W05 Motor Development

1. What do developmental researchers like Thelen (1984) suggest about why the stepping reflex disappears and later reappears as voluntary walking?

• The reflex fades because it serves no purpose after early infancy.

• It disappears as the brain suppresses automatic movements until walking begins.

• The reflex is masked by changes in body weight and muscle strength before being reorganized into intentional stepping.

• It reappears only in cultures where infants are given daily exercise or massage.

2. Why does the dynamic systems approach argue that the development of skills like walking cannot be explained by brain maturation alone?

• Because the brain develops faster than other systems.

• Because motor skills emerge from interactions among neural activity, body growth, motivation, and environmental feedback.

• Because infants are genetically programmed to move in fixed stages.

• Because sensory systems develop before the motor cortex.

3. What key finding from Adolph et al.’s (1993) study with slopes best supports the idea of the specificity of motor learning?

• Infants transfer knowledge about safe slopes from crawling to walking.

• Each new posture requires infants to relearn how to perceive environmental risks.

• Infants rely solely on visual depth cues regardless of motor experience.

• Experience in one motor domain automatically improves perceptual accuracy in all others.

4. Why do we have a brain, according to the perspective introduced in the Motor Development lecture?

• Primarily to store memories and process language.

• To perceive the world and think abstractly.

• To regulate automatic biological functions like heart rate only.

• To produce adaptable and complex movement.

5. Which of the following best describes a reflex in a newborn?

• An innate, fixed pattern of action that occurs in response to particular stimulation.

• A voluntary movement learned through trial and error during the first week.

• A completely random movement that has no specific trigger.

• A permanent behavior that persists throughout adulthood.

6. The "Rooting" reflex is characterized by which behavior and disappears around which age?

• The baby sucks repeatedly when something is put in their mouth; disappears at 4 months.

• The baby turns their head and opens their mouth when their cheek is stroked; disappears around 3 weeks.

• The baby throws arms out backwards and arches back; disappears around 6 months.

• The baby’s toes fan out and curl when the foot is stroked; disappears around 8-12 months.

7. Which reflex is considered an evolutionary remnant with no clear adaptive significance in modern humans?

• Rooting reflex

• Sucking reflex

• Tonic neck reflex

• Swallowing reflex

8. When does the "Babinski" reflex typically disappear, and what does its persistence suggest?

• Disappears at 2 months; persistence suggests extraordinary athletic potential.

• Disappears at 4 months; persistence is normal for breastfed babies.

• Disappears at 6 months; persistence indicates vision problems.

• Disappears around 8-12 months; persistence might indicate neurological problems.

9. According to the maturation of the Primary Motor Cortex (M1), in what order does voluntary control develop?

• Head -> Arms and Trunk -> Legs

• Legs -> Trunk -> Arms -> Head

• Hands (fine motor) -> Trunk (gross motor) -> Legs

• All areas develop simultaneously at 6 months.

10. Thelen's experiments with the stepping reflex involved suspending infants in water. What was the result?

• The water made the infants too cold to move.

• Infants who no longer showed the stepping reflex on land began stepping again in the water.

• Infants stopped stepping immediately due to the sensory distraction of water.

• The water had no effect; only adding weights changed the behavior.

11. Which of the following is true regarding the impact of culture on motor development, specifically in Mali?

• Mothers avoid handling babies to protect their fragile joints, delaying development.

• Mothers exercise their infants with maneuvers that hasten early motor skills.

• Cultural practices have absolutely no impact on the timing of motor milestones.

• The maneuvers used in Mali are harmful and cause long-term physical damage.

12. What effect has the "Back to Sleep" campaign (placing babies on backs to reduce SIDS) had on motor development?

• It has caused a permanent delay in walking ability.

• It has accelerated the development of arm strength.

• It makes infants less likely to roll over on schedule, but does not affect crawling development by 18 months.

• It has completely eliminated the Moro reflex in newborns.

13. At what age do infants typically begin successfully reaching for objects (as opposed to pre-reaching)?

• Birth to 1 month

• 3 to 4 months

• 7 to 8 months

• 12 months

14. Which grasp type is typically seen around 52 weeks (1 year) of age?

• Ulnar grasp (clumsy swiping)

• Scissors grasp

• Pincer grasp (Thumb and forefinger)

• Palmar reflex grasp

15. What is the "Visual Cliff" paradigm primarily used to test?

• The strength of the stepping reflex.

• Depth perception and wariness of heights in infants.

• The development of the pincer grasp.

• The infant's ability to recognize their mother's face.

16. In the study by Campos et al. (1970) regarding the visual cliff, what was found about 1.5-month-old infants?

• They showed strong fear (increased heart rate) when placed on the deep side.

• They could not perceive the difference in depth at all.

• They could perceive the difference in depth (heart rate change) but showed no fear.

• They immediately tried to crawl across the deep side.

17. What is "Social Referencing" in the context of the visual cliff experiment?

• The infant ignores the parent to focus on the cliff.

• The use of another's emotional reaction to interpret an ambiguous situation.

• The infant's preference for playing with other babies.

• The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror.

18. What are "Affordances" in the context of perceptual and motor development?

• The cost of energy required to perform a movement.

• Genetic limitations on how tall a child can grow.

• Properties of objects that lend themselves to particular ways of interacting with them.

• The reflexes that are present at birth.

19. What is a "Scale Error"?

• When a child misjudges the weight of an object.

• When a toddler tries to treat a miniature replica object as if it was a much larger real one.

• When an infant falls while trying to scale a furniture item.

• When a child cannot distinguish between two different colors.

20. Which of the following is NOT a proposed explanation for why children make scale errors?

• Dissociation between dorsal (action) and ventral (perception) visual streams.

• Failure to inhibit an automatically afforded action.

• Centration (focusing on one aspect of the object).

• Lack of muscle strength to handle the miniature objects.

21. What did Campos et al. (2000) find regarding infants using a powered mobility device?

• The device delayed their ability to walk independently.

• It accelerated the development of wariness of heights/depth.

• It caused the infants to lose their grasping reflex.

• Infants refused to use the device because it was too noisy.

22. At what age does the "Moro" reflex (startle response) typically disappear?

• 2 months

• 4 months

• 6 months

• 12 months

23. What behavior characterizes the "Stepping" reflex?

• Curling toes when the foot is stroked.

• Making rhythmic stepping movements when held upright over a flat surface.

• Turning the head toward a touch on the cheek.

• Clinging tightly to a finger placed in the palm.

24. What implies that the Grasping reflex in feet is an evolutionary remnant?

• Human babies walk immediately after birth.

• Human toes are too short for proper grasping, yet the reflex persists.

• The reflex is only present in adults, not babies.

• It disappears within 1 day of birth.

25. "Pre-reaching" is best described as:

• Precise pincer movements to pick up small items.

• The ability to catch a moving ball.

• Clumsy swiping movements toward the general vicinity of objects.

• Using a tool to retrieve an object.

26. Which motor milestone typically occurs around 7 months of age?

• Walking independently.

• Sitting independently.

• Rolling over for the first time.

• Jumping.

27. How does the concept of "Specificity of motor learning" apply to the transition from crawling to walking?

• Infants who are good crawlers are immediately good walkers.

• Infants use the same muscle groups for both, so learning is cumulative.

• Infants do not transfer learning about slopes from crawling to walking.

• Walking relies on the dorsal stream, while crawling relies on the ventral stream.

28. What is the typical age range for the disappearance of the "Rooting" reflex?

• 3 weeks

• 3 months

• 6 months

• 1 year

29. Which of the following best explains "Utilisation Behaviour" or "Alien Hand Syndrome" in the context of scale errors?

• It is a condition where the hand refuses to move.

• It involves a failure to inhibit an automatically afforded action, similar to scale errors.

• It is the medical term for the pincer grasp.

• It describes the behavior of infants during the Moro reflex.

30. According to Gibson (1979), why are perception and action interdependent?

• "We must think in order to act."

• "Action is independent of visual cues."

• "We must perceive in order to move, but we must also move in order to perceive."

• "Perception develops fully before movement begins."

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