Deck 10: Human Development I: Physical, Cognitive, and Language Development

Question 1

__________ psychologists study the physical,cognitive,and social changes that people experience throughout their lives.

A) Evolutionary
B) Cognitive
C) Developmental
D) Social

Answer 1

Developmental

Question 2

Which of the following is one of the benefits of a cross-sectional study?

A) It provides information about age changes.
B) It can be very inexpensive.
C) It can be done without using any statistical analyses.
D) It can be done using a very small number of participants.

Answer 2

It can be very inexpensive.

Question 3

Stanley was born in October of 1944.In April of 2009 his __________ age will be 64 years.

A) developmental
B) physiological
C) chronological
D) social

Answer 3

chronological

Question 4

Your best friend comes to you,visibly excited."I just couldn't wait to tell you the big news.I'm pregnant," she screams.She is clearly overjoyed by the news,and goes on to tell you,"It is SO amazing.The doctor says I'm about 6 weeks pregnant,and I already feel SO differently!" Wanting to show off your new knowledge of developmental psychology and the prenatal stages,you smugly reply,"It is just so great that your child is in the __________ of development because its organs are just starting to develop!"

A) fetal
B) embryonic
C) zygotic
D) germinal

Question 5

The correct order of the stages of prenatal development is:

A) fetal stage, embryonic stage, zygotic stage
B) germinal stage, embryonic stage, fetal stage.
C) zygotic stage, fetal stage, germinal stage
D) zygotic stage, embryonic stage, germinal stage, fetal stage

Question 6

__________ investigations consist of research conducted in order to establish averages or baselines.

A) Normative
B) Control
C) Population
D) Continuity

Question 7

Which of the following types of changes would not be of primary interest to a developmental psychologist?

A) Physical changes
B) Cognitive changes
C) Unconscious changes
D) Social changes

Question 8

Dr.Ramirez is a developmental psychologist,and he is conducting a study to determine whether the rate of physical growth that children experience in the first several years of life is completely genetic or is related to the nutrition that they receive.Which major issue of developmental psychology does this study center around?

A) Stability versus Change
B) Internal versus External
C) Nature versus Nurture
D) Continuity versus Stages

Question 9

Xiao is gathering research on the number of meals people eat.He gathers data about the number of daily meals eaten by 25 people at each of the following ages - 10,20,30,40,50,60,and 70 years - over the course of one week,and looks for developmental differences.What type of research design is Xiao using?

A) Continuous
B) Sequential
C) Cross-sectional
D) Longitudinal

Question 10

If you wanted to study age changes,which type of research would be the best to conduct?

A) A cross-sectional study
B) A longitudinal study
C) A quasi-experimental study
D) A naturalistic observation

Question 11

__________ studies observe different individuals at different ages to track age differences.

A) Sectional
B) Cross-sectional
C) Sequential
D) Cross-sequential

Question 12

A person's __________ age refers to the amount of time (in years and months)that has passed since they were born.

A) cross-sectional
B) sequential
C) chronological
D) developmental

Question 13

__________ studies collect data from the same individuals over a period of time to track age changes.

A) Cross-sectional
B) Continual
C) Contiguous
D) Longitudinal

Question 14

Xavier is doing a research study investigating the moral decision making of people at various ages.He wants to know if adolescents see right and wrong differently than senior citizens,so he gives his research subjects a moral dilemma and asks them to discuss the various moral issues involved.In developmental psychology,Xavier's research is exploring age __________.

A) changes
B) development
C) concepts
D) differences

Question 15

The major issue of __________ explores how development is influenced by both genetics and life experiences.

A) Nature/Nurture
B) Continuity/Stages
C) Plasticity/Formidity
D) Stability/Change

Question 16

Charmaine is interested in going to graduate school to gain expertise into the way in which people experience physical,cognitive,and social changes over the course of their lives.The type of program that Charmaine should be applying to is __________ psychology.

A) developmental
B) child
C) social
D) ecological

Question 17

Xavier is doing a research study investigating the moral decision making of people at various ages.He wants to know if older adults see moral issues differently than they would have when they were children,so he gives his research subjects a moral dilemma and asks them to discuss the various moral issues involved.He then asks them to imagine how they would have answered the same question when they were adolescents.Xavier's research addresses which major issue of developmental psychology?

A) Stability/Change
B) Nature/Nurture
C) Plasticity/Formidity
D) Continuity/Stages

Question 18

Which of the following is one of the stages of prenatal development?

A) The zygotic stage
B) The germinal stage
C) The intra-utero stage
D) The umbilical stage

Question 19

It is a very good thing that your parents did not start buying clothes for you when you were just at the end of the embryonic stage of prenatal development,because at that time you were only about ______ long!

A) 10 centimeters
B) ½ inch
C) 1 inch
D) 3 inches

Question 20

Daniel is interested in studying how children's behavior changes when they grow up in high-risk environments.He enlists 500 children and their parents to take part in his research,and observes these children once a year for 20 years.Despite the fact that this research is very time consuming and expensive,it gives very good information about how the children age over time.This type of research is an example of a __________ study.

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

Question 21

Which of the following is true with regard to the order of development of motor skills?

A) Babies develop motor skills based on what they see, so it is largely a function of imitation.
B) Babies develop motor skills in very unique sequences, so there is no "order" of skills that is considered typical.
C) Motor development in babies has two predictable paths - one for sighted children and one for blind children.
D) Motor development tends to occur in a universal sequence and thus specific skills predictably develop before other skills.

Question 22

The fact that children tend to develop their motor skills from "top to bottom" is a demonstration of the __________ rule.

A) north-to-south
B) proximodistal
C) cephalocaudal
D) head-to-toe

Question 23

The period of transition from childhood to adulthood that involves many different domains of development is called __________.

A) puberty
B) adolescence
C) preadulthood
D) the teens.

Question 24

The average newborn baby has approximately _______ nerve cells in his or her brain.

A) 103 million
B) 23 billion
C) 23 million
D) 234,000

Question 25

Which part of the brain experiences the greatest growth between the ages of 3 and 6 years?

A) the temporal lobes
B) the parietal lobes
C) the frontal lobes
D) the occipital lobes

Question 26

While the sequence in which motor skills develops is generally universal,the _________ of the development of those skills tends to be different from child to child.

A) order
B) timing
C) speed
D) appearance

Question 27

As a child,young Quinton often went bowling with his father.First he would use a "ramp" to just push the ball off of,using mostly the muscles in his shoulders.As he got stronger and more coordinated,he would hold a light ball and flick it with his wrist.Finally,he learned to control the grip of his fingers to make the ball spin left or right.What developmental principle describes this pattern of increasing coordination from the center to the outside of the body?

A) The inside-out rule
B) The core-periphery rule
C) The cephalocaudal rule
D) The proximodistal rule

Question 28

During a single act of intercourse,approximately how many sperm cells are released by a man?

A) 2 million
B) 200 million
C) 2 billion
D) 20 billion

Question 29

When a baby is frightened or startled by a loud noise or by the sensation of falling,she will extend her arms out in a reflexive fashion.Though the exact purpose of this reaction is not well understood,it is called the __________ reflex.

A) extension
B) Moro
C) Babinski
D) withdraw

Question 30

Which of the following is a known symptom of fetal alcohol syndrome?

A) mental retardation
B) respiratory difficulties
C) abdominal malformations
D) a cleft palate

Question 31

Which of the following statements is the most accurate regarding the number of brain cells a person has?

A) You are born with almost all of the brain cells you are ever going to have.
B) The brain is only 10% developed at birth, which is why a baby's head grows so much faster than the rest of his body.
C) The brain is only 50% developed at birth, which is why there is extra space in the child's skull to allow room for growth.
D) A newborn actually has no fully developed nerve cells in its brain, and that development starts at the moment the child is born.

Question 32

Elizabeth is nursing her newborn daughter,and holds the baby up to her breast.As the breast strokes the child's cheek,the child turns her head toward the breast,finds her mother's nipple,and begins to feed.This is a demonstration of the __________ reflex.

A) grasping
B) suckling
C) Moro
D) rooting

Question 33

During which stage of prenatal development is a mother likely to start feeling the baby moving?

A) The germinal stage
B) The embryonic stage
C) The zygotic stage
D) The fetal stage

Question 34

__________ development is defined as the emergent ability to execute physical actions.

A) Motor
B) Muscular
C) Physical
D) Physiological

Question 35

Which of the following is an example of a primary sex characteristic?

A) Changes in vocal tone
B) Growth of the breasts
C) Growth of facial hair
D) Growth of the genitals

Question 36

Stroking the sole of a baby's foot will cause his big toe to extend up while the other toes stretch down and fan out.This is known as the __________ reflex.

A) Stepping
B) Rooting
C) Babinski
D) Moro

Question 37

Based on the existing research,how much alcohol have researchers determined is "safe" for a mother to drink during pregnancy without risking harmful effects to the baby?

A) Up to two glasses of red wine per week is safe for a pregnant woman.
B) A pregnant woman can have a maximum of one alcoholic beverage per day without risk to the baby.
C) This is impossible to answer because each pregnancy is different.
D) There is no safe amount of alcohol for a pregnant woman.

Question 38

When young Ari was born,his father was absolutely amazed by the fact that his head was proportionally so much larger than the rest of his body.In talking with his wife,a developmental psychologist,about his reaction,she laughed and said,"Oh that's so normal! Children tend to grow from top to bottom,in a pattern called the __________ rule."

A) proximodistal
B) cephalocaudal
C) north-to-south
D) motor sequencing

Question 39

The __________ rule is the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from inside to outside.

A) inside-out
B) core to extremity
C) proximodistal
D) cephalocaudal

Question 40

Any agent that can cause a birth defect is known as a __________.

A) babinski
B) pollutant
C) teratogen
D) mutation

Question 41

All but which of the following are examples of secondary sex characteristics?

A) Development of the breasts
B) Growth of pubic hair
C) Growth of underarm hair
D) Growth of the testicles

Question 42

Memory loss may be partly explained by the gradual loss of brain cells that begins in early adulthood and causes an approximately ___% reduction in brain weight by age 80.

A) 2
B) 5
C) 8
D) 10

Question 43

In North America,the average age of onset of puberty is about ____ years old for girls and _____ years old for boys.

A) 9; 14
B) 11; 13
C) 10; 12
D) 12; 15

Question 44

The fact that teenagers often feel like adults far earlier than they develop the ability to make sensible,well thought-out decisions reflects the fact that the __________ often matures more quickly than the __________ lobe.

A) amygdala; parietal
B) hypothalamus; occipital
C) thalamus; temporal
D) limbic system; frontal

Question 45

Which of the following statements is false regarding gender differences in the population?

A) For every 100 boys born, there are 110 girls born.
B) There are more male babies born than there are female babies.
C) The infantile death rate for males is 25% higher than it is for females.
D) For those who reach 100 years of age, women outnumber men five to one.

Question 46

Many women report that their menstrual periods are uncomfortable,inconvenient,and downright bothersome.During menopause,the menstrual periods stop.According to research,what do most women feel when this life change occurs?

A) anger and a sense of loss
B) mixed emotions
C) only regret
D) only relief

Question 47

The average age when a woman will start going through the changes associated with menopause is _____ years.

A) 40
B) 45
C) 50
D) 55

Question 48

__________ is to girls as __________ is to boys.

A) menarche; spermarche
B) spermarche; menarche
C) puberty; adolescence
D) adolescence; puberty

Question 49

Which of the following statements is the most accurate with regard to life expectancy?

A) There is no single trend about gender differences for life expectancy that can be generalized to the entire world, because nearly every country shows different patterns of life expectancy based on lifestyle choices.
B) On average, men outlive women by 3 years throughout the world, but women outlive men by 2 years in the United States.
C) On average there is no difference in life expectancy between men and women throughout the world, however in the United States men outlive women by 5 years.
D) On average women outlive men by four years throughout the world, and by 5 to 6 years in the United States.

Question 50

__________ is to women as __________ is to men.

A) andropause; menopause
B) menopause; andropause
C) menopause; spermopause
D) estropause; andropause

Question 51

The discontinuation of menstrual cycles and the end of a woman's ability to bear children is known as __________.

A) andropause
B) reproductive halting.
C) infertility
D) menopause

Question 52

Why does exercise help to reduce memory loss and brain decline in older adults?

A) Because exercise reduces our need to use medications, many of which cause damage to brain cells over time.
B) Because exercise stimulates neurons and actually helps the brain to grow new cells.
C) Because exercise helps increase the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the brain.
D) Because exercise helps to remove toxins from our system that are stored in fat cells.

Question 53

Which of the following physical changes is not associated with andropause in men?

A) A reduction in a man's interest in his career.
B) A reduction in a man's testosterone levels.
C) A reduction in a man's sperm count.
D) A reduction in the speed at which a man gets an erection.

Question 54

According to evolutionary biologists,the highest average life expectancy the human species will ever see is about ____ years of age.

A) 85
B) 90
C) 95
D) 100

Question 55

In 2005 the United States Supreme Court outlawed the practice of using capital punishment (the death penalty)for juvenile offenders.What was the basis of this ruling?

A) The recognition that using the death penalty on juveniles presented a clear risk of unnecessary pain, which would violate the constitutional prohibition on "cruel and unusual punishment."
B) The recognition that juveniles have a biological deficiency in their ability to use good judgment.
C) The recognition that putting juveniles to death would be more of a punishment for their families than for the juveniles themselves.
D) The recognition that juveniles are psychologically incapable of being responsible for their own actions.

Question 56

Why is it easier for men to make the psychological adjustment to the physical changes of andropause than it is for women to adjust to the physical changes of menopause?

A) Because research suggests that being male makes a person more psychologically resilient to changes in all areas of life.
B) Because the loss of estrogen makes women far more emotional than men, who are simply seeing a reduction in testosterone.
C) Because it is far easier to hide the symptoms of andropause than it is to hide the symptoms of menopause.
D) Because the changes associated with andropause are more subtle and appear over a longer period of time.

Question 57

Despite popular believe that "most" people experience a crisis when they come to their middle adulthood years,recent research has found that only ___% of adults reported experiencing a mid-life crisis.

A) 2
B) 5
C) 7
D) 10

Question 58

Which of the following statements is true regarding the relationship between culture and aging?

A) While North American culture tends to fear aging and looks for ways of halting it, some Eastern cultures give great power and respect to their aging citizens.
B) While many Eastern cultures view older adults as being beyond their useful years and not valuable to society, most Western cultures place a great amount of value in their senior citizens.
C) Shows on television that attempt to halt the aging process are of the greatest interest to people of Latino and Native American culture, but not to Caucasian or Asian-American individuals.
D) All cultures show a universal fear of aging, and thus the endless search for ways to slow the aging process is a universal phenomenon.

Question 59

The average age for the onset of puberty is approximately ____ years later in pre-industrial cultures than it is in industrialized cultures.

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

Question 60

When the National Council of Aging surveyed adults over 60,they found that ___% reported that they were satisfied with the amount of sex that they were having,and ___% reported that they wanted to have more sex.

A) 39; 39
B) 27; 40
C) 50; 10
D) 35; 2

Question 61

Prior to reaching the age of ____ years,most people have very few or no conscious memories whatsoever.

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

Question 62

"Raindrops keep falling on my head.And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed,nothing seems to fit!" These lyrics to a popular song describe a very uncomfortable sleeping arrangement! There are several ways this problem can be solved.If the singer chooses to go out in the morning and buy a bigger bed,this would be similar to the Piagetian concept of __________.

A) assimilation
B) accommodation
C) schema transformation
D) adaptation

Question 63

By about ___ year(s)of age,children begin developing the ability to talk about occurrences from earlier that day or the previous day,demonstrating the basic skills of episodic memory.

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Question 64

A child's ability to distinguish between their own versus others' mental states is called theory of __________.

A) schema
B) disintegration
C) egocentrism
D) mind

Question 65

Several different types of research have found that babies show the greatest interest in:

A) stimuli that contain lighter, and not darker, colors.
B) stimuli that they can control.
C) stimuli that are at least 12 inches but no more than 2 feet from their faces.
D) stimuli that are placed in their hands by another individual.

Question 66

In a very general way,the term __________ means "thinking."

A) perception
B) development
C) olfaction
D) cognition

Question 67

Young Raina is just a few months old,and her parents delight in seeing her reaction to new sights and sounds.Her mother,Lianna,bought her a new toy that hangs from the handle of her car seat and sparkles brightly.When Raina first sees this new toy,she smiles,coos,and stares at it intently.After just a few minutes,however,Lianna is surprised to see that Raina is looking away,and appears almost bored with this new toy.Developmental psychologists refer reduced responding to a familiar stimulus as __________.

A) habituation
B) stimulus decay
C) the repeated response effect
D) disinhibition

Question 68

In Piaget's theory,the term __________ refers to concepts or frameworks around which people organize and interpret information.

A) centrations
B) operations
C) schemas
D) centrisms

Question 69

Javier wants to study the mental activities associated with sensation,perception,thinking,knowing,remembering,and communicating.He should probably apply to be a student in a __________ psychology program.

A) cognitive
B) evolutionary
C) developmental
D) clinical

Question 70

Object __________ is a cognitive skill that refers to the fact that an object continues to exist when it is no longer perceived (seen,heard,etc).

A) solidity
B) permanence
C) continuity
D) stability

Question 71

Which of a baby's sensory systems are fully functioning at birth?

A) Vision
B) Hearing
C) Taste
D) Normally, all of the sensory systems are fully functioning at birth.

Question 72

Which of the following research findings showed that babies learn and recognize the familiar scent of their mother within just a few days of birth?

A) Babies would demonstrate a preference for a gauze pad that had been placed inside the bra of their mother over one that had been placed inside the bra of another nursing woman.
B) Babies preferred the scent of clothing that had been washed in the same detergent as their mother's clothes over clothing that had been washed in scent-free detergent.
C) Babies cried more when their diaper was changed by a nurse than when it was changed by their own mother.
D) Babies slept more soundly on a pillow that had been used by their mother the previous night over a pillow that had a fresh, unused pillowcase on it.

Question 73

Which of the following is the correct order of stages in Piaget's theory of cognitive development?

A) formal operational, concrete operational, preoperational, sensory motor
B) preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational, sensorimotor
C) sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational
D) preoperational, sensorimotor, formal operational, concrete operational

Question 74

Alice is sitting at the table with her son Nikko.She takes his tall glass of milk which is only half full and pours it into a shorter wider glass.Then she says "Honey,which glass has more milk?" Nikko immediately points to the taller glass,as he is chewing his peanut butter sandwich.Nikko has not yet mastered Piaget's skill of __________.

A) centration
B) egocentrism
C) object permanence
D) conservation

Question 75

In which of Piaget's stages of cognitive development is a child most likely to lack the skill of object permanence?

A) The preoperational stage
B) The formal operational stage
C) The sensorimotor stage
D) the concrete operational stage

Question 76

Young Jonah,only a bit over 2 years of age,has been fooled by his parents.In order to get him to willingly take a children's chewable vitamin every day,his parents have taught him that it is a "candy." Now,whenever Jonah sees any product that is small and brightly colored,he says "Candy! YUMMM" and tries to put it into his mouth.Jonah's attempt to make new stimuli consistent with his existing mental structures is an example of __________.

A) assimilation
B) egocentrism
C) accommodation
D) centration

Question 77

What is meant by the term "egocentrism?"

A) A child is very selfish and refuses to share his or her possessions with others.
B) A child is extremely arrogant and feels that he or she is better than others.
C) A child lacks the ability to consider perspectives other than his or her own.
D) A child lacks the motivation do things for him- or herself and expects them to be done by others.

Question 78

"Raindrops keep falling on my head.And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed,nothing seems to fit!" These lyrics to a popular song describe a very uncomfortable sleeping arrangement! There are several ways this problem can be solved.If the singer chooses to cut off his feet so that he fits in the existing bed,this would be similar to the Piagetian concept of __________.

A) accommodation
B) adaptation
C) assimilation
D) schema transformation

Question 79

In which stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development do people begin to think logically about abstract concepts?

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

Question 80

Children often beg and plead with their parents to buy them the latest greatest new toy when Christmas comes along.When they get the new toy,however,parents often get aggravated when the toy seems to be forgotten about after just a few days or even a few hours.What developmental psychology concept explains this loss of interest in a stimulus that is no longer new?

A) cognition
B) disinhibition
C) habituation
D) boredom