PSY 2250 Study Guide Exam One
Chapter 1
1. Compare the theories influenced by nurture with the theories influenced by nature.
2. What is the current view of nature and nurture?
3. How does the person-environment fit relate to developmental science?
4. What is a bidirectional relationship? How does this apply to the parent-child relationship?
5. Describe the basic parts of Freud's Psychoanalytic theory.
6. Describe the basics of Ericson's Psychosocial theory. How is it different than Freud's theory?
7. Compare and contrast Piaget's theory of assimilation and accommodation of schemas.
8. What are the levels of Bronfenbrenner's Ecological model?
9. Compare the two main types of research studies. How do they examine cause and effect?
10. Compare and contrast two research designs used in developmental studies to examine age
differences.
11. How does qualitative research differ from quantitative research?
Chapter 2
1. What is fertilization?
2. Describe chromosomes, DNA, and genes.
3. When is the period of the zygote, the embryonic period, and the fetal period?
4. Which structure develops into the brain and spinal cord?
5. Describe the 3 principles of prenatal development.
6. What and when is the Age of Viability?
7. What is quickening?
8. What are the types of teratogens?
9. How much exposure to teratogens is too much?
10. Describe the negative consequences of Down syndrome.
11. What are three modes of inheritance of single-gene disorders?
12. Describe the three prenatal tests.
13. What are the three stages of labor?
14. Why is a C-section used?
15. Describe the Apgar Scale.
16. Describe premature birth, low birth weight, and very low birth weight.
17. What are possible factors that contribute to infant mortality?
Chapter 3
1. Describe synaptogenesis, synaptic pruning and myelination.
2. How does neural plasticity relate to pruning?
3. Name and briefly describe 3 examples of infant reflexes.
4. Contrast the malnutrition concerns between developing countries and developed countries.
5. Describe a newborn's states. Which state is most common?
6. Discuss the benefits and risks of co-sleeping.
7. When is the peak risk of sudden infant death syndrome and what are preventions to reduce
risk?
8. What is the preferential looking paradigm? What is habituation?
9. How do researchers study infant depth perception?
10. What is Piaget's first stage of cognitive development and what is the age range?
11. How do infants' interactions with the world change across the three circular reactions?
12. What is object permanence?
13. Describe infant social cognition research.
14. What is the social interactionist view of language development?
15. Describe the language milestones from birth to two years (from cooing to telegraphic
speech).
Chapter 4
1. What are 2 early studies that influenced Bowlby's attachment theory?
2. What are separation anxiety and stranger anxiety?
3. Explain the internal working model of attachment.
4. Describe the strange situation.
5. Describe secure attachment. What are the three insecure attachments?
6. How does a parent and child's synchrony affect the attachment bond?
7. Contrast a baby with an easy temperament with a slow to warm up temperament and to a
difficult temperament.
8. What is poverty and low income?
9. Describe the detrimental impact of poverty on early and later education.
10. What is head start and early head start?
11. Describe three types of childcares. Is quality or quantity of care more important?
12. Describe Ericson's toddlerhood psychosocial crisis. What is the positive outcome and what is
the negative outcome?
13. How does socialization relate to self-regulation?
14. How does the parenting environment fit shy and exuberant children? Describe the goodnessof-fit for each.
Chapter 5
1. Describe the two types of motor skills: gross and fine motor skills.
2. What is conservation and reversibility?
3. Describe preoperational egocentrism.
4. Describe the differences between Piaget's Concrete Operations stage and Pre-operations stage.
5. Describe Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding. How do they relate to
each other?
6. What is inner speech and what is its purpose?
7. Compare and contrast phonemes with morphemes. What is the mean length utterance?
8. Describe overregularization.
9. Describe overextensions and underextensions.
10. Explain autobiographical memory.
11. What is theory of mind and when does it develop?
12. What is a "false belief" task?
13. Describe two types of play.
14. Describe the development of pretend play.
15. What are gender differences in play?
16. Describe Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs).