Psych 5.1 Reading Questions, 2025-26

A friend says that if a baby is born healthy, prenatal development must not matter much. Use the reading to respond to your friend’s belief.

• ● Define teratogens and explain what role they play during prenatal development.

• ● Describe how a teratogen might impact two different stages of prenatal development (embryo vs. fetus).

• ● Argue whether you agree or disagree with your friend's belief and explain why using evidence from the text.

Trace the major biological changes from conception to infancy and explain how each stage builds upon the previous one.

• ● Identify and briefly define the three major stages of prenatal development.

• ● Explain how each stage contributes to survival and later development, using specific milestones (e.g., heartbeat, placenta, reflexes).

• ● Analyze how disruptions during any one of these stages might impact later development.

Consider the distinction between maturation and experience in shaping child development.

• ● Define maturation and explain how it influences development.

• ● Give one example from the text that shows a behavior guided by maturation and one shaped by experience.

• ● Reflect on how understanding this distinction might influence how caregivers support a child’s growth.

Imagine a child raised without access to spoken or signed language until age 10. Use the reading to evaluate how this might affect their future development.

• ● Define what a critical period is and explain how it applies to language learning.

• ● Predict what specific language deficits this child might face based on the reading.

• ● Evaluate the long-term consequences of missing this critical period and explain why the brain may not fully recover.

Explain how infant reflexes contribute to early survival, and what they reveal about human development.

• ● Identify two reflexes described in the reading and explain their basic function.

• ● Describe how one reflex may have helped infants in evolutionary history (e.g., grasping, rooting).

• ● Analyze how the presence or absence of these reflexes might be used by doctors to assess healthy development.

Suppose a newborn does not show signs of habituation during repeated stimulus exposure. Predict how this might relate to later cognitive development.

• ● Define habituation and explain its purpose in infancy.

• ● Hypothesize one possible developmental risk if a baby doesn’t habituate to repeated stimuli.

• ● Support your prediction using reasoning from the reading about how early responses relate to memory and attention.

Compare two stages of physical development: adolescence and late adulthood. Focus on both biological and psychological changes.

• ● Define both stages using the terminology from the reading.

• ● Describe one significant biological change and one psychological change for each stage.

• ● Compare how these changes affect an individual’s behavior or sense of identity.

Consider your current stage of development and reflect on how physical changes might influence your thinking, behavior, or future goals.

• ● Identify which lifespan stage you are currently in and summarize its key characteristics from the text.

• ● Provide one personal example that supports the reading’s description of your stage.

• ● Reflect on how this awareness of physical development might influence your choices (e.g., health, academics, relationships).