A major limitation of correlational studies is that
A) researchers cannot study how conditions of interest currently exist.
B) researchers cannot infer cause and effect.
C) there is no way to measure the strength of a positive relationship between variables.
D) negative relationships between variables cannot be measured.
Because 4-year-old Damon is a nonpersister, his self-esteem is most likely
A) unrealistically high.
B) based entirely on others’ judgments.
C) unaffected by adult feedback.
D) based entirely on inner standards.
Studies of memory strategy use by younger children show that
A) control and utilization deficiencies disappear once they enter elementary school.
B) once a strategy is learned, they tend to use it consistently.
C) their rehearsal strategies are especially clear and organized at an early age.
D) their use of multiple memory strategies has little impact on performance.
Pregnancy complication rates increase sharply among women age
A) 30 to 35.
B) 35 to 40.
C) 40 to 45.
D) 50 to 55.
The U.S. No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law in 2001, resulted in
A) greater attention to student-chosen areas of study.
B) a move toward enhanced constructivist classrooms.
C) a “back to basics” movement in which classrooms returned to traditional instruction.
D) a wider focus to foster development beyond academic instruction.
__________ strongly predict(s) reading progress in young children.
A) Phonological awareness
B) Telegraphic speech
C) Illocutionary content
D) Referential communication skills
Some studies suggest that babies placed in full-time child care before __________ of
age are more likely to display insecure attachment in the Strange Situation.
A) 6 months
B) 12 months
C) 18 months
D) 2 years
Although sex-related differences in muscle mass can explain boys’ skill advantages like
__________, the primary differences in athletic performance in boys and girls is
probably due to __________.
A) throwing; social pressure
B) kicking; boys’ growth spurts
C) balance; girls’ body fat ratio
D) catching; neurological differences
Common fears during the school years include
A) monsters and ghosts.
B) acts of nature, such as thunder and lightning.
C) family finances and college selection.
D) poor academic performance and the possibility of personal harm.
Which of the following is an important criticism of behaviorism?
A) It overemphasizes genetic influences.
B) It underestimates children’s contributions to their own development.
C) It cannot be effectively applied to toddlers or preschool children.
D) It only works in controlled settings, not in children’s everyday lives.
Babies’ motor achievements have a powerful effect on their
A) development novelty preference.
B) social relationships.
C) sleep”wake cycle.
D) visual acuity.
Studies of familiarity preference show that infants
A) look longer at the features of a familiar person than the action in which the person is
engaged.
B) are better at discriminating faces in static displays than in moving displays.
C) retain information much longer in operant conditioning studies than in habituation
studies.
D) look longer at a familiar action than the features of the person engaging in the
action.
Which of the following statements is true regarding paternal depression?
A) At younger ages, paternal depression is linked to frequent father”child conflict.
B) Children of depressed fathers tend to become overprotective parents.
C) Persistent paternal depression is a strong predictor of child behavior problems.
D) Over time, children exposed to paternal depression develop a positive worldview.
In response to the Heinz dilemma, Bill says, “You shouldn”t steal the drug because
you”ll be caught and sent to jail if you do. If you do get away, the police would catch up
with you any minute.” Bill is most likely in the __________ stage.
A) punishment and obedience orientation
B) social-order-maintaining orientation
C) morality of interpersonal cooperation
D) instrumental purpose orientation
Between ages 6 and 10, children
A) form a self-concept consisting of observable characteristics and typical emotions and
attitudes.
B) make social comparisons among multiple individuals.
C) combine traits making up self-concept into an organized system.
D) only emphasize positive attributes in their self-concept.
A history of physical punishment is associated with __________ among
African-American adolescents and __________ among Caucasian-American
adolescents.
A) a reduction in antisocial behavior; an increase in antisocial behavior
B) an increase in antisocial behavior; greater academic motivation
C) closer ties to parents who combine punishment with warmth; alienation from parents
D) less cognitive and social competence; increased antisocial involvement
Despite their higher academic achievement, Chinese and Japanese children score lower
in self-esteem than U.S. children. Research suggests that this difference may be partly
due to __________ among Chinese and Japanese children.
A) a strong emphasis on social comparison
B) conditional parental support
C) low achievement motivation
D) high levels of anxiety and depression
Between ages 3 and 6,
A) anger and fear increase in frequency and intensity.
B) children begin to use language to assist with emotional self-regulation.
C) self-conscious emotions are integrated with inner standards of excellence and good
behavior.
D) self-conscious emotions are clearly linked to self-evaluation.
A researcher interested in children’s beliefs about God begins each interview with the
same question, but subsequent questions are determined by the child’s individual
answers. This is an example of a
A) clinical interview.
B) data questionnaire.
C) structured interview.
D) case study.
In Western nations,
A) 90 percent of the population is right-handed.
B) 25 percent of the population is left-handed.
C) only about 5 percent of adults are left-handed.
D) right-handed children are more likely than left-handed agemates to have outstanding
verbal skills.
According to Piaget, older children in the morality of cooperation stage understand
__________, which helps them realize that rules can be reinterpreted and revised.
A) ideal reciprocity
B) realism
C) a moral dilemma
D) induction
In early and middle childhood, children add about _____ inches in height and _____
pounds in weight each year.
A) 1″2; 3
B) 2″3; 5
C) 3″4; 7
D) 4″5; 10
Which of the following statements is true about the field of child development?
A) Scientific curiosity is the prevailing factor that led to the study of children, and
current researchers primarily answer questions of scientific interest.
B) The field of child development is considered interdisciplinary because it has grown
through the combined efforts of people from many fields.
C) Child development is the area of study devoted to understanding constancy and
change throughout the lifespan.
D) Most of what we know about child development comes from psychologists and
medical professionals.
__________ declines as preschoolers’ improved capacity to delay gratification enables
them to resist grabbing others’ possessions.
A) Reactive aggression
B) Relational aggression
C) Proactive aggression
D) Malicious intention
For most young people, identity development
A) involves a major crisis.
B) is complete by age 13.
C) emerges spontaneously, with little time devoted to exploration.
D) is a process of exploration followed by commitment.
Mr. and Mrs. Manet’s children have advanced oral narrative skills. The Manets probably
A) avoid using recasts and expansions with their children.
B) eat meals together with their children.
C) engage in authoritarian child rearing.
D) communicate in English and a nonnative language.
Fourteen-month-old Reese points to a picture of a dog in his book when prompted by
his family. When his 3-year-old cousin asks him to “find the goggie,” Reese points to
the dog. Reese’s actions indicate that he
A) understands how the word “dog” is supposed to sound.
B) does not really grasp the concept of the word “dog.”
C) has strong word”object-association skills.
D) may display speech problems when he is older.
As a teacher, Kris has begun providing lessons to students that teach emotional
understanding, respect and caring for others, strategies for regulating emotion, and
resistance to unfavorable peer pressure because Kris knows that
A) emotional intelligence is the latest psychological buzzword, and administrators are
demanding it.
B) most students do not acquire emotionally intelligent behavior at home.
C) many educators overlook the relationship between cognitive ability and academic
achievement.
D) providing experiences that meet students’ social and emotional needs can improve
their adjustment.
Increased autonomy and efforts to construct a personally meaningful religious identity
coincides with
A) increased spirituality during adolescence.
B) an increase in church attendance during early adulthood.
C) a drop in formal religious involvement during adolescence.
D) the questioning of one’s religious beliefs during early childhood.
Noam Chomsky reasoned that
A) in early childhood, rewards and punishments support language development.
B) young children are unable to assume much responsibility for their own language
learning.
C) the rules for sentence organization are too complex to be directly taught to
cognitively sophisticated young children.
D) language, like any other behavior, is acquired through imitation and operant
conditioning.
During the period of the embryo, the __________ becomes the nervous system, the
__________ becomes the circulatory system, and the __________ becomes the
digestive system.
A) ectoderm; mesoderm; endoderm
B) ectoderm; endoderm; mesoderm
C) mesoderm; ectoderm; endoderm
D) endoderm; ectoderm; mesoderm
Explain the main reasons for the decline in family size (number of children per couple)
and what effects fewer siblings have on a child’s development.
Explain why positive discipline is effective and reduces the need for punishment.
Summarize current theoretical views on how children acquire grammar.
Compare the United States with other industrialized countries on several indicators of
child health and well-being. Why have U.S. public policies safeguarding children and
youths lagged behind policies in other developed nations?
A few U.S. states ban gay and lesbian couples from adopting children. Using research
to support your answer, describe the development of children raised by gay or lesbian
parents.
Describe features of social-constructivist classrooms, including the three educational
themes used in these settings.
Discuss teratogens. Why does the harm from teratogens vary, and what are some
long-term consequences of exposure?
Describe Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory.
Describe the relationship between television violence and aggression.
Name and describe the three types of children Thomas and Chess identified in their
groundbreaking longitudinal study of temperament. In what category did 35 percent of
the children in the sample fit?
Explain how cultural factors and gender contribute to the development of self-esteem.
Explain the observed differences in the emotional sensitivity of girls and boys.
Describe factors that contribute to the development of theory of mind during the first
three years of life.
How stable are IQ scores, and how well do they predict academic achievement,
occupational attainment, and psychological adjustment?
What is gender-stereotype flexibility, and why does it increase dramatically during
middle childhood?
Describe how semantic knowledge and the use of memory strategies support one
another.
Discuss brain plasticity. When is the brain the most plastic? What evidence does
research on brain-damaged children and adults provide?