Chapter 01: Understanding Life-Span Human Development
1. Development is best defined as
a.
individual differences in human behavior.
b.
systematic changes and continuities from conception to death.
c.
way in which people change in positive ways across time.
d.
systematic unfolding of genetic potential.
2. The fact that development often involves continuities speaks to the fact that over time, humans tend to
a.
remain the same.
b.
become more intelligent.
c.
become less active.
d.
undergo orderly patterns of change.
3. Albert, a developmental psychologist, conducts research on children’s emotional reactions to studying math in school.
Albert is concerned with children’s _____ development.
a.
b.
c.
d.
4. What characteristic belongs most in the cognitive domain of development?
a.
Physical maturation of the body
b.
A changing personality
c.
Poor interpersonal skills
d.
Language acquisition
5. Which characteristic does NOT belong on a list of key aspects of physical development?
a.
Change in motor ability
b.
Change in body organ efficiency
c.
Change in short-term memory
d.
Change in skin tone (e.g., wrinkling)
6. Traditionally, growth has been defined as
a.
physical changes that occur from conception to maturity.
b.
the biological unfolding of genetic potential.
c.
positive changes across the lifespan.
d.
gains, changes, and losses at each stage of the lifecycle.
only negative changes
both negative and positive changes
d.
neither positive nor negative changes
b.
socially defined age group, with culture-specific assigned roles, privileges, and responsibilities.
universally defined age group, with universal roles, privileges, and responsibilities.
9. “Senior” discounts on meals available only to individuals over age 55 provide an excellent example of a(n)
a.
age norm.
b.
social clock.
c.
age grade.
d.
social convoy.
10. A company requires employees to retire at the age of 65. This policy is an example of
a.
age norms.
b.
age stratification.
c.
the young-old principle.
d.
growth norms.
11. When 60-year-old Madonna wore a miniskirt to a wedding, one of her friends commented, “I sure wish Madonna
would act her age.” This comment best illustrates the concept of
a.
age norms.
b.
age grade.
c.
cohort effects.
d.
maturation.
12. The term _____ concerns an individual’s sense of the age at which he or she should experience certain events.
a.
age norms
b.
age stratification
c.
social clock
d.
age grade
13. Manuel hoped to graduate from college by age 22 but finds himself enrolling for the first time at age 52. The anxiety
Manuel feels because of this situation may be best explained by the concept of
a.
biological maturation.
b.
a social clock.
c.
plasticity.
d.
historical change.
14. The term emerging adulthood refers to individuals from about age
a.
11 to 17.
b.
18 to 29.
c.
29 to 37.
d.
38 to 46.
15. Hermes is currently in the “emerging adulthood” stage of development. As such, he would most likely
a.
be leading a very stable life.
b.
feel adult-like in all ways.
c.
be focused on others rather than himself.
d.
believe in a life of limitless possibilities.
16. Which United States-born newborn would currently have the longest life expectancy?
a.
Donny, who is a white male
b.
Marie, who is a white female
c.
Michael, who is an African-American male
d.
Janet, who is an African-American female
17. The question of how biological and environmental forces impact development is referred to as the _____ issue.
a.
continuity-discontinuity
b.
passive-active
c.
nature-nurture
d.
proximal-distal
18. Which best describes the relationship between maturation and genes?
a.
Maturation is driven by a plan contained in the genes.
b.
Maturation is the nature side of development, and genes are the nurture side of development.
c.
Maturation is the process by which genes learn.
d.
Genes and maturation are unrelated concepts.
19. Which of the following represents a maturational process?
a.
Being taught how to pay attention
b.
Changing one’s violent ways as the result of spending time in prison
c.
Learning to tie your shoes
d.
The development of pubic hair during puberty
20. Environmental impacts include all _____ that influence our development.
a.
external physical and social conditions
b.
external genetic and social conditions
c.
internal physical and social conditions
d.
internal genetic and social conditions
21. Learning is defined as the process through which _____ brings about relatively permanent changes in actions,
thoughts, or feelings.
a.
maturation
b.
genetics
c.
instincts
d.
experience
22. Nature is to nurture as
a.
maturation is to learning.
b.
experience is to genetics.
c.
psychology is to biology.
d.
positive is to negative.
23. Maturation is to learning as
a.
genes are to social experience.
b.
knowing is to doing.
c.
the environment is to heredity.
d.
practice is to instinct.
24. Living near a noisy airport can interfere with a child’s learning how to read. This is an example of the effects of
a.
maturation.
b.
physical environment.
c.
gene-environment interaction.
d.
socioeconomic environment.
25. Which of the following is inconsistent with the gain-stability-loss model?
a.
Physical strength increases until early adulthood and then decreases.
b.
The ages at which children and adolescents become sexually mature varies across cultures.
c.
Adults aged 60 and older score higher on vocabulary tests than adults aged 18 to 30.
d.
There is no universally-recognized indicator of “adulthood.”
26. Development of the idea of adolescence occurred as
a.
more industrialization and an educated labor force required laws that restricted child labor and made schooling
compulsory.
b.
recognition of the risks associated with early childbearing led to increases in the age at which females could be
married.
c.
the criminal justice system recognized that teenagers, while different from children, did not possess the
reasoning capabilities of adults.
d.
the westward expansion of the United States created a need for a young, strong, healthy workforce.
27. The twentieth century’s unique addition to the definition of old age is the idea of
a.
dementia.
b.
ageism.
c.
inevitable decline.
d.
retirement.
28. Dr. Benjamin Spock wrote a popular book for parents, providing information on what behaviors can be expected of
typical infants at specific ages. This sort of publication primarily reflects which goal of developmental psychology?
a.
Prediction
b.
Optimization
c.
Explanation
d.
Description
29. The title of Dr. Doublemint’s latest bestseller is Why Identical Twins Differ from Each Other. Given this title, it is safe
to assume that Dr. Doublemint’s primary interest is in the _____ goal of psychology.
a.
prediction
b.
optimization
c.
explanation
d.
description
30. Vue is a developmental psychologist who is concerned with helping adolescents learn to deal constructively with
divorce. Her work focuses primarily on which goal of developmental psychology?
a.
Prediction
b.
Optimization
c.
Explanation
d.
Description
31. When making a decision on whether or not to follow the latest diet trend, Jillian focuses on what the best scientific
research has to say about the topic of nutrition. This indicates that Jillian believes in engaging in _____ practice.
a.
speculative
b.
ethnocentric
c.
evidence-based
d.
emerging
32. Dr. Johnson focuses her research on how people adapt to economic, psychological, and physical changes in old age.
Given this emphasis, Dr. Johnson appears to be a(n)
a.
lifespan developmentalist.
b.
anthropologist.
c.
pubescence specialist.
d.
gerontologist.
33. Which statement is NOT an assumption of the lifespan perspective?
a.
Development is shaped by historical context.
b.
Development can take multiple directions.
c.
Development focuses on gains not losses.
d.
Understanding development requires multiple disciplines.
34. Which best exemplifies the concept of neuroplasticity?
a.
The ability to use your arm to draw after the arm was severely broken
b.
The development of thicker heart muscles in old age after undertaking an aerobic exercise class
c.
The production of large amounts of testosterone during puberty
d.
The formation of new brain cell connections as the result of reading a book
35. The fact that many adult males who lived through the Great Depression later had erratic careers and unstable
marriages exemplifies
a.
the impact of historical context on development.
b.
the multidirectional nature of development.
c.
maturation.
d.
the baby boom generation.
36. The key element of the scientific method is the belief that _____ should determine the merits of an idea.
a.
systematic observation
b.
logic
c.
debate
d.
intuition
37. A theory is best defined as a
a.
set of concepts and propositions used to control developmental outcomes.
b.
set of concepts and propositions intended to describe and explain some aspect of experience.
c.
factual description of developmental phenomena.
d.
series of systematic tests of all available hypotheses.
38. A specific prediction about what will hold true if we observe a phenomenon is called a
a.
fact.
b.
hypothesis.
c.
theory.
d.
correlation.
39. Based on an observation at a local fast-food restaurant, Dr. Colby predicts that more people will buy a hamburger if it
is covered with cheese. This prediction is most accurately thought of as a
a.
fact.
b.
hypothesis.
c.
theory.
d.
correlation.
40. Reba wants to examine the TV–viewing habits of 18– to 25-year-old males in the United States. As it is quite
impossible to include all males of this age group in her study, she selects a smaller group of 18- to 25-year-old males to
survey. The males included in her study are called a(n)
a.
population.
b.
sample.
c.
control group.
d.
age grade.
41. Tristan interviews a group of 50 teen mothers to determine what sort of knowledge they hold regarding use of
contraceptives prior to the time they became pregnant. He then writes an article where he speaks in broad terms about
what teen mothers know about the use of contraceptives prior to becoming pregnant. In this study, the group of 50 teen
mothers is called the _____, while all teen mothers are collectively called the _____.
a.
control group; population
b.
population; sample
c.
sample; control group
d.
sample; population
42. The major goal behind random sampling is to ensure that the
a.
data is falsifiable.
b.
sample is representative of the population.
c.
project will not be costly.
d.
population is large.
43. Developmental psychologist Dr. Wiggles is interested in preschool children’s helping behavior. He spends hours
watching children at the campus preschool, taking great care not to interfere with the children or to influence their
behavior in any way. What data collection technique is Dr. Wiggles using?
a.
Case study
b.
Naturalistic observation
c.
Meta-analysis
d.
Structured observation
44. The greatest advantage of the naturalistic observation method is that it
a.
can tell us what people do in everyday life.
b.
is easily conducted in a laboratory setting.
c.
readily leads to the discovery of cause-effect relationships.
d.
untangles age effects from cohort effects.
45. Dr. Dré is very interested in infants’ reactions to different music styles. In order to study the phenomena, he built a
special lab crib containing audio speakers. He then individually brings six-month-olds into the lab, places them in the crib,
plays rap music, and watches each baby’s reactions. Given this description, Dr. Dré appears to be using the _____
technique.
a.
self-report investigation
b.
naturalistic observation
c.
structured observation
d.
case study analysis
46. A brain scan is most accurately categorized as a
a.
naturalistic observation.
b.
physiological measure.
c.
structured observation.
d.
quasi-experiment.
47. The main limitation of physiological measures is that
a.
responses to such measures are easy to fake.
b.
they cannot be used to assess emotional reactions.
c.
it is not always clear what is being assessed.
d.
they cannot be used to study infants.
48. The main limitation of the case study method is that
a.
results may not generalize to others.
b.
inferential statistics must be used in its analysis.
c.
it is “too artificial” as it is typically conducted in the laboratory.
d.
it does not provide any detail about an individual’s behavior.
49. A true experiment involves the _____ of the independent variable.
a.
manipulation
b.
measurement
c.
elimination
d.
correlation
50. A psychologist measures the IQs of 20 students who ingested a “smart pill” and 20 students who ingested a “sugar
pill” in order to determine if the pill had an effect on intelligence. To ensure peak performance, she tests all of the students
on Wednesdays. In this experiment, the independent variable is the
a.
day of the week.
b.
pill type.
c.
IQ score.
d.
sex of the researcher.
51. A psychologist measures the IQs of 20 students who ingested a “smart pill” and 20 students who ingested a “sugar
pill” in order to determine if the pill had an effect on intelligence. To ensure peak performance, she tests all of the students
on Wednesdays. In this experiment, the dependent variable is the
a.
day of the week.
b.
pill type.
c.
IQ score.
d.
sex of the researcher.
52. A study is done examining whether rewarding children for good behavior increases the amount of time students spend
studying. In this study, the amount of time spent studying would be the _____ variable.
a.
control
b.
dependent
c.
confounding
d.
independent
53. Random assignment helps ensure
a.
cohort effects.