DEP 2004 DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
210 Original Questions & Answers
1. Developmental Psychology Foundations
1. What is developmental psychology?
Answer: The scientific study of how people change and remain stable across the lifespan.
2. What is development?
Answer: A systematic pattern of change and stability in physical, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning.
3. What does lifespan development examine?
Answer: Development from conception through old age and death.
4. What is a sensitive period?
Answer: A time when a particular type of development is especially likely to occur or occurs most easily.
5. Give one example of a sensitive period.
Answer: Early childhood is a sensitive period for aspects of language learning.
6. What is a cohort?
Answer: A group of people born around the same time who may share historical experiences.
7. Why can cohort effects matter in developmental research?
Answer: Differences between age groups may reflect historical or generational experiences rather than age
itself.
8. What is maturation?
Answer: Developmental change that unfolds largely because of biological growth and genetic programming.
9. What is learning in developmental psychology?
Answer: A relatively lasting change in behavior or knowledge resulting from experience.
10. What is nature?
Answer: The influence of biological and genetic factors on development.
11. What is nurture?
Answer: The influence of environment, experience, education, and culture on development.
12. What does the nature–nurture question ask?
Answer: How biological factors and environmental experiences interact to shape development.
13. What is continuity in development?
DEP 2004 Developmental Psychology • Original Practice Set • Page 1
, Answer: The view that development occurs gradually and quantitatively.
14. What is discontinuity in development?
Answer: The view that development occurs in distinct stages or qualitative shifts.
15. What is a developmental stage?
Answer: A period characterized by a relatively consistent pattern of abilities or behavior.
16. Why are developmental milestones useful?
Answer: They provide general expectations for when common abilities tend to emerge.
17. What is individual variation?
The fact that people develop at different rates and in different ways.
18. Why should developmental milestones not be treated as exact deadlines?
Answer: Normal development has substantial individual and cultural variation.
19. What is plasticity?
Answer: The capacity for development to change in response to experience or environmental conditions.
20. What is resilience?
Answer: The ability to adapt successfully despite significant challenges or adversity.
2. Developmental Research Designs
21. What is longitudinal research?
Answer: Research that collects data repeatedly from the same individuals over time.
22. What is cross-sectional research?
Answer: Research that compares different age groups at one point in time.
23. What is cross-sequential research?
Answer: A design that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches by studying several age
groups over time.
24. What is one major strength of longitudinal research?
Answer: It can show how the same individuals change over time.
25. What is one limitation of longitudinal research?
Answer: It can be expensive, time-consuming, and affected by participant dropout.
26. What is attrition?
Answer: Loss of participants from a study over time.
27. Why can attrition be a problem?
Answer: People who remain may differ systematically from those who drop out.
28. What is a major strength of cross-sectional research?
Answer: It is relatively quick and efficient for comparing age groups.
29. What is a limitation of cross-sectional research?
Answer: Age differences can be confounded with cohort differences.
Answer:
DEP 2004 Developmental Psychology • Original Practice Set • Page 2
210 Original Questions & Answers
1. Developmental Psychology Foundations
1. What is developmental psychology?
Answer: The scientific study of how people change and remain stable across the lifespan.
2. What is development?
Answer: A systematic pattern of change and stability in physical, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning.
3. What does lifespan development examine?
Answer: Development from conception through old age and death.
4. What is a sensitive period?
Answer: A time when a particular type of development is especially likely to occur or occurs most easily.
5. Give one example of a sensitive period.
Answer: Early childhood is a sensitive period for aspects of language learning.
6. What is a cohort?
Answer: A group of people born around the same time who may share historical experiences.
7. Why can cohort effects matter in developmental research?
Answer: Differences between age groups may reflect historical or generational experiences rather than age
itself.
8. What is maturation?
Answer: Developmental change that unfolds largely because of biological growth and genetic programming.
9. What is learning in developmental psychology?
Answer: A relatively lasting change in behavior or knowledge resulting from experience.
10. What is nature?
Answer: The influence of biological and genetic factors on development.
11. What is nurture?
Answer: The influence of environment, experience, education, and culture on development.
12. What does the nature–nurture question ask?
Answer: How biological factors and environmental experiences interact to shape development.
13. What is continuity in development?
DEP 2004 Developmental Psychology • Original Practice Set • Page 1
, Answer: The view that development occurs gradually and quantitatively.
14. What is discontinuity in development?
Answer: The view that development occurs in distinct stages or qualitative shifts.
15. What is a developmental stage?
Answer: A period characterized by a relatively consistent pattern of abilities or behavior.
16. Why are developmental milestones useful?
Answer: They provide general expectations for when common abilities tend to emerge.
17. What is individual variation?
The fact that people develop at different rates and in different ways.
18. Why should developmental milestones not be treated as exact deadlines?
Answer: Normal development has substantial individual and cultural variation.
19. What is plasticity?
Answer: The capacity for development to change in response to experience or environmental conditions.
20. What is resilience?
Answer: The ability to adapt successfully despite significant challenges or adversity.
2. Developmental Research Designs
21. What is longitudinal research?
Answer: Research that collects data repeatedly from the same individuals over time.
22. What is cross-sectional research?
Answer: Research that compares different age groups at one point in time.
23. What is cross-sequential research?
Answer: A design that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches by studying several age
groups over time.
24. What is one major strength of longitudinal research?
Answer: It can show how the same individuals change over time.
25. What is one limitation of longitudinal research?
Answer: It can be expensive, time-consuming, and affected by participant dropout.
26. What is attrition?
Answer: Loss of participants from a study over time.
27. Why can attrition be a problem?
Answer: People who remain may differ systematically from those who drop out.
28. What is a major strength of cross-sectional research?
Answer: It is relatively quick and efficient for comparing age groups.
29. What is a limitation of cross-sectional research?
Answer: Age differences can be confounded with cohort differences.
Answer:
DEP 2004 Developmental Psychology • Original Practice Set • Page 2
