Psychology Ch. 1 Test Answers – Flashcards
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The continuous view of development holds that
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infants and preschoolers respond to the world in much the same way as adults do.
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Within the __________ view of development, new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times.
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discontinuous
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Dr. Kostel believes that development takes place in stages. This belief is consistent with the __________ perspective.
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discontinuous
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Kim is interested in comparing the language development of shy versus outgoing preschoolers. Kim is most likely interested in __________ that shape development.
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the contexts
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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
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nature.
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Although Justin spent his first 18 months in an orphanage, his adoptive mother believes that sensitive caregiving will help Justin overcome his early experiences. Justin's mother emphasizes the role of __________ in development.
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nurture
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Theorists who point to early experiences as establishing a lifelong pattern of behavior emphasize
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stability.
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Theorists who emphasize plasticity believe that
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change in response to influential experiences is possible.
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The increase in the number of healthier, more active older adults suggests that human development is a
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dynamic system.
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The lifespan perspective on human development assumes that development is
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multidimensional and multidirectional.
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According to the lifespan perspective, __________ is supreme in its impact on the life course.
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no single age period
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Max, age 65, learned to play the piano at a local senior center. Max demonstrates that
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development is plastic at all ages.
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Although Betty grew up in a rundown neighborhood, had divorced parents, and rarely saw her father, she is a successful, happy, and healthy adult. Betty's ability to adapt effectively in the face of threats to development is known as
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resilience.
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Research on resilience shows that
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interventions must attend to both the person and the environment to strengthen a child's capacity while also reducing hazardous experiences.
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Which of the following is an example of an age-graded influence?
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Frank got his driver's license at age 16.
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History-graded influences explain why __________ tend to be alike in ways that set them apart from people born at other times.
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cohorts
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The splurge of births from 1946 to 1964 yielded a unique generation that today comprises nearly _____ percent of the U.S. population.
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30
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As a generation, baby boomers are
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healthier, better educated, and financially better off than any previous midlife cohort.
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Nonnormative influences
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do not follow a predictable timetable.
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Charles Darwin's theory of evolution emphasized __________ and __________.
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natural selection; survival of the fittest
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G. Stanley Hall regarded development as a __________ process.
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maturational
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G. Stanley Hall and his student, Arnold Gesell,
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launched the normative approach.
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Arnold Gessell
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was among the first to make knowledge about child development meaningful to parents by writing child-rearing books.
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Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon addressed practical educational concerns by
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constructing the first intelligence test.
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Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon's intelligence test was originally constructed to
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identify children with learning problems who needed to be placed in special classes.
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According to the __________ perspective, people move through a series of stages in which they confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations.
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psychoanalytic
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Sigmund Freud constructed his psychosexual theory
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on the basis of his adult patients' memories of painful childhood events.
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According to Sigmund Freud, the
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id is the source of basic biological needs and desires.
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Freud's psychosexual theory was eventually criticized because
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it overemphasized the influence of sexual feelings in development.
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In contrast to Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson
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pointed out that normal development must be understood in relation to each culture's life situation.
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One reason that the psychoanalytic perspective is no longer in the mainstream of child development is because
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its theorists were so strongly committed to the clinical approach that they failed to consider other methods.
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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.
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behaviorism
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Ivan Pavlov discovered
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classical conditioning.
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In a historic experiment with 11-month-old Albert, John Watson demonstrated that
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children can be conditioned to fear a formerly neutral stimulus.
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According to __________ theory, the frequency of a behavior can be increased by following it with a wide variety of reinforcers.
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operant conditioning
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According to B. F. Skinner, __________ will increase the frequency of a behavior and __________ will decrease the frequency of a behavior.
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reinforcement; punishment
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According to __________ theory, children learn primarily through modeling
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social learning
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Today, Albert Bandura's theory stresses the importance of
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cognition.
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According to Bandura's revised social-cognitive theory, as children grow older they
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become more selective in what they imitate
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Behavior modification eliminates undesirable behaviors by
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combining conditioning and modeling.
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Many theorists believe that behaviorism and social learning theory
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offer too narrow a view of important environmental influences.
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According to Jean Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory,
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children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world
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Piaget's view of development was greatly influenced by his early training in
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biology.
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According to Jean Piaget, __________ is the balance between internal structures and information that children encounter in their everyday worlds.
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equilibrium
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Jamar understands that a certain amount of liquid or clay remains the same even after its appearance changes and can organize objects into hierarchies of classes and subclasses. According to Piaget, Jamar is in the __________ stage of cognitive development.
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concrete operational
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Sydney, when faced with a problem, starts with a hypothesis, deduces testable inferences, and isolates and combines variables to see which inferences are confirmed. Sydney is in Piaget's __________ stage of development.
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formal operational
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Research on Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory indicates that
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children's performances on Piagetian tasks can be improved with training.
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The information-processing approach views the mind as a
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symbol-manipulating system through which information flows.
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Lillian uses flowcharts to map the precise steps individuals use to solve problems and complete tasks. Lillian is a(n) __________ theorist.
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information-processing
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Unlike Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory, the information-processing approach
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does not divide development into stages.
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The information-processing perspective views development as
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continuous.
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A major strength of the information-processing approach to development is its commitment to
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rigorous research methods.
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The information-processing approach
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is better at analyzing thinking into its components than at putting them back together into a comprehensive theory.
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Dr. Singh studies the relationship between changes in the brain and the developing person's cognitive processing and behavior patterns. She is part of a group of researchers from the fields of psychology, biology, neuroscience, and medicine. This approach to development is known as
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developmental cognitive neuroscience.
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Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen laid the modern foundations for
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ethology.
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A(n) __________ period is a time that is optimal for certain capacities to emerge.
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sensitive
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John Bowlby argued that
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behaviors such as smiling, babbling, and crying are innate social signals that encourage parents to interact with their infants.
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Evolutionary developmental psychology
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seeks to understand the adaptive value of specieswide cognitive, emotional, and social competencies as those competencies change with age.
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Lev Vygotsky's theory focuses on
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how culture is transmitted to the next generation.
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Unlike Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky viewed cognitive development as a __________ process.
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socially mediated
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Cross-cultural research stimulated by Vygotsky's theory reveals that
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children in every culture develop unique strengths.
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Ecological systems theory views the person as
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developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment.
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Because a child's biologically influenced dispositions join with environmental forces to mold development, Urie Bronfenbrenner characterized his perspective as a(n) __________ model.
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bioecological
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According to ecological systems theory, interactions between Marina and her child occur in the
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microsystem.
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Family chaos is linked to
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economic disadvantage.
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__________ can help prevent escalating demands on families that give way to chaos.
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High-quality child care that is affordable and reliable
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Bronfenbrenner's macrosystem consists of
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cultural values, laws, customs, and resources.
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Toby moved with his family just before he entered fourth grade. In ecological systems theory, the move represents a change in Toby's
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chronosystem.
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Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory, information processing, and Vygotsky's sociocultural theory all stress
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changes in thinking.
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A __________ is a prediction about behavior drawn from a __________.
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hypothesis; theory
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Dr. George predicted that positive reinforcement would increase prosocial behavior in preschoolers. Dr. George's prediction is an example of a
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hypothesis.
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Taking tests and answering questionnaires are examples of
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research methods.
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Which of the following statements about learning research strategies is true?
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It is important in separating dependable information from misleading results.
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Ethology, evolutionary developmental psychology, sociocultural theory, and the lifespan perspective all view development as
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both continuous and discontinuous.
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Dr. Wiren observes children's responses to bullying by watching them play in a park. This is an example of a(n)
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naturalistic observation.
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In a naturalistic observation, the investigator
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goes into the field and records the behavior of interest.
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A major limitation of systematic observation is that it
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tells investigators little about the reasoning behind responses and behaviors.
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__________ ask research participants to provide information on their perceptions, thoughts, and feelings.
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Self-reports
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A major strength of the clinical interview is that it
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permits participants to display their thoughts in terms that are as close as possible to the way they think in everyday life.
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Jessica asked each of 21 children in a kindergarten classroom to explain where rain comes from. She asked the same set of follow-up questions to each participant. This is an example of a
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structured interview.
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A researcher using a structured interview would typically ask
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the same set of questions in the same way to each research participant.
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Which of the following research methods is an outgrowth of psychoanalytic theory?
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the clinical method
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Dr. Bigelow is interested in studying musical prodigies. Which method is best suited for this type of research?
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case study
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One major limitation of the clinical, or case study, method is
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that researchers' theoretical preferences may bias their observations and interpretations.
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Which of the following methods is best suited for studying whether American parents are warmer than Japanese parents?
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ethnography
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Ethnographic research is directed toward understanding a culture through __________ observation.
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participant
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Jade spent two years in a Mexican-American community studying communication between parents and children. Jade is using the __________ research method.
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ethnographic
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Compared to their agemates, adolescents from immigrant families are __________ likely to __________.
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less; commit delinquent or violent acts
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In the United States, adolescents from immigrant families
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view school success as both their own and their parents' success.
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One limitation of the ethnographic method is that
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investigators' cultural values sometimes lead them to misinterpret what they see.
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Two main types of designs used in all research on human behavior are __________ and __________.
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correlational; experimental
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In a(n) __________ design, researchers look at relationships between participants' characteristics and their behavior or development.
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correlational
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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?
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The death of a spouse is related to a decline in the surviving partner's physical health.
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One limitation of correlational studies is
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investigators cannot infer cause and effect.
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Dr. Anodyne found a correlation of +.49 between illegal drug use and levels of adolescent delinquency. This correlation is __________ and __________.
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moderate; positive
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Dr. Anderson wants to conduct a study to determine the cause-and-effect relationship between domestic violence and anger in children. Dr. Anderson should use a(n) __________ design.
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experimental
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A dependent variable is the
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one the investigator expects to be influenced by the independent variable.
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In an experiment on the effects of music versus acting lessons on intelligence, the independent variable would be
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the type of lessons (music versus acting).
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In an experiment examining whether phonics instruction in preschool increases a child's reading level in third grade, the dependent variable would be the
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child's reading level in third grade.
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In experimental studies,
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investigators must take special precautions to control for participants' characteristics that could reduce the accuracy of their findings.
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By using __________ assignment of participants to treatment conditions, investigators increase the chances that participants' characteristics will be equally distributed across treatment groups.
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random
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Professor Martinez wants to know if children who receive one-on-one instruction at school feel more self-confident than children who receive group instruction. To identify a causal relationship between type of instruction and self-confidence, Professor Martinez should
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randomly assign half of the participants to group instruction and the other half to one-on-one instruction and compare measures of self-confidence for each group.
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In __________ experiments, investigators capitalize on opportunities to assign participants randomly to treatment conditions in natural settings.
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field
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Researchers randomly assigned adolescents to either a single-grade classroom or a mixed-age classroom. This is an example of a
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field experiment.
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In a longitudinal design, researchers study
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the same group of participants repeatedly at different ages.
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Longitudinal research can identify common patterns as well as individual differences in behavior because the investigator
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tracks the performance of each person over time.
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A major strength of the longitudinal design is that researchers can
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examine relationships between early and later behaviors.
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To examine whether depression is stable or changes with age, Dr. Bleu followed a group of participants from age 8 to age 40. This is an example of a __________ design.
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longitudinal
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Bernadette, a participant in a longitudinal study, became quite familiar with the test over time and, as a result, her performance improved. This limitation of longitudinal research is known as
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practice effects.
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In a longitudinal study, __________ effects occur when individuals born in the same time period are influenced by a particular set of historical and cultural conditions.
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cohort
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In a cross-sectional design, researchers study
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groups of participants differing in age at the same point in time.
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Professor Gimbly wants to investigate how children of different ages characterize their friendships. Professor Gimbly should use a __________ research design.
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cross-sectional
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A major disadvantage of cross-sectional research is that
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factors affecting individual development cannot be explored.
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Like longitudinal research, cross-sectional studies can be threatened by
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cohort effects.
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In sequential designs, researchers study
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participants over the same ages but in different years.
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A sequential design
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permits researchers to check if cohort effects are operating.
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Research that combines __________ and __________ designs is increasingly common because it permits correlational and causal inferences.
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experimental; developmental
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The ethical principle of __________ requires special interpretation when participants cannot fully appreciate the research goals and activities.
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informed consent
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Dr. Ramorey wants 90-year-old Mr. Higgins to participate in a research study that involves moderate risks. Mr. Higgins is incapable of consenting. Which of the following would best state your advice regarding Mr. Higgins's participation in the study?
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He should only be allowed to participate in the study if it is likely to benefit him directly.
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One limitation of debriefing is
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young children often lack the cognitive skills to understand the reasons for deceptive procedures.
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Ethical standards permit deception in research studies if
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the benefits to society justify the risks to the participants.
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