Exam 1: The Science of Child Development

Describe four themes or issues that often arise in the study of child development.

According to maturational theory, parents should carefully construct their children's environments so that behaviors like speech, play, and reasoning will all emerge.

Using self-reports is a special case of using tasks to measure children's behavior. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of self-reports.

Describe the four key guidelines of ethical research.

Your friends have a new baby girl named Kaycee and they have told you that they can't wait to raise her because they will create a wonderful environment that Kaycee will love. For example, they will never let Kaycee watch worthless shows on television, and she will love to read because they will read to her all the time when she is a baby. What can you tell your friends about the issue of the child being active versus passive in her development?

According to Erikson, the challenge during early childhood is to develop a sense of initiative.

According to Erikson, the challenge during adolescence is to develop a sense of trust in the world.

According to __________ children develop when they work with skilled adults, including parents and teachers.

A strength of experimental studies is that

One drawback of structured observations is that

Which of the following is a strength associated with measures that sample behavior with tasks?

During recess Melissa noticed that another girl dropped the doll she was playing with. According to Freud's theory, Melissa's ___________ would tell her to grab the doll and keep it as her own whereas her ___________ would tell her that taking another girl's doll would be wrong.

Creating an emotional bond with the mother is sometimes called

A researcher is interested in studying cooperative and competitive behavior in siblings. How might he or she use 1) systematic observations, and 2) self-reports to measure sibling behavior? Explain each type of measure, and give an example of how each could be used to measure cooperation and competition between siblings.

A reward that consists of taking away something unpleasant is called

The American Psychological Society was formed in 1933 in an effort to bring together an interdisciplinary group dedicated to improving children's lives through research.

The nature-nurture issue is concerned with

Yvonne was a busy, energetic child who grew up to be a busy, energetic adult. Yvonne provides an example of

Six-year-old Sarah had been watching her older brother and sister in swim meets for several years. Sarah believed she was a good swimmer, too, and eagerly entered her first swim meet shortly after she turned 6. Bandura would say that __________ played a role in Sarah's desire to imitate her siblings.

In an experimental study, the ________ is manipulated to observe its effects on another variable.