GCSE Psychology - Development (AQA) Exam Questions and Answers

GCSE Psychology - Development (AQA) Exam Questions and Answers Autonomic function - Answer-involuntary bodily functions such as breathing and heart rate. Brain stem - Answer-the part of the brain that controls basic functions such as breathing and heart rate. Cerebellum - Answer-a small, wrinkled structure at the back of the brain which coordinates motor movement, dexterity, and balance, among other things. Cognition - Answer-the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge; these include thinking, planning and problem solving. Cortex - Answer-the outer layer of the brain where higher cognitive functions takes place, e.g. speech. Thalamus - Answer-the part of the brain that passes information from the sense organs to the cortex. Nature - Answer-The idea that our characteristics and behaviour are inherited. Nurture - Answer-The idea that our characteristics and behaviour are influenced by the environment. Twin studies - Answer-Identical twins share 100% of their genes. Non-identical twins share around 50% of their genes. Where there are more common traits between identical twins than non-identical twins, it is likely that this is due to nature. But where their are common traits between all twins that have been raised in the same environment then this is likely to be due to nurture. Newborn baby studies - Answer-Newborn baby studies are important as there will be very little nurture impacting the baby before birth. Psychologists have found that besides being able to cry, newborn babies can also recognise faces. This means that nature is responsible for these abilities. As babies are not able to talk much later on, it is believed that nurture is responsible for language development. Animal studies - Answer-Baby rats were kept in cages on their own with no toys. Another group of baby rats were kept in cages together with a lot of stimulating toys. The rats then lived in the group in the stimulating environment development bigger brains and demonstrated better problem solving skills than the rats that lived on their own. This supports the idea that nurture is very important for early brain development. Cognitive development - Answer-All of the things that go on inside your brain, including perception, thinking, memory, attention, language, problem-solving, and learning. Schemas - Answer-Blocks of knowledge that develop in response to our experiences of the world.