Question 1

Three of the following statements describe developmental trends in self-regulation that researchers have observed. Which statement is not necessarily consistent with researchers' findings?

Accepted Answer

A)   Absent-mindedness largely disappears.
B)   Self-evaluations become more frequent.
C)   Emotional reactions become more restrained.
D)   External rules and restrictions become internalized. A

Question 2

Which one of the following examples illustrates vicarious reinforcement?

Accepted Answer

A)   Alice notices that her friend Ellen gets extra attention from the teacher when she acts helpless. Alice begins to act helpless as well.
B)   Bill knows that he will get a higher grade if he turns in a research paper that is typed rather than handwritten, but he turns in a handwritten paper anyway.
C)   Connie sees her friend Maria scolded for chewing gum in class. She quickly takes her own gum out of her mouth.
D)   David sees how Justin gets good grades when he works hard on his mathematics homework, but David doesn't want to work that hard. A

Question 3

Which one of the following students is most likely to have a sense of self-determination?

Accepted Answer

A)   Emilio is trying to memorize the spelling words his teacher has assigned for this week.
B)   Much to his surprise, Rolando is enjoying the novel his English literature teacher has assigned.
C)   Lorenzo has chosen to write a report about tornadoes and wants to be a storm chaser when he grows up.
D)   Salvatore reluctantly agrees to research Italy's imports and exports only because no one else in his cooperative learning group wants the topic. C

Question 4

Which one of the following teenagers has situational interest rather than personal interest?

Accepted Answer

A)   Adam finds the Guinness Book of World Records on the shelf and is intrigued by the strange people it describes.
B)   Blaine can't think of anything he'd rather do than play Dungeons and Dragons with his friends.
C)   Chuck spends every Saturday and Sunday working on the 1951 Chevy in his garage.
D)   Dave loves to snorkel and hopes to major in marine biology in college.

Question 5

Three of the following may partly explain why many youngsters have less intrinsic motivation to master school subject matter as they get older. Which one is not a likely explanation?

Accepted Answer

A)   They find classroom tasks repetitive and boring.
B)   As assignments get more challenging, their self-efficacy may decrease.
C)   The heavy focus on getting good grades undermines their sense of self-determination.
D)   By its very nature, advanced academic subject matter evokes little or no situational interest.

Question 6

Three of the following statements accurately describe ethnic group differences in motivation. Which statement is false?

Accepted Answer

A)   Compared to their classmates raised in mainstream Western culture, students from Asian cultures are more likely to attribute school success to hard work.
B)   On average, Asian students are more concerned about getting good grades than students from other ethnic groups.
C)   Some African American students have a sense of learned helplessness about their ability to achieve school success, perhaps because of prior experiences with racial discrimination.
D)   On average, children in African American families are given more autonomy than children in other ethnic groups.

Question 7

Fourteen-year-old David rarely turns in his homework and often skips school, and so he is earning Ds and Fs in most of his classes. Yet he expresses his sincere desire to go to college and "make something of myself." This apparent inconsistency between his poor academic performance, on the one hand, and his strong interest in going to college, on the other, can probably best be explained by:

Accepted Answer

A)   A lack of vicarious punishment in his life
B)   Insufficiently developed self-regulation skills
C)   An inability to think abstractly about his goals
D)   A general tendency for adolescent boys to punish rather than reinforce themselves for academic success

Question 8

Which one of the following is the best example of a youngster with a core goal?

Accepted Answer

A)   Henry wants to find a date for the high school prom.
B)   Miriam has always tried hard to do well in school.
C)   Morris is looking desperately for something to drink after running practice.
D)   As the school bus waits outside, Linda looks around desperately for the homework assignment that is due today.

Question 9

Which one of the following adolescents is displaying intrinsic motivation?

Accepted Answer

A)   Annette loves to play the viola and so practices for at least an hour every day.
B)   Bob works hard in his classes because his parents have promised to buy him a car if he gets at least a 3.5 grade-point-average this year.
C)   Cassie does her math homework faithfully every night because she likes her teacher and wants to please him.
D)   Dennis takes physics because he wants to become an engineer and make a lot of money.

Question 10

Tim and Sally are seventh graders at a school science fair. They both receive As on their science projects. Considering gender differences in children's attributions, how are the two students likely to explain their good grades?

Accepted Answer

A)   Tim will think, "I got an A because I'm really good in science." Sally will think, "I got an A because I worked really hard on my project."
B)   Tim will attribute his A to his many nights of hard work. Sally will think, "I got an A because I'm good in science."
C)   Tim will think that he is lucky when it comes to projects like this. Sally will think that she succeeded because her father is a scientist and she inherited his ability.
D)   Tim will think, "My project got an A because I had a lot of help from my friends." Sally will think, "I got an A because I'm smarter than the other kids."

Question 11

Which one of the following alternatives best describes differences between children with a mastery orientation and children with learned helplessness?

Accepted Answer

A)   Children with a mastery orientation expect that they will have to work extremely hard to master new tasks. Children with learned helplessness usually overestimate their abilities.
B)   Children with a mastery orientation set easily attainable goals and become frustrated when they don't attain those goals effortlessly. Children with learned helplessness set goals that are almost impossible to attain.
C)   Children with a mastery orientation attribute their successes to external, uncontrollable factors. Children with an attitude of learned helplessness attribute failures to internal, controllable factors.
D)   Children with a mastery orientation set high goals and seek challenges. Children with learned helplessness underestimate their ability and set low goals.

Question 12

Fifteen-year-old Aneesh loves building models of antique cars from kits he buys at the local hobby shop. He prides himself on his close attention to detail and meticulous workmanship. Without any assistance or encouragement from his parents, he makes sure to put every piece in its proper location, wipes off any excess glue so that all surfaces are clean and smooth, carefully applies the decals in the exact spots they need to be, and so on. "I'm a really careful guy," he says, "and my work reflects on my skill as a model builder." If we apply the four steps that characterize internalized motivation to Aneesh's self-regulation in model-building, we would say that he is at the _______ step.

Accepted Answer

A)   external regulation
B)   introjection
C)   identification
D)   integration

Question 13

Curtis works hard at school because he knows it will lead to good grades, praise from his mother, and money from his father. It is clear that _______ are effective with Curtis.

Accepted Answer

A)   primary reinforcers
B)   situational interests
C)   vicarious reinforcers
D)   secondary reinforcers

Question 14

Which one of the following children exhibits personal interest rather than situational interest?

Accepted Answer

A)   Jennifer is puzzled when a peeled hardboiled egg is suddenly sucked into a bottle after the teacher lights a fire inside the bottle.
B)   Trent wonders what the girl in the seat beside him is giggling about.
C)   Riley can't wait to find out what's in the big cardboard box his teacher has brought to school today.
D)   Victoria loves ballet and wants to become a ballerina when she grows up.

Question 15

A student who has developed learned helplessness about his or her spelling ability is most likely to say which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

A)   "I have to work harder than my friends to learn to spell."
B)   "I can learn how to spell words correctly without even trying."
C)   "No matter how much I study words, I can't remember how to spell them."
D)   "I would learn to spell eventually, but it's not worth the time it would take to do so."

Question 16

Karen often finds the material in her anatomy class confusing and difficult to understand, yet she continues to work hard at mastering it because she knows it will be important for her future career in medicine. If you consider the four steps through which internalized motivation proceeds, then Karen is at least at the _______ step in the process.

Accepted Answer

A)   external regulation
B)   introjection
C)   identification
D)   integration

Question 17

Ms. Smythe keeps Eric after school whenever he swears in class. Even though Eric has been kept after school each day for the past three weeks, his swearing has increased rather than decreased. Given what we know about the effects of punishment on behavior, Ms. Smythe should probably conclude that:

Accepted Answer

A)   Her punishment is only temporarily suppressing Eric's swearing.
B)   The punishment is too severe.
C)   Eric's swearing will decrease eventually.
D)   Staying after school is reinforcing for Eric.

Question 18

Students have just done well on what was obviously an easy assignment. If their teacher praises them for their success, they are likely to:

Accepted Answer

A)   Have high self-efficacy for academic tasks
B)   Conclude that they have low ability
C)   Develop a mastery orientation
D)   Exert more effort next time

Question 19

Mr. Rawlins is faculty advisor for the high school service club. He attends every meeting but typically sits in the back of the room and says very little. He offers advice only if club members request it or if he thinks the club's planned activities are in some way inappropriate. In taking this approach, Mr. Rawlins is most likely to:

Accepted Answer

A)   Reduce club members' interest in public service
B)   Enhance club members' sense of self-determination
C)   Decrease club members' ability to delay gratification
D)   Encourage club members to have external attributions about their activities

Question 20

The basic idea underlying operant conditioning is that:

Accepted Answer

A)   Children learn behaviors primarily through repetition.
B)   Children's behaviors are affected by the consequences that follow them.
C)   Children are naturally curious about the world and want to know more about it.
D)   Children are motivated to behave in ways that enable them to feel good about themselves.

Exam 13: Development of Motivation and Self-Regulation