Deck 1: The Study of Human Development

Question 1

How did the Industrial Revolution influence the discipline of developmental science?

A)It led the majority of scientists to be interested in proving how genetic factors drive development.
B)It led scientists to study how the transforming roles of children influenced their growth.
C)It led the majority of scientists to encourage parents to send their children to work for 12 hours each day.
D)It led scientists to examine the role that growing up on farms played in human development.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The prevailing view of children prior to the sixteenth century was that children were:

A)born in original sin.
B)miniature adults.
C)rebellious in nature.
D)inherently good.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Itard believed that Victor behaved the way he did because he had:

A)been retarded since birth.
B)been malnourished from an early age.
C)been isolated from society.
D)a serious physical illness.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following is of the field of developmental science?

A)The biological basis of human development has already been well understood.
B)Cultural processes are not considered to play a large role in human development.
C)Intervening to promote children's health and well­ being is beyond the scope of developmental scientists' activities.
D)Interdisciplinary and international efforts combine to contribute to existing knowledge about human development.

Question 5

Itard worked with Victor to test what theory?

A)The social environment shapes children's development.
B)The French monarchy did not adequately educate peasants.
C)Victor was retarded since birth.
D)Victor suffered from autism.

Question 6

The Wild Boy of Aveyron:

A)eventually learned to speak fluent French.
B)displayed strong sexual and aggressive instincts.
C)learned to communicate simple needs, but never mastered speech.
D)never progressed beyond walking on all fours and making animal­like sounds.

Question 7

Technological advances have contributed to developmental research in what way(s)?

A)Video cameras allow for detailed analyses of human behavior.
B)Brain imaging provides insight into the neural activity underlying behavior.
C)Computers enable researchers to apply complex analytic strategies to data.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 8

Investigations of historical beliefs about childhood reveal that:

A)the ways that people think about childhood have remained consistent over time.
B)there have been many views about childhood over time.
C)childhood has always been viewed as a distinct period of development.
D)until modern times, children were viewed as innately good.

Question 9

Child development can be defined as:

A)a psychological rather than a physical process.
B)the preprogrammed unfolding of the body's genetic blueprint.
C)the process of physical growth that commences at birth and continues until adulthood.
D)the sequence of physical, intellectual, social, and emotional changes that children undergo.

Question 10

What is the primary way that developmental scientists learn about historical beliefs about childhood?

A)by imagining what life was like in earlier times
B)by examining books, magazines, art, and other records from earlier times
C)by interviewing the elderly about what life was like when they were children
D)by exploring children's lives in developing countries

Question 11

Which of the following correctly describes the sequence of the periods of development?

A)prenatal, infancy, middle childhood, adolescence
B)adolescence, prenatal, early childhood, infancy
C)infancy, early childhood, prenatal, adolescence
D)early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, prenatal

Question 12

A major context of children's development is:

A)genetics.
B)health.
C)families.
D)age.

Question 13

Jamie is fascinated by children's ability to solve more complex problems as they get older. Her interest falls in the domain of:

A)physical development.
B)cognitive development.
C)social development.
D)emotional development.

Question 14

Families, peers, schools, and communities, are ____________ of children's development.

A)ethnographies
B)domains
C)contexts
D)descriptions

Question 15

Which of the following is part of the study of child development?

A)physical changes over the lifespan
B)intellectual changes over the lifespan
C)social changes over the lifespan
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 16

The effect of Itard's work with Victor was that Victor:

A)made rapid progress and was later found to be developing normally.
B)made rapid progress at first but never learned to speak or interact with others normally.
C)never learned to communicate.
D)made rapid progress but could not develop affection for other people.

Question 17

Researchers interested in children's cognitive development would MOST likely study how children:

A)form friendships.
B)learn to walk.
C)learn language.
D)learn to control their frustration.

Question 18

By studying the Wild Boy of Aveyron, Itard hoped to learn something about the:

A)behavior of the mentally ill.
B)causes of mental retardation.
C)behavior of animals in their natural habitats.
D)role of the environment in shaping development.

Question 19

Developmentalists recognize four major domains of development, including:

A)cognitive, physical, moral, and social.
B)cognitive, social, physical, and emotional.
C)moral, social, emotional, and physical.
D)social, physical, emotional, and language.

Question 20

Studies of the Wild Boy of Aveyron suggest that:

A)interaction with humans is critical for optimal development.
B)critical periods in development do not exist.
C)natural experiments should not be used to study development.
D)the effects of negative experience can be undone with instruction.

Question 21

The influences of the social and cultural environment on the individual

A)nature.
B)ontogeny.
C)developmental discontinuity.
D)nurture.

Question 22

Which of the following is one of the central questions of developmental psychology?

A)In the first few years of life are children more sensitive to learning language or to developing attachments?
B)Why are genetic factors more influential than environmental processes in shaping development?
C)Exactly how many stages are there in human development?
D)Is development a gradual process of change, or is it punctuated by periods of rapid change?

Question 23

In the wake of the industrial revolution, public schools were established and 10­hour workdays recommended to provide children in the labor force with a(n):

A)academic education.
B)physical education.
C)technical education.
D)moral education.

Question 24

The debate about whether genetic or environmental factors are the most important determinants of development and behavior:

A)is not an important issue for developmental psychologists.
B)has been settled; environmental factors are most important.
C)is known as the nature­nurture controversy.
D)has been settled; genetic factors are the most important.

Question 25

Critical periods in development refer to times when:

A)particular experience has a more pronounced effect on the organism.
B)particular events must occur for development to proceed normally.
C)development proceeds at a faster pace.
D)development slows to a near halt.

Question 26

James Mark Baldwin (1861-1934) made an important theoretical contribution to developmental science by arguing that, to understand abilities in the adult, one first needs to see how an ability:

A)emerges and is transformed across stages of development.
B)is shaped by learning experiences.
C)is encoded in the genes.
D)is determined by cultural expectations.

Question 27

Sensitive periods in development refer to times when:

A)a particular experience has a more pronounced effect on the organism than at other times.
B)particular events must occur for development to proceed normally.
C)development proceeds at a faster pace.
D)development slows to a near halt.

Question 28

Alfred Binet developed the first intelligence test to:

A)identify schoolchildren who could use special education instruction.
B)predict the likelihood that individual children would be productive members of society.
C)rank all citizens according to mental worth.
D)inform the assignment of duties to army recruits.

Question 29

Sensitive periods are times in an organism's development when:

A)a particular experience (or lack of it) has a more pronounced effect on development.
B)certain events must occur for development to proceed normally.
C)great emotional growth occurs.
D)a particular experience has an "all­or­nothing" effect on development.

Question 30

The inherited biological predispositions of the individual

A)nurture.
B)developmental continuity.
C)nature.
D)phylogeny.

Question 31

Which of the following statements regarding developmentalists is ?

A)They are active in applying their knowledge to promote healthy development.
B)They assess developmental status but do not prescribe measures for assisting those in trouble.
C)Little has been learned about the behavior of human beings in the last century.
D)They have not attempted to explain the developmental processes underpinning age­related changes.

Question 32

The individual whose writings spurred interest in the study of human development as part of human evolution was:

A)Itard.
B)Darwin.
C)Preyer.
D)Piaget.

Question 33

One of the first developmentalists to stress the importance of systematic observation was Wilhelm Preyer (1841-1897). In his view, careful observation was necessary to establish the ____________ of behavior and, hence, to see how behavioral patterns arose.

A)frequency
B)importance
C)sequence
D)goals

Question 34

Why did the publication of Darwin's The Origin of Species stimulate interest in development?

A)People hoped to influence the direction of future human evolution.
B)People thought this study would prove that humans are not related to other animals.
C)People came to view children as imperfect adults who, without intervention, would behave like lower animals.
D)People thought that in studying children, they would see how human beings might have evolved from lower animals.

Question 35

Mrs. Phelps has just read in a parenting magazine that if she does not begin reading to her daughter during her daughter's first year of life, Leanne will not learn to read well after beginning school. This parenting advice reflects the influence of which developmental concept?

A)critical or sensitive periods
B)the biological­maturation framework
C)representative sampling
D)the constructivist framework

Question 36

Michael believes that his daughter is smart enough to do well in school without getting much help from her teachers. His view is consistent with the idea of:

A)"nurture" as a driving force of development.
B)"nature" as a driving force of development.
C)the plasticity of development.
D)the discontinuous nature of development.

Question 37

Which of the following statements MOST accurately describes developmentalists' view on the nature­ nurture debate?

A)Nature is more important to development than nurture.
B)Nuture plays a greater role in development than nature.
C)Nature and nurture both play a central role in development.
D)Nature and nurture are intertwined and cannot be understood in isolation from each another.

Question 38

Developmental psychologists are interested in:

A)describing general developmental trajectories.
B)individual differences in development.
C)the ways in which genetic heredity and environment interact to contribute to development.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 39

Which of the following is an example of developmental continuity?

A)the qualitative reorganization of movement required for learning to walk
B)the gradual growth in memory capacity
C)the shift from babbling to talking
D)the stage­like transformations that occur as a plant grows from a seed

Question 40

Critical periods in development:

A)occur in some animals but not in humans.
B)are thought to regulate bonding in human infants.
C)are times during which particular events must occur for development to proceed normally.
D)have been observed in humans during psychological development but not during physical development.

Question 41

Stages of development involve changes that are:

A)slow.
B)small.
C)qualitative.
D)quantitative.

Question 42

Theories are important for understanding child development because they:

A)provide systematic organization of many different observations.
B)guarantee agreement among researchers about what they see.
C)make it appear that child development experts know everything.
D)allow immediate applications to help children.

Question 43

Erikson departed from Freud's basic ideas about development by arguing that:

A)biological drives motivate all human action.
B)social and cultural factors play critical roles in development.
C)the developmental process is essentially complete by the end of adolescence.
D)development proceeds through a series of stages.

Question 44

Qualitatively new patterns of behavior during development, such as the change from crawling to walking, are often referred to as:

A)stages.
B)breakthroughs.
C)passages.
D)differences.

Question 45

Which of the following summarizes what developmentalists believe about the stability of children's psychological characteristics over time?

A)Children's characteristics are never stable over time.
B)Children's characteristics are always stable over time because of genetic factors.
C)The stability of children's characteristics over time depends both on genetic factors and the stability of children's environment.
D)Physical traits, but not psychological traits, remain stable over time.

Question 46

According to the Law of Effect, behaviors that:

A)require little energy to produce are likely to be repeated.
B)develop gradually are likely to be long lasting.
C)produce uncomfortable effects are likely to be repeated.
D)produce a satisfying effect are likely to be repeated.

Question 47

Whose theories emphasize the fundamental role played by the sex drive in human development?

A)Freud's
B)Piaget's
C)Erikson's
D)Bandura's

Question 48

A theory:

A)is a collection of evidence.
B)organizes evidence collected in the past, but does not help in making predictions about the future.
C)is a specific statement about an expected relationship among two variables.
D)provides a framework for collecting and interpreting evidence.

Question 49

According to John Flavell, a child has reached a new stage of development when:

A)the brain changes according to a biological timetable.
B)a gradual change in behavior appears.
C)qualitatively new patterns of behavior emerge.
D)previously acquired skills are applied to a new problem/situation.

Question 50

A researcher who states that the environment "shapes behavior as a sculptor shapes a lump of clay" would support which theoretical framework?

A)constructivist
B)psychodynamic
C)behaviorist
D)sociocultural

Question 51

Which of the following is a statement about individual differences in development?

A)They are innate and stable.
B)Our nature is the strongest influence on our individual differences.
C)Our individual differences are the result of the influence of both nature and nurture.
D)Our individual differences are the result of the influence of our environment.

Question 52

Which of the following supports a stage theory of development?

A)Children often appear to be in one stage on one occasion and in a different stage on another.
B)Children's thinking is continually changing, with most of these changes occurring gradually.
C)The processes by which people learn new behaviors remain the same at all ages.
D)As children develop, they proceed in a predictable order through a series of qualitatively different stages.

Question 53

Discontinuous development is a view that regards development as a:

A)process in which new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at particular time periods.
B)cumulative process of adding on more of the same types of skills that were there to begin with.
C)process that is influenced solely by genetic factors.
D)process that is influenced solely by environmental factors and culture.

Question 54

Which of the following represents a consensus of opinion among modern psychologists about human development?

A)Piaget's stage theory is an accurate description of development through adolescence.
B)Erikson's description of the challenges faced by individuals over the lifespan are sufficient to understand the process of development.
C)No single theoretical framework adequately characterizes all of development.
D)The sociocultural approach offers the optimal approach to understanding development.

Question 55

According to the ____________ perspective, unresolved traumatic experiences in childhood underlie adult psychological functioning.

A)psychodynamic
B)social learning
C)constructivist
D)sociocultural

Question 56

Which of the following psychologists subscribed to a behaviorist framework?

A)Jean Piaget
B)John Watson
C)Arnold Gesell
D)Sigmund Freud

Question 57

The function of a theory is to:

A)make a specific prediction within a single research study.
B)show how research fits into public policy.
C)guide the collection and interpretation of evidence.
D)avoid debate about scientific issues.

Question 58

Behaviorist theory explains that learning occurs when individuals modify their behaviors as a result of:

A)receiving rewards and punishments.
B)establishing a sense of personal identity.
C)constructing higher levels of knowledge.
D)being challenged within their zone of proximal development.

Question 59

In Erikson's theory, the main challenge of adolescence is:

A)establishing positive relationships.
B)contributing in meaningful ways to society.
C)avoidance of guilt.
D)the quest for identity.

Question 60

The method of treatment used by proponents of a psychodynamic approach is called:

A)modeling.
B)behavior modification.
C)psychoanalysis.
D)assimilation.

Question 61

A psychologist argues, "Historically, the survival of the species depended on males' hunting skills and females' food gathering skills. These activities required different spatial skills, thus explaining the origin of current gender differences in spatial abilities." What theoretical approach is this psychologist describing?

A)critical theory
B)dynamic systems theory
C)ecological systems theory
D)evolutionary theory

Question 62

Psychologists who adopt the sociocultural framework differ from adopters of the other frameworks of development in:

A)identifying the child as an active contributor to her development.
B)assuming that biological and experiential factors influence each other.
C)including the culture of the child's social group as a factor in development.
D)concerning themselves with the relative contributions of biological and experiential factors to development.

Question 63

Behavior modification is a strategy suggested by ____________ theorists to help address problem behaviors in children.

A)psychodynamic
B)social learning
C)constructivist
D)information­processing

Question 64

What assumption did Piaget make about children's learning?

A)Children are like sponges and absorb knowledge from the world around them.
B)Children actively construct understandings of the world around them.
C)Children's learning is motivated by the satisfaction of biological drives.
D)Children are most likely to learn behaviors that contribute to the survival of the species.

Question 65

Individuals switch from a preference for pictures of adults to a preference for pictures of infants at about what age?

A)5
B)during puberty
C)21
D)7

Question 66

The change in preference for pictures of infants over pictures of adults coincides with:

A)the 5 to 7 brain shift and resultant improvement in cognitive abilities.
B)the physiological changes that make people capable of reproducing.
C)the achievement of adult status.
D)marriage.

Question 67

When counting on her own, Josie can accurately count 5 objects. When her father helps her by pointing at each object to be counted, Josie can accurately count 10 objects. Her father's assistance is:

A)outside of Josie's zone of proximal development.
B)within Josie's zone of proximal development.
C)likely to result in Josie becoming uninterested in counting.
D)likely to slow the pace of Josie's ability to count accurately on her own.

Question 68

Which of the following is a central claim of BOTH Piaget and Vygotsky?

A)All children go through the same stages of development.
B)The process of development is universal.
C)Children actively construct their own knowledge.
D)Development can't be separated from its social context.

Question 69

The theorist known for his appreciation of the active role that children play in their own knowledge construction is:

A)Freud.
B)Bandura.
C)Piaget.
D)Bronfenbrenner.

Question 70

The range between what one can do unsupported and what one can do with optimal social support is referred to as ____________.

A)ethology
B)accomodation
C)equilibration
D)the zone of proximal development

Question 71

____________ occurs when a child modifies an existing schema to account for new experiences.

A)Accommodation
B)Assimilation
C)Modeling
D)Replication

Question 72

According to Konrad Lorenz, all of the following are signs of "babyness" EXCEPT:

A)round, protruding cheeks
B)large eyes relative to the size of the face
C)a high, protruding forehead
D)a small head relative to the size of the body

Question 73

Social learning theory extends the ideas of behaviorism by:

A)proposing that children construct their own understandings of the world around them.
B)suggesting that neurological health is a key component in learning.
C)identifying the importance of modeling others' behaviors for learning.
D)revealing that the challenge of early adulthood is to establish intimate relationships.

Question 74

Why might an ethnologist be interested in the research finding that adults view infants as "cute"?

A)because it demonstrates a process by which babies elicit care from their caregivers
B)because it suggests that adult visual systems are not yet fully developed.
C)because it shows that adults are more intelligent than infants
D)because it provides information on how best to market goods to consumers

Question 75

According to Lorenz, features that signal "babyness" evoke caregiving behaviors from:

A)adults.
B)animals but not from humans.
C)adults who already have children.
D)females but indifference from males.

Question 76

An example of Piaget's concept of accommodation is: an infant:

A)feeling more relaxed when in familiar rather than unfamiliar environments.
B)demonstrating a preference for classical music.
C)learning to suck on a rattle differently than she sucks on a pacifier.
D)making eye contact with her caregiver when she knocks over a toy.

Question 77

According to constructivist views, during ____________, children interpret experiences in terms of existing schemes.

A)accommodation
B)assimilation
C)equilibration
D)the sensorimotor stage

Question 78

Which of the following statements is MOST consistent with the views of information­ processing theorists?

A)Children's behaviors serve adaptive functions and were selected over the course of evolution.
B)Development can be best explained by considering how various individual components interact and change over time to form coherent structures.
C)Development is a process of storing, organizing, retrieving, and manipulating knowledge.
D)Examining connections between individuals and their social and cultural worlds is essential to understanding development.

Question 79

An example of Piaget's concept of assimilation is an infant who:

A)knows how to grasp her mother's hair and uses the same grasping movements to grab a toy.
B)learns that her pacifier does not provide her with milk.
C)shares a toy with her father..
D)bangs blocks together rather than chewing on them.

Question 80

Viewing children as individuals who are active constructors of their own development is a major contribution of:

A)Freud.
B)Piaget.
C)Erikson.
D)Bandura.