Deck 1: Studying Adult Development and Aging

Question 1

Ageism is

A) a form of discrimination against older adults simply due to their age.
B) a form of negative stereotype against older adults because of their age.
C) a form of prejudice against older adults because of their race.
D) a form of myth about older adults that is highly positive.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Normative age-graded influences are events that

A) are unique to each person.
B) occur at a specific age for each person.
C) generally occur around the same age for most people.
D) generally occur during a specific time period for most people.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Multidirectionality refers to

A) development and aging involving both decline and growth.
B) the ability to change and improve abilities over time and with development.
C) the fact that each of us is affected by a variety of factors both positive and negative.
D) our differing cultural backgrounds.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following is an example of normative age-graded influences on development?

A) learning to drive a car
B) being a member of the Depression generation
C) winning the lottery
D) contracting AIDS

Question 5

The "sexual revolution" in the 1960s is an example of a

A) normative age-graded event.
B) normative history-graded event.
C) normative individual-graded event.
D) nonnormative event.

Question 6

A key premise of the life-span perspective is that

A) biological changes are the most important.
B) events that happen in old age are more important than earlier experiences.
C) social changes are the most important.
D) aging is a life long process that begins at conception and ends at death.

Question 7

All genetic and health-related factors that affect development are known as

A) life-cycle forces.
B) psychological forces.
C) biological forces.
D) histological forces.

Question 8

The death of a spouse at age 80 is an example of a

A) normative age-graded event.
B) normative history-graded event.
C) normative individual-graded event.
D) nonnormative event.

Question 9

Facial wrinkling is an example of which force of development?

A) life-cycle forces
B) psychological forces
C) biological forces
D) histological forces

Question 10

Multiple causation refers to

A) development and aging involving both decline and growth.
B) the ability to change and improve abilities over time and with development.
C) the fact that each of us is affected by a variety of factors, both positive and negative.
D) our differing cultural backgrounds.

Question 11

Which of the following statements is true of the population over the age of 65?

A) The fastest growing segment of the entire U.S. population is the over-85 group.
B) There are more men than women in all segments of elderly population.
C) There are fewer baby boomers over the age of 65.
D) The average age of this group is getting lower.

Question 12

Plasticity refers to

A) development and aging involving both decline and growth.
B) the ability to change and improve abilities over time and with development.
C) the fact that each of us is affected by a variety of factors, both positive and negative.
D) our differing cultural backgrounds.

Question 13

Characteristics that make us individuals, such as one's personality, are the result of

A) life-cycle forces.
B) psychological forces.
C) biological forces.
D) histological forces.

Question 14

A manager of a large department store tries to avoid hiring people over the age of 65 because he believes they cannot handle the strain and take a very long time to learn the job. The belief of the manager is known as

A) contextualism.
B) socialization.
C) ageism.
D) dysthmia.

Question 15

Relative to European Americans, the number of older ethnic Americans is

A) decreasing.
B) increasing.
C) similar.
D) decreasing among women, while increasing among men.

Question 16

The death of a spouse at age 25 is an example of a

A) normative age-graded event.
B) normative history-graded event.
C) normative individual-graded event.
D) nonnormative event.

Question 17

Normative history-graded influences are events that

A) are unique to each person.
B) occur at a specific age for each person.
C) generally occur around the same age for most people.
D) generally occur during a specific time period for most people.

Question 18

The field of study that examines the aging process is

A) psychology.
B) gerontology.
C) psychogerontology.
D) gerontocracy.

Question 19

Four forces shape development. Which one of the following is not a developmental force?

A) life-cycle
B) psychological
C) biological
D) histological

Question 20

The life-span perspective emphasizes an approach that is

A) unidimensional.
B) discipline specific.
C) interdisciplinary.
D) unidisciplinary.

Question 21

is defined as shared values, norms, beliefs, and ways of living.

A) Socioculutral forces
B) Ethnicity
C) Culture
D) Socialization

Question 22

A continuity view involves the of a characteristic a person has.

A) amount
B) kind
C) plasticity
D) stability

Question 23

Bill experienced a rapid loss of his ability to function shortly before his death at age 79. Bill's developmental change is an example of

A) primary aging.
B) secondary aging.
C) tertiary aging.
D) holistic aging.

Question 24

A discontinuity view involves the of a characteristic a person has.

A) amount
B) kind
C) plasticity
D) stability

Question 25

The question, "are you the same today as you were as a child?" represents the controversy.

A) nature-nurture
B) stability-change
C) continuity-discontinuity
D) formist-contextualist

Question 26

Understanding the cultural and ethnic differences between African American and European American family structures relies on which controversy?

A) nature-nurture
B) continuity-discontinuity
C) stability-change
D) universal versus context-specific

Question 27

How much of one's development is influenced by heredity and how much is influenced by experience. This is known as the

A) nature-nurture controversy.
B) continuity-discontinuity controversy.
C) stability-change controversy.
D) universal versus context specific controversy.

Question 28

Which of the following is the poorest definition of age from a developmental perspective?

A) biological age
B) chronological age
C) sociocultural age
D) psychological age

Question 29

Loss of memory from Alzheimer's disease is a good example of

A) primary aging.
B) secondary aging.
C) tertiary aging.
D) holistic aging.

Question 30

In terms of psychological age, which of the following people is the youngest?

A) Michelle, a college graduate at age 17
B) Anne, a secretary at age 25
C) Sarah, a school teacher at age 55
D) Cathy, a college sophomore at age 48

Question 31

Normal, disease-free movement across adulthood is termed

A) primary aging.
B) secondary aging.
C) tertiary aging.
D) holistic aging.

Question 32

Mary is 60 years old, drives a Corvette, and has a teenage daughter. She would be considered to have a young

A) biological age.
B) chronological age.
C) sociocultural age.
D) psychological age.

Question 33

Developmental change in adulthood that is related to disease is termed

A) primary aging.
B) secondary aging.
C) tertiary aging.
D) holistic aging.

Question 34

involves a rapid loss that occurs just before death.

A) Primary aging
B) Secondary aging
C) Tertiary aging
D) Holistic aging

Question 35

The belief in inevitable decline in intelligence as people grow older is representative of a

A) nature position.
B) nurture position.
C) qualitative change position.
D) quantitative change position.

Question 36

The question of whether we all develop the same way or are there multiple pathways to development refers to which controversy?

A) nature-nurture
B) continuity-discontinuity
C) stability-change
D) universal versus context-specific

Question 37

Which of the following is a nonnormative influence on behavior?

A) when one's first marriage occurs
B) being a "baby boomer"
C) having a child
D) winning the lottery

Question 38

"You are a product of your environment" is an example of a position on which of the following controversies?

A) continuity-discontinuity
B) stability-change
C) longitudinal-sequential
D) nature-nurture

Question 39

The index of age that represents a person's intellectual, memory, or learning ability function is called

A) biological age.
B) chronological age.
C) sociocultural age.
D) psychological age.

Question 40

The degree to which a questionnaire measures a construct consistently is its

A) representativeness.
B) utility index.
C) validity.
D) reliability.

Question 41

A study that focuses on the description of the relationship between cognitive development and personality development is an example of

A) a self-report study.
B) an observational study.
C) an experiment.
D) a correlational study.

Question 42

In a study on memory in adults, if the spring semester class of adulthood and aging students was tested for aging bias among college students, this class would be a

A) population of people.
B) sample of people.
C) independent variable.
D) dependent variable.

Question 43

Developmental researchers are interested in understanding

A) how people change over time.
B) age-related changes.
C) age- related differences.
D) all of these

Question 44

The reason that most research on development is not truly experimental is due to the fact that

A) age cannot be measured accurately in most people.
B) most statistics cannot handle age as a variable.
C) age cannot be manipulated therefore it cannot be an independent variable.
D) it is hard to collect large enough samples to represent different age groups.

Question 45

Manipulation is a fundamental component of

A) correlational techniques.
B) naturalistic inquiry.
C) observation.
D) experimentation.

Question 46

In research the term used to refer to a group of people who experienced the same event or were born during the same time period is called a(n)

A) age effect.
B) time-of-measurement effect.
C) practice effect.
D) cohort effect.

Question 47

A girl beginning puberty around 12 years old is an example of a(n)

A) age effect.
B) time-of-measurement effect.
C) practice effect.
D) cohort effect.

Question 48

The observed behavior of interest in an experiment is termed the

A) dependent variable.
B) independent variable.
C) co-dependent variable.
D) latent variable.

Question 49

Structured observations differ from naturalistic observations in that they

A) manipulate variables to see cause and effect relationships.
B) create a situation that is likely to elicit the behavior of choice.
C) sample behaviors of interest in everyday situations.
D) systematic observations are more valid.

Question 50

Even if age is positively correlated with speed of processing, we cannot conclude that age "caused" this increase because

A) response speed is not usually affected by age.
B) age normally causes a decrease in speed.
C) only experimental studies can demonstrate cause and effect relationships.
D) only correlational studies can demonstrate cause and effect relationships.

Question 51

Most studies in adult development and aging research have been conducted on middle-class European Americans. This group of people represent the of the study.

A) population
B) sample
C) independent variable
D) index variable

Question 52

The degree to which a questionnaire measures what it is supposed to measure is its

A) representativeness.
B) utility index.
C) validity.
D) reliability.

Question 53

Which of the following issues cannot be examined in a correlational study?

A) causation
B) description
C) strength of relationships
D) presence of relationships

Question 54

Questionnaires and interviews are examples of techniques.

A) observational
B) correlational
C) sampling
D) self-report

Question 55

Correlational studies

A) are effective with variables that can't be manipulated.
B) provide important information about the strength of relationships between variables.
C) can't provide information concerning causation.
D) all of these.

Question 56

Which variables are manipulated by the researcher in an experiment?

A) dependent variables
B) independent variables
C) co-dependent variables
D) latent variable

Question 57

Testing peoples' fear of flying shortly following a major airplane crash might produce a(n)

A) age effect.
B) time-of-measurement effect.
C) practice effect.
D) cohort effect.

Question 58

Which of the following cannot be an independent variable?

A) drug dosage
B) anxiety
C) amount of sleep
D) age

Question 59

In a design, groups of participants varying in age are studied at one point in time.

A) cross-sectional
B) longitudinal
C) cross-sequential
D) longitudinal-sequential

Question 60

Living through World War II was an event experienced by a group of people. This is an example of a(n)

A) age effect.
B) time-of-measurement effect.
C) practice effect.
D) cohort effect.

Question 61

You just saw a story on the news that reported older women's IQ drops dramatically after the age of

Question 62

In this type of sequential design, cohort and time of measurement effects are examined.

A) cross-sequential
B) time-sequential
C) time-lag sequential
D) longitudinal sequential

Question 63

In a design, one group of participants is studied repeatedly over a period of time.

A) cross-sectional
B) longitudinal
C) cross-sequential
D) longitudinal-sequential

Question 64

This result was concluded from comparisons of women born in 1910-1930 and women born between 1960-1980. Based on this information, the criticism you would be likely to make would be that

A) this is not a valid result because men were not included.
B) longitudinal research doesn't work well when looking at IQ data.
C) cohort effects are likely to account for the differences.
D) whoever conducted this study doesn't like older women.

Question 65

Dr. Dee Vellop wants to know what will happen to the 1990 class of gerontology graduates during the decade following their graduation. Which research design will Dr. Vellop most likely use?

A) cross-sectional
B) longitudinal
C) time-lag
D) sequential

Question 66

Dr. Geri Atrics wants to survey people 21 and 90 years old to get their opinions concerning financial aid to college students. Which research design is Dr. Atrics most likely to use?

A) cross-sectional
B) longitudinal
C) time-lag
D) sequential

Question 67

Dr. Gerin Tology wants to survey young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults on their physical health. Which research design is Dr. Tology most likely to use?

A) cross-sectional
B) longitudinal
C) time-lag
D) sequential

Question 68

Practice effects are a major problem with .

A) cross-sectional designs
B) longitudinal designs
C) time-lag designs
D) sequential designs

Question 69

If participants at the end of a longitudinal study tend to be those who were initially higher on some variable, we have a case of

A) negative selective survival.
B) positive selective survival.
C) elective selective survival.
D) equally selective survival.

Question 70

Which two effects are confounded in longitudinal research?

A) age and cohort
B) age and time-of-measurement
C) cohort and time-of-measurement
D) cohort and practice

Question 71

Dr. Gerin Tology wants to survey several cohorts of people 21 years old to get their opinions concerning financial aid to college students . Which research design is Dr. Tology most likely to use?

A) cross-sequential
B) longitudinal-sequential
C) time-lag
D) cross-sectional

Question 72

Age changes are studied most effectively using a design.

A) cross-sectional
B) longitudinal
C) time-lag
D) sequential

Question 73

Dr. Dee Vellop wants to know what will happen to the 1990, 1991, and 1992 classes of gerontology graduates during the decade following their graduation. Which research design will Dr. Vellop most likely use?

A) cross-sequential
B) longitudinal
C) time-lag
D) longitudinal-sequential

Question 74

If the surviving participants in the last wave of testing in a longitudinal study on health and aging were those who initially had the lowest blood pressures, then we have a case of

A) negative selective survival.
B) positive selective survival.
C) elective selective survival.
D) equally selective survival.

Question 75

A very commonly used design in adult development and aging research is the extreme age design ("young" v. "old"). Which of the following is a limitation of this type of study?

A) The samples are not representative and may not generalize.
B) The measures may not mean the same thing across age groups and may not be valid.
C) Age is not treated as a continuous variable.
D) All of these.

Question 76

Which of the following is not a characteristic of cross-sectional research?

A) multiple age groups
B) multiple cohorts
C) repeated observations
D) single time-of-measurement

Question 77

A design combines two or more cross-sectional designs.

A) cross-sequential
B) longitudinal
C) cross-sectional
D) longitudinal sequential

Question 78

A researcher decides to investigate whether there are any changes in people's IQ scores from early adulthood through late adulthood. The researcher (and others) begins with a sample of 21-year-olds and plans to follow this group until they are 80 years old. The type of research design she is planning to employ is called

A) cross-sectional.
B) longitudinal.
C) time-lag.
D) sequential.

Question 79

An example of a longitudinal sequential design would be

A) measuring two cohorts of people over time.
B) measuring several cross-sections of people once.
C) measuring multiple groups of same-aged people.
D) measuring one group of people over time.

Question 80

Which two effects are confounded in cross-sectional research?

A) age and cohort
B) age and time-of-measurement
C) cohort and time-of-measurement
D) cohort and practice