidence presented in this scenario.

Question 3

Which of the following statements is true about the sequence of motor development?

Accepted Answer

Motor skills are interrelated, each is a product of earlier motor attainments. This means that a child's ability to reach for an object is related to their ability to crawl, stand, and walk. The development of one skill is dependent on the development of the preceding skills. Therefore, the ability to crawl is a prerequisite for the ability to stand and walk. However, the timing of when each skill develops can vary from one child to another.

Question 4

Reaching is largely controlled by

Accepted Answer

Reaching is largely controlled by proprioception, which is the sense of the relative position of nearby parts of the body and the effort and force being employed in movement. While vision and depth perception may assist with reaching, it is primarily guided by proprioceptive feedback. Gross-motor development may play a role in the ability to coordinate reaching movements, but it is not the primary control mechanism.

Question 5

Which of the following infants is the most likely to engage in a game of pat-a-cake with a caregiver?

Accepted Answer

Infants typically start to engage in simple interactive games like pat-a-cake around 9 to 12 months of age, when they have developed the necessary motor skills and social engagement abilities. At 10 months, Zeb would be in the ideal age range for beginning to enjoy and participate in such activities.

Question 6

Microgenetic research by James Galloway and Esther Thelen shows that

Accepted Answer

Galloway and Thelen's microgenetic research showed that infants reach for objects with their feet before they reach for objects with their hands. This challenges the traditional notion that hand development precedes foot development in infants.

Question 7

Newborn Alexia makes poorly coordinated swipes toward an object in front of her. Alexia is demonstrating

Accepted Answer

Prereaching is the earliest stage of reaching where infants make poorly coordinated swipes towards an object without making contact. This is evident in newborn Alexia's behavior. The ulnar grasp and pincer grasp refers to the development of hand skills and occur later in infancy. Voluntary reaching involves intentional attempts to reach and grasp objects, which is not yet evident in newborns.

Question 8

Kipsigis and Jamaican infants walk considerably earlier than North American infants because

Accepted Answer

Kipsigis and Jamaican infants walk earlier primarily because their parents engage in practices that encourage early walking, such as providing more opportunities for exercise and engaging in activities that promote the development of relevant motor skills.

Question 9

Which of the following motor achievements, on average, occurs last?

Accepted Answer

Sitting alone typically occurs between 6-8 months, which is later than grasping a cube (4-5 months), rolling from back to side (4-5 months), and rolling from side to back (5-6 months). Therefore, option B is the correct answer as it is the achievement that occurs last on average.

Question 10

Twelve-month-old Britney picks up a raisin from the table. Britney is most likely using

Accepted Answer

The pincer grasp involves the use of the index finger and thumb to pick up small objects, and typically develops between 9-12 months of age. This means that Britney is most likely using the pincer grasp since she is 12 months old and picking up a small object.

Question 11

According to dynamic systems theory of motor development, each new skill is a joint product of central nervous system development, the body's movement capacities, the child's goals, and

Accepted Answer

Environmental supports, such as opportunities for practice, feedback, and modeling, are essential for the acquisition of new motor skills. However, the other factors listed (cognitive development, social relationships, and age) also play a role in motor development, so they are not the best choice to complete the sentence.

Question 12

Three-month-old Royal holds his rattle and shakes it. He is most likely using

Accepted Answer

The ulnar grasp is when a baby uses their whole hand to grasp an object, and is common around three months of age. The pincer grasp involves using the thumb and forefinger, and typically develops around eight to ten months. Gross-motor skills refer to larger movements involving the whole body, whereas shaking a rattle is a fine-motor skill. Prereaching is when a baby makes swiping motions towards an object, but does not grasp it yet.

Question 13

To find out how infants acquire motor capacities, researchers conduct

Accepted Answer

Microgenetic studies involve close observation of developmental changes in a short period of time, which is ideal for studying how infants acquire motor capabilities. Field experiments involve manipulating variables in a natural setting, ethnographic studies involve observing and analyzing cultural behavior, and natural experiments involve comparing naturally occurring groups or situations.

Question 14

Dynamic systems theory provides convincing evidence that motor skill behaviors are

Accepted Answer

Dynamic systems theory suggests that motor skills are not predetermined by genetics or a maturational timetable. Rather, they are softly assembled through interaction of various factors including environment, perception, motivation, and cognition.

Question 15

Of all motor skills, __________ may play the greatest role in infant cognitive development.

Accepted Answer

Reaching is a precursor to grasping, which allows infants to manipulate objects and explore their environment. This promotes cognitive development by helping infants understand cause and effect, object permanence, and spatial relationships.

Question 16

Early __________ behaviors suggest that infants are biologically prepared to coordinate hand with eye in the act of exploring.

Accepted Answer

Prereaching behaviors, such as swiping motions and arm extensions towards objects of interest, are thought to reflect the infant's innate ability to coordinate eye and hand movements for exploration. Ulnar grasping and pincer grasping refer to the development of specific grip styles, while visual acuity refers to the clarity and sharpness of vision which may enable exploration but is not directly related to hand-eye coordination.

Question 17

In Wayne Dennis's research, Iranian babies who spent their days lying on their backs

Accepted Answer

Iranian babies who spent their days lying on their backs typically scooted in a sitting position rather than crawled on their hands and knees when they first moved on their own.

Question 18

Ninety percent of infants will crawl between _____ months.

Accepted Answer

Most infants begin to crawl between 5 to 11 months, with 90% achieving this milestone within this range.

Question 19

Babies' motor achievements have a powerful effect on their

Accepted Answer

Babies' motor achievements, such as crawling or walking, allow them to interact more with the world around them and with other people, leading to the development of social relationships. While motor achievements may also have some impact on visual acuity, sleep-wake cycle, and development novelty preference, their effect on social relationships is the most powerful.

Question 20

Motor skills

Accepted Answer

Motor skills develop in highly individualized ways and can be influenced by a variety of factors such as genetics, environment, and experience. While there may be typical developmental milestones for different age ranges, the rate and style of development can vary greatly between individuals. There is also no evidence to suggest that motor skill development follows a strict and predetermined pattern, such as cephalocaudal development (from head to toe).

Quiz 4: Infancy: Early Learning, Motor Skills, and Perceptual Capacities