Exam 1: An Introduction to Child Development

A researcher is interested in examining whether offering children candy as an incentive to share will increase preschoolers' sharing behavior. A group of preschoolers is brought into the laboratory to play with some interesting toys. The preschoolers are split into two groups through random assignment. Group A is told that they will get candy each time they share, and Group B is not told anything about candy or sharing. Results indicate that preschoolers in Group A share more than do preschoolers in Group B, and the researcher concludes that offering children candy for sharing caused the children in Group A to share more. Which of the following statements is the clearest limitation of this study?

Sue believes little Janey learned to talk overnight. She is sure Janey went to sleep saying one or two words and woke up saying sentences of four to six words. Sue is subscribing to the idea that development is: •continuous. •both continuous and discontinuous, depending on how and how often you look at it. •neither continuous nor discontinuous. •discontinuous.

Who bears the highest responsibility for ensuring that children are unharmed when participating in psychological research?

The greatest limitation of laboratory experiments is:

One study discussed in the text demonstrated that the grades of children who were highly engaged in school changed in more positive directions than would have been predicted by genetic background or family environment alone. This finding is most supportive of the theory of:

Dr. Kid is studying the effects of sleep on a child's reading speed. She initially takes a measure of each child's reading speed. Next, she varies the amount of sleep different children get. Finally, she re-measures their reading speed. What is the independent variable in her study? •initial reading speed •post reading speed •amount of sleep •the difference between the initial and post reading speeds

Which of the following statements describes a potential disadvantage of the interview method?

Which of the basic steps of the scientific method is unique to the method?

To examine whether or not children's cognitive development occurs in stages, Professor Blue observes four different groups of children. Each child's performance on cognitive tasks is observed two or more times over a period of two years. Which of the following groups is MOST likely to lead Professor Blue to the conclusion that development occurs continuously?

Which of the following statements best describes the results of research by Dweck on children's beliefs about intelligence?

Findings from psychological research can assist courts in obtaining more accurate testimony from young children. Which of the following methods have been demonstrated to increase the likelihood of accurate testimony?

A researcher is interested in the impact a new morality education program has on children's aggression. To

Which of the following groups of Romanian-born children adopted by British families fared the best in weight gain after adoption?

Variables X and Y are negatively correlated, indicating that as the level of , the level of .

The study on toddlers' play behaviors in which the TV show Jeopardy was being shown in the room while the children were playing demonstrated that:

A team of researchers is studying the differences in whether there are stable individual differences in sleeping behavior at various ages. They decide to test 3- month-olds, 6-month-olds, and 9-month-olds. What type of design are they using to examine this question? •longitudinal •cross-sectional •naturalistic observation •microgenetic

Which of the following designs compares the behavior of different groups of children who are different ages?

"Nature" refers to:

Which of the following statements about longitudinal design is true?

In the context of mechanisms of developmental change, the study of the development of effortful attention provides insights into: •continuous versus discontinuous development. •the role of brain activity, genes, and learning experiences. •the complexity of the child's sociocultural environment. •the role of the researcher in judging the validity of a study.