Deck 1: History, Theory, and Research Strategies

Question 1

New evidence increasingly emphasizes that __________.

A) there is very little cultural diversity in human development
B) environmental, but not personal, contexts shape development
C) development occurs in a neat, orderly sequence of stages unaffected by distinct contexts
D) people not only are affected by but also contribute to the contexts in which they develop

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Although Betty grew up in a rundown neighborhood, had divorced parents, and rarely saw her father, she is a successful, happy, and healthy adult. Betty's ability to adapt effectively in the face of threats to development is known as __________.

A) assimilation
B) resilience
C) age-graded development
D) multidimensional development

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Tammy's father is an exceptional gymnast. When Tammy was just a toddler, her father believed that Tammy already showed great promise as a gymnast. Tammy's father probably believes that athletic ability is mostly determined by __________.

A) nurture
B) stages
C) nature
D) early experiences

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A theory of development __________.

A) illustrates the ultimate truth about human behavior
B) describes, explains, and predicts behavior
C) explains all aspects of human growth
D) does not require scientific verification

Question 5

Which statement provides an example of an age-graded influence?

A) Paul learned to play the violin at age 11.
B) Frank got his driver's license at age 16.
C) Martina got married at age 34.
D) Jesse learned to use a computer at age 21.

Question 6

Theorists who emphasize plasticity believe that __________.

A) change in response to influential experiences is possible
B) heredity, rather than environment, influences behavior
C) individuals who are high in anxiety as children will remain so at later ages
D) early experiences establish a lifelong pattern of behavior

Question 7

Dr. Langley's work is devoted to understanding constancy and change throughout the lifespan. Dr. Langley's field of study is __________.

A) genetics
B) clinical psychology
C) adolescent development
D) developmental science

Question 8

According to the __________ view of development, the difference between the immature and mature being is simply one of amount or complexity.

A) nature
B) discontinuous
C) nurture
D) continuous

Question 9

Max, age 65, learned to play the piano at a local senior center. Max demonstrates that __________.

A) aging is an eventual "shipwreck"
B) learning follows a predictable timetable
C) development is plastic at all ages
D) musical talent peaks in late adulthood

Question 10

The discontinuous view of development holds that __________.

A) infants and preschoolers respond to the world in much the same way adults do
B) growth is the process of gradually augmenting the skills that were present from the beginning
C) infants and children have unique ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving
D) development is a smooth process limited only by a lack of information and precision

Question 11

Theorists who contend that powerful negative events in the first few years cannot be fully overcome by later, more positive ones emphasize __________.

A) plasticity
B) stability
C) nurture
D) discontinuity

Question 12

Although great diversity characterizes the interests and concerns of investigators who study development, they share a single goal: to identify __________.

A) genetic factors that contribute to longevity
B) environmental factors that contribute to disease and illness
C) those factors that lead to abnormal development in children and adolescents
D) those factors that influence consistencies and transformations in people from conception to death

Question 13

The lifespan perspective on human development assumes that development is __________.

A) static and stable
B) multidimensional and multidirectional
C) continuous, rather than discontinuous
D) largely the result of heredity

Question 14

According to the lifespan perspective, __________ is supreme in its impact on the life course.

A) the prenatal period
B) early childhood
C) adolescence
D) no age period

Question 15

Dr. Kostel believes that development takes place in stages. This belief is consistent with the __________ perspective.

A) nurture
B) continuous
C) discontinuous
D) nature

Question 16

People born during the baby boom between 1946 and 1964 tend to be alike in ways that set them apart from people born at other times, due to __________ influences.

A) age-graded
B) history-graded
C) nonnormative
D) bio-historical

Question 17

Increasingly, researchers view human development as __________.

A) taking place entirely before and during adolescence
B) declining in old age
C) influenced more by heredity than environment
D) a perpetually ongoing process

Question 18

Developmental science is __________ because it has grown through the combined efforts of people from many fields of study.

A) interdisciplinary
B) empirical
C) applied
D) theoretical

Question 19

__________ influences are irregular and do not follow a predictable timetable.

A) Nonnormative
B) History-graded
C) Age-graded
D) Bio-historical

Question 20

Although Justin spent his first 18 months in an orphanage, his adoptive mother believes sensitive caregiving will help Justin overcome his early experiences. Justin's mother emphasizes the role of __________ in development.

A) nurture
B) stages
C) stability
D) nature

Question 21

Dr. Faulkner believes that directly observable events-stimuli and responses-are the appropriate focus of the study of development. Dr. Faulkner probably follows the __________ perspective of development.

A) psychosexual
B) psychosocial
C) behaviorist
D) cognitive-developmental

Question 22

One criticism of Freud's psychosexual theory was that it __________.

A) did not apply in other cultures
B) underemphasized the influence of sexual feelings
C) compared human development to the evolution of the human species
D) offered too narrow a view of important environmental influences

Question 23

G. Stanley Hall and his student Arnold Gesell __________.

A) discovered that prenatal growth is strikingly similar in many species
B) launched the normative approach
C) constructed the first standardized intelligence test
D) were the forefathers of psychoanalytic theory

Question 24

__________ theory was the first to stress the influence of the early parent‒child relationship on development.

A) Darwin's
B) Freud's
C) Erikson's
D) Watson's

Question 25

In a historic experiment with 11-month-old Albert, John Watson demonstrated that __________.

A) children cannot be conditioned to fear a formerly neutral stimulus
B) infants as young as a few months old will repeat a behavior to obtain a desirable reward
C) children can be conditioned to fear a formerly neutral stimulus
D) children have an innate, inborn fear of rats

Question 26

Dr. Torrez believes that how conflicts between biological drives and social expectations are resolved determines a person's ability to learn, to get along with others, and to cope with anxiety. Dr. Torrez accepts the __________.

A) psychoanalytic perspective
B) psychosocial theory
C) cognitive-developmental theory
D) social learning theory

Question 27

Psychosexual theory emphasizes that __________.

A) children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore the world
B) directly observable events-stimuli and responses-are the appropriate focus of psychological study
C) how parents manage their child's sexual and aggressive drives in the first few years is crucial for healthy personality development
D) the ego makes a positive contribution to development, acquiring attitudes and skills that make the individual a useful member of society

Question 28

The most consistent asset of resilient children is __________.

A) a strong bond with a competent, caring adult
B) high intelligence
C) an easygoing temperament
D) an association with a rule-abiding peer

Question 29

Ivan Pavlov discovered __________.

A) observational learning
B) classical conditioning
C) the ego's positive contributions to development
D) the clinical method

Question 30

According to operant conditioning theory, __________.

A) the frequency of a behavior can be increased through punishment, such as disapproval
B) normal development must be understood in relation to each culture's life situation
C) the id develops as parents insist that children conform to the values of society
D) the frequency of a behavior can be increased by following it with a wide variety of reinforcers

Question 31

Baby Gabriella claps her hands after her mother does. Gabriella is displaying __________.

A) reinforcement
B) classical conditioning
C) observational learning
D) adaptation

Question 32

Sigmund Freud constructed his psychosexual theory __________.

A) on the basis of his adult patients' memories of painful childhood events
B) by conducting studies of animal behavior
C) on the basis of interviews with institutionalized children and adolescents
D) by carefully observing his own children

Question 33

__________ is regarded as the founder of the child study movement.

A) Charles Darwin
B) G. Stanley Hall
C) Alfred Binet
D) Sigmund Freud

Question 34

Arnold Gesell __________.

A) was among the first to make knowledge about child development meaningful to parents
B) is generally regarded as the founder of the child study movement
C) foreshadowed lifespan research by writing a book on aging
D) constructed the first successful intelligence test

Question 35

Dr. Singh believes that a basic psychosocial conflict, which is resolved along a continuum from positive to negative, determines healthy or maladaptive outcomes at each stage of development. Dr. Singh's beliefs are aligned with those of which theorist?

A) G. Stanley Hall
B) Sigmund Freud
C) Erik Erikson
D) B. F. Skinner

Question 36

Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon __________.

A) wrote the first book of its time on aging
B) were among the first to make child development knowledge meaningful to parents
C) regarded development as a maturational process
D) constructed the first successful intelligence test

Question 37

The baby boomers __________.

A) were more economically underprivileged than their counterparts in the previous generation
B) adopted their parents' family- and marriage-centered lifestyles in early adulthood
C) embraced growing old far more than their predecessors
D) were labeled a narcissistic, indulged, "me" generation

Question 38

The first successful intelligence test was originally constructed to __________.

A) measure individual differences in IQ
B) document age-related improvements in children's intellectual functioning
C) identify children with learning problems for placement in special classes
D) compare the scores of people who varied in gender, ethnicity, and birth order

Question 39

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution emphasized __________ and __________.

A) the normative approach; survival of the fittest
B) noble savages; physical maturation
C) the tabula rasa; natural selection
D) natural selection; survival of the fittest

Question 40

As a generation, the baby boomers are __________ than any previous mid- or late-life cohort.

A) healthier, but less educated
B) more educated, but less wealthy
C) more self-focused, but less healthy
D) healthier, better educated, and financially better off

Question 41

Sydney, when faced with a problem, starts with a hypothesis, deduces testable inferences, and isolates and combines variables to see which inferences are confirmed. Sydney is in Piaget's __________ stage of development.

A) sensorimotor
B) preoperational
C) concrete operational
D) formal operational

Question 42

Dr. Rizvi studies the relationship between changes in the brain and the developing person's cognitive processing and behavior patterns. She is part of a group of researchers from the fields of psychology, biology, neuroscience, and medicine. Their approach to development is known as __________.

A) behaviorism
B) cognitive-development theory
C) the information-processing approach
D) developmental cognitive neuroscience

Question 43

Like Piaget's theory, the information-processing approach __________.

A) divides development into stages
B) views development as discontinuous
C) regards people as actively making sense of their own thinking
D) has much to say about nonlinear cognition, such as imagination and creativity

Question 44

The findings of information-processing researchers have important implications for __________.

A) the study of imagination
B) nonlinear cognition
C) education
D) childhood creativity

Question 45

Piaget's critics point out that __________.

A) he overestimated the competencies of infants and young children
B) his stagewise account pays insufficient attention to social and cultural influences
C) discovery learning rather than adult teaching is the best way to foster development
D) children's performances on Piagetian tasks cannot be improved with training

Question 46

The goal of applied behavior analysis is to __________.

A) outline changes in temperament over the lifespan
B) eliminate undesirable behaviors and increase desirable responses
C) examine how we think about ourselves and other people
D) synthesize information from various sources into a detailed picture of a person's personality

Question 47

Four-year-old R'Monte engages in make-believe play. He stirs beads in a bowl and says, "Soup is ready!" According to Piaget, R'Monte is in the __________ stage of cognitive development.

A) sensorimotor
B) preoperational
C) concrete operational
D) sociocultural

Question 48

The information-processing approach views the human mind as a __________.

A) socially mediated process
B) collection of stimuli and responses
C) system of genetically programmed behaviors
D) symbol-manipulating system through which information flows

Question 49

Developmental social neuroscience __________.

A) involves the design of flowcharts to map the precise steps individuals use to complete tasks
B) emphasizes that preschoolers' thinking is full of faulty logic because they engage in hands-on exploration
C) is devoted to studying the relationship between changes in the brain and emotional and social development
D) involves the study of brain activity and the individual's linear and logical cognitive processing patterns

Question 50

Lillian uses flowcharts to map the precise steps individuals use to solve problems and complete tasks. Lillian is a(n) __________ theorist.

A) psychoanalytic
B) information-processing
C) psychosocial
D) social learning

Question 51

Cindy tells her daughter, "I know you can do a good job on that homework" because she believes that if she encourages persistence, her daughter will start to view herself as hardworking and high-achieving. Cindy is applying the __________ approach.

A) behavior modification
B) psychosocial
C) cognitive-developmental
D) social-cognitive

Question 52

According to __________ theory, modeling is a powerful source of development.

A) reinforcement
B) operant conditioning
C) social learning
D) classical conditioning

Question 53

Behaviorism and social learning theory __________.

A) overemphasize the plasticity of cognitive development
B) overestimate people's contributions to their own development
C) offer too narrow a view of important environmental influences
D) overemphasize each individual's unique life history

Question 54

According to Jean Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory, __________.

A) children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world
B) children's learning depends on reinforcers, such as rewards from adults
C) adult teaching is the best way to foster development
D) rapid development occurs during sensitive periods

Question 55

Today, Albert Bandura's theory stresses the importance of __________.

A) behavior modification
B) punishment
C) cognition
D) reinforcement

Question 56

According to Jean Piaget, __________ is the balance between internal structures and information that children encounter in their everyday worlds.

A) imitation
B) adaptation
C) cognition
D) equilibrium

Question 57

What did John Bowlby believe?

A) Adults and more expert peers help children master culturally meaningful activities.
B) The infant‒caregiver bond has lifelong consequences for human relationships.
C) Parents and infants are both instinctively attached to each other.
D) Attachment patterns are difficult to study in humans.

Question 58

Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen laid the modern foundations for __________.

A) ethology
B) social learning theory
C) psychoanalytic theory
D) cognitive-developmental theory

Question 59

Central to Piaget's theory is the concept of __________.

A) imitation
B) adaptation
C) self-efficacy
D) scaffolding

Question 60

Observations of imprinting led to which major concept in human development?

A) adaptation
B) equilibrium
C) the critical period
D) classical conditioning

Question 61

Ecological systems theory views the person as __________.

A) a blossoming flower whose development is a genetically determined series of events that unfold automatically
B) developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment
C) a social being influenced primarily by observational learning or adult modeling
D) a computer-like system that actively codes, transforms, and organizes information

Question 62

Toby moved with his family just before he entered fourth grade. In ecological systems theory, the move represents a change in Toby's __________.

A) microsystem
B) mesosystem
C) exosystem
D) chronosystem

Question 63

Taking tests and answering questionnaires are examples of __________.

A) research designs
B) theories
C) hypotheses
D) research methods

Question 64

One major strength of the clinical interview is that it __________.

A) makes comparing individuals' responses very easy
B) can provide a large amount of information in a fairly brief period
C) is directed toward understanding a culture or distinct social group
D) allows researchers to see the behavior of interest as it occurs in natural settings

Question 65

Dr. Wu observes children's responses to bullying by watching them play in a park. This is an example of a(n) __________.

A) ethnographic study
B) naturalistic observation
C) structured observation
D) clinical interview

Question 66

Evolutionary developmental psychology __________.

A) focuses on how the structures of the mind develop to better fit with, or represent, the external world
B) seeks to understand the adaptive value of species-wide competencies as those competencies change with age
C) views the human mind as a symbol-manipulating system through which information flows
D) brings together researchers from many fields to study changes in the brain and behavior patterns

Question 67

One limitation of systematic observation is that it __________.

A) provides little information on how participants actually behave
B) tells investigators little about the reasoning behind behaviors
C) underestimates the capacities of individuals who have difficulty putting their thoughts into words
D) ignores participants with poor memories, who may have trouble recalling exactly what happened

Question 68

Dr. George predicted that positive reinforcement would increase prosocial behavior in preschoolers. Dr. George's prediction is an example of a __________.

A) theory
B) research question
C) hypothesis
D) research design

Question 69

Self-reports __________.

A) use a flexible, conversational style to probe for the participant's point of view
B) describe the entire stream of behavior-everything said and done over a certain time period
C) range from relatively unstructured interviews to highly structured interviews, questionnaires, and tests
D) bring together a wide range of information on one person, including interviews, observations, and tests

Question 70

Which statement describes a strength of naturalistic observation?

A) It allows investigators a view of participants' everyday lives.
B) It permits comparisons of participants' responses.
C) Great depth and breadth of information can be obtained in a short time.
D) It grants each participant an equal opportunity to display the behavior of interest.

Question 71

Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory, information processing, and Vygotsky's sociocultural theory all stress __________.

A) nature over nurture
B) changes in thinking
C) unconscious motives and drives
D) the effects of punishment and reinforcement on behavior

Question 72

In a __________, each participant has an equal opportunity to display the behavior of interest.

A) clinical interview
B) naturalistic observation
C) structured observation
D) case study

Question 73

Which major theory of human development emphasizes plasticity at all ages?

A) psychoanalytic perspective
B) ethology
C) evolutionary developmental psychology
D) lifespan perspective

Question 74

According to ecological systems theory, interactions between Marina and her child, Tyler, occur in the __________.

A) microsystem
B) mesosystem
C) exosystem
D) macrosystem

Question 75

Dr. Whiren studies how culture is transmitted to the next generation. Dr. Whiren's research best aligns with the perspective of which theorist?

A) Jean Piaget
B) John Bowlby
C) Lev Vygotsky
D) Erik Erikson

Question 76

Dr. Redmund characterizes his view of development as a bioecological model. His perspective is aligned with that of which theorist?

A) Jean Piaget
B) Urie Bronfenbrenner
C) Lev Vygotsky
D) Niko Tinbergen

Question 77

Structured interviews __________.

A) do not yield the same depth of information as clinical interviews
B) are flexible because questions can be phrased differently for each participant
C) bring together a wide range of information on one person
D) tell researchers little about the reasoning behind participants' responses

Question 78

The outermost level of Bronfenbrenner's model is the __________.

A) microsystem
B) macrosystem
C) exosystem
D) mesosystem

Question 79

The parents at Central Elementary School responded to a multiple-choice questionnaire that asked them what they considered the most important activity they do with their child. This questionnaire is an example of a __________.

A) structured interview
B) clinical interview
C) naturalistic observation
D) structured observation

Question 80

Vygotsky's emphasis on culture and social experience led him to __________.

A) neglect the biological side of development
B) overemphasize the role of heredity in cognitive change
C) emphasize children's independent efforts to make sense of their world
D) place too much emphasis on children's capacity to shape their own development