ABSC 160 Final Exam-Questions with Correct Answers/
Expert Verified
Quantitative vs qualitative changes - ✔✔- Quantitative changes: changes in the amount or
quantity of what you are measuring
- Qualitative changes: changes in the overall nature of what you are examining
- Concepts of multifinality and equifinality - ✔✔- Equifinality: different pathways can result
in the same outcome
o Example: depression may result from biological and genetic changes but it can also result
from early traumatic experiences
- Multifinality: the same pathway can lead to different outcomes
o Example: children who are victims of abuse may have different long term outcomes that
can include depression but also resiliency and healing
equifinality - ✔✔- Equifinality: different pathways can result in the same outcome
o Example: depression may result from biological and genetic changes but it can also result
from early traumatic experiences
multifinality - ✔✔- Multifinality: the same pathway can lead to different outcomes
Example: children who are victims of abuse may have different long term outcomes that can
include depression but also resiliency and healing
skepticisim - ✔✔judging a validity of a claim based on objective empirical evidence
pseudoscience - ✔✔collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on
the scientific method
the activities of a good consumer of developmental information - ✔✔o Know the source of
your info
o Examine evidence-question authority
o Become a critical thinker
,o Beware of making generalizations
o Be aware of perceptual bias
o Question 'common sense'
theory - ✔✔theory describes factors responsible for scientific observations-not all theories
are created equal experiment-functional relation-discover scientific fact-many researchers
discover this-theory
describe the criteria for judging developmental theories - ✔✔o A theory is better if it
demonstrates: accuracy, clarity, predictability, practicality, internal consistency, parsimony,
testability, productivity, self-satisfying
accuracy - ✔✔does the theory describe actual events
clarity - ✔✔does the theory provide a clear explanation such as that a competent person
would understand it
predictibility: - ✔✔does the theory accurately predict future events
· How specific are the predictions
· More specific the better
practicality - ✔✔does the theory provide useful information
· How applicable is the theory to everyday life
· Potential solutions the theory may offer to social problems
Internal consistency - ✔✔§ does the theory use the same principles to explain multiple
situations
· Does the theory build on itself rather than create new explanations
o Uses a few principles for multiple events
o Simplest theory is usually the better one
, Parsimony - ✔✔does the theory use the simplest explanation possible
· What does the theory assume that hasn't been proven
Testability - ✔✔can you demonstrate that the theory does or does not work
· Has to be measurable in one way or another
· What makes it so the theory can or cant be tested
· Has to be able to be disproven
Productivity - ✔✔does the theory result in additional questions about the explanations
· Do the answers to new questions support the theory
§ Self-satisfying: does the theory make sense: is it just jibberish, how does the theory fit
with what you know from experience
learning theory/behaviorism - ✔✔o Behaviorism: focuses on environmental control of
observable behavior
o Involves classical conditioning with positive and negative reinforcement
ecological theory: - ✔✔- Think of the various systems in the ecological systems model as a
set of nested environments but with interaction sboth within a level and across level all of
these interconnected systems change as a function of time
o Defined development at the interaction between the developing organism and the
enduring environments or contexts in which it lives out its life
o All aspects of environment effects the individual and the individual affects all aspects of
environment
o Proposed individuals grow and develop within a nested set of influences that he divided
into 5 systems: microsystem, mesosystem. Expsystem, macrosystem and chronosystem
systems in ecological theory - ✔✔§ Microsystem: fact to face interactions in a persons
immediate settings
§ Mesosystem: two settings that contain the child
§ Exosystem: setting sthe child never enters but still affect the child
Expert Verified
Quantitative vs qualitative changes - ✔✔- Quantitative changes: changes in the amount or
quantity of what you are measuring
- Qualitative changes: changes in the overall nature of what you are examining
- Concepts of multifinality and equifinality - ✔✔- Equifinality: different pathways can result
in the same outcome
o Example: depression may result from biological and genetic changes but it can also result
from early traumatic experiences
- Multifinality: the same pathway can lead to different outcomes
o Example: children who are victims of abuse may have different long term outcomes that
can include depression but also resiliency and healing
equifinality - ✔✔- Equifinality: different pathways can result in the same outcome
o Example: depression may result from biological and genetic changes but it can also result
from early traumatic experiences
multifinality - ✔✔- Multifinality: the same pathway can lead to different outcomes
Example: children who are victims of abuse may have different long term outcomes that can
include depression but also resiliency and healing
skepticisim - ✔✔judging a validity of a claim based on objective empirical evidence
pseudoscience - ✔✔collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on
the scientific method
the activities of a good consumer of developmental information - ✔✔o Know the source of
your info
o Examine evidence-question authority
o Become a critical thinker
,o Beware of making generalizations
o Be aware of perceptual bias
o Question 'common sense'
theory - ✔✔theory describes factors responsible for scientific observations-not all theories
are created equal experiment-functional relation-discover scientific fact-many researchers
discover this-theory
describe the criteria for judging developmental theories - ✔✔o A theory is better if it
demonstrates: accuracy, clarity, predictability, practicality, internal consistency, parsimony,
testability, productivity, self-satisfying
accuracy - ✔✔does the theory describe actual events
clarity - ✔✔does the theory provide a clear explanation such as that a competent person
would understand it
predictibility: - ✔✔does the theory accurately predict future events
· How specific are the predictions
· More specific the better
practicality - ✔✔does the theory provide useful information
· How applicable is the theory to everyday life
· Potential solutions the theory may offer to social problems
Internal consistency - ✔✔§ does the theory use the same principles to explain multiple
situations
· Does the theory build on itself rather than create new explanations
o Uses a few principles for multiple events
o Simplest theory is usually the better one
, Parsimony - ✔✔does the theory use the simplest explanation possible
· What does the theory assume that hasn't been proven
Testability - ✔✔can you demonstrate that the theory does or does not work
· Has to be measurable in one way or another
· What makes it so the theory can or cant be tested
· Has to be able to be disproven
Productivity - ✔✔does the theory result in additional questions about the explanations
· Do the answers to new questions support the theory
§ Self-satisfying: does the theory make sense: is it just jibberish, how does the theory fit
with what you know from experience
learning theory/behaviorism - ✔✔o Behaviorism: focuses on environmental control of
observable behavior
o Involves classical conditioning with positive and negative reinforcement
ecological theory: - ✔✔- Think of the various systems in the ecological systems model as a
set of nested environments but with interaction sboth within a level and across level all of
these interconnected systems change as a function of time
o Defined development at the interaction between the developing organism and the
enduring environments or contexts in which it lives out its life
o All aspects of environment effects the individual and the individual affects all aspects of
environment
o Proposed individuals grow and develop within a nested set of influences that he divided
into 5 systems: microsystem, mesosystem. Expsystem, macrosystem and chronosystem
systems in ecological theory - ✔✔§ Microsystem: fact to face interactions in a persons
immediate settings
§ Mesosystem: two settings that contain the child
§ Exosystem: setting sthe child never enters but still affect the child
