Development review questions
Questions
Directions: For each question, choose the letter of the choice that best completes the
statement or answers the question.
1. What is the response pattern of securely attached children in the Strange Situation
when their mothers return?
A. They tend to ignore their mothers because they are secure about her care.
B. Sometimes they run over to their mothers and sometimes they do not;
there's no consistent pattern in their responses.
C. They tend to run over to their mothers and beg them not to leave again.
D. They tend to go to their mothers for comfort.
E. They hit their mothers.
2. In the nature versus nurture controversy, "nature" refers to
A. heredity
B. plants and animals
C. all living things we interact with
D. constituents of the problem
E. the environment
3. Researchers were interested in studying the effects of divorce on children. Their
study included 250 4-year-olds. Interviews and family observations were
conducted 6 months, 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years after the initial interviews and
observations. Which method did the researcher use?
A. cohort sequential
B. cross sectional
C. longitudinal
D. experimental
E. quasi-experimental
4. Object permanence is
A. the belief that all objects have life just like humans do
B. the idea that gender does not change by putting on the clothes of the
opposite sex
C. the understanding that a tall beaker and a short beaker can hold the same
amount of water
D. a belief that all objects in the world, including mountains and streams, are
made by people
E. the understanding that things continue to exist even when they are out of
sight
5. The rooting reflex is a neonate's tendency to
A. open its mouth and turn its head when touched on the cheek
B. throw out its arms and legs and quickly retract them when startled
C. explore the world through sucking objects
D. look longer at round shapes that look like faces than square shapes that do
not
E. grasp nearby objects
6. Dorothy just celebrated her 90th birthday with her close friends, and is excited
about a visit from her grandchildren. According to Erikson, she has probably most
recently achieved
A. isolation
B. integrity
C. despair
D. autonomy
E. industry
7. Mr. Hernandez explains to his son that the speed limit is 55 mph. He tells him to
stay under the speed limit when driving because it's the law and will probably
prevent accidents. Kohlberg's level of morality illustrated by this example is
A. preconventional
B. concrete operational
C. conventional
D. egocentric
E. postconventional
8. A critical period is a stage in development when
A. specific stimuli have a major effect on development that they do not
produce at other times
B. children are resistant to any kind of discipline by their parents
C. new learning is prevented by older learning
D. bonding between the child and parent first takes place
E. the child first enters elementary school and needs positive reinforcement
9. Which of the following is a similarity between the cognitive developmental
theory of Piaget and the moral developmental theory of Kohlberg?
A. Both theories stress the importance of changes in thinking in their stages.
B. Both believe personality is formed in the first 5 years.
C. Both theories stress the importance of the third stage in the developmental
process.
D. Both developed a life span theory and had eight stages.
E. Both believe that libido fixated in childhood cannot be changed.
10. Harlow's experiment with rhesus monkeys and surrogate mothers emphasized the
importance of
A. contact comfort
B. feeding
C. aesthetic needs
D. incentive theory
E. gender schema
11. According to Diana Baumrind, which of the following parental styles results in
the most socially competent and responsible adults?
A. authoritarian
B. authoritative
C. uninvolved
D. permissive
E. indulgent
12. The child was born with widely spaced eyes, a thin upper lip, and a short flat
nose. Chances are that he will later suffer from mental retardation. To which
teratogen was this child most likely exposed during the prenatal period?
A. tobacco
B. German measles
C. heroin
D. alcohol
E. cocaine
13. According to social learning theory, gender identity is
I.
a process which occurs when young children unconsciously identify with
the same-sex parent.
II.
a result of being positively reinforced for acting in ways that conform to
male and female roles.
III.
learned through observing and imitating role models like their parents.
D. I only
E.
II only
F.
III only
G. II and III only
H. I, II, and III
14. Which of the following theories best exemplifies continuity?
.
Erikson's psychosocial theory
A. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory
B.
Piaget's cognitive development theory
C.
Kohlberg's theory of moral development
D. Gilligan's theory of moral development
15. According to Kohlberg's theory, postconventional morality requires thinking at
Piaget's
.
sensorimotor level
A. preoperational level
B.
concrete operational level
C.
formal operational level
Review Questions
Directions: For each question, choose the letter of the choice that best completes the
statement or answers the question.
16. Adam loved the girlfriend who dropped him, but acts as if he's glad to be rid of
her. His behavior most clearly illustrates which of the following Freudian defense
mechanisms?
.
repression
A. projection
B.
reaction formation
C.
sublimation
D. regression
17. Which Freudian personality system is guided by the reality principle?
.
id
A. libido
B.
ego
C.
unconscious
D. superego
18. In contrast to the blank slate view of human nature held by the behaviorists,
humanists believe humans are born
.
evil and instinctively selfish
A. good and with an inner drive to reach full potential
B.
neutral and that personality is based on perceptions of reality
C.
neither good nor evil, but personality is a product of their environment
D. weak and needing others to find a meaning and purpose in life
19. Which of the following is a good example of a Jungian archetype?
.
John, whose domineering mother's voice is always in the back of his head
A. Patty, who is haunted by her memories of child abuse
B.
Yan, who always roots for the underdog
C.
Tariq, who consciously strives to be the best tennis player he can be
D. Kendra, whose power motive influences everything she does
20. Which is an example of a projective test, consisting of a set of ambiguous pictures
about which people are asked to tell a story?
.
TAT
A. MMPI-2
B.
16 PF
C.
NEO-PI
D. Rorschach
21. In order to determine a client's personality, Carl Rogers used a Q-sort to measure
the difference between
.
self-esteem and self-efficacy
A. ideal self and real self
B.
locus of control and self-actualization
C.
conditions of worth and locus of control
D. ego strength and need for approval
22. Nomothetic studies CANNOT provide information about
.
unique personality characteristics of an individual
A. common traits that characterize most people
B.
personality dimensions that differentiate normal people from people with
psychological disorders
C.
traits more common in older people compared with children
D. personality characteristics of a typical teenager
23. Bertha is tall, thin, and frail. She enjoys studying and reading science fiction
novels. She prefers to be alone rather than in a large group. According to
Sheldon's somatotype theory of personality, she is
.
an endomorph
A. an ectomorph
B.
a mesomorph
C.
an extrovert
D. an introvert
24. The most commonly used personality assessments are
.
projective tests
A. naturalistic observations
B.
structured interviews
C.
self-report inventories
D. behavior assessments
25. Self-efficacy, according to Bandura, is
.
how you view your worth as a person
A. how you think about your self-image
B.
all you know about your deficiencies and weaknesses as a person
C.
what others have conditioned you to see in yourself
D. how competent you feel to accomplish tasks and goals
26. Mother Theresa's altruism showed in everything she did. According to Allport's
trait theory, Mother Theresa's altruism was
.
a common trait she shared with most other religious people
A. a cardinal trait
B.
one of several central traits that characterized her exceptional life
C.
basically inherited from her father
D. a surface trait that was visible to others
27. Adler would not have agreed with the importance of which of the following
ideas?
.
birth order
A. styles of life
B.
striving for superiority
C.
fictional finalism
D. womb envy
28. Roberto believes that he is the master of his ship and in charge of his destiny.
According to Rotter's theory of personality, Roberto has
.
an external orientation to the world about him
A. an internal locus of control
B.
an extraverted personality
C.
a low sense of self-efficacy
D. a positive self-image, but is not self-actualized
29. Collective-efficacy would probably be more beneficial than self-efficacy for
achieving group goals in
.
Canada
A. England
B.
Puerto Rico
C.
South Korea
D. Monaco
30. A relatively permanent characteristic of personality that can be used to predict
behavior is
.
the id
A. the ego
B.
the superego
C.
D.
E.
a defense mechanism
a trait
universal principle level
Answers and Explanations
1. D—Securely attached kids tend to come to their mother for comfort when their
mothers return. They are not necessarily clingy as letter c suggests.
2. A—Nature refers to our heredity, and nurture refers to environmental factors.
3. C—Longitudinal research. If an experimenter is interested in looking at the longterm effects of divorce on children like Mavis Hetherington did, follow-up visits
and observations would be made periodically. The disadvantage of this research
method is how costly it is to conduct these follow-up visits and how long it takes
to analyze the results to reach conclusions.
4. E—Object permanence occurs as a milestone in the sensorimotor stage when
children can picture objects in their heads. When an experimenter hides a cookie
behind a newspaper and the child uncovers it and says "cookie," the child has
achieved object permanence and is capable of representational thought.
5. A—The rooting reflex can be seen when someone puts a finger on the baby's
cheek and the baby turns its head.
6. B—Dorothy is experiencing the positive side of Erikson's eighth stage of
integrity. People like Dorothy tend to enjoy their golden years and continue to
develop their interests.
7. C—Conventional. Mr. Hernandez's moral reasoning conforms with Kohlberg's
stage 4 "Law and Order" morality, which is a stage of the conventional level.
8. A—Specific stimuli have a major effect on development that they do not produce
at other times. Konrad Lorenz demonstrated the "critical period" for imprinting in
goslings. Newly hatched babies first exposed to Lorenz followed him rather than
their natural mothers if they had not been exposed to her soon after birth. Some
theorists argue that mother–infant bonding and language development may have
critical periods.
9. A—Both Piaget and Kohlberg stressed the importance of changes in thinking in
their developmental stages. For example, both recognized that egocentric young
children see the consequences of their actions from their own perspectives.
10. A—Contact comfort. Harlow's work with rhesus monkeys and surrogate mothers
showed that even when food-deprived and anxious, monkeys preferred the
terrycloth monkey to the wire monkey with food.
11. B—The authoritative style of parenting is seen as the "best" style for nurturing
independent, responsible, and socially competent teens and adults.
12. D—Alcohol. The child's mother likely drank alcohol throughout the pregnancy,
producing the baby born with fetal alcohol syndrome. The effects of alcohol on
prenatal brain development can be devastating.
13. D—Both reinforcement and observing and imitating role models like parents
contribute to the development of gender identity, according to some (behavioral)
social learning theorists.
14. B—Vygotsky's sociocultural theory. Vygotsky advocated continuous cognitive
growth. Vygotsky believed that with a mentor's help, children can progress more
rapidly through the same milestones they would achieve without a mentor's help.
15. D—Formal operational level. Kohlberg modeled his stages of moral development
after Piaget's stages of cognitive development. Those in Piaget's formal
operational stage have developed the ability to think abstractly and, thus, have the
ability to move to the post-conventional moral thinking of Kohlberg's stages 5 and
6.
Answers and Explanations
1. C—Reaction formation is the defense mechanism that involves acting exactly
opposite of what we feel. The boy is actually sad, but acts as if he is glad.
2. C—The ego mediates between the id and the superego, and operates on the reality
principle.
3. B—Humanists believe that humans are born good and that we are all naturally
motivated to seek our full potential, but conditions of worth and our wish for
society's approval sometimes make us select a less productive path.
4. C—Rooting for the underdog is a universal theme in our collective unconscious,
according to Jung. Whether it's David and Goliath or the home team who hasn't
won a game all season, we instinctively align ourselves with the underdog.
5. A—Projective tests are designed to uncover thoughts, conflicts, and feelings in
the unconscious mind. The Thematic Apperception Test, with its ambiguous
pictures to interpret, is a good example of such a test.
6. B—Ideal self and real self. Rogers believed that our ideal self is what we think
society wants us to be and our real self is our natural self, which is good by
nature. He believed that the differences between these two account for problems
that we need to overcome in order to become fully functioning.
7. A—Nomothetic measures tend to look at common traits that characterize most
people. Idiographic measures attempt to look at individuals and their unique
characteristics and underlying traits.
8. B—According to Sheldon, Bertha's profile is that of the ectomorph.
9. D—Self-report inventories used by humanists and cognitive theorists are the most
common personality tests given.
10. E—According to Bandura, self-efficacy deals with our evaluation of our talents
and abilities.
11. B—Altruism is a cardinal trait of Mother Theresa because it seems to encompass
everything that she stood for—selflessness and devotion to others. Allport
believed that most people have clusters of 5 to 7 central traits, but most do not
have a cardinal trait.
12. E—Womb envy is a term coined by Karen Horney in her feminine rebuttal to
Freud's penis envy of females. All the other terms are concepts of Alfred Adler's
ego psychology.
13. B—Roberto has an internal locus of control. Rotter's locus of control theory is
part of his social cognitive theory that our perception of how much we are in
control of our environment influences the choices we make and behaviors we
follow.
14. D—South Korea. Collective efficacy is our perception that, with collaborative
effort, our group will obtain its desired outcome. Some recent research studies
indicate that high collective efficacy seems to be more beneficial in collectivistic
societies such as Asian societies for achievement of group goals.
15. E—A trait is a relatively permanent and stable characteristic which can be used to
predict our behavior.