Psychology 1000 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Irreversible Process, Habituation, Frontal Lobe
4 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Genetics and Sex Determination
• Male sperm is responsible for determining sex
• The Y chromosome contains a specific gene – the TDF gene that triggers male sexual
development
• If a Y chromosome is present, is TDF gene initiates the development of the testes -
testes determining factor
• If the TDF gene is not present, no testes will form and the organism will be female
Environmental Influences:
• Nature and nurture both begin in the womb – Ex/ the embryo/fetus receive nutrients
from the mother, and if they are insufficient there is a higher probability of miscarriage,
premature birth, still birth
• Teratogens – environmental agents that cause abnormal prenatal development
• The placenta prevents many dangerous substances from reaching embryo and fetus,
but some harmful chemical molecules and diseases can pass through
• Stress hormones can cross the placenta – risks of premature birth, infant irritability,
and attentional deficits
• German measles can cause blindness, deafness, mental retardation, and heart defects in
the infant
• STD’s can be passed to the fetus by the mother and can cause brain damage, blindness,
deafness depending on the disease
• 25% of fetuses born from HIV infected mothers are infected too
• Environmental toxins and drugs produce birth defects
• Fetal alcohol syndrome – prenatal exposure to alcohol, is a severe group of
abnormalities that result from this exposure
o FAS children facial abnormalities, and small malformed brains
o Can result in mental retardation, attentional and perceptual deficits, irritability,
and impulsivity – Fetal alcohol effect (FAE)
• The threshold level of alcohol exposure needed to produce FAS is unknown
• Smoking increases the risk of miscarriage, premature births, and low birth weight
• Cocaine and heroine babies are born addicted and experience withdrawal symptoms
after birth
o Their cognitive functioning and ability to regulate their arousal and attention
may also be impaired at the beginning of birth
• Fetal behaviour – visualizing the fetus and recording fetus heart rate with ultrasound
• Fetal learning – experiments conducted measuring fetal behaviour also demonstrates
fetal learning. Studies have shown that fetuses have short term memories and they also
have long term memory for sounds they hear repeatedly throughout fetal development
• Fetuses also learn about odours from their mother’s diet
Newborn Sensation and Perception:
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
111
PSYCH 1000 Full Course Notes
Verified Note
111 documents
Document Summary
If the tdf gene is not present, no testes will form and the organism will be female. If a y chromosome is present, is tdf gene initiates the development of the testes - Studies have shown that fetuses have short term memories and they also have long term memory for sounds they hear repeatedly throughout fetal development: fetuses also learn about odours from their mother"s diet. It"s possible to establish a new visual preference in newborns using the visual habituation procedure same stimulus is presented repeatedly until infant looking declines patterned rather than non-patterned targets and prefer complex patterns. They even: newborn are also able to discriminate between familiar and novel objects, and babies can discriminate between sounds certain touch. Newborn learning: studies have shown that newborns learn to associate sounds with particular objects, newborns also rapidly acquire classically conditioned responses pairing milk with a, newborn also respond to operant conditioning.
