AP Psychology Unit 6 Test – Developmental Psychology
Multiple Choice – Choose the answer that best completes each statement/question. Be sure to record all answers on a
separate sheet of paper.
1. A one celled organism formed by the union of the sperm and the egg is known as
A. zygote.
C. embryo.
B. germinal.
D. fetus.
2. The correct sequence of stages of prenatal development are
A. germinal, fetal, embryonic
C. germinal, embryonic, fetal
B. embryonic, fetal, germinal
D. fetal, germinal, embryonic
3. The prenatal period refers to
A. the period from conception to implantation.
B. the nine months before birth.
C. the period of time immediately after birth.
D. the time period before conception takes
place.
4. Omar’s wife conceived a baby 7 days ago, and does not yet know she is pregnant. His wife’s
pregnancy is currently in the
A. germinal stage.
C. fetal stage.
B. embryonic stage.
D. placental stage.
5. During which stage of development do the heart, spine, and brain emerge?
A. post-natal
C. fetal
B. placental
D. embryonic
6. Chelsea is pregnant and she is concerned about taking an over-the-counter medication for her
allergies. She should be MOST concerned if her pregnancy is currently at the
A. placental stage.
C. fetal stage.
B. germinal stage.
D. embryonic stage.
7. Avery is excited by the fact that she has begun to feel her baby kicking and moving in her uterus. If
Avery can feel her baby moving, her pregnancy must be in the
A. embryonic stage.
C. fetal stage.
B. germinal stage.
D. neonatal stage.
8. The age of viability, referring to the age at which the fetus_____, is reached _____.
A. can first respond to stimulation; at about 9 weeks
B. can survive if born prematurely; between 23 and 26 weeks
C. first has a heartbeat; at about 16 weeks
D. experiences no further cell division in the brain; between 36 and 38 weeks.
9. The structure that allows both oxygen and nutrients to pass into the fetus from the mother’s
bloodstream and bodily wastes to pass out to the mother’s bloodstream is the
A. uterine wall.
C. placenta.
B. zygote.
D. proximodistal organ.
10. Substances such as viruses and drugs that can harm the developing fetus are known as
A. opiates.
C. pathogens.
B. teratogens.
D. prenatals.
11. A diet rich in _____ can reduce the risk of many birth defects.
A. vitamin A
C. omega 3 fatty acids
B. folic acid
D. teratogens
12. In learning to crawl, children initially depend on their arms to propel them and later shift to using
their legs. This motor development sequence is an example of
A. the cephalocaudal trend.
C. the cephalopedal trend.
B. the proximodistal trend.
D. encephalitis.
13. According to the basic progression of motor maturation, which of the following body structures
should take the longest to come under effective control?
A. torso
C. arms
B. shoulders
D. fingers
14. When subjects of differing ages are compared at a single point in time, the study is called a
A. cross-sectional
C. cross-cultural study.
B. longitudinal study.
D. sequential study.
15. Which of the following is NOT one of the three basic styles of temperament described by Thomas
and Chess?
A. slow-to-warm-up
C. easy
B. anxious
D. difficult
16. You are in a discussion on attachment behavior and your friend says that she believes that infants
are biologically programmed to emit behavior that triggers a protective response from adult females.
Which theorist is MOST likely to agree with her views?
A. Harry Harlow
C. John Bowlby
B. Mary Ainsworth
D. Jay Belsky
17. Ainsworth’s strategy for studying infant attachment to caregivers is known as the _____
procedure.
A. secure-avoidant
C. attachment probing
B. shared inhibition
D. strange situation
18. Harlow’s research with monkeys raised with two types of artificial mothers found that when
frightened, infant monkeys went to the artificial mother that
A. provided food.
C. was made of cloth.
B. did not provide food.
D. was made of wire.
19. Jerry is 8 months old. Based on Erikson’s theory of personality development, the fundamental
question that Jerry is dealing with at this point in his life is
A. “Is my world predictable and supportive?”
B. “Can I do things myself, or must I always rely on others?”
C. “Am I good or am I bad?”
D. “Am I competent or am I worthless?”
20. For Erikson, the stage during which toilet training occurs is
A. trust v. mistrust.
C. autonomy v. shame and doubt
B. industry v. inferiority.
D. initiative v. guilt
21. The challenge of learning to function in society and beyond the family marks Erikson’s childhood
stage of
A. initiative v. guilt.
C. autonomy v. shame and doubt.
B. trust v. mistrust.
D. industry v. inferiority.
22. For children in which Piagetian stage might we be correct with the old expression “Out of sight is
out of mind”?
A. concrete operational
C. sensorimotor
B. preoperational
D. formal operations
23. The idea that even if an object changes shape or appearance the underlying quantity of the object
remains the same is Piaget’s principle of
A. object permanence.
C. irreversibility.
B. conservation.
D. assimilation.
24. You ask a three-year-old why the sky is blue; she says it is because blue is her favorite color. This
answer reflects the _____ thinking that is typical of preschoolers.
A. irreversible
C. egocentric
B. animistic
D. operational
25. According to Piaget, during the formal operational period of cognitive development, children begin
to
A. acquire the concept of conservation.
B. understand the nature of hierarchical classification.
C. think primarily in terms of concrete objects or situations.
D. think in terms of abstract principles and hypothetical possibilities.
26. Unlike Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, Vygotsky emphasizes that
A. cognitive development is a universal process that unfolds in largely the same way for most
individuals.
B. social interactions and culture strongly influence the cognitive development of a child.
C. language does not play a crucial role in cognitive development.
D. a child’s active exploration of the world strongly influences cognitive development.
27. If Lawrence Kohlberg were to present you with a moral dilemma, in which of the following would
he be MOST interested?
A. your judgment of right or wrong in this situation.
B. what you would do in this situation.
C. whether your intended behavior in this situation is consistent with your moral judgment about it.
D. your reasons for whatever moral judgment you had about the situation.
28. Suggesting that a poor man who stole food to feed his family was right, because human life takes
precedence over rules, is an example of
A. postconventional moral reasoning.
C. concrete operational thought.
B. preconventional moral reasoning.
D. conventional moral reasoning.
29. Females developing wider hips and males developing facial hair are examples of
A. primary sexual characteristics.
C. tertiary sexual characteristics.
B. secondary sexual characteristics.
D. peripheral sexual characteristics.
30. Which of the following has been proposed as a reason puberty is occurring earlier than in
previous generations?
A. advances in education
C. increased parental sensitivity
B. improvements in nutrition
D. excelerated moral development
31. The last area of the brain to fully mature in late adolescence or early adulthood is the
A. hypothalamus.
C. occipital cortex.
B. prefrontal cortex.
D. medulla.
32. Arnett (2006) has proposed a new developmental stage for the years between age 18 and 25 he
calls
A. extended adolescence.
C. adolescent moratorium.
B. emerging adulthood.
D. adult delay.
33. Forty-seven-year-old Jennifer has recently started tutoring students at the elementary school her
own children attended many years ago. She enjoys being around the children and feels a great deal
of satisfication from her tutoring. Jennifer appears to be successfully resolving the crisis of
A. integrity v. despair.
C. intimacy v. isolation.
B. industry v. inferiority.
D. generativity v. self-absorption.
34. In recent decades, the age at which individuals marry for the first time has
A. increased for men and remained stable for women.
B. increased for women and remained stable for men.
C. decreased for both men and women.
D. increased for both men and women.
35. Which of the following statements is most accurate
A. Menopause for most women typically occurs around age 40.
B. Middle-aged males experience hormonal changes that are equivalent to the female menopause.
C. Menopause is almost universally accompanied by severe emotional strain.
D. Most women experience relatively modest psychological distress during menopause.
36. In the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, the neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are
largely centered in the
A. left hemisphere of the cortex.
C. hippocampal region.
B. the brain stem.
D. the thalamus and hypothalamus.
37. Which type of intelligence involves basic reasoning ability, memory capacity, and speed of
information processing?
A. fluid
C. episodic
B. crystallized
D. procedural
38. Which type of intelligence involves the ability to apply acquired knowledge and skills in problem
solving?
A. fluid
C. episodic
B. crystallized
D. procedural
39. Bernard is now 80 years old. When he was 20 years old he took part in a detailed study that
assessed various aspects of his intellectual functioning. If Bernard were to complete the same tests
today, he most MOST likely discover that
A. his fluid intelligence has declined over time, but his crystallized intelligence has remained stable.
B. both his fluid and crystallized intelligence have declined over time.
C. his crystallized intelligence has declined over time, but his fluid intelligence has remained stable.
D. his fluid intelligence has remained stable over time, and his crystallized intelligence has increased.
40. Which of the following statements is false?
A. females tend to score higher on measures of visual-spatial abilities than males
B. females tend to be more sensitive to nonverbal communications than males
C. females tend to exhibit slightly better verbal skills than males
D. males tend to exhibit slightly better mathematical abilities than females
41. Expectations about what is appropriate behavior for each sex MOST accurately describes
A. gender roles.
C. gender behaviors.
B. gender stereotypes.
D. gender differences.
42. An individual’s unique constellation of consistent behavioral traits is known as
A. collectivism.
C. personality.
B. individualism.
D. an archetype.
43. According to the five-factor model of personality, people who score high in _____ are
characterized as anxious, hostile, self-conscious, insecure and vunerable.
A. neuroticism
C. conscientiousness
B. extraversion
D. openness to experience
44. According to the five-factor model of personality, people who score high in _____ tend to be
sympathetic, trusting, cooperative, and modest.
A. neuroticism
C. conscientiousness
B. extraversion
D. agreeableness
45. Psychodynamic personality theories focus on
A. an individual’s freedom and potential for
growth.
B. genetic factors.
C. unconscious mental forces.
D. learning.
46. The id is
A. a developmental period that leaves its mark on adult personality.
B. the moral component of personality.
C. the decision-making component of personality.
D. the primitive, instinctive component of personality.
47. The component of personality that operates according to the reality principle is the
A. conscious.
C. ego.
B. superego.
D. id.
48. The superego is Freud’s term for
A. the moral component of personality.
B. the biological impulses that drive our behavior.
C. the mediating agent between the other two components of personality.
D. the unconscious aspect of personality.
49. The thoughts, memories, and desires you have that you do not realize you have are in your
_____ awareness.
A. superego
C. unconscious
B. preconscious
D. conscious
50. Freud’s contemporaries were uncomfortable with his theory for all of the following reasons,
EXCEPT his argument that
A. people’s behavior is governed by unconscious factors of which they are unaware.
B. individuals are masters of their own minds.
C. adult personalities are shaped by childhood experiences and other factors beyond their control.
D. he emphasized how people cope with their sexual urges.
51. Finding ways to meet instinctual needs and still take into account the conditions of the external,
social world defines the _____, the basic operating theme of the ______.
A. reality principle; id
C. pleasure principle; id
B. reality principle; ego
D. pleasure principle; ego
52. According to Freud, unresolved unconscious conflicts often produce
A. pleasure.
C. archetypes.
B. fixation.
D. anxiety.
53. The largely unconscious reactions used to protect a person from unpleasant emotions such as
anxiety and guilt are
A. coping mechanisms.
C. offense mechanisms.
B. defense mechanisms.
D. id mechanisms.
54. Under stress, a college student cries and throws things. The behavior of the student is an
example of
A. regression.
C. displacement.
B. reaction formation.
D. immaturity.
55. Vanessa bites her nails so badly that they bleed, but she can’t seem to stop herself from doing
this. According to Freud, Vanessa’s nail biting may be evidence of fixation at the
A. oral stage of development.
C. anal stage of development.
B. phallic stage of development.
D. latency stage of development.
56. The idea that a male child desires his mother and fears his father illustrates the
A. genital complex.
C. Oedipal complex.
B. latency complex.
D. Electra complex.
57. The crucial developmental task associated with the anal stage is
A. the Oedipal complex.
C. weaning from the breast or bottle.
B. gaining superiority.
D. toilet training.
58. The theorist who advanced the concept that the unconscious has two layers, the personal
unconscious and the collective unconscious, was
A. Sigmund Freud.
C. Alfred Adler.
B. Carl Jung.
D. Erik Erikson.
59. The sickly child who goes on to become a forceful, physically active adult is engaging in what
Adler called
A. compensation.
C. fixation.
B. displacement.
D. regression.
60. Your psychology professor argues that personality is a collection of response tendencies that are
tied to various stimulus situations. What theory of personality is she presenting?
A. rational-emotive
C. humanism
B. behaviorism
D. invasive
61. Humanistic personality theories focus on
A. an individual’s freedom and potential for
growth.
B. genetic factors.
C. unconscious mental forces.
D. learning.
62. The self or self-concept is the central focus of
A. Roger’s person-centered theory.
B. Maslow’s theory of self-actualization.
C. Adler’s individual psychology.
D. Bandura’s social cognitive theory.
63. According to Carl Rogers, parents who give their children affection both when the children meet,
and also when they fail to meet expectations, provide their children with
A. conditional love or affection.
C. continual love or affection.
B. unconditional love or affection.
D. generalized love or affection.
64. According to Hans Eysenck, personality is largely
A. inherited.
C. shaped by sexual conflicts.
B. a function of unconscious forces.
D. determined by external forces.
65. Chris has a greatly inflated sense of self-worth, a sense of entitlement, and a constant need for
attention. It is most likely that Chris has
A. dependent personality disorder.
C. narcissistic personality disorder.
B. egocentric personality disorder.
D. fixated personality disorder.
66. A personality measure that asks you to respond freely to an ambiguous stimulus such as a picture
or an inkblot is called a
A. self-report personality inventory.
C. behavior rating.
B. projective test.
D. deceptive test.
67. Daryl is taking a personality test in which he is shown a series of simple scenes. He is supposed
to tell a story about what is happening in each scene and suggest what the characters are feeling.
The test that Daryl is taking is the
A. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).
C. Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire.
B. Rorschach Test.
D. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.