Deck 2: Theories of Human Development

Question 1

According to Erikson, which parental characteristic is the most important aspect for the development of trust?

A)disciplinary strategies
B)warmth
C)responsiveness to the infant's needs
D)assertiveness

Answer 1

responsiveness to the infant's needs

Question 2

In Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, what is the microsystem?

A)the activities and interactions that occur in a person's immediate surroundings
B)the cultural, subcultural, or social class context within which development occurs
C)contexts that children are not part of, but which may nevertheless influence their development
D)changes in the child, or in any of the ecological contexts of development

Answer 2

the activities and interactions that occur in a person's immediate surroundings

Question 3

According to information-processing theory, the human mind is like a computer.In this analogy, what is the mind's software?

A)the genetic code children inherit from their parents
B)mental processes, such as attention, memory, and problem-solving strategies
C)social and environmental interactions
D)the brain and central nervous system

Answer 3

mental processes, such as attention, memory, and problem-solving strategies

Question 4

What was one of Freud's most important contributions to our understanding of human behaviour?

A)his discovery of the Oedipal complex
B)his emphasis on puberty
C)his emphasis on unconscious motivation
D)his discovery of the structure of the personality

Question 5

What is one of the criticisms raised with respect to ethological theories?

A)Such theories often provide inadequate and post hoc explanations for behaviour.
B)Learning overrides any effects that might be the result of biological predispositions claimed to be present by ethologists.
C)Ethological theories fail to take into account the continuities that exist in human development.
D)Ethologists fail to acknowledge that humans are similar in many ways to other animals.

Question 6

Human beings have a long period of development, requiring nurturance and protection for many years.What would evolutionary theorists argue about this long period of relative immaturity?

A)It is due to innate evolutionary mechanisms responsible for shaping human conduct and character.
B)Most human motives and behaviours have a biological basis.
C)It is a necessity because a long period of adaption is needed for acquiring physical and cognitive competencies.
D)Infants are more self-sufficient at birth than initially believed.

Question 7

According to Piaget, which of the following best describes the process of accommodation?

A)new experiences are incorporated into existing schemes
B)existing schemes are changed or modified to make sense of new experiences
C)recognition that objects continue to exist when they cannot be seen
D)failure to centre on a single aspect of a problem

Question 8

According to Freud, what does the id seek?

A)immediate gratification of innate urges
B)moral perfection
C)appropriate outlets for basic needs while adhering to social constraints
D)self-actualization

Question 9

Often new environments and experiences have characteristics in common with experiences people have encountered in the past.According to Piaget, in these types of situations, which adaptive process is used to respond appropriately?

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

Question 10

Carmen was ridiculed by her friends when she wore a sweater to school that she had made herself.Now she no longer wears that sweater.According to Skinner, what process is represented by the ridicule?

A)reinforcement
B)conditioned stimulation
C)punishment
D)internal drive

Question 11

According to Freud, when does the superego develop?

A)at birth
B)between 3 and 6 years of age
C)between 7 and 10 years of age
D)between 11 and 14 years of age

Question 12

Egon proposed a theory to explain children's learning.Over the years, several other researchers have tested Edgar's theory, with mixed results.In recent years, nearly every attempt at validation has resulted in disconfirmation of Egon's theory.At this point, what should Egon do?

A)continue to support his theory as it is, because a few disconfirmations do not mean very much
B)consider revising his theory, because the recent disconfirmations suggest that there may be problems with the theory
C)discard his theory altogether, because the recent disconfirmations prove that his theory is incorrect
D)critically evaluate the procedures used in the studies that failed to confirm his theory in an attempt to uncover flaws in the research procedures

Question 13

Jamal tells you that he thinks children are at the mercy of forces beyond their control and that it is the parents' fault when children get into trouble.With respect to the activity/passivity issue, what does Jamal's statement reflect?

A)neither a passivity nor an activity orientation
B)a passivity orientation
C)an activity orientation
D)the fact that activity and passivity combine to produce the final outcome that is observed

Question 14

Tyler asked his father for a candy bar at the grocery store, and his father bought him the candy bar.If Tyler asks for more candy bars in the future, what has the candy bar acted as?

A)a reinforcer
B)a discriminative stimulus
C)a conditioned stimulus
D)an unconscious motivator

Question 15

In Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, the employment environment of the child's parents is part of which developmental context?

A)the macrosystem
B)the microsystem
C)the mesosystem
D)the exosystem

Question 16

Which period of development do evolutionary psychologists believe is particularly critical for social and emotional development?

A)the first six months when a child imprints on her new parents
B)the first three years
C)the early grade-school years
D)the adolescent years

Question 17

According to Freud, which component of personality is responsible for perception, learning, and logical reasoning?

A)the id
B)the ego
C)the superego
D)the collective unconscious

Question 18

What is the focus of organismic models of development?

A)The view that development is controlled primarily by internal forces.
B)The view that development is largely described through a collection of behaviours.
C)The view that development is continuously evolving.
D)The view that development is primarily determined by environmental events.

Question 19

Which of the sayings below would be a suitable slogan for Albert Bandura's cognitive social learning theory?

A)"Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration."
B)"Monkey see, monkey do."
C)"Great ideas exist as seeds in the minds of newborns."
D)"Give me a dozen healthy newborns, and I will direct their development toward any occupations I choose."

Question 20

Disung has just told his mother that his stuffed bear is alive and that the bear hurts because he knocked it over.How is Disung including the bear in his cognitive schemes?

A)He is assimilating the bear into his existing cognitive schemes.
B)He is accommodating the bear into his existing cognitive schemes.
C)He is accommodating the bear into new cognitive schemes.
D)He is assimilating the bear into new cognitive schemes.

Question 21

Each of Erikson's eight stages reflects a conflict that arises because of biological maturation and which of the following?

A)the child's demands
B)social demands
C)id development
D)ego development

Question 22

What is the focus of Piaget's theory?

A)biological maturation
B)psychological maturation
C)social development
D)cognitive development

Question 23

The awareness that development in one area is interdependent with development in other areas is captured by which of the following major themes?

A)continuity of development
B)holistic nature of development
C)active issue of development
D)nurture issue of development

Question 24

What is one of the major criticisms of the classic learning viewpoint?

A)it provides relatively little information about infant development
B)its emphasis on biological maturation
C)its oversimplified account of the environmental factors that influence human development
D)many of its principles cannot be applied to real-life situations

Question 25

What do current developmentalists generally stress as an important factor in developmental outcomes?

A)It is more important to identify discontinuities than continuities.
B)Biological factors and life experiences jointly determine developmental outcomes.
C)Environmental forces and life experiences play the major role in development.
D)It is more important to identify continuities than discontinuities.

Question 26

Joaquin was an especially outgoing, cheerful baby, compared to other babies his same age, and now that he is an adult he stands out as particularly sociable and friendly among his age-mates.Which term best explains Joaquin's personal attribute of extraversion?

A)positional stability
B)absolute stability
C)attitudinal flux
D)temperamental constancy

Question 27

What did Watson call well-learned associations between external stimuli and observable responses?

A)a fixation
B)a reinforced behaviour
C)conditioned response
D)habits

Question 28

After reading the text, Ceilidh concludes that children are active in their own development.She also believes development proceeds through qualitatively different stages, and that nature and nurture interact to determine the final development outcomes that are observed.Which world view does Ceilidh's position reflect?

A)mechanistic
B)contextual
C)microgenetic
D)organismic

Question 29

Alexandre is 25 years old and has not yet decided what he wants to do with his life.He changed majors in college three times in the last two years and he has considered dropping out of college altogether.According to Erikson, which crisis has Alexandre failed to resolve?

A)identity versus confusion
B)autonomy versus shame and doubt
C)basic trust versus mistrust
D)industry versus inferiority

Question 30

Maxim is pleased to find that his daughter Pasha has completed her homework before dinner.He shows his approval by spending the hour after dinner playing Pasha's favourite game.The same thing happens several days later, and soon Pasha is finishing her homework before dinner on a regular basis.According to Skinner, what accounts for the change in Pasha's behaviour?

A)observational learning
B)reinforcement
C)punishment
D)ego reconstruction

Question 31

Which type of developmental change do learning theorists emphasize?

A)qualitative
B)continuous
C)ecologically valid
D)discontinuous

Question 32

Which statement best characterizes how the behavioural learning viewpoint views development?

A)as active, discontinuous, and dependent on external stimuli
B)as active, continuous, and dependent on internal forces.
C)as passive, continuous, and dependent on external stimuli
D)as passive, discontinuous, qualitative, and dependent on internal forces

Question 33

Luisa proposed a theory that completely explained her observations of children's development during an extended visit to a small village in Africa.Luisa's theory offered no predictions about future observations in other cultures.How would her theory most likely be labelled?

A)a good theory because it provided clear and complete explanations of her observations
B)a mediocre theory, because it did not generalize well to other situations
C)a poor theory, because it failed to generate interest from other scientists
D)a failure as a theory, because it was not falsifiable

Question 34

What does the ethological view of human development emphasize as an important factor in development?

A)environmental influences
B)innate influences
C)cognitive processes
D)perceptual processes

Question 35

How does Bandura's version of social learning theory differ from other learning theories?

A)He stressed the role of primary reinforcers more than secondary reinforcers.
B)He ignored the cognitive aspects of learning.
C)He maintained that most learning occurs without reinforcement.
D)He equated learning and performance.

Question 36

According to Skinner, what are the primary motivators of behaviour?

A)internal drives
B)maturational forces
C)contingent external stimuli
D)increasingly complex cognitive schemes

Question 37

What is Piaget's term for an organized pattern of thought or action?

A)stage
B)equilibration
C)assimilation
D)scheme

Question 38

In Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, what is the exosystem?

A)the activities and interactions that occur in a person's immediate surroundings
B)the cultural, subcultural, or social class context within which development occurs
C)contexts that children are not part of, but which may nevertheless influence their development
D)changes in the child or in any of the ecological contexts of development

Question 39

Which type of developmental change is recognized by laws that treat child offenders very differently than adult offenders?

A)unconsciously motivated factors in development
B)the role of nature in developmental change
C)qualitative development
D)quantitative development

Question 40

At what point in the research process are theories developed?

A)after initial observations; they are then adjusted as necessary after further investigation
B)before extensive research; they are unchanging
C)after initial observations; they are not changed unless there is a change in the events the theory explains
D)before any observations have been made; they are later evaluated to determine if the principles hold up to rigorous testing

Question 41

Developmentalists disagree on the extent to which children contribute directly to their own development.What is this controversy known as?

A)active/passive
B)continuity/discontinuity
C)nature/nurture
D)universal/specific

Question 42

In comparison to Freud's emphases in his psychosexual theory of personality development, what did Erikson emphasize in his psychosocial theory?

A)the passive role of children who are moulded by social influences
B)the ego and the active role of children in their own social development
C)the role of biological and sexual urges in conjunction with social influences
D)the id and the social influence of parental behaviour and attitudes

Question 43

What is one key difference between Bandura's and Skinner's views of development?

A)Bandura believes reinforcers and punishers have little effect on behaviour.
B)Bandura believes reinforcers are more effective than punishers in shaping behaviour.
C)Bandura believes people anticipate the consequences that are likely to follow their behaviour.
D)Bandura believes people will often work harder to obtain a small reward than they will to obtain a large reward.

Question 44

According to Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective, when do children learn best?

A)when they are allowed to observe the learning consequences of older children and youth
B)when they are given expert guidance by more knowledgeable members of society
C)when they discover new ideas through active learning on their own
D)when they are rewarded consistently for success and punished for failure

Question 45

After reading the textbook, Ed concludes that children actively influence the environmental contexts that impact their development.He also believes development shows continuities and discontinuities, and that nurture has the most impact on the final development outcomes that are observed.Which world view does Ed's position reflect?

A)organismic
B)contextual
C)microgenetic
D)mechanistic

Question 46

Suppose that a new developmental theory builds on existing knowledge by allowing for the formation of new testable hypotheses.How would this theory be categorized?

A)as parsimonious
B)as heuristic
C)as falsifiable
D)as normative

Question 47

Freud was one of the first theorists to focus attention on which of the following?

A)the influence of early experiences on later development
B)the active role that children play in their own development
C)the development of cognition and information processing
D)the ways in which environmental consequences could modify behaviour

Question 48

Piaget's theory has had a strong impact on education.Which educational program is based on his findings?

A)guided participation
B)computer-aided instruction
C)multicultural assimilation
D)discovery-based education

Question 49

What is the name of the therapeutic process of reinforcing desirable overt behaviours while simultaneously using punishment or extinction to reduce unwanted behaviours?

A)psychoanalysis
B)behaviour modification
C)observational learning
D)cognitive therapy

Question 50

Piaget was the first modern-day developmental theorist to stress which of the following?

A)stages of development
B)the influence of motivation on cognition
C)the role of emotions in thinking
D)the active role of children in development

Question 51

In Freud's conception of psychosexual development, during which developmental phase does the phallic stage begin?

A)infancy
B)toddlerhood
C)preschool to early elementary
D)puberty

Question 52

In the classic tale of A Christmas Carol, a transformation took place in Scrooge despite his advanced age.In this tale, he eventually acquired a sense of intimacy and generativity.According to Erikson, is this type of happy ending typical?

A)Yes, because adult experiences can remedy unsatisfactory early resolutions to crises.
B)Yes, because early experience has little carryover to our adult personality.
C)No, because unresolved early crises cannot be remedied later in life.
D)No, because it is rare for individuals to achieve the sense of generativity that Erickson described.

Question 53

Suppose Nyla wants to have a bracelet that she saw in a store, but she doesn't have the money to buy it, so she steals the bracelet.According to Freud, which component of Nyla's personality was responsible for her theft?

A)her reaction formation
B)her superego
C)her Electra complex
D)her id

Question 54

Bronfenbrenner's ecological perspective on learning maintains that the best way to understand the factors that influence development is to study them in which location?

A)a controlled laboratory setting
B)the child's home
C)the child's school
D)the child's natural environment

Question 55

According to which theorist are actions strengthened by reinforcers and weakened by punishers?

A)Vygotsky
B)Skinner
C)Piaget
D)Bowlby

Question 56

Louis lies, steals, and cheats routinely.According to Freud's theory, what would you conclude about Louis's personality structure?

A)He has a weak id.
B)He has a strong superego.
C)He has a strong ego.
D)He has a strong id.

Question 57

What did the neo-Freudian theorist Alfred Adler emphasize as an important factor in development?

A)intimate love relationships
B)defense mechanisms
C)sibling rivalries
D)the collective unconscious

Question 58

Two-year-old Letitia throws a temper tantrum.According to Freud, which part of Letitia's personality exerted control during her tantrum?

A)her superego
B)her ego
C)her id
D)her conscience

Question 59

Why was Piaget especially interested in the incorrect answers that children gave to his questions?

A)They supported his theory that children have little innate knowledge and must be taught everything.
B)They supported his theory that children are incapable of learning at some points in development.
C)They showed that younger children do not merely know less, but they think differently from older children.
D)They supported his theory that young children used the same thought processes as older children but lacked the memory capacity to process information effectively.

Question 60

Which type of learning did Bandura emphasize as an important means of increasing a child's behavioural repertoire?

A)operant conditioning
B)behaviourism
C)contingent reinforcement
D)observational learning

Question 61

How did John Watson view the child?

A)as an inherently moral being who should be left alone to follow his or her own natural inclinations
B)as an inherently sinful creature who should be controlled
C)as a blank slate
D)as a passive being driven by instinct

Question 62

Which of the following examples illustrates Vygotsky's notion of the zone of proximal development?

A)At T-ball Timon can hit the ball from the tee on his own.His father is now teaching Timon how to swing at a ball being tossed.He is helping Timon to swing the bat as the pitcher lobs the ball.
B)Lily perseveres with putting together a difficult puzzle, rejecting all offers of help.
C)Although Yao Ming is only 4 years old he can already read.
D)Manuel's mother does not feel Manuel is trying hard enough at school, so she will not allow him to have a snack after school unless he gets a perfect score on his homework.

Question 63

What do stage theorists argue describes developmental changes?

A)They are qualitative.
B)They are quantitative.
C)They are gradual.
D)They are continuous.

Question 64

What type of theorist was Piaget?

A)a stage theorist who maintained that children played an active role in their own development
B)a stage theorist who maintained that children played a passive role in their own development
C)an information-processing theorist who maintained that children played an active role in their own development
D)an information-processing theorist who maintained that children played a passive role in their own development

Question 65

What is an inborn biological force that motivates one or more responses?

A)unconscious motive
B)drive
C)fixation
D)psychosocial angst

Question 66

Four-year-old Klaus often tells his older sister that "Mommy and me are going to get married when I grow up." Which of Freud's stages of personality development is Klaus's behaviour consistent with?

A)anal
B)phallic
C)latency
D)genital

Question 67

What is one basic distinction between the views of Freud and Erikson?

A)Freud thought development was stage-like, whereas Erikson saw it as continuous.
B)Freud emphasized the "nurture" side of development, whereas Erikson emphasized the "nature" side of development.
C)Freud emphasized the role of biological forces in development, whereas Erikson emphasized the role of social and cultural forces in development.
D)Freud believed the transitions between successive stages were gradual, whereas Erikson believed the transitions were more sharply defined and identifiable.

Question 68

According to the ethological view, what are sensitive periods in development?

A)the only time during which imprinting can occur
B)the time when young children are least likely to be responsive to environmental experiences
C)the time when children are most influenced by reinforcers and punishers
D)the time that is optimal for the emergence of particular competencies or behaviours

Question 69

What is implied if the developmental curve for a particular skill remains stable for many months and then shows a sudden abrupt improvement, and this pattern is repeated throughout childhood?

A)The skill advances quantitatively.
B)The skill is erratic and outside of normative developmental processes.
C)The skill advances discontinuously through stages.
D)The skill is reliant on continuous developmental processes.

Question 70

According to Piaget, during which stage of cognitive development do children begin to be less likely to be fooled by appearances, and to become more proficient at inferring motives for other people's behaviour?

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

Question 71

Christopher lives on the boundary between two school districts.One school has extra funding for reading programs, whereas the other has extra funding for gifted children.Which school would Bronfenbrenner choose for Christopher?

A)the school that more closely matches Christopher's needs because it will provide the better learning environment
B)either school because learning is biologically-based and is not affected by the environment
C)the school with more funding for gifted children
D)the school with more funding for reading programs

Question 72

What is one of the key criticisms of Piaget's theory of cognitive development?

A)He focused too much attention on physiological processes.
B)He regularly underestimated the intellectual capabilities of young children.
C)He failed to consider the active role that children play in their own development.
D)He focused too much attention on role models in directing development.

Question 73

In contrast to Piaget's view, how do information-processing theorists view cognitive development?

A)as more continuous and less stage-like
B)as more stage-like and less discontinuous
C)as the active role that a child plays in his or her own cognitive development
D)as the passive role in his or her own cognitive development

Question 74

What is one basic distinction between the views of John Watson and Sigmund Freud?

A)Watson believed that development was based on learned associations, whereas Freud saw development as based on instincts and unconscious motives.
B)Watson emphasized the "nature" side of development, whereas Freud emphasized the "nurture" side of development.
C)Watson emphasized the role of biological forces in development, whereas Freud emphasized the role of sociocultural forces in development.
D)Watson saw children as having stage-like inborn tendencies that ruled development, whereas Freud saw children as driven by continuous biological drives.

Question 75

Bandura was among the first to point out the potential for learning through observation.What factor did Bandura emphasize to account for this ability?

A)maturation
B)experience
C)reinforcement
D)cognitive processes

Question 76

According to Skinner, under what conditions does a stimulus become a reinforcer?

A)when it decreases a biological need
B)when it increases the strength of the superego
C)when it increases the probability of a response
D)when it decreases the probability of a response

Question 77

Erikson believed that humans face eight major crises over their lifetime.What are the two factors that determine when each crisis occurs and the nature of the crisis?

A)sexual maturation and life stresses
B)sexual maturation and conflicts between the id and superego
C)biological maturation and social demands
D)life stresses and the responsiveness of sexual partners

Question 78

In contrast to Piaget's view, how do information-processing theorists view cognitive development?

A)as a series of large quantitative changes
B)as a series of large qualitative changes
C)as a series of small quantitative changes
D)as a series of small qualitative changes

Question 79

Which theorist emphasized the importance of socially mediated activity in a child's cognitive development?

A)Sigmund Freud
B)Konrad Lorenz
C)Lev Vygotsky
D)Karen Horney

Question 80

Suppose Sven wants to have a video game that he saw in a store, but he doesn't have the money to buy it, but he really wants it.Although Sven feels he should be able to have the video game, he recognizes that taking something that he can't pay for is wrong.According to Freud, which component of Sven's personality would resolve these competing goals?

A)his collective unconscious
B)his superego
C)his ego
D)his id