The information-processing approach focuses mainly on
A) genetic contributions to intellectual development.
B) core domains of thought.
C) the encoding, recording, and decoding of information.
D) how schemes change with age.
Which of the following parenting behaviors is linked to aggression from early
childhood through adolescence in diverse cultures?
A) reinforcement of prosocial modeling
B) inductive discipline
C) consistent discipline
D) power assertion
To distinguish between sounds such as “la” and “ra,” adults
A) analyze the speech stream into phonemes.
B) carefully follow morphological rules.
C) rely on universal language markers.
D) rely on their LAD.
A central goal of the information-processing approach is to
A) uncover mechanisms of change.
B) develop applications for classroom learning.
C) describe the normative course of cognitive development.
D) refine and revise Piaget’s theory.
When asked whether he ever had doubts about his religious beliefs, Pedro said, “Yes, I
just don”t see how there can be a God and yet so much evil in the world.” Pedro is
experiencing identity
A) foreclosure.
B) achievement.
C) diffusion.
D) moratorium.
During the Reformation, the Puritans
A) characterized children as innocent and close to angels.
B) regarded children as fully mature by the time they were 7 or 8 years old.
C) suggested that parents reward children with praise and approval.
D) believed that children were born evil and stubborn and had to be civilized.
Educators who advocate a whole-language approach to reading argue that
A) reading instruction should focus on phonics.
B) from the beginning, children should be exposed to text in its complete form.
C) children should learn the basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds
before being given reading material.
D) children should learn to write before beginning to read.
If Evita has a history of drug use, delinquency, and aggression in peer relationships, the
likelihood that she will
A) engage in unhealthy weight control tactics decreases.
B) experience a satisfying, long-term relationship increases.
C) experience dating violence increases.
D) engage in risky sexual behavior decreases.
In the Vygotsky-based innovation, __________, teachers guide the overall process of
learning but no other distinction is made between adult and child contributors.
A) Montessori education
B) homogeneous grouping
C) transitional education
D) communities of learners
Axel, who is younger than age 10, will have difficulty reasoning from premises that
contradict reality or his own beliefs because he is not yet able to
A) analyze the logic of propositions in situations in which he has had extensive
experience.
B) grasp the logical necessity of propositional thought.
C) recognize symbolic objects as both objects and symbols.
D) apply his problem-solving strategies.
About one __________ of U.S. children and adolescents are overweight.
A) fifth
B) quarter
C) third
D) half
Common chimps, the species studied most often, have been
A) able to consistently predict others’ goals.
B) shown to have a broad understanding of others’ mental states.
C) taught artificial languages and American Sign Language.
D) taught to produce strings of three or more symbols that conform to a rule-based
structure.
Miss Caroline, a teacher who uses Piagetian principles in her classroom,
A) provides extensive instruction in reading and mathematics.
B) pairs low-ability students with high-ability students to enhance learning.
C) encourages her students to discover for themselves through spontaneous interaction
with their environment.
D) forms cooperative groups with two to four students who take turns leading
dialogues.
The cries of brain-damaged babies and those who have experienced prenatal and birth
complications are often __________ than those of healthy infants.
A) quieter
B) longer in duration
C) more shrill and piercing
D) more muffled
__________ reflects faster processing of information than smiling.
A) Anger
B) Withdrawal
C) Crying
D) Laughter
Warmth and responsiveness, competence and power, and consistency between
assertions and behavior are all
A) characteristics that affect children’s willingness to imitate a model’s behavior.
B) less likely to promote moral development than spankings and threats.
C) evident in primates, reinforcing the biological perspective of morality.
D) traits that develop around age 2 as precursors to moral development.
In the final three months of pregnancy, the fetus
A) is especially vulnerable to teratogens.
B) gains less than 3 pounds.
C) grows 7 inches.
D) reduces its body fat to help with temperature regulation.
Which of the following statements is true regarding learning native-language sound
categories and patterns?
A) Findings indicate that categorical perception is unique to linguistic input.
B) Phonemes tend to be similar across all contemporary languages.
C) Compared to young infants, adults are sensitive to a much wider range of categories
than exists in their own language.
D) Between 6 and 8 months, infants start to organize speech into the phonemic
categories of their own language.
Sometimes researchers combine __________ with __________ to deliberately make
characteristics equivalent that are likely to distort the results.
A) confounding variables; random assignment
B) systematic assignment; matching
C) matching; confounding variables
D) random assignment; matching
Cross-cultural research on memory reveals that
A) children in non-Western cultures who have no formal schooling benefit greatly from
instruction in memory strategies.
B) children who have no formal schooling do as well on list memory tasks as formally
educated children.
C) the development of memory strategies is partly a product of task demands and
cultural circumstances.
D) American children easily refrain from rehearsing object names when it is more
effective to keep track of spatial relations.
By age 4, children typically
A) infer appropriate motives and feelings when given a trait label.
B) include both positive and negative attributes in their self-descriptions.
C) realize that psychological qualities often change from one situation to the next.
D) are preoccupied with being liked by adults and peers.
Dr. Cooper is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist. Which of the following
questions would Dr. Cooper most likely investigate?
A) What is the best technique to measure intelligence?
B) Does actual brain size affect cognitive progress?
C) How does nutrition affect overall brain growth and memory patterns?
D) How do experiences at various ages influence the organization of the brain?
Characteristics that vary on a continuum among people, such as height, weight,
intelligence, and personality, are due to
A) dominant”recessive relationships.
B) polygenic inheritance.
C) incomplete dominance.
D) genomic imprinting.
In China, Japan, and most Western European countries, high school track placement is
determined by
A) family reputation.
B) teacher recommendations.
C) ancestry and lineage.
D) a national exam.
Studies examining the correlational stability of IQ suggest that
A) after age 6, IQ scores become more stable.
B) IQ scores are not stable until adolescence.
C) IQ scores fluctuate widely throughout the school years.
D) preschool IQs are good predictors of school-age scores.
To manage her emotion, 12-year-old Britney appraises the situation as changeable,
identifies the difficulty, and decides what to do about it. Britney is using
A) a secure base.
B) problem-centered coping.
C) emotional self-efficacy.
D) emotion-centered coping.
Amelia was born to parents of Mediterranean descent. In infancy, Amelia appeared
pale, had slowed physical growth, and was lethargic. Amelia’s parents should have her
tested for
A) Cooley’s anemia.
B) Huntington disease.
C) Marfan syndrome.
D) Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
__________ is the only emotion that males express more freely than females in
everyday interaction.
A) Sorrow
B) Anger
C) Embarrassment
D) Envy
Gender-schematic thinking reveals a forceful restriction of knowledge and learning
opportunities because
A) it develops during infancy and impacts a child’s choices much longer than other
forces.
B) children are exposed to a wide variety of gender-linked associations in society.
C) it contributes to gender-atypicality, particularly in boys.
D) it is closely tied to genetic factors, which are difficult to modify.
Which of the following statements is true about neurons?
A) Like other body cells, they are tightly packed together.
B) The human brain has about 100 to 200 million neurons.
C) They store and transmit information.
D) After birth, they can only die as a result of significant trauma.
Many researchers view the older age for first marriage over the past 50 years in the
United States as due to
A) a struggling economy and a lack of financial security.
B) young people’s inability to form healthy intimate attachments.
C) a longer period of experimentation with sexuality and intimacy.
D) disadvantages related to living expenses and income tax penalties.
Gina is dependent, lacks interest in exploration, and is overwhelmed by challenging
tasks. She is exhibiting characteristics consistent with girls raised by __________
parents.
A) authoritative
B) authoritarian
C) permissive
D) uninvolved