Questions from Infants and Children

Q: Three-year-old Ben lives in the country, with

Three-year-old Ben lives in the country, with no other pre-schoolers nearby. His parents wonder whether it is worth driving Ben into town once a week to participate in a peer play group. What advice w...

Q: Nine-year-old Talia is afraid to hug and kiss

Nine-year-old Talia is afraid to hug and kiss her grandmother, who has cancer. What might explain Talia’s mistaken belief that the same behaviours that cause colds to spread might lead her to catch ca...

Q: Lizzie knows that if you have difficulty learning part of a task

Lizzie knows that if you have difficulty learning part of a task, you should devote extra attention to that part. But she plays each of her piano pieces from beginning to end instead of practicing the...

Q: What aspects of brain development support the tremendous gains in language,

What aspects of brain development support the tremendous gains in language, thinking, and motor control of early childhood?

Q: Ten-year-old Marla says her classmate Bernadette will never

Ten-year-old Marla says her classmate Bernadette will never get good grades because she’s lazy. Jane believes that Bernadette tries but can’t concentrate because her parents are divorcing. Why is Marl...

Q: A 4-year-old becomes frightened of the dark and

A 4-year-old becomes frightened of the dark and refuses to go to sleep at night. How would a psychoanalyst and a behaviourist differ in their views of how this problem developed?

Q: Why is genetic counselling called a communication process? Who should seek

Why is genetic counselling called a communication process? Who should seek it, and why?

Q: How is brain development related to fatal capacities and behaviour? What

How is brain development related to fatal capacities and behaviour? What implications do individual differences in fatal behaviour have for infant temperament after birth?

Q: How might natural childbirth positively affect the parent–new-born

How might natural childbirth positively affect the parent–new-born relationship? Explain how your answer illustrates bidirectional influences between parent and child, emphasized in ecological systems...

Q: Explain why breastfeeding can have lifelong, favourable consequences for the development

Explain why breastfeeding can have lifelong, favourable consequences for the development of infants in poverty-stricken regions of the world.