Exam 1: The Study of Human Development

Suppose that a research study reports gender differences in children's toy choices. Provide an explanation for this finding that is consistent with social learning theory.

One of the first developmentalists to stress the importance of systematic observation was Wilhelm Preyer (1841-1897). In his view, careful observation was necessary to establish the ____________ of behavior and, hence, to see how behavioral patterns arose.

Describe in general terms the kind of research method you would use if you wanted to study the full complexity of human language development in children's everyday contexts.

The individual whose writings spurred interest in the study of human development as part of human evolution was:

Alfred Binet developed the first intelligence test to:

Ethnographies are NOT valid data collection techniques.

Which of the following questions is BEST answered using a longitudinal research design?

According to Lorenz, features that signal "babyness" evoke caregiving behaviors from:

A researcher investigating the origins of public policies related to children's issues is engaged in a scientific study of child development.

Sensitive periods are times in an organism's development when:

Which of the following is a statement about individual differences in development?

Erikson departed from Freud's basic ideas about development by arguing that:

What does it mean to say that events are correlated? Give an example of a positive correlation, a negative correlation, and a zero correlation.

A psychologist plans to study the development of "intelligence" and his primary concern is whether he will actually study intelligence rather than another phenomenon, such as "reading fluency." To address this concern, he must ensure:

In longitudinal studies, it is sometimes difficult to tell whether changes in behavior are due to development or simply to:

Behaviorist theorists believe that exogenous factors most strongly influence development.

The process in which two or more research methods are combined to confirm a conclusion is called:

Why are researchers concerned about cohort effects? Give an example of how cohort difference might affect the interpretation of results of a cross­sectional study.

A major context of children's development is:

If two factors are correlated, it is certain that they are causally related.