Explain the process of "synaptic pruning" and describe why it is helpful to an infant's development.
What will be an ideal response?
- Babies are born with many more neurons than they need
- The brain has the capability of "pruning down" unnecessary neurons based on an infant's experiences in the world.
- The unnecessary neurons eventually die, which increases the efficiency of the remaining neurons in the nervous system.
- The result of synaptic pruning is to allow established neurons to build more elaborate communication networks with other neurons.
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Lindsay has obsessions about contamination and washes her hands hundreds of times per day. During therapy, Lindsay is asked to get her hands dirty on purpose and then leave them dirty for several hours. This is an example of:
A) the use of punishment to reduce the undesirable behaviour of hand washing. B) systematic desensitization. C) negative reinforcement. D) exposure therapy with response prevention.
The critical thinking concept of replicability is best demonstrated by which of the following examples?
A) Research has found that there is a relationship between the amount of pain a person can tolerate and the color of their hair, suggesting that having red hair actually causes a decrease in pain tolerance. B) Von Helmholtz repeated and extended the research into the trichromatic theory of color vision he proposed with Thomas Young by examining the colors that color-blind individuals could see. C) There is evidence that color vision allowed animals to easily pick ripe fruit out of a green background, and more recent fossil evidence suggests that trichromatic vision may have enabled primates to find young, reddish, tender leaves that were nutritionally superior. D) People who suffer from synesthesia are unable to successfully complete the Ganzfield task because their cross-modal perception makes the selection of specific shapes impossible.
Chrissy regards most experiences as controllable. She displays a committed approach to daily activities and views change as a normal part of life and a chance for personal growth. Chrissy fits the pattern of a __________ individual
A) Type A B) Type B C) pessimistic D) hardy
When discussing the dimensions of temperament, what is the term used to refer to the baby's response to a new person or object, based on whether the child accepts the new situation or withdraws from it?
a) quality of mood b) intensity of reaction c) approach-withdrawal d) rhythmicity