Babies & Screens
The "Video Deficit" in early childhood refers to which learning challenge?
a) Challenges in moving from individual to collaborative learning activities
b) Children's inability to transfer motor skills from physical to digital environments
c) Problems transferring information between different types of digital devices
d) tendency for infants and toddlers to learn better from live demonstration compared to identical presentations on a screen
d) tendency for infants and toddlers to learn better from live demonstration compared to identical presentations on a screen
The lecture suggested that King of Egypt Thamus's warning about new technologies (writing) was "partly right but missed something." What has research on digital media illustrated that he missed?
a) Digital media can create forms of learning not previously possible
b) Memorization remains the most reliable route to understanding
c) Children learn best by passively observing skilled experts
d) Educational technology claims require strict government oversight
a) Digital media can create forms of learning not previously possible
According to lecture, what creates a "Perfect Storm" for adolescent social media use?
a) Platform design features meeting brain networks at peak sensitivity.
b) Fast internet speeds, affordable devices, unlimited data plans, and low parental monitoring
c) Educational pressure, peer competition, romantic relationships, and identity exploration
d) Gaming addiction, cyberbullying, privacy concerns, and academic performance decline
a) Platform design features meeting brain networks at peak sensitivity.
In the lecture and article by Hammack & Manago (2025), the rise of authenticity as a master cultural narrative refers to:
a) the way social media platforms have eliminated the pressure to carefully curate one's public image
b) a shared cultural story values aligning one's inner self with self-expression
c) how young people no longer care about receiving approval from peers online
d) evidence that people have become more honest and transparent when posting online
b) a shared cultural story values aligning one's inner self with self-expression
According to the Media Practice Model, the cycle of media engagement includes which key components?
a) Selection, Motivation, Identity, Attention, Interaction, Application, Interpretation
b) Purchase, Installation, Training, Usage, Maintenance, Replacement, Disposal
c) Research, Comparison, Decision, Implementation, Evaluation, Modification, Termination
d) Planning, Design, Development, Testing, Launch, Marketing, Support
a) Selection, Motivation, Identity, Attention, Interaction, Application, Interpretation
According to Objectification Theory as applied to social media, what pathway leads from Facebook involvement to reduced sexual assertiveness?
a) Facebook use → increased confidence → body satisfaction → enhanced sexual assertiveness
b) Facebook use → social comparison → academic stress → relationship difficulties
c) Facebook use → objectified body consciousness → body shame → reduced sexual assertiveness
d) Facebook use → body shame → reduced sexual assertiveness → objectified body consciousness
c) Facebook use → objectified body consciousness → body shame → reduced sexual assertiveness
According to research reviews, chatbots in educational settings can provide which benefits?
a) Complete replacement of human teachers with superior artificial instruction
b) Guaranteed improvement in standardized test scores for all students
d) Elimination of all individual differences in learning outcomes and achievement
d) Instant feedback, self-paced learning, and adaptation to learner interests
d) Instant feedback, self-paced learning, and adaptation to learner interests
Tanksley's research on Black college women and #BlackLivesMatter activism found that social media provided:
a) Experiences with microaggressions and no benefits for personal or academic development
b) Similar experiences to face-to-face activism with no unique digital advantages
c) Protection from racism and discrimination through online anonymity
d) A counterspace for visibility, safety, and solidarity in predominantly white institutions
d) A counterspace for visibility, safety, and solidarity in predominantly white institutions
According to Lewandowsky et al., the "post-truth era" is characterized by:
a) Complete elimination of factual information from all media sources
b) Perfect agreement among all experts about complex social and political issues
c) Power of knowledge shifting from experts to online opinion markets
d) Universal adoption of scientific thinking and evidence-based reasoning
c) Power of knowledge shifting from experts to online opinion markets
The research on children under 2 and screen-based learning consistently shows:
a) Screens are more effective than human interaction for language development
b) Children can learn equally well from screens and face-to-face human interactions if they are given the right supports appropriate to each context
c) Young children have significant difficulty learning from screens compared to face-to-face human interactions
d) Screen-based learning is only effective when combined with physical action.
c) Young children have significant difficulty learning from screens compared to face-to-face human interactions
A reading app teaches new vocabulary by embedding the words in a short story about a child's family trip, rather than presenting them as an isolated word list. According to Hirsh-Pasek et al. (2015), this design choice most directly strengthens which pillar of learning?
a) Engaged (on-task)
b) Active (minds-on)
c) Meaningful (connected)
d) Socially interactive (contingent)
c) Meaningful (connected)
Flannery et al. (2024) followed adolescents from ages 11–15 to 16–17, using fMRI during a Social Incentive Delay task at the first time point and assessing addiction-like social media use (ASMU) later. What did they find?
a) Heavier social media use predicted later thinning of executive-control regions
d) Pre-pubescent neural responses showed no relationship to later social media use
c) Early hyper-responsivity to anticipated positive social feedback predicted later ASMU
d) Depressive symptoms at the first time point predicted reduced reward sensitivity
c) Early hyper-responsivity to anticipated positive social feedback predicted later ASMU
The Vossen et al. systematic review on parenting and problematic social media use found that which parenting factors most consistently predicted lower problematic use?
a) Strict technology restrictions and complete elimination of device access
b) Parent-child attachment, relationship quality, and family communication
c) High income levels, advanced education, and suburban residential location
d) Permissive parenting styles and unlimited technology freedom for children
b) Parent-child attachment, relationship quality, and family communication
The lecture applies Greenfields theory of social change to gender development. The shift from small, kin-based communities (Gemeinschaft) toward large, urban societies (Gesellschaft) is associated with a move from:
a) gender egalitarianism toward steeper and more rigid gender hierarchy
b) sexuality as personal expression toward sexuality as a shared community resource
c) ascribed gender roles toward gender roles that individuals choose for themselves
d) chosen gender roles toward roles that are assigned to people at birth
c) ascribed gender roles toward gender roles that individuals choose for themselves
A teenager uses a generative-AI tool to create an image of her "ideal self" and then compares her own body to it. The lecture argued that platforms and algorithms do more than passively reflect existing beauty standards — they:
a) Apply the same fixed ideal uniformly to every user
b) Reduce appearance pressures by widening the range of bodies shown
c) Amplify and personalize those standards to individual vulnerabilities
d) Have little measurable connection to cosmetic-procedure decisions
c) Amplify and personalize those standards to individual vulnerabilities
The Vasudevan study of personalized educational technologies in an urban maker school found that these tools often led to:
a) Dramatic improvements in student engagement and academic achievement levels
b) Work completion over learning, with students focusing on getting through tasks
c) Enhanced teacher-student relationships and increased classroom interaction
d) Reduced educational inequities and improved outcomes for students of color
b) Work completion over learning, with students focusing on getting through tasks
Tanksley’s concept of "transformational resistance" in digital activism refers to:
a) Youth of color as victims of online oppression and systemic discrimination
b) Individual behavior as the source of broader social transformation goals
c) Youth struggling against systems of oppression while working toward social change
d) Resistance that focuses only on community impact
c) Youth struggling against systems of oppression while working toward social change
d) Resistance that focuses only on community impact
c) Youth struggling against systems of oppression while working toward social change
The "continued-influence effect" in misinformation research demonstrates that:
a) People continue to be influenced by misinformation even after correction
b) Corrections successfully eliminate belief in false information only among educated populations
c) Misinformation continues to have subconscious impacts once people consciously adopt accurate information
d) Accurate information continues to influence people when they encounter misinformation
a) People continue to be influenced by misinformation even after correction
According to Vygotsky’s cultural-historical perspective on learning, what question should guide our approach to educational technology?
a) How can we make digital tools as entertaining as possible for children?
b) What is our cultural vision for intelligence and how can technology facilitate it through social interactions?
c) Which companies produce the most reliable and cost-effective educational software?
d) How quickly can we replace human teachers with artificial intelligence systems?
b) What is our cultural vision for intelligence and how can technology facilitate it through social interactions?
According to video gaming research, what cognitive benefit might action games provide?
b) Improved mathematical calculation skills and numerical reasoning capacity
b) Enhanced spatial reasoning
c) Better reading comprehension and verbal communication skills
d) Increased emotional regulation and reduced aggressive behavioral tendencies
b) Enhanced spatial reasoning
What did the Maza et al. longitudinal study over the course of adolescence reveal about the influence of habitual social media checking on brain maturation?
a) Habitual checkers showed normative neural patterns at baseline but decreasing neural sensitivity over time
b) Habitual checkers were not as sensitive to peers compared to non-habitual checkers at baseline and became even more desensitised to peers over time
c) No significant brain changes occurred in either group over the three-year period
d) Habitual checkers increased in neural sensitivity to peer feedback while non-habitual checkers decreased
d) Habitual checkers increased in neural sensitivity to peer feedback while non-habitual checkers decreased
The McDaniel & Radesky study on transactional effects in technoference found that:
a) Parent technology use and child behavior problems influence each other over time
b) Children model their parents’ technology use
c) Insecure attachment in children can be attributed to parents’ technology use
d) Children's behavior problems cause parents to reduce their technology use
a) Parent technology use and child behavior problems influence each other over time
The lecture describes several "stories" about gender and sexuality circulating in the U.S. An online community forms around the idea that not everyone experiences sexual attraction, reframing what was once treated as a disorder (e.g., asexuality) as a valid identity. This best fits the story that:
a) gender is something each person constructs
b) intersectionality shapes lived experience
c) masculinity is reasserting patriarchal norms
d) sexual desire and monogamy are cultural expectations rather than universals
d) sexual desire and monogamy are cultural expectations rather than universals
The Manago et al. study found gender differences in how Facebook involvement among college students affected feelings about their bodies and sexual confidence. Specifically:
a) The association between social media use and objectified body consciousness was stronger for women compared to men
b) Women showed stronger associations between objectified body consciousness and body shame compared to men
c) Gender differences disappeared when controlling for time spent on platform
d) Unlike women, men’s body image and sexual assertiveness were unaffected by their social media involvement
b) Women showed stronger associations between objectified body consciousness and body shame compared to men
One major concern about AI in education identified in the research is:
a) AI systems learn too slowly to keep up with student needs
b) Students prefer traditional teaching methods over any technological innovation
c) Reinforcement of existing biases present in training data and algorithms
d) AI technologies are too expensive for any educational institutions to afford
c) Reinforcement of existing biases present in training data and algorithms
A study of Black college women's social media activism (Tanksley, 2024) draws on Black Feminist Technology Studies, which treats digital infrastructure much as critical race theory treats other institutions. The core claim is that platforms:
a) Are neutral tools shaped only by their users
b) Maintain racial hierarchy beneath a veneer of neutrality
c) Have eliminated racial bias through better design
d) Affect all groups of users in essentially the same way
b) Maintain racial hierarchy beneath a veneer of neutrality
According to Lewandowsky et al. review of the literature, effective approaches to reducing the spread of misinformation in the digital age require:
a) A focus on technical solutions focused on improved fact-checking algorithms
b) An emphasis on educational interventions teaching critical thinking skills
c) Understanding political, technological, and social contexts of misinformation
d) Elimination of social media platforms and digital communication tools
c) Understanding political, technological, and social contexts of misinformation
The lecture on Babies & Screens offered several theoretical accounts for why the video deficit exists. The idea that 2D screen images are inherently less rich than the 3D world — offering less depth, less sensory information, and smaller scale — is known as:
a) Social discounting
b) Perceptual impoverishment
c) Dual representation
d) Weaker memory traces
b) Perceptual impoverishment
An app developer wants to maximize learning. One prototype simply lets children explore freely with no goals; another walks them through every step with fixed instructions and correct answers. Based on the spectrum of learning contexts discussed in the lecture, the most effective design would instead:
a) Combine both prototypes and let children pick which to use
b) Keep the child in control while an adult or the app holds a learning goal in mind
c) Remove all structure so children follow only their own interests
d) Script each step tightly so children always reach the right answer
b) Keep the child in control while an adult or the app holds a learning goal in mind
Overall, current research on social media and brain development suggests that:
a) Evidence is emerging but shows no large-scale harm, with bidirectional relationships
b) No evidence exists for any relationship between social media and brain function
c) Social media causes irreversible damage to all adolescent brains equally
d) Only negative effects exist with no potential benefits for adolescent development
a) Evidence is emerging but shows no large-scale harm, with bidirectional relationships
Research on developmental cascades in technology use suggests:
a) Technology use disrupts normal developmental processes
b) Digital interactions often mirror and extend qualities of offline relationships
c) Online and offline relationships are completely separate with no connections
d) Technology use consistently improves family relationships
b) Digital interactions often mirror and extend qualities of offline relationships
"Digisexuality" refers to sexual attraction to, or intimate relationships with, digital or AI entities. The lecture raises an interpretive question about it, asking whether digisexuality is:
a) A pathology that requires clinical treatment
b) Essentially identical to earlier online dating
c) Either more sexual fluidity or a deeper cultural transformation in attachment
d) A passing trend with no developmental meaning
c) Either more sexual fluidity or a deeper cultural transformation in attachment
The lecture traced how successive technologies reorganized gender, bodies, and sexuality — from the 1890s bicycle to the early internet to social media. What broader point was this historical sequence meant to illustrate?:
a) Each new technology has reliably expanded women's bodily freedom
b) Technology repeatedly reshapes how bodies are experienced and displayed
c) Concerns about technology and the body are a recent, internet-era phenomenon
d) Commercial interests have rarely influenced how bodies appear online
b) Technology repeatedly reshapes how bodies are experienced and displayed
The "banking model of education" described by Brazilian educator and philosopher Paolo Freire refers to:
a) Students learning financial literacy and economic principles through hands-on practice
b) Educational funding systems that rely primarily on local property taxes
c) Treating students as passive receptacles for deposits of predetermined knowledge
d) Schools that operate as profit-making enterprises focused on revenue generation
c) Treating students as passive receptacles for deposits of predetermined knowledge
A college student spends the morning scrolling through videos of police violence before class. She feels exhausted, numb, and unable to focus on coursework for the rest of the day. In Tanksley’s study of Black college women's social media activism, this pattern is discussed as:
a) Strategic extremism rewarded by the platform
b) Racial battle fatigue affecting academic life
c) Freedom dreaming through digital activism
d) Algorithmic personalization of her video feed
b) Racial battle fatigue affecting academic life
Social media platforms implement AI content moderation systems to flag misinformation, but these systems disproportionately remove content from marginalized communities while allowing harmful content from privileged users. This scenario demonstrates:
a) That technological solutions will never solve complex social problems
b) How technical approaches alone are insufficient for addressing post-truth challenges
c) Evidence that AI systems are inherently more objective than human judgment
d) Successful implementation of unbiased artificial intelligence in content moderation
b) How technical approaches alone are insufficient for addressing post-truth challenges