Exam 1: The Study of Human Development

When explaining an individual's behavior, proponents of ecological theory would say that you have to consider factors outside of the child him- or herself.

You are doing a study to determine whether smoking nicotine prior to taking a psychology test affects performance on that test. What is the independent variable in your study?

Marcelia has been promoted and is moving her family to a new city in a different part of the country. Though four-year-old Fernando is very happy and makes the transition easily, 12-year-old Jorge is unhappy and has a very difficult time adjusting to the move. Both children generally adapt well to change. Which single set of factors best explains the different responses of Fernando and Jorge to the move?

Which problem is least associated with longitudinal research?

Dr. Gauche likes to make fun of student comments in class. She finds that every time she does this, students make fewer comments the rest of the class period. Apparently, Dr. Gauche's jokes are ____ the students for talking in class.

Which method of measuring behavior is most likely to be used in combination with other behavioral measures?

The biggest difference between Vygotsky's approach to development and that of Piaget and the information-processing approach is that Vygotsky placed more emphasis on

Dr. Kim takes a strong nature position with regard to the origins of intellectual disabilities. Therefore, she would most likely hypothesize that her son's intellectual disability (formally known as mental retardation)is due to

Zsuzsi is conducting a study to determine whether skateboarding causes a reduction in intelligence. In this experiment, skateboarding is the

Which type of variable is manipulated by an experimenter?

Population is to sample as

Piaget's theory emphasizes the manner in which children construct knowledge.

Dr. Lund stages a fire drill at the elementary school in order to study how children respond to potential emergency situations. Dr. Lund's method would best be described as a(n)

Which statement is always true?

Patti studies the behavior of preschool children by watching them play at a local daycare center. While doing this, she is careful to find a spot where she will be completely unnoticed by the individuals she is observing. Patti is most likely using a ____ approach to studying the children.

A behavior that is effectively being reinforced will

Who is most likely interested in the study of human development?

Melissa is doing a study where volleyball players are interviewed about their role on the team and perceived capabilities for playing in Saturday's game. Melissa seems to be assessing the ____ of the volleyball players.

_______________ theory describes cognition in terms of mental software and hardware.

When Kayla says "It doesn't matter if they are French, Swedish, or Chinese, kids are kids," she is espousing a ____ position concerning human development.