According to the “random events” theory of biological aging,
A) DNA in body cells is gradually damaged through spontaneous or externally caused
mutations.
B) the human body wears out from use over time.
C) the existence of aging genes controls most biological changes.
D) environmental factors have little impact on human longevity.
Dan and Steven are considering getting their 4-year-old son a computer. Which of the
following statements can you share with them to best help them understand the value of
computers in early childhood?
A) Computers have no educational benefits until children are old enough to read
fluently.
B) The use of word-processing programs in early childhood inhibits writing skills
because the programs revise errors.
C) Young children who use computers to draw or write produce much less elaborate
pictures and text.
D) Combining everyday and computer experiences with math manipulatives is
especially effective in promoting math concepts and skills.
Which of the following statements about social referencing is true?
A) Mothers are more effective sources of emotional information than fathers.
B) A human face is more effective than a vocal expression in guiding a baby’s behavior.
C) An adult’s voice is more effective than a facial expression in guiding a baby’s
behavior.
D) A caregiver’s emotional expression has no influence on stranger anxiety.
The gender gap in poverty is
A) lower in the United States than in other Western industrialized nations.
B) virtually nonexistent in the United States, but exists in many nonindustrialized
nations.
C) a trend of the past that has been successfully overcome by strong public policies
safeguarding women.
D) higher in the United States than in other Western industrialized nations.
Attachment depends on
A) genetic ties.
B) feeding rituals.
C) hunger satisfaction.
D) emotional ties.
Research on resilience shows that
A) heredity is more powerful than the environment in protecting children from the
negative effects of stressful life events.
B) the environment is more powerful than heredity in protecting children from the
negative effects of stressful life events.
C) interventions must attend to both the person and the environment to strengthen a
child’s capacity while also reducing hazardous experiences.
D) plasticity is limited to infancy and early childhood.
The __________ folds over to form the __________, which will become the spinal cord
and brain.
A) mesoderm; neuron tract
B) ectoderm; neural tube
C) endoderm; neural tube
D) ectoderm; neuron tract
Because child maltreatment is embedded in families, communities, and society as a
whole,
A) efforts to prevent it must be directed at each of these levels.
B) it is almost impossible to prevent.
C) prevention efforts are not cost-effective.
D) victims are often removed from their homes and communities.
After marriage, other-sex friendships
A) increase for both sexes.
B) increase for men.
C) increase for women.
D) are rare for both sexes.
Which of the following individuals will likely experience the lowest level of death
anxiety?
A) Hayley, an adolescent
B) Joshua, a young adult
C) Pat, a middle-aged adult
D) Winifred, an older adult
Which of the following statements about loss of bone strength in middle adulthood is
true?
A) Loss in bone density usually begins in the early twenties and accelerates in the
thirties.
B) Environmental factors do little to slow bone loss in postmenopausal women.
C) Loss of bone strength causes the disks of the spinal column to collapse.
D) By the end of middle adulthood, women have lost 70 percent of their bone density.
The five reactions Kbler-Ross observed are best viewed as
A) a fixed sequence.
B) stages of denial.
C) coping strategies that anyone may call on in the face of threat.
D) maladaptive, emotion-centered coping strategies.
Research using the HOME checklist reveals that the extent to which parents
__________ is especially important in facilitating toddlers’ intelligence test
performance.
A) engage their children in physical activity
B) watch educational television with their children
C) talk to their infants and toddlers
D) take part in make-believe play with their children
Vygotsky saw __________ as the foundation for all higher cognitive processes.
A) egocentrism
B) language
C) sensorimotor activity
D) self-reflection
Removing a desirable stimulus or presenting an unpleasant one to decrease the
occurrence of a response is called
A) habituation.
B) reinforcement.
C) recovery.
D) punishment.
According to Levinson, middle adulthood begins with a
A) transitional period.
B) stable period.
C) significant crisis.
D) dream.
In the chemistry of aging, a free radical is a
A) naturally occurring, highly reactive chemical that forms in the presence of oxygen.
B) type of protein fiber that makes up the body’s connective tissue.
C) type of mutation that leads to genetic defects in offspring.
D) form of DNA that is found at the ends of chromosomes, serving as a protective cap.
By age 6 to 7, children in diverse Western cultures have formed at least __________
broad self-evaluations.
A) two
B) four
C) six
D) eight
Mia bit her brother, so her father would not let her watch TV. This technique, known as
withdrawal of privileges,
A) gives Mia’s father a cooling-off period.
B) allows Mia’s father to avoid harsh techniques that could easily intensify into
violence.
C) helps Mia relate biting to her father’s expectations for her future behavior.
D) is not as effective as corporal punishment.
Which of the following older Americans is the most likely to live in an extended
family?
A) Winn, who is of French descent
B) Rosalie, who is of Italian descent
C) Maggie, who is of English descent
D) Bridget, who is of Irish descent
Research on cultural variations in child rearing styles shows that
A) compared with Western parents, Chinese parents describe their parenting as more
permissive.
B) compared with Chinese parents, Western parents more often shame a misbehaving
child.
C) Chinese parents report expressing affection and using induction and other
reasoning-oriented discipline as much as American parents do.
D) physical punishment is associated with a reduction in antisocial behavior among
Caucasian-Americans.
During midlife, most adults begin to
A) emphasize hoped-for-gains rather than feared declines.
B) feel physically stronger and more robust than in early adulthood.
C) focus more on child rearing than on career development.
D) experience life-threatening health episodesif not in themselves, then in their partners
and friends.
The __________ is the largest brain structure, accounting for 85 percent of the brain’s
weight.
A) cerebral cortex
B) cerebrum
C) cerebellum
D) corpus callosum
In Sternberg’s triarchic theory, intelligent behavior involves balancing __________
intelligences.
A) linguistic, emotional, and practical
B) spatial, kinesthetic, and interpersonal
C) creative, intrapersonal, and emotional
D) analytical, creative, and practical
Which of the following statements about sexuality in middle adulthood is true?
A) Frequency of sexual activity among married couples tends to increase.
B) Dramatic changes in sexual activity are very common.
C) Couples who have sex often in early adulthood tend to see a dramatic drop in
midlife.
D) The best predictor of sexual frequency is marital happiness.
About __________ percent of children in divorced families display severe problems.
A) 10 to 15
B) 15 to 20
C) 20 to 25
D) 25 to 30
Ruth regards death as a mandate to live ever more fully. In discussing her images of
dying, Ruth is most likely to say,
A) “In a way, I feel like I”m already dead.”
B) “After reading everything I could about my disease, I realized for the first time in
my life I can handle anything.”
C) “I”ve looked death in the eye, and now I”m really living.”
D) “When I start to think too much about my illness, I recite the lyrics to my favorite
songs.”
Studies in diverse Western nations confirm that by age 5 or 6, __________ children
generally evaluate their own racial group favorably and other racial groups less
favorably or negatively.
A) low-SES
B) immigrant
C) white
D) minority
Which of the following statements about gender identity and behavior in middle
childhood is true?
A) How children feel about themselves in relation to their gender group is less
important in middle childhood than it was during the preschool years.
B) Children who experience rejection because of gender-atypical personality traits
suffer profoundly.
C) Researchers agree that the only way to help children who feel gender-atypical is to
make them more gender-typical.
D) Gender-typical and gender-discontented children show gains in self-worth between
third and seventh grade.
__________ is the most common form of dementia.
A) Cerebrovascular dementia
B) Parkinson’s disease
C) Alzheimer’s disease
D) Subcortical dementia
Maddy, age 7, is presented with the following statement: If rats are bigger than cats and
cats are bigger than mice, then rats are bigger than mice. She will probably judge such
reasoning to be
A) true because she understands propositional thought.
B) true if she has seen cats, rats, and mice in picture books.
C) false because not all relations specified occur in real life.
D) sometimes true and sometimes false depending on her educational background.