Discuss one or more theories of brain development.

Refer to the paper 2 assessment criteria when awarding marks. These can be found under the “Your tests” tab > supplemental materials.

The command term "discuss" requires candidates to offer a considered review of one or more theories of brain development.

Relevant theories may include, but are not limited to:

• theory of neuroplasticity
• maturational theory of brain development.

Responses to this question may also use Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theory. For these responses marks should be awarded depending on how effectively responses link these to brain development.

Relevant studies may include, but are not limited to:

• Waber's (2007); Gogtay et al.'s (2004) longitudinal studies of brain development using MRI scans
• Chugani et al.'s (2001) study on developmental changes in brain serotonin synthesis capacity
• Johnson and Newport's (1989) study on maturational predispositions for learning language
• Baird et al.'s (2002); Diamond's (1991) studies on maturation of frontal lobe and development of object permanence
• Bell and Fox's (1996) study on crawling experience related to changes in cortical organization during infancy using EEG
• Danelli et al.’s (2012) study of a 14-year-old adolescent who had left hemispherectomy at age 2.5 and later made substantial neuro-linguistic recovery
• Takatsuru et al. on how the brain compensates for damage caused by trauma.

Discussion points may include, but are not limited to:

• methodological and ethical considerations related to the research into brain development
• how the findings of research have been interpreted and applied
• implications of the findings
• the accuracy and clarity of the concepts
• assumptions and biases
• areas of uncertainty
• supporting and/or contradictory evidence
• alternative theories/explanations.

Marks for criterion A will be awarded for focus on theoretical explanations of brain development. Marks for criterion B will reflect the quality of the knowledge and understanding of the chosen theories. Marks for criterion C reflect how studies are presented and used in the response. Criterion D should assess critical thinking related to theories and/or studies.

Unfortunately, many candidates misread or misinterpreted the question — within this question all words are important and candidates who ignored the word "theory" or the word "brain" clearly missed a very important aspect of the question and their responses were responses which reflected general knowledge of Developmental Psychology but not knowledge relevant to this question. Very strong candidates answered this question particularly well, while candidates who were not as well prepared tended to do quite poorly here. The biggest weakness of some candidates was totally misunderstanding the question and writing responses on Piaget's and Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development but with no link to how this relates to the development of the brain. Other candidates recognized that the question had to focus on brain development but could only provide knowledge and evaluation of studies without providing a coherent explanation of how the brain develops. There were some (although not many) excellent responses to this question in which candidates clearly provided knowledge of theory of neuroplasticity and/or the maturational theory of brain development. Candidates in these responses also provided good knowledge of relevant studies investigating how the brain develops in different stages.