Unit 1 AOS 2

A sensitive period is…

• A stage of development where an organism is most sensitive to the lack of such external factors or interactions.

• A period in development that is optimum for an individual to a learn specific skill

Can skills be learned at a later time after a sensitive period has passed?

• No

• Yes

What is one difference between a sensitive and a critical period?

• Critical periods end gradually (if at all), whereas, sensitive periods have identifiable start and end time

• Sensitive periods end gradually (if at all), whereas, critical periods have identifiable start and end times

A critical period is…

• Times of special sensitivity to certain environmental factors that can shape the individual's capacity for future development.

• A period of time during development when an individual is more responsive to certain types of experiences or learning.

Structural birth defects would occur in critical period.

• False

• True

Which factor is not included in a sensitive period?

• Literacy development

• Peer social skills

• Moral development

• Emotional control

What is the best known example of a critical period in development?

• Attachment with humans

• Learning music

• Animals imprinting

• Jacob Black imprinting on Renesmee

What do cases of feral children tell us?

• That humans are programmed to learn the rules of language within a sensitive period of our lives

• That once the sensitive period has lapsed, we may be able to learn some aspects of language, such as vocabulary, but it is harder to acquire this outside this period.

• Highlights the interplay between nature and nurture

• Highlights that nurture is more influential than nature in the development of language

No case of a feral child has ever provided strong support for the critical period hypothesis. This is because for all participants

• Neither the period of linguistic deprivation, nor its starting point, cannot be verified

• Cognitive factors beyond language, including general intelligence, are also impaired

• Cases of feral children only occurred before the 20th century and are impossible to verify

• Cases of feral children invariably turn out to be hoaxes, in one way or another