Deck 1: Introduction to Child and Adolescent Development

Question 1

_________ is the emergence of new structures and functions during the course of development.

A)Epigenisis
B)Evolution
C)Mutation
D)Adaptation

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is most useful for obtaining information that cannot ethically be obtained otherwise?

A)questionnaires
B)observational studies
C)case studies
D)standardized tests

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Many developmental psychologists believe that childhood is a(n) _______ concept.

A)irrelevant
B)outdated
C)modern
D)complicated

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Researchers whose principal concern is with individual differences have a(n) ________ approach.

A)idiographic
B)metamorphic
C)simplistic
D)rationalistic

Question 5

If a researcher found, in a correlational study, that an increase in one factor resulted in an increase of the same magnitude in another factor, the correlation, or r, would be

A)-1.0.
B)0.0.
C)0.5.
D)+1.0.

Question 6

____________ design.

A)longitudinal
B)experimental
C)correlational
D)clinical

Question 7

The focus of developmental psychology is changes in

A)psychological characteristics that occur over a lifetime.
B)developmental theories.
C)data collection and analysis.
D)the way in which case studies are developed.

Question 8

Bidirectionality of structure and function refers to

A)an organism's being capable of using either hand or foot.
B)genetic determinism.
C)the interaction of the functional invariants of assimilation and accommodation with cognitive schemas.
D)structure (e.g., biological substrate) affecting function (e.g., activity) and function affecting structure.

Question 9

John Locke is the philosophical grandfather of

A)performationism.
B)empiricism.
C)determinism.
D)parsimony.

Question 10

Which of the following terms refers to development of the individual over the course of his or her lifetime?

A)ontogeny
B)phylogeny
C)microgenesis
D)maturation

Question 11

A ________ is the time in development when a skill is most easily attained.

A)transitional period b sensitive period
B)stage
C)function

Question 12

A hallmark of experimental studies is

A)the manipulation of time in the presentation of the materials to the subject.
B)the manipulation of only one variable as often as possible to determine the effects of that variable.
C)the manipulation of every variable at each stage of the experiment.
D)the manipulation of one or more factors and observation of how these manipulations change the behavior under investigation.

Question 13

A _____________ is a group of people born in a specified, limited span of years whose common experiences might influence their performances in developmental research.

A)cohort
B)cross-section
C)population
D)sample

Question 14

Children are said to be in a stage when their behavior is _________ different from the behavior of children in earlier or later stages.

A)quantitively
B)qualitatively
C)quantifiably
D)correlationally

Question 15

Theorists who propose that people progress through discrete, developmental stages believe in

A)an intrinsically active child.
B)an intrinsically passive child.
C)discontinuity of development.
D)continuity of development.

Question 16

____ is to the extent to which a measurement accurately assesses what it purports to measure.

A)Validity
B)Reliability
C)Parsimony
D)Variability

Question 17

Members of the Child Study Movement believed that developmental psychology should be applied to children

A)throughout their lives.
B)in a practical way.
C)in a theoretical way.
D)in research studies.

Question 18

Some human behavior appears to be "instinctive" because humans inherit _____ as well as a species-typical genome.

A)innate behaviors
B)gene expression
C)a maternal attachment
D)a species-typical environment

Question 19

In naturalistic observations, the researcher

A)interviews participants one-on-one.
B)intervenes as little as possible.
C)sets up a specific environment.
D)begins a case study.

Question 20

Genetic determinism implies that

A)genetic variation is the basis for determinant thinking.
B)behavior is caused by the interaction of genes and environment.
C)culture determines all of behavior.
D)genes determine behavior.

Question 21

________ includes changes in processes involved with thinking, such as perception, attention, consciousness, memory, intelligence, problem solving, and language.

A)Physical development
B)Psychomotor development
C)Cognitive development
D)Socioemotional development

Question 22

Pellegrini and Long's research into middle-school children's "push and poke courtship" behavior is an example of

A)structured observation.
B)naturalistic observation.
C)contextual observation.
D)standardized observation.

Question 23

When was the first U.S. federal law passed regulating the minimum age and number of hours per week that children could work?

A)in the 1850s
B)in the 1880s
C)in the 1930s
D)in the 1960s

Question 24

Which of the following is not a major problem of conducting research with school-age children?

A)Researchers must comply with school schedules.
B)Researchers have difficulty formulating a research plan.
C)Researchers need approval from a number of different people.
D)Some children are unwilling to participate.

Question 25

The ability to change as a result of experience is called

A)discontinuity.
B)attachment.
C)internal validity.
D)plasticity.

Question 26

Many developmental psychologists today collaborate with experts in various fields of

A)biology.
B)physics.
C)botany.
D)orthopedics.

Question 27

Kagan's belief that experience early in life is critical and nonreversible in the establishment of certain aspects of social and intellectual behavior is called the ______ model of development.

A)genes-environment
B)tape recorder
C)tabula rasa
D)early childhood

Question 28

One weakness of using _______ to collect data is that self-reporting can be biased.

A)questionnaires
B)observational studies
C)structured interviews
D)case studies

Question 29

The term ______ in psychology refers to the empirical study of a topic.

A)research
B)observation
C)experiment
D)variable

Question 30

Which of the following does a developmental psychologist not try to integrate in the study of child and adolescent development?

A)infanticide
B)developmental contextualism
C)a sociocultural perspective
D)evolutionary theory

Question 31

Which of the following would not be an example of a group case study?

A)children who survived a hurricane in a specific area
B)children who took a standardized test in a classroom
C)children who were raised in an orphanage
D)children who were sexually abused

Question 32

Truly scientific experiments require that participants be ______ assigned to the different experimental conditions.

A)selectively
B)sequentially
C)temporarily
D)randomly

Question 33

If a characteristic is _____, a child's rank in relation to his or her peers essentially stays the same over time.

A)plastic
B)erratic
C)stable
D)innate

Question 34

During the Industrial Revolution in the U.S. and Europe, children

A)were killed as sacrifices.
B)worked long hours in factories.
C)were required to attend school.
D)were punished for crimes the same way as adults were.

Question 35

Which of the following involves assessing children over relatively short intervals, usually days or weeks?

A)experimental studies
B)observational studies
C)case studies
D)microgenetic studies

Question 36

A cause is endogenous if it is caused by

A)experience.
B)reinforcement.
C)nurture.
D)nature.

Question 37

The greatest weakness of a cross-sectional study is

A)that it requires much time and is expensive.
B)that there is significant participant loss.
C)that it cannot assess change in one person over time.
D)that it does not focus on a single topic of development.

Question 38

Development always occurs within a(n) ______ context.

A)social
B)isolated
C)objective
D)historical

Question 39

The modern concept of childhood is a(n) _____ invention.

A)Western
B)worldwide
C)abstract
D)African

Question 40

Why is it that some information about children can be ethically collected only by case studies?

A)It is not acceptable to question children about painful experiences.
B)Only psychiatrists are licensed to conduct case studies.
C)Case studies often document extreme conditions that would be cruel to set up.
D)Case studies often involve punishment for children who are unwilling to participate.

Question 41

Most developmental psychologists today are

A)nativists.
B)genetic determinists.
C)interactionists.
D)creationists.

Question 42

What is the best way to obtain children as participants for research?

A)advertising in local newspapers
B)contacting relatives and friends who have children
C)contacting local schools
D)circulating flyers in different neighborhoods

Question 43

The concept that change from one style of behaving or thinking to another is relatively abrupt is called

A)discontinuity of development.
B)continuity of development.
C)disruption of development.
D)evolution of development.

Question 44

Why do some researchers believe that contemporary childhood has moved backward?

A)because children today are often spoiled by their parents
B)because children today are under too much pressure to succeed
C)because children spend so much time being unsupervised
D)because TV has made children privy to adult issues

Question 45

All 192 countries that are members of the United Nations ratified The Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 except Somalia and __________

A)the United States.
B)France.
C)Brazil.
D)China.

Question 46

______ is the extent to which a test or measurement represents all facets of a given concept.

A)Internal validity
B)External validity
C)Face validity
D)Content validity

Question 47

In a study of aggression in preschool children, each of three groups regularly saw one of three types of TV shows: aggressive programs (such as "Batman"), prosocial programs ("Mister Rogers' Neighborhood"), and neutral programs (such as Disney nature films). Aggressive behavior was then assessed. What was the dependent variable?

A)the type of TV show
B)the children's level of aggression
C)the number of groups of children
D)the age of the children

Question 48

Because it is rooted biology, development is _______, but because of individual differences, development is also ________.

A)predictable; variable
B)variable; predictable
C)stable; plastic
D)plastic; stable

Question 49

____ is often viewed as the major cause of individual differences in patterns of development.

A)Personality
B)Prenatal development
C)Culture
D)Family structure

Question 50

Which of the following is most useful for generating hypothesis for future experimental testing?

A)clinical interviews
B)questionnaires
C)observational studies
D)structured interviews

Question 51

For which of the following would the microgenetic method be most useful?

A)observing children in their natural environment
B)correcting behavioral problems
C)describing changes over a long period of time
D)assessing spelling strategies

Question 52

The nature/nurture issue is essentially the interaction of

A)genetics and heredity.
B)society and the individual.
C)culture and family.
D)biology and experience.

Question 53

A _______ best represents qualitatively different stages in the life of a single animal.

A)monkey
B)butterfly
C)human
D)snake

Question 54

What was outlawed in Europe in the 1600s?

A)child labor
B)child prostitution
C)child abandonment
D)orphanages

Question 55

What explains why infants and children more easily make sense of faces and sounds than other things, such as lists of words?

A)Infants and children learn the easiest things first, and then progress to harder tasks.
B)Specific parts of the brain are limited to processing a narrow range of information.
C)The brain and learning mechanisms can perform many tasks at once.
D)There are no constraints on learning to make sense of faces and language.

Question 56

Gottlieb's research showed that ducklings respond to their mothers' calls because of _________

A)heredity
B)instinct
C)mimicry
D)auditory experience

Question 57

The results of even the most interesting study might be of little use, depending on

A)how the results are interpreted.
B)whether or not the scientific community agrees with the results.
C)how the study was conducted.
D)what the independent variable were.

Question 58

If it is true that boys are less likely than girls to have their parents sign permission slips, this could create the problem of ______ a psychological study.

A)obtaining a representative sample for
B)obtaining permission to conduct
C)the ethics of conducting
D)children's compliance with the guidelines of

Question 59

Which of the following is the correct historical order of the different levels of analysis of developmental phenomena?

A)sociohistory ? phylogeny ? ontogeny
B)phylogeny ? sociohistory ?ontogeny
C)ontogeny ? phylogeny ? sociohistory
D)ontogeny ? sociohistory ? phylogeny

Question 60

One ethical consideration that is necessary in conducting research with children is

A)making sure that incentives are generous.
B)informing children about aspects of the research.
C)including the names of all children in written research records.
D)informing children's parents about the results of the research.

Question 61

Which of the following must be included for a scientific observation to be objective?

A)the observer's personal beliefs
B)the observer's emotions
C)the observers prior expectations
D)the observer's skill at knowing what is clearly observable

Question 62

Socioemotional development includes all of the following except

A)self-esteem.
B)personality.
C)intelligence.
D)morality

Question 63

The _______ of psychology recognizes the centrality of the social environment for human development.

A)developmental contextualism
B)evolutionary theory
C)sociocultural perspective
D)developmental systems theory

Question 64

Psychologists who adopt an idiographic approach are most interested in

A)behavior that is typical.
B)behavior that is extreme.
C)behavior that is individual.
D)behavior that is new.

Question 65

Non-stage theorists believe that development changes qualitatively and

A)gradually over time.
B)in distinct stages.
C)in unpredictable ways.
D)quantitatively.

Question 66

Who was an ardent advocate of childhood, believing that children are important in their own right and are not merely a means to the end of being adults?

A)Piaget
B)Vygotsky
C)Freud
D)Rousseau

Question 67

Which of the following is most easily acquired during a sensitive time in development?

A)learning a new sport
B)learning a language
C)learning new methods of mathematical calculations
D)learning concepts of mechanics

Question 68

According to Schaffer, the answer to the question of whether or not extreme childhood trauma causes irreversible damage is

A)"Yes."
B)"No."
C)"There is no way to know."
D)"It depends."

Question 69

Which of the following is not likely to be included on a questionnaire designed to collect data about children's behavior?

A)peer nominations
B)a measure of IQ
C)self-reporting
D)descriptions of behaviors

Question 70

One-fourth of infants born in Paris in the 1700s

A)died.
B)became foundlings.
C)participated in developmental studies.
D)were sold as slaves.

Question 71

Teenagers who have been raised in severely disadvantaged homes yet have no serious problems have the characteristic of

A)competency.
B)intelligence.
C)sociability.
D)resiliency.

Question 72

The time boundaries for a critical period are ______ than they are for a sensitive period.

A)closer together
B)farther apart
C)wider
D)narrower

Question 73

____ is the extent to which a measure relates to a theorized psychological concept, such as intelligence or personality.

A)Face validity
B)Internal validity
C)Content validity
D)Construct validity

Question 74

Modern developmental psychologists realize that development is more _____ than was once believed.

A)stable
B)plastic
C)instinctual
D)complicated

Question 75

In a study of the development of social skills, a group of children were tested every other year for 6 years. This was a _______ study.

A)cross-sectional study
B)horizontal study
C)longitudinal study
D)case study

Question 76

Which of the following is not a problem in conducting research with children?

A)getting children to understand the nature of the research
B)obtaining children to serve as participants
C)subject loss
D)obtaining representative samples

Question 77

Humans emerged as a species about _________ years ago.

A)2 billion
B)20 million
C)2 million
D)200,000

Question 78

Watching what toddlers do in a daycare center when they are on their own is an example of

A)a case study.
B)a cross-sectional study.
C)an observational study.
D)a clinical study.

Question 79

After about 8 months, infants exhibit ______, understanding that even when an object is out of their sight, it still exists.

A)object attachment
B)object permanence
C)logic
D)discontinuity

Question 80

What is the significance of the United Nations' approval of The Convention on the Rights of the Child?

A)It acknowledges the special nature of childhood.
B)It enforces protection of children worldwide.
C)It coordinates how children are treated worldwide.
D)It creates a new definition of "childhood."