Deck 12: Development Over the Lifespan

Question 1

In developmental research, cohort effects may confound any changes due to age, contributing to a problem with any research design except designs.

A) longitudinal
B) sequential
C) qualitative
D) cross-sectional

Answer 1

sequential

Question 2

Upon enrolling their children in a developmental preschool, parents are asked to participate in a study where they will be contacted every two years for the next ten years and asked to complete a quality of education survey. If they agree, parents will be participating in a research study.

A) cross sectional
B) double-blind experimental
C) sequential
D) longitudinal

Answer 2

longitudinal

Question 3

Sally is interested in comparing the effects of video game violence on aggression in several different age groups. Which of the following groups would a cross-sectional design be confounded by the age of the cohorts?

A) 5, 15, 30, and 60 year olds
B) 14, 15, 16, and 17 year olds
C) 2, 3, 4, and 5 year olds
D) 10, 12, 14, and 16 year olds

Answer 3

5, 15, 30, and 60 year olds

Question 4

A researcher is interested in how self-esteem varies across the lifespan and decides to conduct a survey comparing people of different ages to address this issue. He recruits participants to be in one of four different age groups: 20 to 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49, and 50 to 59. He has them complete a self-esteem survey, and then analyzes the data to see whether any patterns emerge. This study would be considered an example of a:

A) longitudinal design.
B) sequential design.
C) double-blind design.
D) cross-sectional design.

Question 5

With respect to the designs typically used in developmental research, which of the following statements is true?

A) The sequential and longitudinal designs are different types of cross-sectional designs.
B) The longitudinal design represents a combination of the cross-sectional and sequential designs.
C) The cross-sectional and longitudinal designs are different types of sequential designs.
D) The sequential design represents a combination of the cross-sectional and longitudinal designs.

Question 6

A cross-sectional design is to a longitudinal design as a(n):

A) experimental design is to a correlational design.
B) between groups design is to a within groups design.
C) within groups design is to a between groups design.
D) correlational design is to an experimental design.

Question 7

Which of the following lists the three stages of prenatal development in the proper order (from earliest to latest)?

A) fetal, germinal, and embryonic
B) germinal, fetal, and embryonic
C) germinal, embryonic, and fetal
D) embryonic, germinal, and fetal

Question 8

In the germinal stage, the fertilized egg is called a zygote, while in the fetal stage, it is referred to as a(n):

A) infant
B) chromosome
C) embryo
D) fetus

Question 9

In a sequential research design, there is repeated testing of _.

A) several gender cohorts
B) a single gender cohort
C) a single age cohort
D) several age cohorts

Question 10

In the longitudinal research design, the researcher:

A) tests the same cohort as it grows older.
B) repeatedly tests several cohorts as they grow older.
C) compares individuals of different ages at the same point in time.
D) follows the same individual, studying the person in depth over time.

Question 11

In an ideal world, where researchers do not need to worry about the costs of doing research in terms of time or money, the best research design to address questions of developmental change would typically be the:

A) cross-sectional design.
B) sequential design.
C) double-blind design.
D) longitudinal design.

Question 12

The type of developmental research design that compares different age groups of children to one another is the design.

A) cross-sectional
B) longitudinal
C) double-blind
D) sequential

Question 13

During which stage of prenatal development is the age of viability reached?

A) germinal stage
B) fetal stage
C) zygote stage
D) embryonic stage

Question 14

Which of the following statements regarding the sex of a child is true?

A) The sex of a child is determined by the father's genetic contribution.
B) The sex of a child is unrelated to the genetic contributions of either parent.
C) The sex of a child is determined by the mother's genetic contribution.
D) The sex of a child is determined by both parents' genetic contributions.

Question 15

A researcher is interested in examining the development and effects of shyness. To do this, she identifies a group of 100 shy children at age 10, and then follows them for the next 10 years, checking in periodically to gather additional information. This design is best described as:

A) a longitudinal design.
B) a sequential design.
C) a placebo design.
D) a cross-sectional design.

Question 16

Which developmental research design is the most practical to conduct in terms of time and money?

A) Double-blind design.
B) Longitudinal design.
C) Cross-sectional design.
D) Sequential design.

Question 17

A researcher is interested in the development of stereotypes in children. He collects data from 5-, 7-, 9-, and 11-year-olds during the fall of one year. He then waits two years and collects data again from the same participants, and then again after another two years. He can then compare children across the different age groups as well as the development of stereotypes within the children themselves across three different time periods. This is an example of what type of design?

A) sequential design.
B) double-blind design.
C) cross-sectional design.
D) longitudinal design.

Question 18

Austin wants to do his honour's thesis in psychology in the area of developmental psychology. He has eight months to decide on a specific topic, design the study, collect the data, analyze the results, and write the thesis. Assuming he is interested in comparing children's performance at different ages, what type of design would be the most practical for him to use?

A) sequential design.
B) double-blind design.
C) cross-sectional design.
D) longitudinal design.

Question 19

For approximately the first two weeks of development, beginning when a sperm fertilizes an egg, the fertilized egg is called a(n):

A) zygote
B) fetus
C) chromosome
D) embryo

Question 20

Dr. Jones wants to know whether ten-year olds, twelve-year olds, or fourteen-year olds watch more television. Which of the following research designs would be the most appropriate method for Dr. Jones to use?

A) longitudinal
B) sequential
C) cross-sectional
D) pre- and post-test experimental

Question 21

Before decorating the nursery for her newborn, Lynne consults a psychologist who advises her that:

A) newborns prefer simple patterns to complex patterns
B) newborns do not see colour, but only black and white
C) newborns have no visual preferences
D) newborns prefer faces over any other pattern

Question 22

The principle of proximodistal development is consistent with all of the following observations EXCEPT:

A) an infant can control his shoulder before he can control his arm.
B) an infant can control his leg before he can control his toes.
C) an infant can control his hand before he can control his arm.
D) an infant can control his foot before he can control his toes.

Question 23

Studies of infants' auditory pattern perceptions by Werker and colleagues at the University of British Columbia found that:

A) infants gradually learn to discriminate more phonemes over the course of their first year.
B) as infants began to speak words in their native language they lost their ability to discriminate between phonemes that were not in their native language.
C) six months old infants could not detect changes in language phonemes that their mothers could not detect.
D) there was a steady decline from birth in infants' abilities to detect phonemic differences regardless of the languages in which the phonemes occur.

Question 24

The teratogen nicotine is associated with which of the following fetal and infant abnormalities?

A) low birth weight and an increased risk for miscarriage
B) mental retardation and attention deficiency
C) facial irregularities and hyperactivity
D) smaller than average brains and drug addiction

Question 25

When Amy's infant daughter starts to crawl, she primarily uses her arms to help herself. After she masters this new way of moving around the room, she starts relying on her legs to help herself more in the crawling process. From a developmental standpoint, the way Amy's daughter starts with her arms and then adds the use of her legs follows the ________ principle.

A) encephomotor
B) cephalocaudal
C) proximodistal
D) neonatal reflex

Question 26

Which of the following was mentioned as one of the methods used by developmental psychologists to study the sensory capabilities and perceptual preferences of infants?

A) the MRI
B) the preferential looking procedure
C) the EEG
D) infant IQ tests

Question 27

Which of the below statements about newborn visual preferences is NOT true?

A) Infants prefer patterned to non-patterned stimuli.
B) Infants prefer simpler patterns to complex patterns.
C) Infants prefer their mother's face (perhaps based on her hairline) to a stranger's face.
D) Infants prefer novel to familiar stimuli.

Question 28

Research on newborns' visual acuity indicates that they:

A) are very far sighted and their ideal viewing distance is to see if an adult is approaching when they cry.
B) have 20/20 vision but their ability to discriminate colour needs further development.
C) have 20/20 vision.
D) are very nearsighted and their ideal viewing distance is the distance from their mother's face while breastfeeding.

Question 29

Sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis and HIV that can cause abnormalities in fetal development are examples of _.

A) toxins
B) teratogens
C) antibodies
D) antigens

Question 30

With regard to fetal and infant development, the cephalocaudal principle asserts that:

A) the head and upper body tend to develop first.
B) the outermost parts of the body tend to develop first.
C) the innermost parts of the body tend to develop first.
D) the lower body tends to develop first.

Question 31

Which of the following types of learning have been demonstrated with newborns?

A) Newborns can acquire classical and operant conditioned responses but show no evidence of learning through modelling.
B) Newborns show no evidence of learning though classical conditioning, operant conditioning, or modelling.
C) Newborns show clear evidence of learning though classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and modelling.
D) Newborns can acquire classically conditioned responses but show no evidence of learning through modelling and operant conditioning.

Question 32

Which of the following was mentioned as one of the three conclusions regarding the relative importance of biological and environmental factors in development?

A) The environment sets a limit on biological influences.
B) Environmental and biological factors interact with one another during development.
C) Though they are present, environmental influences are not very powerful.
D) Environmental factors can impact the rate and sequence in which various skills are learned.

Question 33

Genetic researchers have determined that adult males normally carry:

A) only the X chromosome.
B) only the Y chromosome.
C) both the X and the Y chromosome.
D) either the X or the Y chromosome, but not both.

Question 34

A wide variety of environmental agents that cause abnormalities in prenatal development are called:

A) teratogens.
B) antigens.
C) toxins.
D) antibodies.

Question 35

In terms of our sensory-perceptual processes:

A) some appear relatively suddenly several months after birth.
B) some continue to develop well into our teenage years.
C) most improve rapidly in the first five years after birth.
D) a few disappear during the first month after birth.

Question 36

An infant is born with facial irregularities and a small, malformed brain. As the child grows up, she shows symptoms of mental retardation and tends to be both irritable and hostile. It is most likely that this infant's abnormalities are a function of her mother's prenatal exposure to:

A) HIV.
B) nicotine.
C) excessive alcohol.
D) untreated syphilis.

Question 37

North American motor-scale norms illustrate that:

A) infants acquire particular motor skills at different ages.
B) motor development in infancy tends to follow a regular, stage-like sequence.
C) motor development in infancy is influenced by environmental factors.
D) motor development in infancy tends to occur in a discontinuous fashion.

Question 38

Studies examining newborn infants' visual preferences suggest that an infant would be most interested in:

A) a white circle.
B) a circle with a complex pattern inside of it.
C) a black circle.
D) a circle with a simple pattern inside of it.

Question 39

If a zygote receives a Y chromosome from its father, this means that the resulting baby:

A) will be a female.
B) could be either a male or a female, depending on the contribution of the mother.
C) will be a male.
D) will have the characteristics of both a male and a female.

Question 40

One technique for examining infant learning is where the same stimulus is presented repeatedly until infant looking time declines.

A) preferential looking procedure
B) operant conditioning
C) imitation
D) habituation procedure

Question 41

Suzy primarily attempts to understand things in terms of the physical interaction she has with objects. Almost anything that she can put into her mouth she calls a "pacifier." Just recently, she realized that objects don't "disappear" when they are hidden and so she now continues to look for them when they are under blankets and behind barriers. It is most likely that Suzy is in Jean Piaget's:

A) preconventional stage.
B) sensorimotor stage.
C) preoperational stage.
D) concrete operational stage.

Question 42

A young girl driving past a farm sees a cow and says, "doggie!" Her older brother, who used to do the same thing when he was her age, informs her that this isn't a dog but is actually a cow. In fitting the cow into a pre-existing schema, the sister shows that she is using the process of _.

A) adjustment
B) assimilation
C) adaptation
D) accommodation

Question 43

Before four-year-old Pat rode a tricycle, Pat believed it was the wind that caused tricycles to move. When Pat rode a tricycle for the first time, Pat discovered it was peddling that moved the tricycle. Pat changed his schema about how tricycles move through the process of _.

A) concrete operations
B) formal operations
C) accommodation
D) assimilation

Question 44

Which of the following first appears during the preoperational stage of cognitive development?

A) conservation
B) pretend play
C) language
D) object permanence

Question 45

Which of the following would be most representative of a child in Jean Piaget's preoperational stage of development?

A) A child incorrectly assumes that everyone in a room has the same view of an object that he has.
B) When asked where she would put a third eye, a child indicates that she would put it on her hand.
C) When an object is hidden from view, a child assumes that it no longer exists and looks away.
D) A child understands that the amount of water doesn't change when it is poured into different sized beakers.

Question 46

Michael is playing ball with his father when the ball rolls under the sofa. Michael turns his attention to another toy, not even attempting to look under the sofa for the ball. Piaget would say that Michael has:

A) a strong attachment to his father
B) a limited attention span
C) not yet developed object permanence
D) not yet developed the ability to conserve

Question 47

During this stage of cognitive development, children are able to easily solve the conservation problems that confused them earlier in life. This is the stage of development.

A) conventional
B) concrete operational
C) sensorimotor
D) preoperational

Question 48

According to Piaget, the interesting part of testing children is in what kind of errors they make in their thinking. He believed that the errors made by children were the result of:

A) the limited understanding from their experiences
B) a lack of curiosity in some children
C) a limited attention span
D) their inability to pay attention to adult explanations

Question 49

Which of the following examples best demonstrates the process of accommodation?

A) A toddler begins to correctly refer to a cat as a "kitty" and not a "doggie."
B) A toddler at dinner attempts to eat the place mat because she thinks it is something to eat.
C) A toddler refers to a giraffe as a "tall kitty."
D) An infant who is used to sucking on a pacifier learns that she can also suck on toy blocks.

Question 50

All of the following were mentioned as cognitive limitations characteristic of Jean Piaget's preoperational stage EXCEPT:

A) lack of object permanence.
B) egocentrism.
C) lack of understanding about conservation.
D) centration.

Question 51

An infant who interprets her world primarily through her physical interactions with objects is most likely in Jean Piaget's stage, which starts from birth and lasts until age 2.

A) preconventional
B) concrete operational
C) sensorimotor
D) preoperational

Question 52

Dana's young child sees an older woman at the market and says, "Granny." This woman is not the child's grandmother, and Piaget would say this demonstrates the process of ________.

A) accommodation
B) equilibrium
C) assimilation
D) object permanence

Question 53

Which of the following is associated with Jean Piaget's sensorimotor stage of cognitive development?

A) children's thinking displays egocentrism
B) the concept of conservation develops
C) the concept of object permanence develops
D) children's thinking becomes abstract

Question 54

With which of the following statements regarding cognitive development would Jean Piaget most likely agree?

A) Accommodation is more important than assimilation in cognitive development.
B) Assimilation and accommodation play a minor role in cognitive development.
C) Cognitive development involves a balance of assimilation and accommodation.
D) Assimilation is more important than accommodation in cognitive development.

Question 55

Jean Piaget observed that infants typically develop the concept of object permanence during the stage of cognitive development.

A) sensorimotor
B) formal operational
C) concrete operational
D) preoperational

Question 56

A child who has developed object permanence but does not yet fully grasp the idea of conservation is most likely in Jean Piaget's stage.

A) preoperational
B) concrete operational
C) formal operational
D) sensorimotor

Question 57

Jean Piaget defined an organized pattern of thought and action that guide children's interactions with the world as a:

A) reflex
B) mental representation
C) schema
D) norm

Question 58

At daycare, Nicole and Christine are both fighting over a broken cookie. They both had cookies of the same size, but Nicole's broke in half and now Christine thinks that Nicole has more than she does. When the daycare provider shows the girls that they both have equal amounts of cookie, Christine calms down as she now understands. Nicole continues to feel superior, having more cookie than Christine. According to Piaget:

A) Christine has mastered conservation while Nicole has not
B) Nicole is demonstrating object permanence
C) Nicole has mastered conservation while Christine has not
D) Christine has not acquired an understanding of reversibility

Question 59

Andy and Jeff compare the physical development of their sons. The baby boys are the same age. Andy brags that his infant son seems to be maturing at an advanced rate compared to what Jeff is observing in his son. Jeff worries that maybe there is something physically wrong with his son. Jeff consults a developmental book and finds that:

A) not all children achieve the same physical skills in the same order
B) all children achieve the same physical skills, just at varying times
C) the sequence of acquiring physical skills varies between individuals
D) the sequence of acquiring physical skills varies between cultures

Question 60

According to Jean Piaget, the process in which new information is incorporated into pre-existing schemas is known as:

A) adaptation.
B) accommodation.
C) adjustment.
D) assimilation.

Question 61

When we compare Piaget's view of cognitive development with the information processing view:

A) both approaches see the child as playing an active role in their own development
B) both approaches view that changes occur abruptly
C) both approaches acknowledge that the child plays a passive role in their own development
D) the Piagetian view is that children play an active role whereas in the information processing view the child's role is more passive

Question 62

Some theorists assert that children still learn new and unique ways of processing information as they age, whereas results from studies examining the information-processing abilities of young children are often used to argue that cognitive development is _.

A) discontinuous
B) continuous
C) schema-driven
D) determined by sensitive periods

Question 63

Though Jean Piaget assumed that children under the age of 6 to 7 years old have great difficulty understanding other people's mental states, recent studies have suggested that children have some understanding that other people's perspectives can differ from their own by the age of _.

A) 3 to 4 years
B) 2 years
C) 5 years
D) 2 to 3 years

Question 64

Which of the following statements regarding Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development is most accurate?

A) Research results suggest that Piaget's theory was relatively accurate for the earlier stages but research has not been as supportive of the formal operational stage.
B) Research results are largely consistent with Piaget's theory, but there are some important limitations and inaccuracies.
C) Research regarding the validity of Piaget's theory has yet to be conducted.
D) Research results suggest that Piaget's model is relatively accurate and, though the speed of cognitive development may be influenced by cultural factors, children cross culturally still pass through all the stages and in the correct order.

Question 65

In response to the moral dilemma in which a man must decide whether he should steal a medication to save his dying wife, a child says that he should steal the drug because if he lets his wife die he'll get into trouble. This child would be classified as being in Lawrence Kohlberg's level of moral reasoning.

A) preconventional
B) concrete operational
C) preoperational
D) conventional

Question 66

With regard to Jean Piaget's stages of development, modern developmental researchers have determined that:

A) most children learn cognitive skills noticeably later than Piaget assumed, a result that may be related to the fact the Piaget observed his own children.
B) the order of the stages of cognitive development is significantly affected by culture.
C) cultural factors appear to influence cognitive development and Piaget may have been biased in his conceptualization of "cognitive development."
D) within a given stage of development, performance on a wide variety of tasks is largely uniform and consistent.

Question 67

A child is told a story about Bobby, who puts his teddy bear under his bed and then goes outside to play. While he is gone, Bobby's mother comes in to clean his room, finds his teddy bear, and puts it in the closet. When asked where Bobby will look for his teddy bear when he returns, most 2- and 3-year olds will say that Bobby will look , and most 4-year olds will say _.

A) under the bed; in the closet
B) under the bed; under the bed as well
C) in the closet; in the closet as well
D) in the closet; under the bed

Question 68

The concept theory of mind is most closely related to which of the following constructs?

A) object permanence
B) zone of proximal development
C) egocentrism
D) conservation

Question 69

One of the things that differentiates the formal and concrete operational stages is that during the formal stage:

A) children show clear instances of centration.
B) children assume that everyone in a room has the same view of an object as they do.
C) children show evidence of conservation for the first time.
D) children begin to think more flexibly and creatively.

Question 70

A child in the concrete operational stage would typically state that he would place a hypothetical third eye:

A) on her hand
B) on the back of her head
C) between her other two eyes
D) on top of her head

Question 71

Research studies examining the information-processing speeds of children have consistently found that processing speeds improve continuously with age, and that the most rapid rate of change occurs between the ages of .

A) 4 and 6 years
B) 5 and 9 years
C) 10 and 14 years
D) 8 and 12 years

Question 72

Research studies examining the information-processing variables involved in the memories of young children have found that:

A) preschool children use rehearsal as well as 8- to 10-year olds, but make less effective use of chunking.
B) preschool children use rehearsal less effectively and less often than 8- to 10-year olds.
C) preschool children use chunking as well as 8- to 10-year olds, but make less effective use of rehearsal.
D) preschool children use rehearsal as often as 8- to 10-year olds.

Question 73

A researcher who explains a child's poor performance on a cognitive task as being due to the child's inefficient search strategies and the child's lack of awareness of his own cognitive processes would best be described as taking a(n) approach to cognitive development.

A) behavioural
B) Piagetian
C) discontinuous
D) information-processing

Question 74

Lev Vygotsky's concept of a proximal zone of development distinguishes between:

A) children who are or are not egocentric.
B) children who can solve problems with or without assistance.
C) children who have or have not developed object permanence.
D) children who do or do not grasp the concept of conservation.

Question 75

Piaget's theory of cognitive development has been criticized on the basis of:

A) the fact that Piaget equated cognitive development with scientific-logical thinking.
B) Piaget's definition of cognitive development generalizes well to other cultures.
C) formal operational thinking (stage 4) is much less common than Piaget suggested.
D) children seem to acquire cognitive skills at the ages that Piaget believed.

Question 76

Which of the following would be most characteristic of a child in the concrete operational stage if you asked him/her to draw a map specifying the route to school?

A) The child could draw a basic map of the usual route to school.
B) The child could draw a map outlining an unusual or creative way to school.
C) The child would be unable to do so, but could physically lead you to the school.
D) The child would be unable to do so.

Question 77

A study found that children over age 3 who grew up with older brothers or sisters performed better on a cognitive task than did children with no siblings or younger siblings. This is consistent with the concept of _.

A) irreversibility
B) animism
C) the zone of proximal development
D) egocentrism

Question 78

Research on Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development has found support for all of the following conclusions EXCEPT:

A) Cognitive development often proceeds inconsistently within any particular stage.
B) Piaget's definition of cognitive development generalizes well to other cultures.
C) Children acquire many cognitive abilities earlier than Piaget thought.
D) Piaget's stages occur in the same order across various cultures.

Question 79

Studies examining a child's ability to lie and use deception would most likely be used by developmental researchers to make inferences regarding:

A) the specific age at which object permanence develops.
B) the child's egocentrism and theory of mind.
C) the specific age at which conservation develops.
D) the validity of the concept of a zone of proximal development.

Question 80

Two children are in the same stage of cognitive development and both can't solve problems involving conservation of number. However, when one of the children is given assistance, she is able to correctly solve such problems. When the other child receives the same help, he is still unable to solve them. This example best demonstrates:

A) the importance of egocentrism with regard to problem solving.
B) the concept of a proximal zone of development.
C) how cognitive and moral reasoning can interact with one another.
D) how early problems with object permanence can influence later development.