Exam 1: Introduction to Developmental Psychology and Its Research Strategies

Garrett tells you that he believes that it is crucial for a parent to establish ground rules for acceptable behaviour,from day one.Garrett confides that everyone knows that all children will be naughty.Which philosophy does Garrett likely believe in?

Amy wants to determine the optimal age for the introduction of an AIDS education program in her school district.She is also interested in assessing the short- and long-term impact of the program on sexual health.Which research design should she choose?

Suppose that a researcher is interested in studying the stability of behaviour over time and the individual differences that are characteristic of that temporal change.Which of the following research designs would he or she most likely use?

André tells you that he predicts if you continue to allow your daughter to have candy when she has a temper tantrum at the store checkout,you will find that she has more frequent tantrums.What principle is André relating?

Dr.Donnetelli predicts that if parents are nurturing and responsive,then children are less likely to act aggressively.What does Dr.Donnetelli believe about parental responsiveness and children's aggression?

Suppose that a researcher has found a strong relationship between the amount of time spent playing video games and physical fitness such that as the time playing video games increases,physical fitness decreases.Which of the following correlation coefficients is most consistent with this finding?

List four general observations concerning the character of human development.

A researcher studied the effects of a preschool enrichment program on the IQ of children starting at 2,3,or 4 years of age.Each age group was assessed at the end of the first year of the program for short-term effects and then again 5 years later for long-term effects.Which research design does this study exemplify?

George and Elizabeth have eight children ranging in age from 3 months to 19 years.Based on their experiences with their children,George and Elizabeth tell you that they believe temper tantrums can be eliminated if a parent follows several simple steps in responding to a child when he or she has a temper tantrum.What have George and Elizabeth developed with respect to childhood temper tantrums?

Contemporary developmentalists maintain that human development is a continual and cumulative process.Which statement most accurately expresses this viewpoint?

Dr.Bauer predicts that if parents are nurturing and responsive,then children are less likely to act aggressively.What does Dr.Bauer's prediction exemplify?

Marcus designed a research study to assess curiosity.Participants were taken to a waiting room by a research assistant who left behind a file marked "confidential." Hidden observers then recorded whether the participant looked at the confidential material once they were left alone.Based upon this description,what data collection method is Marcus using?

Sometimes to best answer a research question,the investigator would have to ask children to participate in a potentially harmful situation.In this situation,what would ethical guidelines suggest?

Identify one key strength and one weakness of psychophysiological methods of conducting developmental research.

How do experience and biological processes affect human development?

Which statement is a limitation of psychophysiological methods?

What is one potential shortcoming of using interviews and questionnaires in developmental research?

If Gail is interested in studying the timing of changes that occur as children reach puberty,what is the best research method for her to use?

List two ways that researchers can attempt to minimize observer influences during naturalistic observation.

Lexis is conducting research related to moral development in children of different ages.She asks each participant in her study the same set of questions,in the same order.Which research method is Lexis using?