Unit Three - Developmental Psychology - Test Review
Milestones in Development
Be able to explain the following reflexes, what are they and why are they important?
 Grasping reflex
 Rooting reflex
 Sucking and swallowing reflex
 Moro, or startle reflex
What are 3 of the key milestones in infant/childhood development and at what age to they occur?
Language Development
Be able to explain the following terms and how they relate to language and development of language.
 Phonemes
 Morphemes
 Grammar
 Whole Object Constraint
 Pragmatics
List and describe the 5 Stages of Language Acquisition.
Be familiar with the theories of Universal Grammar and the Critical Period Hypothesis and what they
believe about how language is acquired.
Who is Genie and what did she teach us about development?
Cognitive Development
What are assimilation, accommodation and schemas and how do they contribute to cognitive
development? Explain using an example.
List and describe the 4 developmental markers we discussed in class and how they are used to measure
a child’s cognitive development.
Explain the following about Jean Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
 Name of stage
 Age of child
 Characteristics of the stage
Attatchment and Parenting Styles
Mary Ainsworth is most famous for her study of attachment styles in young children and infants.
a) Explain her famous Strange Situation experiment.
b) Compare and contrast the child’s reaction to the Strange Situation for each of the three major
attachment styles Ainsworth identified.
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Unit Three - Developmental Psychology - Test Review
What effect do different parenting styles have on a child’s development? Which parenting styles are
more beneficial for the child long-term?
Social Development
For each of Freud’s 5 psychosexual stages of development provide the following information:
 Brief description of the stage
 Erogenous zone
 Primary conflict
Give an example of what can happen if someone becomes fixated at one of Freud’s stages.
For each of Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development provide the following information:
 Age of child
 Crisis
 Brief description of the stage
Compare and contrast Freud and Erikson’s theories. List a minimum of 3 similarities and 3 differences.
Moral Development
What is moral reasoning?
How do moral dilemmas help people of all ages develop their moral reasoning?
Fill in the blanks to label each level and stage of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development.
Level 1: ______________________________________
Stage 1: ________________________________________
Stage 2: ________________________________________
Level 2: ______________________________________
Stage 3: ________________________________________
Stage 4: ________________________________________
Level 3: ______________________________________
Stage 5: ________________________________________
Stage 6: ________________________________________
At what stage do the majority of people end up? Why might people not reach the last 2 stages?
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Unit Three - Developmental Psychology - Test Review
Adolescence
List 5 developmental challenges or milestones that teens must accomplish during adolescence?
How does gray matter volume in the brain change during adolescence and why do these changes occur?
Describe how puberty and the rate of physical development affect both males and females.
List and describe David Elkind’s 6 “Problems” with adolescents.
In regards to Marcia’s Identity Development:
a) Explain what Marcia means by crisis and commitment
b) Define each of Marcia’s identity “statuses”
c) Create a table to support your definitions
Explain the difference between gender roles and gender expression. How have these changed in the
past 50 years for both men and women?
What are 2 factors may that contribute to increased risk-taking behaviours in teens?
Adulthood
Which of Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development do adults go through and what are some
examples of lifestyle choices that can be affected by these conflicts.
Explain and give an example of what is meant by the term social clock.
What is the “age 30 crisis” and how does it impact adult male development and behaviour?
What is “empty nest syndrome” and how does it impact adult female development and behaviour?
Give 4 examples of physical and/or cognitive changes experienced in adulthood.
Old Age
How do life changes or transitions differ between younger life and late adulthood?
What is meant by a decremental model of aging and how does it contribute to ageism and prejudice?
What are the 5 stages of grief and how did Elizabeth Kubler-Ross develop her theory.
Personality theories:
List 3 different methods of testing or evaluating personality.
How did Freud explain personality using the id, ego & superego?
What happens when the demands of the id and the ego cannot be resolved?
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Unit Three - Developmental Psychology - Test Review
Be able to explain the following terms developed by Freud:
 Rationalization
 Repression
 Denial
 Projection
 Regression
Theories of personality – be able to provide the following information for each theory discussed in class:
 Major psychologist involved
 How they explain personality
Personality traits:
What is a personality trait?
What 2 things do most trait theories agree upon?
What are the “Robust 5”? Give an explanation of each.
According to Cattell’s 16 Trait Theory what are surface traits, source traits, and cardinal traits?
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