Question 1

Developmental psychology includes the study of maturation, which includes the development of physical processes and resultant changes in behavior. Which of the following is NOT an example of maturation?

Accepted Answer

Mathematical abilities are a result of learning, not of maturation. The ability to learn is controlled by maturation (but specific learned abilities are not), as is language, social behavior, and motor skills.

Question 2

Developmental psychology includes the study of maturation, which includes the development of physical processes and resultant changes in behavior. Which of the following statements is true of the connection between maturation and skill acquisition?

Accepted Answer

The maturation process results in readiness to learn skills; without that readiness, skills cannot be learned. Skill acquisition is a direct result of learning. All people experience maturation, though not to identical degrees.

Question 3

Mitosis, the process of forming new cells through cell division, occurs more rapidly at some points in the lifespan. During which of the following periods does mitosis occur most rapidly?

Accepted Answer

Of the choices given, mitosis occurs most rapidly while a body repairs injuries. It also occurs more rapidly in children than in adults.

Question 4

Konrad Lorenz discovered, in his work with birds, that ducklings that imprinted on him between 12 and 17 hours after birth continued to follow him even when other ducks became available to them. What does this phenomenon refer to?

Accepted Answer

Critical periods are specific times during a life span when an organism is most sensitive to environmental influences. These periods are known as such because if specific things do not happen during them (like imprinting on an adult of the same species), they will not happen at all. Sensitive period is a term used to refer to the same phenomenon in human cognitive and emotional development.

Question 5

Physical development is largely determined by genetic heredity. Some physical development is environment-specific, while other genes will express as physical characteristics in all environments. How is the feature of having blue eyes described?

Accepted Answer

Phenotype refers to observable characteristics that are genetically-based, while genotype refers to the genetic makeup of an individual. Genotype includes both expressed and unexpressed characteristics (like recessive genes).

Question 6

Prenatal development is divided into stages. During what stage does the development of eyes and ears begin?

Accepted Answer

The embryonic period follows the germinal period; it is during this stage that all major organ systems and structures begin to develop (limbs, ears, eyes, etc.). It starts at about two weeks and lasts until eight to twelve weeks, at which point the fetal period begins.

Question 7

Infants have a number of reflexes, developed in utero, that disappear within the first year of life. One of those reflexes consists of extending limbs and fingers when startled. What is that reflex known as?

Accepted Answer

The Moro reflex refers to an infant extending limbs and fingers and sometimes arching the back when startled. The Babinski reflex and grasp reflex are both in response to physical stimuli, while the Moro reflex occurs in response to other kinds of stimuli as well (a loud noise, for example).

Question 8

Although senses are not completely formed at birth, infants are born with relatively strong senses. Which of the five senses is the first to develop?

Accepted Answer

Touch is the first sense to develop; it is believed that infants can feel pain on their first day of life. Touch is considered to be the most mature sense in the first few months of life.

Question 9

Brain development is rapid during childhood. At what age is it believed that a brain has lateral functioning and sensory integration?

Accepted Answer

By seven to eight years, brains have lateralized functioning and sensory integration; handedness is firmly established and visual-motor skills are noticeably more mature. This happens to correspond to the transition from preoperational to concrete operational stage in Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

Question 10

Carol Gilligan criticized Kohlberg's theory of moral development for excessive focus on male values. She suggested an alternative model of moral development. Which of the following ideas is not outlined in that model?

Accepted Answer

Gilligan's three-level model includes orientation as individual survival, goodness as self-sacrifice, and morality of nonviolence (in chronological progression). Gilligan suggested that males prefer a justice perspective, while females generally prefer have a caring perspective.

Question 11

Emotional expression in children develops gradually after birth. A one-year-old who becomes excited when her mother is excited is demonstrating which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Social referencing becomes common around one year of age, when infants share affective states of their caretakers. Empathy develops around two years of age.

Question 12

Lawrence Kohlberg's stage theory is an adaptation of Piaget's psychological theory. Kohlberg discusses six stages of moral development. At what stage is a person entirely guided by his or her own conscience, according to Kohlberg's theory?

Accepted Answer

People are only guided by their own conscience and sense of morality in stage 6, which is the second stage of the post-conventional level. Stage 6 morality is based on universal justice; laws, for example, are only respected if they are also just. Kohlberg found it difficult to identify many people operating at this level of morality.

Question 13

In Piaget's 3-stage moral development theory, heteronymous morality is characterized by which of the following:

Accepted Answer

Heteronymous morality, according to Piaget, is the earliest stage of morality for children (from roughly age 4 to age 7). In this phase of development, children think in terms of objective responsibility (value the letter of the law above the spirit) and immanent justice (immediate punishment following a wrongdoing).

Question 14

Lawrence Kohlberg's stage theory is an adaptation of Piaget's psychological theory. Kohlberg discusses six stages of moral development. In this theory, a person who behaves ethically in order to gain approval from others is in what stage?

Accepted Answer

Stage 3. Kohlberg explained moral behavior designed to elicit approval as the good girl/good boy phenomenon; individuals attempt to live up to society's expectations and are highly receptive to external approval and disapproval.

Question 15

Which biological theory of aging suggests the eventual development of diseases like osteoarthritis?

Accepted Answer

Wear and tear theory, which is a non-genetic theory of aging, suggests that long-term damage and accumulation of unhealthy chemicals (for example) eventually overwhelm the body's ability to function. Osteoarthritis involves pain and mobility issues related to deteriorated joint functioning. Its direct cause is the wearing away of cartilage, but there is no known specific biological or genetic reason for that to happen, so it is considered to be due to wear and tear over time.

Question 16

Kübler-Ross developed an emotional theory commonly known as the five stages of grief. Which of the following is not one of those emotional stages?

Accepted Answer

Confusion is not one of the five stages of grief in this model. They are, in chronological order: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. This model of grief is applied to those with terminal illnesses and also to anyone suffering a catastrophic life event (divorce, death of a loved one, etc.).

Question 17

Piaget's model of childhood development identifies four stages of cognitive development that individuals move through as they grow up. Which of those stages is defined by the ability to retain mental representations of things when they are not physically present?

Accepted Answer

Preoperational stage. When children in the preschool age range move from the sensorimotor stage into preoperational stage, they develop representational thought.

Question 18

The information processing view of cognitive development competes with Piaget's model. Which of the following theories of information processing does not counter the corresponding stage of development in Piaget's model?

Accepted Answer

The information processing view that children can perform some conservation tasks but not others is a response to Piaget's concrete operational stage, not his preoperational stage.

Question 19

James Marcia's theory of identity achievement claims that there are two distinct parts to adolescent identity development: time of choosing (or crisis) and commitment. He proposed four identity statuses of psychological identity development based on this theory. Which of those statuses refers to someone who is in the midst of a crisis but has not made commitments?

Accepted Answer

Identity moratorium is a stage when someone is experiencing a crisis, but has either no commitment or only vague commitment. Identity diffusion is the status of someone who has not yet experienced crisis or made commitment. Identity foreclosure is the status of having made a commitment, but not experienced crisis. Identity achievement is the status of someone who has both undergone crisis and made commitment.

Question 20

Freud's exploration of the Oedipus conflict and possible sexual etiologies of neurosis contributed to his theory of psychosexual development. His theory includes three stages that children go through early in life. In what order do those three stages occur, according to Freud?

Accepted Answer

Freud described the first stages of psychosexual development as thus: oral (demonstrated by an infant's enjoyment of breastfeeding); anal (demonstrated by a toddler's enjoyment of defecating); and then phallic. He posited that following stages were Oedipal, latency, and finally, genital (which marked sexual maturity).

Quiz 5: Growth and Lifespan Development