Deck 13: Developmental Issues, Prenatal Development

Question 1

Dr. Birkin's major research interest is the development of motor skills in children. It is most likely that Dr. Birkin is a ________ psychologist.

A) cognitive
B) developmental
C) biological
D) psychodynamic

Answer 1

developmental

Question 2

Which is the correct order of stages of prenatal development?

A) zygote, fetus, embryo
B) zygote, embryo, fetus
C) embryo, zygote, fetus
D) embryo, fetus, zygote

Answer 2

zygote, embryo, fetus

Question 3

Genetically identical twins first begin their separate paths of prenatal development during ________ development.

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

Answer 3

zygotic

Question 4

One of the three major concerns of developmental psychology involves a focus on

A) conception and prenatal development.
B) continuity and stages.
C) embryonic and fetal development.
D) individualism and habituation.

Question 5

When a placenta is first developed, it transfers nutrients and oxygen from mother to

A) egg cell.
B) fetus.
C) embryo.
D) zygote.

Question 6

Newborns vigorously root for a nipple when

A) their foot is tickled.
B) their cheek is touched.
C) they hear a loud noise.
D) they make eye contact with their caregiver.

Question 7

Infants' tendency to gaze longer at novel stimuli than at familiar ones provides compelling evidence regarding their

A) self-concepts.
B) egocentrism.
C) stranger anxiety.
D) mental abilities.

Question 8

Mark thinks that language development over the life span requires a slow but steady shaping process. His belief is most directly relevant to the issue of

A) continuity and stages.
B) secure and insecure attachments.
C) concrete and formal operations.
D) generativity and stagnation.

Question 9

Human personality shows the greatest stability during

A) preschool years.
B) late childhood.
C) teenage years.
D) adulthood.

Question 10

By a week after birth, infants are able to distinguish between their mothers' and strangers'

A) faces.
B) voices.
C) temperament.
D) tender touches.

Question 11

A child can be born a drug addict because

A) drugs used by the mother will pass into the child's bloodstream.
B) addiction is an inherited personality trait.
C) drugs used by the mother create genetic defects in her chromosomes.
D) the fetus' blood has not yet developed a resistance to drugs.

Question 12

Dr. Joan Goodman is studying how memory changes as people get older. She is most likely a(n) ________ psychologist.

A) social
B) cognitive
C) developmental
D) experimental

Question 13

A child whose mother drank heavily when she was pregnant is at heightened risk of

A) being emotionally excitable during childhood.
B) chromosomal abnormality.
C) being born with the physical and cognitive abnormalities of fetal alcohol syndrome.
D) addiction to a range of drugs throughout life.

Question 14

Nutrients and oxygen are transferred from a mother to her developing fetus through the

A) embryo.
B) ovaries.
C) teratogens.
D) placenta.

Question 15

Distinguishing between very gradual and very abrupt developmental changes over the life span is most central to the major issue of

A) prenatal and postnatal development.
B) stability and change.
C) continuity and stages.
D) nature and nurture.

Question 16

Ross believes that personality development is a matter of sudden qualitative changes at various turning points in the life span. His viewpoint is most directly relevant to the issue of

A) imprinting and object permanence.
B) nature and nurture.
C) assimilation and accommodation.
D) continuity and stages.

Question 17

Dr. Matsuko's major research interest is the long-term effects of child-rearing practices on the psychological adjustment of offspring. It is most likely that Dr. Matsuko is a(n) ________ psychologist.

A) cognitive
B) developmental
C) biological
D) psychodynamic

Question 18

Developmental psychologists study physical, cognitive, and ________ changes throughout the human life span.

A) zygotic
B) embryonic
C) genetic
D) social

Question 19

Teratogens are

A) physical abnormalities in the developing fetus.
B) cognitive abnormalities in the developing fetus.
C) chemicals and viruses that cross the placenta and may harm the developing fetus.
D) fertilized eggs.

Question 20

Taking certain drugs during pregnancy is likely to expose unborn children to

A) critical periods.
B) role confusion.
C) teratogens.
D) schemas.

Question 21

One of the most consistently damaging teratogens is

A) blood.
B) oxygen.
C) testosterone.
D) alcohol.

Question 22

Human sperm cells ________ than egg cells.

A) are larger
B) contain more genes
C) are smaller
D) contain fewer genes

Question 23

The fact that many happy and well-adjusted adults were once rebellious and unhappy as adolescents is most relevant to the issue of

A) continuity and stages.
B) object permanence and stranger anxiety.
C) stability and change.
D) habituation and attachment.

Question 24

Just after birth, the cries of newborns bear the intonation of

A) identity.
B) imprinting.
C) habituation.
D) their mother's native language.

Question 25

A child's temperament is likely to be

A) difficult to observe.
B) stable over time.
C) a product of parenting style.
D) a reflection of his or her thinking.

Question 26

A belief that adult personality is completely determined in early childhood would be most relevant to the issue of

A) stability and change.
B) nature and nurture.
C) conception and prenatal development.
D) cognition and morality.

Question 27

If research suggested that a pregnant mother's use of an artificial sweetener caused harm to the fetus, the artificial sweetener would be considered a(n)

A) telomere.
B) stress hormone.
C) critical period.
D) teratogen.

Question 28

As compared with the production of egg cells, sperm cell production

A) begins later in life.
B) involves a jellylike outer covering.
C) begins earlier in life.
D) involves differentiation prior to fusion with the egg.

Question 29

A teratogen is a(n)

A) fertilized egg that undergoes rapid cell division.
B) unborn child with one or more physical defects or abnormalities.
C) chromosomal abnormality.
D) substance that can cross the placental barrier and harm an unborn child.

Question 30

Questions about the extent to which maladaptive habits learned in childhood can be overcome in adulthood are most directly relevant to the issues of

A) continuity and stages.
B) stability and change.
C) nature and nurture.
D) primary and secondary sex characteristics.

Question 31

During the course of successful prenatal development, a human organism begins as a(n)

A) zygote and finally develops into an embryo.
B) embryo and finally develops into a fetus.
C) zygote and finally develops into a fetus.
D) fetus and finally develops into an embryo.

Question 32

The heart begins to beat during the ________ period of prenatal development.

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

Question 33

A preference for our mother's voice over our father's voice has been detected as early as

A) during embryonic development.
B) the day after birth.
C) one week after birth.
D) one month after birth.

Question 34

Questions about whether anxious children will grow up to be either fearful or relaxed adults most directly highlight the issue of

A) continuity and stages.
B) stability and change.
C) identity and temperament.
D) nature and nurture.

Question 35

Theories of human development have been most susceptible to criticism for overemphasizing

A) discrete age-linked stages.
B) the interaction of nature and nurture.
C) maturation during adolescent development.
D) cognitive changes during adulthood development.

Question 36

Four months after having been exposed to a vibrating, honking device placed on its mother's abdomen, a fetus demonstrates

A) habituation.
B) stranger anxiety.
C) conservation.
D) an insecure attachment.

Question 37

When pregnant rats drink alcohol, their young offspring later display a(n)

A) immunity to fetal alcohol syndrome.
B) aversion to the taste of alcohol.
C) unusually rapid development of bladder control.
D) liking for the taste and odor of alcohol.

Question 38

The placenta develops from the outer cells of the

A) genome.
B) zygote.
C) fetus.
D) embryo.

Question 39

Psychologists who view the developmental process as a sequence of distinct stages generally believe that ________ is(are) the same for everyone.

A) both the order and the timing of the stages
B) the order but not the timing of the stages
C) the timing but not the order of the stages
D) neither the order nor the timing of the stages

Question 40

Mary believes that cognitive development is a matter of gradual and almost imperceptible changes over time. Her viewpoint is most directly relevant to the issue of

A) nature and nurture.
B) genes and environment.
C) continuity and stages.
D) stability and change.

Question 41

A reflex refers to

A) decreasing responsiveness to repeated stimulation.
B) the formation of attachments during a critical period in early life.
C) an automatic response to sensory stimulation.
D) biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior.

Question 42

French toddlers preferred playing with chamomile-scented toys if

A) they had never before experienced the scent of chamomile.
B) they had been diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome.
C) their mothers had once used a skin balm with a chamomile scent.
D) their fathers were devoted chamomile tea drinkers.

Question 43

The symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome are most likely to include

A) egocentrism.
B) brain abnormalities.
C) habituation.
D) reflexes.

Question 44

With repeated presentations of a bright red toy, 2-month-old Anita began to respond with less visual attention to the toy. Her decreasing responsiveness best illustrates

A) egocentrism.
B) infantile amnesia.
C) habituation.
D) object permanence.

Question 45

Infant visual preferences have been discovered by assessing infants'

A) conservation.
B) habituation.
C) accommodation.
D) imprinting.

Question 46

Newborns have been observed to show the greatest visual interest in a

A) rectangular shape.
B) circular shape.
C) bull's-eye pattern.
D) facelike image.

Question 47

Habituation refers to the

A) awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
B) decreasing responsiveness to a stimulus to which one is repeatedly exposed.
C) adjustment of current schemas to make sense of new information.
D) biological growth processes that are relatively uninfluenced by experience.

Question 48

Alcohol may cause fetal damage by leaving chemical marks on DNA that switch genes abnormally on or off. This best illustrates

A) imprinting.
B) object permanence.
C) an epigenetic effect.
D) an insecure attachment.

Question 49

When placed between a gauze breast pad from their nursing mother's bra, week-old nursing babies are likely to

A) move their eyes in a visual search for their mother.
B) turn their head toward the smell of their mother's pad.
C) open their mouth in a vigorous search for a nipple.
D) demonstrate signs of stranger anxiety.

Question 50

Mr. Hersch triggered a rooting reflex in his infant son by touching him on the

A) foot.
B) knee.
C) arm.
D) cheek.

Question 51

Babies are born with several reflexes for getting food. One of these is to

A) withdraw a limb to escape pain.
B) turn the head away from a cloth placed over the face.
C) open the mouth in search of a nipple when touched on the cheek.
D) look longer at facelike images.