Brain Development, Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

1# Describe the major changes in brain development that occur during infancy and childhood.

Answer: An infant is born with essentially all of the nerve cells it will ever have; brain development is particularly rapid during the third trimester. However, after birth, neural connections must form in order for the newborn ultimately to walk, talk, and remember.

In early infancy, the brain's 100 billion neurons have only minimal connections. During the first two years of life, the dendrites of the neurons branch out and the neurons become far more interconnected. Myelination, the process of encasing axons with fat cells, begins prenatally and continues after birth.

During childhood, synaptic connections increase dramatically. Synapse is a gap between neurons that is bridged by chemical neurotransmitters. The connections that are made become stronger and will survive; the unused ones will be replaced by other neural pathways or disappear. In the language of neuroscience, these unused connections will be "pruned" Repeated brain scans of the same children for up to four years show that the amount of brain material in some areas can nearly double within as little as a year, followed by a drastic loss of tissue as unneeded cells are purged and the brain continues to reorganize itself. From 3-6 years of age, the most rapid growth takes place in the frontal lobe areas, which are involved in planning and organizing new actions and in maintaining attention to tasks. As in other areas of development, in brain too nature and nurture operate together.

2# Explain the distinction between a cross-sectional study and a longitudinal study.

Answer: In cross-sectional studies, a number of people of different ages are assessed at one point in time. By examining how the ages of these individuals relate to the cognitive abilities measured, researcher can find out whether younger individuals different from older ones. A cross sectional study is an observational one. This means that researcher record information about their subject without manipulating the study environment. In our study, we would simply measure the cholesterol levels of daily walkers and non-walkers. Researcher would not try to interfere in their behavior.

In contrast to cross-sectional research, a longitudinal study assesses the same participants over a lengthy period. A longitudinal study of intelligence in middle adulthood might consist of giving the same intelligence test to the same individuals over a 20-year time span, when they are 40, 50,, and 60 years of age. A longitudinal study, like a cross-sectional one, is observational, so, once again, researchers do not interfere with their subjects.

3# Explain the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Provide examples.

Answer: Motivation is something that energizes, direct and sustains behaviors. Intrinsic motivation includes internal desires to perform a particular task, people do certain activities because it gives them pleasure, develops a particular skill, or it's a morally right thing to do. Extrinsic motivation includes factors external to the individual and unrelated to the task they are performing.

The most basic distinction between these two types of motivation is that intrinsic motivation refers to doing something because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable, and extrinsic motivation refers to doing something because it leads to outcome. Some students study hard because they are internally motivated to put their work (intrinsic motivation). Other students study hard because they want to make good grades or avoid parental disapproval (extrinsic motivation).

4# Can the