Deck 1: History, theory, and Research Strategies

Question 1

While great diversity characterizes the interests and concerns of developmental scientists,they share a single goal: to identify

A) genetic factors that contribute to longevity.
B) environmental factors that contribute to disease and illness.
C) those factors that lead to abnormal development in children and adolescents.
D) those factors that influence consistencies and transformations in people from conception to death.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Baby boomers are known for their collective emphasis on

A) the search for personal meaning, self-expression, and social responsibility.
B) marriage at an early age and a focus on family responsibilities.
C) vocational success over family obligations.
D) political aspirations, financial wealth, and personal achievements.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following children is the most likely to exhibit resilience?

A) Jack, a highly intelligent athlete
B) Jaynie, a shy, emotionally reactive child
C) Ana, a child who has no strong bond with any adult
D) Ari, a temperamental artist

Answer 3

A

Question 4

__________ explains why some children growing up in difficult circumstances thrive,while others are less successful.

A) Assimilation
B) Plasticity
C) Resilience
D) Stamina

Question 5

Theorists who emphasize qualitative changes

A) stress the contexts that shape development.
B) regard development as largely due to nature.
C) regard development as taking place in stages.
D) stress diversity in development.

Question 6

According to the lifespan perspective,

A) development stops at adolescence.
B) development is a lifelong process.
C) aging is marked by ongoing, steady declines.
D) little developmental change occurs during adulthood.

Question 7

Nonnormative influences

A) are typical or average.
B) affect large numbers of people in a similar way.
C) do not follow a predictable timetable.
D) include age-graded and history-graded influences.

Question 8

Theorists who emphasize stability stress the importance of

A) heredity.
B) later life experiences.
C) the environment.
D) change throughout life.

Question 9

The field of human development is considered to be an applied discipline because

A) it is motivated largely by scientific curiosity.
B) findings are used for practical purposes to improve people's lives.
C) it deals with answering questions about development throughout the lifespan.
D) investigators from a variety of fields collaborate on research projects.

Question 10

__________ is considered the founder of the child study movement.

A) Charles Darwin
B) Arnold Gesell
C) G. Stanley Hall
D) Benjamin Spock

Question 11

According to the lifespan perspective,

A) history-graded influences are fairly predictable as to when they occur.
B) age-graded influences become more powerful with age.
C) nonnormative influences are fairly predictable as to when they occur.
D) history-graded influences are normative.

Question 12

Dr.Holder is interested in the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors on human development.This is known as the __________ controversy.

A) nature-nurture
B) continuous-discontinuous
C) stability-plasticity
D) social-cognitive

Question 13

Theories

A) ensure proper use of research procedures.
B) illustrate the ultimate truth regarding human behavior.
C) are mere opinions or beliefs.
D) guide and give meaning to what we see.

Question 14

Theorists who emphasize the role of __________ in development believe that the complex forces of the physical and social world influence our biological makeup and psychological experiences before and after birth.

A) nature
B) stages
C) stability
D) nurture

Question 15

Charles Darwin's __________ emphasized two related principles: natural selection and survival of the fittest.

A) normative approach
B) theory of evolution
C) psychoanalytic theory
D) psychosocial theory

Question 16

Tammy's father is an exceptional gymnast.When Tammy was just a toddler,her father believed that Tammy already showed great promise as a gymnast.Tammy's father probably believes that athletic ability is mostly determined by

A) nurture.
B) stages.
C) nature.
D) early experiences.

Question 17

According to the lifespan perspective,__________ is supreme in its impact on the life course.

A) the prenatal period
B) early childhood
C) adolescence
D) no single age period

Question 18

Dr.Fox believes that infants and preschoolers respond to the world in much the same way as adults do.This is consistent with the __________ view of development.

A) continuous
B) nature
C) discontinuous
D) nurture

Question 19

The lifespan perspective on human development assumes that development is

A) static and stable.
B) multidimensional and multidirectional.
C) continuous, rather than discontinuous.
D) largely the result of heredity.

Question 20

Dr.Geib believes that even powerful negative influences in the first few years of life can be overcome by later,more positive events.Dr.Geib sees development as

A) mostly stable.
B) having substantial plasticity.
C) mostly influenced by heredity.
D) driven by early life experiences.

Question 21

Behaviorism and social learning theory have been criticized for

A) overemphasizing the plasticity of cognitive development.
B) underestimating people's contributions to their own development.
C) granting children and adults too active of a role in their own learning.
D) offering too wide a view of important environmental influences.

Question 22

Annabelle uses symbols and engages in make-believe play.However,her thinking lacks logic.Annabelle is in Piaget's __________ stage of development.

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

Question 23

A special strength of the psychoanalytic perspective is

A) its emphasis on understanding the individual's unique life history.
B) the clarity of the concept of ego functioning.
C) the ease of empirically testing its ideas.
D) its use of a wide variety of research methods.

Question 24

According to the psychoanalytic perspective,people move through a series of stages in which they

A) acquire increasingly complex information-processing skills.
B) confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations.
C) model the behavior of parents and other caregivers.
D) actively explore the environment.

Question 25

Today,Albert Bandura's theory stresses the importance of

A) behavior modification.
B) punishment.
C) cognition.
D) reinforcement.

Question 26

Sigmund Freud constructed his psychosexual theory

A) on the basis of his adult patients' memories of painful childhood events.
B) by conducting studies of animal behavior.
C) on the basis of interviews with institutionalized children and adolescents.
D) by carefully observing his own children.

Question 27

In Ivan Pavlov's famous experiment with dogs,the neutral stimulus was

A) the food.
B) salivation.
C) the bell.
D) the trainer.

Question 28

Dr.Faulkner believes that directly observable events-stimuli and responses-are the appropriate focus of the study of development.Dr.Faulkner probably follows the __________ perspective of development.

A) psychosexual
B) psychosocial
C) behaviorism
D) cognitive-developmental

Question 29

According to Jean Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory,the structures of a child's mind develop as the result of

A) biologically preprogrammed advances taking place at specific times.
B) efforts to achieve equilibrium between internal structures and the outside world.
C) conflicts between biological drives and social expectations.
D) observing adults modeling social behaviors and interactions.

Question 30

According to Bandura's revised social-cognitive theory,as children watch others engage in self-praise and self-blame,they develop a sense of

A) shame.
B) self-doubt.
C) humor.
D) self-efficacy.

Question 31

Freud's psychosexual theory

A) was the first to stress the influence of the early parent-child relationship on development.
B) was eventually criticized because it underemphasized the influence of sexual feelings in development.
C) applied in all cultures.
D) ignored personality development.

Question 32

Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon addressed practical educational concerns by

A) launching the normative approach.
B) constructing the first successful intelligence test.
C) writing the first parenting books.
D) conducting child observations and parent interviews.

Question 33

The most influential kind of __________ theory emphasizes modeling.

A) behavior modification
B) cognitive-developmental
C) social learning
D) psychoanalytic

Question 34

Gabriella thinks by acting on the world with her eyes,ears,hands,and mouth.Gabriella is in the __________ stage of cognitive development.

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

Question 35

G.Stanley Hall and his student,Arnold Gesell,

A) regarded development as a maturational process.
B) inspired Charles Darwin's research.
C) constructed the first standardized intelligence test.
D) were the forefathers of psychoanalytic theory.

Question 36

Piaget's view of development was greatly influenced by his early training in

A) physics.
B) sociology.
C) biology.
D) kinesiology.

Question 37

According to B.F.Skinner,the frequency of a behavior can be decreased through

A) modeling.
B) punishment.
C) reinforcement.
D) classical conditioning.

Question 38

__________ consists of procedures that combine conditioning and modeling to eliminate undesirable behaviors and increase desirable responses.

A) Behavior modification
B) Reinforcement
C) Adaptation
D) Concrete operation

Question 39

Unlike Freud,Erik Erikson

A) primarily focused on the importance of early life experiences.
B) viewed children as taking a more active role in their own development.
C) minimized the role of culture in individual development.
D) pointed out that normal development must be understood in relation to each culture's life situation.

Question 40

Although their assessments were designed for different purposes,Hall,Gesell,and Alfred Binet all took a __________ approach to child development.

A) nonnormative
B) genetic
C) normative
D) psychometric

Question 41

In Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory,work benefits,such as flexible schedules and paid maternity leave,take place in the

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

Question 42

A major limitation of Vygotsky's theory is that it

A) neglects the biological side of development.
B) cannot be applied in other cultures.
C) overemphasizes the importance of heredity.
D) overemphasizes the role of brain growth in cognitive change.

Question 43

Evolutionary developmental psychology

A) focuses on how the structures of the mind develop to better fit with, or represent, the external world.
B) seeks to understand the adaptive value of specieswide cognitive, emotional, and social competencies as those competencies change with age.
C) views the human mind as a symbol-manipulating system through which information flows.
D) brings together researchers from psychology, biology, neuroscience, and medicine to study the relationship between changes in the brain and the developing person's cognitive processing and behavior patterns.

Question 44

A major strength of the information-processing approach to development is its commitment to

A) the study of imagination.
B) flexible case study interviews.
C) rigorous research methods.
D) disproving other developmental theories.

Question 45

Lev Vygotsky proposed a socially mediated process of development that centers around

A) pairing a neutral stimulus with a reflexive response to create a conditioned behavior.
B) imprinting on a mother-figure during the critical period.
C) survival child's independent efforts to make sense of the world.
D) cooperative dialogues with adults and more expert peers.

Question 46

Cross-cultural research stimulated by Vygotsky's theory reveals that

A) heredity and brain growth contribute significantly to social development.
B) the stages of cognitive development are universal.
C) children in every culture develop unique strengths.
D) adults begin to encourage culturally valued skills as soon as children begin school.

Question 47

According to ecological systems theory,interactions between Marina and her child occur in the

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

Question 48

Unlike Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory,the information-processing approach

A) uses clinical interviews to determine a child's stage of development.
B) does not divide development into stages.
C) characterizes each developmental stage by qualitatively distinct ways of thinking.
D) views development as a discontinuous process.

Question 49

The __________ approach views the mind as a symbol-manipulating system through which information flows.

A) social learning
B) information-processing
C) cognitive-developmental
D) ethological

Question 50

Urie Bronfenbrenner characterized his perspective as a(n)__________ model of development.

A) evolutionary
B) bioecological
C) stagewise
D) sociocultural

Question 51

A time in which the individual is especially responsive to environmental influences is known as a(n)__________ period.

A) adaptive
B) critical
C) sensitive
D) restricted

Question 52

In every science,research is usually based on a __________,a prediction about behavior drawn from a __________.

A) theory; hypothesis
B) research design; theory
C) hypothesis; theory
D) research method; hypothesis

Question 53

In Bronfenbrenner's model,marrying and getting divorced are examples of

A) ecological transitions.
B) the mesosystem.
C) the exosystem.
D) sensitive periods.

Question 54

Which of the following theories emphasizes one course of development?

A) behaviorism
B) cognitive-developmental theory
C) social learning theory
D) lifespan perspective

Question 55

Using brain-imaging techniques,Dr.Singh,a neuroscientist,studies how genetic makeup combines with specific experiences to influence the growth of a child's brain.This approach to development is known as

A) the information-processing approach.
B) behaviorism.
C) developmental cognitive neuroscience.
D) cognitive-developmental theory.

Question 56

The outermost level of Bronfenbrenner's model is the

A) microsystem.
B) mesosystem.
C) macrosystem.
D) chronosystem.

Question 57

__________ is concerned with the adaptive,or survival,value of behavior and its evolutionary history.

A) Ethology
B) Developmental cognitive theory
C) Sociocultural theory
D) Ecological systems theory

Question 58

Information-processing researchers

A) often design flowcharts to map the precise steps individuals use to solve problems and complete tasks.
B) focus on directly observable events.
C) believe that children gradually become more selective in what they imitate.
D) believe that children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore the world.

Question 59

In Vygotsky's theory,children advance dramatically in reasoning and problem solving when they

A) acquire physical strength.
B) enter school.
C) interact with the physical environment.
D) are reinforced for positive behaviors.

Question 60

Piaget convinced the field that children are

A) blank slates.
B) like flowers because their maturation unfolds automatically.
C) active learners.
D) cognitively mature in early adolescence.

Question 61

Children and adolescents from immigrant families are

A) more likely than their agemates to commit delinquent and violent acts.
B) the fastest growing sector of the U.S. youth population.
C) more likely than their agemates to have early sex.
D) more likely than their agemates to miss school due to illness.

Question 62

In a naturalistic observation,the investigator

A) sets up a laboratory situation that evokes the behavior of interest.
B) goes into the field and records the behavior of interest.
C) uses a flexible, conversational style to probe for the participant's point of view.
D) asks each participant the same set of questions in the same way.

Question 63

A researcher using a structured interview would typically ask

A) questions in a large group of participants.
B) the same set of questions in the same way to each research participant.
C) only yes/no, multiple choice, and true/false questions.
D) a different set of questions for each participant.

Question 64

A major advantage of naturalistic observation is that it

A) allows researchers to see directly the behavior of interest as it occurs in everyday settings.
B) yields richly detailed narratives that offer valuable insight into the many factors that affect development.
C) permits participants to display their thoughts in terms that are as close as possible to the way they think in everyday life.
D) is useful for studying behaviors that investigators rarely have an opportunity to see in everyday life.

Question 65

Ethnographers strive to minimize their influence on research participants by

A) choosing a group of participants whose characteristics are as much alike as possible.
B) becoming part of the culture they are studying.
C) holding all factors constant except for the independent variable.
D) asking each participant the same set of questions in the same way.

Question 66

Yolanda spent six months in Argentina studying parent-teacher communication in the Argentinian school system.Yolanda used the __________ research method.

A) naturalistic observation
B) structured observation
C) case study
D) ethnographic

Question 67

A major limitation of ethnography is that

A) it may not reveal observations typical of the participants' everyday behavior.
B) it does not reveal depth of information.
C) the findings cannot be applied to individuals and settings other than the ones studied.
D) the findings provide little insight into factors that affect development.

Question 68

A +.55 correlation between a measure of maternal language stimulation and the size of children's vocabularies at age 2 suggests a

A) moderate negative correlation.
B) causal relationship.
C) moderate positive correlation.
D) high correlation.

Question 69

In a __________,researchers use a flexible,conversational style to probe for the participant's point of view.

A) naturalistic observation
B) clinical interview
C) structured observation
D) self-report

Question 70

Systematic observations and case studies are examples of

A) research designs.
B) theories.
C) research methods.
D) hypotheses.

Question 71

Two main types of designs used in all research on human behavior are __________ and __________.

A) correlational; experimental
B) variable; observational
C) observational; correlational
D) observational; experimental

Question 72

A major limitation of naturalistic observation is that

A) it does not reflect the way participants actually behave in everyday life.
B) it may not result in accurate reporting of information.
C) it tells more about the participants' reasoning and motivation than it does about their typical behavior.
D) not all participants have the same opportunity to display a particular behavior in everyday life.

Question 73

In a(n)__________ design,researchers look at relationships between participants' characteristics and their behavior or development.

A) observational
B) correlational
C) experimental
D) variable

Question 74

Which method is best suited for finding out what contributes to the accomplishments of prodigies?

A) naturalistic observation
B) clinical interview
C) case study
D) structured interview

Question 75

In the United States,adolescents from immigrant families

A) view school success as both their own and their parents' success.
B) are more likely than those from native-born families to be obese.
C) report lower self-esteem than those from native-born families.
D) are more likely than their agemates to use drugs.

Question 76

A major strength of the clinical interview is that it

A) makes comparing individuals' responses very easy.
B) is directed toward understanding a culture or distinct social group.
C) can provide a large amount of information in a fairly brief period.
D) allows researchers to see the behavior of interest as it occurs in natural settings.

Question 77

A major limitation of the clinical interview is that it

A) does not reveal depth of information.
B) does not reflect the way participants think in everyday life.
C) may not result in accurate reporting of information.
D) only provides a small amount of information.

Question 78

Which of the following research methods is an outgrowth of psychoanalytic theory?

A) naturalistic observation
B) structured observation
C) ethnography
D) the clinical method

Question 79

One limitation of correlational studies is

A) age-related changes may be distorted because of participant dropout.
B) researchers cannot replicate the studies.
C) researchers randomly assign participants and manipulate their experiences.
D) investigators cannot infer cause and effect.

Question 80

Dr.Dias's research shows that the death of a spouse in old age is correlated with a decline in the surviving partner's physical health.Which of the following conclusions is supported by this study?

A) The death of a spouse causes a decline in the surviving partner's physical health.
B) The death of a spouse is related to a decline in the surviving partner's physical health.
C) A decline in a surviving partner's physical health can cause the death of a spouse.
D) A third variable, such as memory loss, causes a surviving partner's decline in physical health following the death of a spouse.