question

Developmental science is a field of study devoted to

answer

understanding constancy and change throughout the lifespan.

question

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

answer

those factors that influence consistencies and transformations in people from conception to death.

question

Developmental science is __________ because it has grown through the combined efforts of people from many fields of study.

answer

interdisciplinary

question

Theories are vital tools for developmental researchers because they

answer

provide organizing frameworks for our observations of people.

question

The continuous view of development holds that

answer

infants and preschoolers respond to the world in much the same way as adults do.

question

Within the __________ view of development, new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times.

answer

discontinuous

question

Dr. Kostel believes that development takes place in stages. This belief is consistent with the __________ perspective.

answer

discontinuous

question

Kim is interested in comparing the language development of shy versus outgoing preschoolers. Kim is most likely interested in __________ that shape development.

answer

the contexts

question

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

answer

nature.

question

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.

answer

nurture

question

Theorists who point to early experiences as establishing a lifelong pattern of behavior emphasize

answer

stability.

question

Theorists who emphasize plasticity believe that

answer

change in response to influential experiences is possible.

question

The increase in the number of healthier, more active older adults suggests that human development is a

answer

dynamic system.

question

The lifespan perspective on human development assumes that development is

answer

multidimensional and multidirectional.

question

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

answer

no single age period

question

Max, age 65, learned to play the piano at a local senior center. Max demonstrates that

answer

development is plastic at all ages.

question

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

answer

resilience.

question

Research on resilience shows that

answer

interventions must attend to both the person and the environment to strengthen a child's capacity while also reducing hazardous experiences.

question

Which of the following is an example of an age-graded influence?

answer

Frank got his driver's license at age 16.

question

History-graded influences explain why __________ tend to be alike in ways that set them apart from people born at other times.

answer

cohorts

question

The splurge of births from 1946 to 1964 yielded a unique generation that today comprises nearly _____ percent of the U.S. population.

answer

30

question

As a generation, baby boomers are

answer

healthier, better educated, and financially better off than any previous midlife cohort.

question

Nonnormative influences

answer

do not follow a predictable timetable.

question

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution emphasized __________ and __________.

answer

natural selection; survival of the fittest

question

G. Stanley Hall regarded development as a __________ process.

answer

maturational

question

G. Stanley Hall and his student, Arnold Gesell,

answer

launched the normative approach.

question

Arnold Gessell

answer

was among the first to make knowledge about child development meaningful to parents by writing child-rearing books.

question

Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon addressed practical educational concerns by

answer

constructing the first intelligence test.

question

Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon's intelligence test was originally constructed to

answer

identify children with learning problems who needed to be placed in special classes.

question

According to the __________ perspective, people move through a series of stages in which they confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations.

answer

psychoanalytic

question

Sigmund Freud constructed his psychosexual theory

answer

on the basis of his adult patients' memories of painful childhood events.

question

According to Sigmund Freud, the

answer

id is the source of basic biological needs and desires.

question

Freud's psychosexual theory was eventually criticized because

answer

it overemphasized the influence of sexual feelings in development.

question

In contrast to Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson

answer

pointed out that normal development must be understood in relation to each culture's life situation.

question

One reason that the psychoanalytic perspective is no longer in the mainstream of child development is because

answer

its theorists were so strongly committed to the clinical approach that they failed to consider other methods.

question

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.

answer

behaviorism

question

Ivan Pavlov discovered

answer

classical conditioning.

question

In a historic experiment with 11-month-old Albert, John Watson demonstrated that

answer

children can be conditioned to fear a formerly neutral stimulus.

question

According to __________ theory, the frequency of a behavior can be increased by following it with a wide variety of reinforcers.

answer

operant conditioning

question

According to B. F. Skinner, __________ will increase the frequency of a behavior and __________ will decrease the frequency of a behavior.

answer

reinforcement; punishment

question

According to __________ theory, children learn primarily through modeling

answer

social learning

question

Today, Albert Bandura's theory stresses the importance of

answer

cognition.

question

According to Bandura's revised social-cognitive theory, as children grow older they

answer

become more selective in what they imitate

question

Behavior modification eliminates undesirable behaviors by

answer

combining conditioning and modeling.

question

Many theorists believe that behaviorism and social learning theory

answer

offer too narrow a view of important environmental influences.

question

According to Jean Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory,

answer

children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world

question

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

answer

biology.

question

According to Jean Piaget, __________ is the balance between internal structures and information that children encounter in their everyday worlds.

answer

equilibrium

question

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.

answer

concrete operational

question

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.

answer

formal operational

question

Research on Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory indicates that

answer

children's performances on Piagetian tasks can be improved with training.

question

The information-processing approach views the mind as a

answer

symbol-manipulating system through which information flows.

question

Lillian uses flowcharts to map the precise steps individuals use to solve problems and complete tasks. Lillian is a(n) __________ theorist.

answer

information-processing

question

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

answer

does not divide development into stages.

question

The information-processing perspective views development as

answer

continuous.

question

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

answer

rigorous research methods.

question

The information-processing approach

answer

is better at analyzing thinking into its components than at putting them back together into a comprehensive theory.

question

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

answer

developmental cognitive neuroscience.

question

Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen laid the modern foundations for

answer

ethology.

question

A(n) __________ period is a time that is optimal for certain capacities to emerge.

answer

sensitive

question

John Bowlby argued that

answer

behaviors such as smiling, babbling, and crying are innate social signals that encourage parents to interact with their infants.

question

Evolutionary developmental psychology

answer

seeks to understand the adaptive value of specieswide cognitive, emotional, and social competencies as those competencies change with age.

question

Lev Vygotsky's theory focuses on

answer

how culture is transmitted to the next generation.

question

Unlike Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky viewed cognitive development as a __________ process.

answer

socially mediated

question

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

answer

children in every culture develop unique strengths.

question

Ecological systems theory views the person as

answer

developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment.

question

Because a child's biologically influenced dispositions join with environmental forces to mold development, Urie Bronfenbrenner characterized his perspective as a(n) __________ model.

answer

bioecological

question

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

answer

microsystem.

question

Family chaos is linked to

answer

economic disadvantage.

question

__________ can help prevent escalating demands on families that give way to chaos.

answer

High-quality child care that is affordable and reliable

question

Bronfenbrenner's macrosystem consists of

answer

cultural values, laws, customs, and resources.

question

Toby moved with his family just before he entered fourth grade. In ecological systems theory, the move represents a change in Toby's

answer

chronosystem.

question

Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory, information processing, and Vygotsky's sociocultural theory all stress

answer

changes in thinking.

question

A __________ is a prediction about behavior drawn from a __________.

answer

hypothesis; theory

question

Dr. George predicted that positive reinforcement would increase prosocial behavior in preschoolers. Dr. George's prediction is an example of a

answer

hypothesis.

question

Taking tests and answering questionnaires are examples of

answer

research methods.

question

Which of the following statements about learning research strategies is true?

answer

It is important in separating dependable information from misleading results.

question

Ethology, evolutionary developmental psychology, sociocultural theory, and the lifespan perspective all view development as

answer

both continuous and discontinuous.

question

Dr. Wiren observes children's responses to bullying by watching them play in a park. This is an example of a(n)

answer

naturalistic observation.

question

In a naturalistic observation, the investigator

answer

goes into the field and records the behavior of interest.

question

A major limitation of systematic observation is that it

answer

tells investigators little about the reasoning behind responses and behaviors.

question

__________ ask research participants to provide information on their perceptions, thoughts, and feelings.

answer

Self-reports

question

A major strength of the clinical interview is that it

answer

permits participants to display their thoughts in terms that are as close as possible to the way they think in everyday life.

question

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

answer

structured interview.

question

A researcher using a structured interview would typically ask

answer

the same set of questions in the same way to each research participant.

question

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

answer

the clinical method

question

Dr. Bigelow is interested in studying musical prodigies. Which method is best suited for this type of research?

answer

case study

question

One major limitation of the clinical, or case study, method is

answer

that researchers' theoretical preferences may bias their observations and interpretations.

question

Which of the following methods is best suited for studying whether American parents are warmer than Japanese parents?

answer

ethnography

question

Ethnographic research is directed toward understanding a culture through __________ observation.

answer

participant

question

Jade spent two years in a Mexican-American community studying communication between parents and children. Jade is using the __________ research method.

answer

ethnographic

question

Compared to their agemates, adolescents from immigrant families are __________ likely to __________.

answer

less; commit delinquent or violent acts

question

In the United States, adolescents from immigrant families

answer

view school success as both their own and their parents' success.

question

One limitation of the ethnographic method is that

answer

investigators' cultural values sometimes lead them to misinterpret what they see.

question

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

answer

correlational; experimental

question

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

answer

correlational

question

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?

answer

The death of a spouse is related to a decline in the surviving partner's physical health.

question

One limitation of correlational studies is

answer

investigators cannot infer cause and effect.

question

Dr. Anodyne found a correlation of +.49 between illegal drug use and levels of adolescent delinquency. This correlation is __________ and __________.

answer

moderate; positive

question

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.

answer

experimental

question

A dependent variable is the

answer

one the investigator expects to be influenced by the independent variable.

question

In an experiment on the effects of music versus acting lessons on intelligence, the independent variable would be

answer

the type of lessons (music versus acting).

question

In an experiment examining whether phonics instruction in preschool increases a child's reading level in third grade, the dependent variable would be the

answer

child's reading level in third grade.

question

In experimental studies,

answer

investigators must take special precautions to control for participants' characteristics that could reduce the accuracy of their findings.

question

By using __________ assignment of participants to treatment conditions, investigators increase the chances that participants' characteristics will be equally distributed across treatment groups.

answer

random

question

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

answer

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.

question

In __________ experiments, investigators capitalize on opportunities to assign participants randomly to treatment conditions in natural settings.

answer

field

question

Researchers randomly assigned adolescents to either a single-grade classroom or a mixed-age classroom. This is an example of a

answer

field experiment.

question

In a longitudinal design, researchers study

answer

the same group of participants repeatedly at different ages.

question

Longitudinal research can identify common patterns as well as individual differences in behavior because the investigator

answer

tracks the performance of each person over time.

question

A major strength of the longitudinal design is that researchers can

answer

examine relationships between early and later behaviors.

question

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.

answer

longitudinal

question

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

answer

practice effects.

question

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.

answer

cohort

question

In a cross-sectional design, researchers study

answer

groups of participants differing in age at the same point in time.

question

Professor Gimbly wants to investigate how children of different ages characterize their friendships. Professor Gimbly should use a __________ research design.

answer

cross-sectional

question

A major disadvantage of cross-sectional research is that

answer

factors affecting individual development cannot be explored.

question

Like longitudinal research, cross-sectional studies can be threatened by

answer

cohort effects.

question

In sequential designs, researchers study

answer

participants over the same ages but in different years.

question

A sequential design

answer

permits researchers to check if cohort effects are operating.

question

Research that combines __________ and __________ designs is increasingly common because it permits correlational and causal inferences.

answer

experimental; developmental

question

The ethical principle of __________ requires special interpretation when participants cannot fully appreciate the research goals and activities.

answer

informed consent

question

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?

answer

He should only be allowed to participate in the study if it is likely to benefit him directly.

question

One limitation of debriefing is

answer

young children often lack the cognitive skills to understand the reasons for deceptive procedures.

question

Ethical standards permit deception in research studies if

answer

the benefits to society justify the risks to the participants.

Psychology Ch. 1 Test Answers – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards