Developmental Psych Practice Questions
1.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Which is the correct order of stages of prenatal development?
Zygote, fetus, embryo
Zygote, embryo, fetus
Embryo, zygote, fetus
Embryo, fetus, zygote
2.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Piaget held that egocentrism is characteristic of the
Sensorimotor stage
Preoperational stage
Concrete operational stage
Formal operational stage
3. When psychologists discuss maturation, they are referring to stages of growth that are
strongly influenced by
a. Conservation
b. Nature
c. Nurture
d. Continuity
4.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Temperament refers to a person’s characteristic
Emotional reactivity and intensity
Attitudes
Behaviors
Role-related traits
5.
a.
b.
c.
d.
During which stage of development do children acquire object permanence?
Sensorimotor stage
Preoperational stage
Concrete operational stage
Formal operational stage
6.
a.
b.
c.
d.
The hormone testosterone
Is found only in females
Determines the sex of the developing person
Stimulates growth of the female sex organs
Stimulates growth of the male sex organs
7. According to Erikson, the central psychological challenges pertaining to adolescence,
young adulthood, and middle age, respectively, are
a. Identity formation; intimacy; generativity
b. Intimacy; identity formation; generativity
c. Generativity; intimacy; identity formation
d. Intimacy; generativity; identity formation
8.
a.
b.
c.
Research findings on infant motor development are consistent with the idea that
Cognitive development lags significantly behind motor skills development
Maturation of physical skills is relatively unaffected by experience
In the absence of relevant earlier learning experiences, the emergence of motor skills will
be slowed
d. In humans, the process of maturation may be significantly altered by cultural factors
9. Compared to when he was younger, 4-year-old Antonio is better able to empathize with
his friend’s feelings and thoughts. This growing ability to take another’s perspective
indicates that Antonio is acquiring
a. Self-concept
b. Schema
c. Temperament
d. Theory of mind
10.
a.
b.
c.
d.
In preconvention morality, the person
Obeys out of a sense of social duty
Conforms to gain social approval
Obeys to avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards
Follows the dictates of his or her conscience
11. A person’s general ability to think abstractly is ____ intelligence; this ability generally
____ with age.
a. Fluid; increases
b. Fluid; decreases
c. Crystallized; increases
d. Crystallized; decreases
12. An older person who can look back on life with satisfaction and reminisce with a sense of
completion has attained Erikson’s stage of
a. Generativity
b. Intimacy
c. Isolation
d. Integrity
13. According to Piaget, the ability to reason through abstract propositions is indicative of
the stage of
a. Preoperational thought
b. Concrete operations
c. Formal operations
d. Fluid intelligence
14.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Longitudinal research
Compares people of different ages
Studies the same people at different times in the lifespan
Usually involves a larger sample than cross-sectional research
Usually involves a smaller sample than cross-sectional research
15. Insecurely attached infants who are left by their mothers in an unfamiliar setting often
will
a. Be unable to be soothed or calmed
b. Explore their new surroundings confidently
c. Be indifferent toward their mothers upon return
d. Display little emotion at any time
16. The term critical period refers to
a.
b.
c.
d.
Prenatal development
The initial 2 Horus after a child’s birth
The preoperational stage
A restricted time for learning
17.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Of the following, parents are most likely to influence their children’s
Temperament
Personality
Faith or religious belief
Emotional reactivity
18. ___ proposed that humans have a language acquisition device which biologically
predisposes us to learn complex language.
a. Whorf
b. Lambert
c. Chomsky
d. Skinner
19. Whose stage theory of moral development was based on how people reasoned about
ethical dilemmas?
a. Erik Erikson
b. Jean Piaget
c. Harry Harlow
d. Lawrence Kohlberg
20. The social clock refers to
a. An individual or society’s distribution of work and leisure time
b. Adulthood responsibilities
c. Typical ages for starting a career, marrying, and so on
d. Age-related changes in one’s circle of friends
21. To which of Kohlberg’s levels would moral reasoning be based on the existence of
fundamental human rights pertain?
a. Pre-conventional morality
b. Conventional morality
c. Post-conventional morality
d. Generative morality
22. Teratogens are
a. Physical abnormalities in the developing fetus
b. Cognitive abnormalities in the developing fetus
c. Chemicals and viruses that cross the placenta
d. Fertilized eggs
23. Underlying Alzheimer’s disease is deterioration in neurons that produce
a. Epinephrine
b. Norepinephrine
c. Serotonin
d. Acetylcholine
24. In one movie, a young girl finds that a flock of geese follows her wherever she goes
because she was the first “object” they saw after they were born. This is an example of
a. Conservation
b. Imprinting
c. Egocentrism
d. Basic trust
25. As a child watches, a liquid is transferred from a tall, thin tube to a short, wide jar. The
child is asked if there is now less liquid in order to determine if she has mastered
a. The schema for liquids
b. The concept of object permanence
c. The concept of conservation
d. The ability to reason abstractly
26. When a baby is started they may exhibit the _____.
a. Moro reflex
b. Grasping reflex
c. Rooting reflex
d. Babinski reflex
27. Harlow’s finding that baby monkeys prefer a terrycloth surrogate mother to a wire
mother demonstrates the importance of
a. imprinting on critical periods
b. contact comfort
c. acceptance
d. good nutrition
28. A child and her father are walking. The child knows there are such things as birds but
has never seen a bluebird before. Upon seeing one, she says “See the birdie,” and her
father replies, “Yes, that’s a bluebird.” This example demonstrates
a. assimilation
b. accommodation
c. conservation
d. object permanence
29. The smallest distinctive sound unit of language, such as various vowel and consonant
sounds, are known as
a. semantics
b. prototypes
c. phonemes
d. chunks
30. The Hopi Native American tribe has no past tense verbs and is argued to understand the
concept of time differently. The argument that language influences the way people think
was part of
a. Whorf’s linguistic determinism theory
b. Bandura’s social learning theory
c. Lambert’s bilingual advantage theory
d. Chomsky’s universal grammar theory