Question 1

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 2

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 3

There are four distinct stages of sleep. Sleepwalking or Somniloquy takes place during which stage of sleep?

Accepted Answer

Stage N3 sleep, also called deep or slow wave sleep, is the stage during which most parasomnias occur, including night terrors, sleepwalking, Somniloquy, and nocturnal enuresis.

Question 4

There are short, thin fibers protruding from neurons that are responsible for receiving impulses and transmitting them into the cell body. Those are known as:

Accepted Answer

Dendrites branch out from neurons and conduct electrochemical messages from other cells to the soma (cell body) of the neuron they extend from.

Question 5

Which type of neuron is responsible for carrying information from the central nervous system to glands and muscles?

Accepted Answer

Motor neurons carry information from the CNS to muscles and glands. Sensory neurons are responsible for translating external stimuli (via the five senses) into internal stimuli. Dendrites are one part of a neuron, and CNS neurons include many types of neurons.

Question 6

Research into potential negative effects of maternal employment and daycare on children has concluded which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Good daycare has been found to positively influence development of social skills and intelligence. High quality daycare can be complementary to healthy parenting. There have been mixed findings about the impact of daycare of social development, largely due to large differences in daycare quality.

Question 7

Divorce is thought to be potentially detrimental to childhood development. Based on studies and common conclusions, which of the following statements is NOT true regarding the effect of divorce on development?

Accepted Answer

It has been concluded that boys have more short- and long-term consequences than girls do post-divorce, although girls may demonstrate more short-term effects.

Question 8

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 9

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 10

The separation-individuation theory of childhood development, proposed by Mahler, delineates a few main phases and several overlapping sub-phases that occur in children between birth and two or more years of age. Which main phase does the sub-phase rapprochement occur during?

Accepted Answer

Rapprochement is the last sub-phase of development in this model and occurs during the separation-individuation phase. Children start in the normal autistic phase, move on to the normal symbiotic phase, and then into this last phase. Hatching refers to the first sub-phase, which starts at the beginning of an infant's life (during the autistic phase).

Question 11

Which idea is the Montessori method of education primarily based on?

Accepted Answer

Maria Montessori developed her educational method based on the idea that children thrive in an environment where they are provided with tools for self-directed learning and that children have inner natural guidance for their best learning style.

Question 12

There are different types of memory that are responsible for retaining information over varying lengths of time. Which type of memory is responsible for being able to recall names of childhood experiences and the names of family members?

Accepted Answer

Long-term memory refers to knowledge that is permanently stored in the brain and can be recalled on demand. Other types of memory are shorter-term or related to specific triggers.

Question 13

The limbic system is part of the central nervous system. Which of the following is a feature or function of the limbic system?

Accepted Answer

The limbic system is part of the forebrain and includes the hippocampus, amygdala, anterior thalamic nuclei, and limbic cortex. This system is plays a role in emotion, behavior, long-term memory, and olfaction functions.

Question 14

It was once thought that brain structure was entirely determined by genetics; that after childhood development, brain structure and function was permanently set. Now it is recognized that brains adapt to changing environmental circumstances. This process is known as:

Accepted Answer

Neuroplasticity is the lifelong ability of the brain to reorganize neural pathways in response to learning, emotional development, and changing environmental circumstances.

Question 15

There are windows of learning during which it is easiest for people to acquire or refine particular abilities. For example, it is commonly accepted that children learn more readily than adults. One of the keys windows of learning is:

Accepted Answer

Learning happens more readily while myelination is still occurring. Myelin, or white matter, grows gradually to sheath nerves and facilitate faster travel of nerve impulses. This process starts at birth and is completed by the age of 25 to 30 years. It is thought that additional myelination is triggered by learning at older ages, but the learning process is harder and more synaptic-based.

Question 16

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 17

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 18

One critic of Arthur Jensen's claim that eighty percent of intelligence is determined by heredity questioned his use of one type of study. Which of the following studies did Urie Bronfenbrenner claim were excessively used in Jensen's research?

Accepted Answer

Bronfenbrenner claimed that Jensen relied too heavily on twin studies with uncontrolled variables; that is, studies of monozygotic twins raised in different environments. Bronfenbrenner pointed out that there were more cultural similarities than differences even in those separate environments.

Question 19

Sherman and Key studied the intellectual abilities of children living in isolated villages and noted that they had inferior intellects when compared with children living in more populated areas. What conclusion did they draw from this?

Accepted Answer

Sherman and Key concluded that children develop intelligence in response to environmental demand. It was noted that intelligence increased as village size increased in this study.

Question 20

David Krech studied the relationship between environment and intelligence by experimenting with rats in specifically-constructed environments. Which of the following is NOT one of his research conclusions?

Accepted Answer

Krech's study was limited to examining the resulting intelligence levels of rats reared in one of two environments; he did not investigate the impact of changing environments after initial rearing. He did discover that brain composition was affected by environment.

Quiz 3: Development Neuro