DEV PSYCH: LIFESPAN
EXAM ONE – STUDY GUIDE
****Watch the videos that are posted on Canvas! I will include questions from these videos on
the exam****
Chapter 1:
 Difference between life-span and life-expectancy
 Know chronological age, bio age, psych age, and social age.
 What is the new updated life-span perspective? What view has changed?
 Be able to define and give examples of normative age-graded influences, normative
history-graded influences, and nonnormative life events.
 Define ethnicity and SES
 What does plasticity mean?
 Be able to explain epigenetics
 Why do some psychologists propose pushing back early adulthood time period to 30-45?
Read this in your book.
 Steps to the scientific method – starting with observation!
 Must know the 5 different theoretical orientations. What does each mean? We spent a
good amount of time reviewing this section in Chapter 1. Please read through this in your
book! This means that you need to know the major researcher for each theory and what
they proposed.
o Example: You do not need to know the specifics for oral, anal, phallic, latency,
and genital stage but you DO need to know Freud and that he’s the one who
introduced the psychosexual development perspective.
o Example: Erikson’s perspective is different than Freud because _____. I don’t
expect you to know all the exact info for each psychosocial stage yet. For now,
you need to know why he proposed that theory. Why is it important?
o Same goes for cognitive (Piaget and Vgotsky), Behaviorism (Skinner), Behavioral
and Social Cognitive (Bandura), and Ethology (Lorenz and Bowlby).
o What’s another name for behaviorism and why?
 You do NOT need to review Ecological Theory or Information-Processing Theory
 Three kinds of descriptive research: observational studies (both types), case studies, and
surveys/interviews) and be able to give examples of each.
 How do you decrease the social desirability effect? What is the wording effect?
 Correlation – what does r stand for? Which is the stronger correlation, r = -.75 or r=.50?
 Positive and negative correlation. Remember that both variables go in the same direction
when they are positively correlated and both variables go in opposite directions when they
are negatively correlated. Be able to apply these concepts to examples.
 CORRELATION DOES NOT MEAN CAUSATION – never ever use the word cause and
effect when you are describing a correlation between variables. Instead say the
relationship or association between variables.
 What are the two main requirements of a true experiment? Remember it is manipulation
and random assignment.
 Independent variable and dependent variable. Be able to identify these in a word problem.
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Explain the importance of random assignment – what happens if you don’t use it?
How is a cross-sectional approach different than a longitudinal approach? What are the
pros and cons to longitudinal research? What’s the con for cross-sectional?
Chapter 2:
 How many paired chromosomes do our cells have? How many unpaired chromosomes do
our gametes have?
 Difference between mitosis and meiosis
 What are sex-linked genes and what is x-linked inheritance? Review example from class
on color-blindness.
 Down syndrome is Trisomy 21 – why? What happens?
 What is PKU? What happens if left untreated? How can it be treated?
 What is sickle cell anemia?
 Monozygotic and dizygotic twins
 Be able to explain and give an example of passive, evocative, and active genotype
environment correlations. Remember to look at your class activity for handout for
guidance.
 Know when germinal, embryonic, and fetal stages occur (time periods) and major events
that occur in each – such as cellular differentiation, organogenesis.
 At what point is an offspring viable outside of the womb?
 Neural tube defects (anencephaly and spina bifida) – how can this be prevented? Read
book!
 Amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling
 Review everything about teratogens – definition and all the different topics reviewed in
the notes, lecture, and book! We spent a good amount of time on this topic!
 In your book, carefully read the section about mother’s nutrition and health during
pregnancy (dangers of high blood pressure, obesity, underweight, diabetes, age) and
father’s age/nicotine use.
o At what age is a women considered to be high-risk during pregnancy?
 Postpartum period – when is this? What happens?
 Postpartum blues compared to postpartum depression.
Chapter 3
 Explain general growth patterns in infancy and early childhood. Then differences in sex
and growth spurts during adolescence.
 Explain puberty in boys and girls. What happens for each? Overall physical changes but
most important that girls start to release eggs (and have periods) and boys start to produce
sperm.
 Function of the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal gland.
 Gonads? Explain testosterone and estradiol for men/women. Who has what? Quantity
comparison.
 What prompts early puberty? Review section in book and PowerPoint slides.
 Explain what is the psychological impact of either starting puberty early or late for girls
AND for boys!
 Explain sarcopenia and sarcopenia obesity.
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Explain menopause in women. What about men and aging?
How is the endocrine system different than the nervous system? What is another name for
pituitary gland? Remember that it produces many different hormones including growth
hormones. Where are the adrenal glands found and what do they release?
Explain the function of the 4 lobes of the cerebral cortex.
Know the different parts and functions of the neuron.
What is myelination and when does this occur?
Explain neural connections, change in size, and different structures throughout lifespan.
o Explain the function of the limbic system (includes - amygdala) and overall
development of this area in comparison to the prefrontal cortex in adolescents.
What about the corpus callosum and the hippocampus?
o What happens when a person is in late adulthood?
Sleep patterns for children – including REM.
Hormonal sleep shift during adolescence.
How much sleep should an adult get every night?
What are ways that you can improve your sleep?
Possible Short-Answer/Essay-style Questions:
 Explain the research on happiness and aging. What is the overall trend? When is there a
dip? What about differences across countries?
 Explain what IRB stands for and what the committee oversees. Then list and explain each
of the ethical standards required of any study involving humans.
 Turner’s Syndrome, Klinefelter Syndrome, and Fragile X Syndrome. Please watch videos
posted.
o What is the chromosomal problem for each?
o Describe what occurs to the individual.
 I posted a video on Canvas that discussed the history of racism and midwives in the
United States.
o Provide an explanation of how slavery and racism is tied to the history of
midwives.
o Make sure to explain how the number and demographics of midwifery has
changed over time in the US.