PSYCHOLOGY 105 - Final Exam Questions with Correct Answers Latest Update 2025/2026
Developmental psychology - Answers The study of how behaviour changes over an individual's
lifespan
Post Hoc Fallacy - Answers (A then B) != (A causes B)
Bidirectional Influences - Answers Development influences experiences, experiences influence
development
Cohort Effect - Answers Differences in groups due to growing up in a different era/time period
The Influence of Early Development - Answers Early input from the world is not more important
than input at any other time
Nature vs Nurture - Answers Out psychosis is affected by both our genes (nature) and our
environment (nurture)
Gene-Environment Interactions - Answers Genes can intensify the behaviour we develop from
our environment
Nature via Nurture - Answers Our genetics drive us to find environments that suit us, giving the
false appearance of a pure environmental effect
Gene expression - Answers Some genes "turn on" only in certain situations
Proliferation - Answers Period between 18 days and 6 months where babies develop neurons at
an incredible rate (up to 250K per minute)
Teratogens - Answers Things that hinder prenatal development (smoking, alcohol, drugs,
chicken pox)
Motor Development - Answers We're born with some motor functions (sucking, rooting), while
others develop over time (rate is affected by culture and physical maturity)
Physical Development - Answers Adolescence: Puberty, sex changes, physical maturity
Adulthood: Physical/cognitive peak in early 20s
Stagelike vs Gradual Development - Answers Stagelike development refers to sudden changes
(stages), gradual development refers to a slow (gradual) growth
Domain General vs Domain Specific - Answers Domain-general suggests that we have a global
knowledge structure, domain-specific suggests that we have specialized knowledge structure
Principal Source of Learning - Answers Emphasis on different learning sources (physical
,experience vs social interaction vs biological maturation)
Who is Jean Piaget? - Answers Swiss psychologist who presented the first complete account of
cognitive development. Stage theorist who believed in domain-general development.
Piaget's Theory - Answers Children assimilate knowledge in a stage, and hit a new stage when
they can't assimilate new information
Piaget's Stages - Answers Sensorimotor: Birth to 2yrs, focus on here and now, lack object
permanence
Preoperational: 2-7yrs, can consiously construct memories, egocentric
Concrete operations: 7-11yrs, can perform mental operations for physical events
Formal operations: 11-adulthood, can understand reasoning beyond the here and now, can
understand logical concepts and abstract questions
Pros and Cons of Piaget's Theories - Answers Pros: showed us that kids aren't just small adults,
learning is not passive
Cons: children's competence was underestimated and methods were culturally biased
Who is Lev Vygotsky? - Answers Psychologist who developed theories on social and cultural
influences on cognitive development
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) - Answers The middle ground between what learners can
and can't do (what they can do with guidance)
Cognitive Changes in Adolescence - Answers Frontal lobes aren't fully matured, feelings of
uniqueness, care-free
Cognitive Changes in Late Adulthood - Answers Ability to recall information and processing
speed decline, memory of pertinent information increases
TL;DR: Slower learner, but wiser
Early Social Development - Answers Infants quickly develop interest in other people, develop
, stranger anxiety at 8-9 months that peaks at 12-15 months
Temperament - Answers Largely genetic predisposition that determines how a child acts
Easy (40%): Regular sleep/eat/bathroom cycles, adapt to change well
Difficult (10%): Irregular sleep/eat/bathroom cycles, doesn't adapt to change well
Slow to adapt (15%): Start somewhere between easy and difficult, but warm up to easy over
time
Attachment - Answers Emotional connection we share with people we feel close to
Contact Comfort - Answers Reassuring physical contact plays a huge role in attachment, not
reassuring nourishment (discovered by Harry Harlow's work with rhesus monkeys)
Attachment styles - Answers How infants react when away from their primary caregivers/how
they attach as adults
Secure (60%): Calm without parents, able to share feelings/seek comfort with/in others
Insecure - Avoidant (15-20%): Self-reliant, end up rejecting children, promote independence
Insecure - Anxious (15-20%): Confuesed, don't know what to expect from parents, vary between
secure and avoidant
Disorganized (5-10%): Won't learn self-soothing methods, has trouble seeking social support,
parents act frightened and are often unpredictable and erratic
Parenting Styles - Answers Permissive: Lenient, affectionate
Authoritarian: Strict, little affection
Authoritative: Supportive, firm
Developmental psychology - Answers The study of how behaviour changes over an individual's
lifespan
Post Hoc Fallacy - Answers (A then B) != (A causes B)
Bidirectional Influences - Answers Development influences experiences, experiences influence
development
Cohort Effect - Answers Differences in groups due to growing up in a different era/time period
The Influence of Early Development - Answers Early input from the world is not more important
than input at any other time
Nature vs Nurture - Answers Out psychosis is affected by both our genes (nature) and our
environment (nurture)
Gene-Environment Interactions - Answers Genes can intensify the behaviour we develop from
our environment
Nature via Nurture - Answers Our genetics drive us to find environments that suit us, giving the
false appearance of a pure environmental effect
Gene expression - Answers Some genes "turn on" only in certain situations
Proliferation - Answers Period between 18 days and 6 months where babies develop neurons at
an incredible rate (up to 250K per minute)
Teratogens - Answers Things that hinder prenatal development (smoking, alcohol, drugs,
chicken pox)
Motor Development - Answers We're born with some motor functions (sucking, rooting), while
others develop over time (rate is affected by culture and physical maturity)
Physical Development - Answers Adolescence: Puberty, sex changes, physical maturity
Adulthood: Physical/cognitive peak in early 20s
Stagelike vs Gradual Development - Answers Stagelike development refers to sudden changes
(stages), gradual development refers to a slow (gradual) growth
Domain General vs Domain Specific - Answers Domain-general suggests that we have a global
knowledge structure, domain-specific suggests that we have specialized knowledge structure
Principal Source of Learning - Answers Emphasis on different learning sources (physical
,experience vs social interaction vs biological maturation)
Who is Jean Piaget? - Answers Swiss psychologist who presented the first complete account of
cognitive development. Stage theorist who believed in domain-general development.
Piaget's Theory - Answers Children assimilate knowledge in a stage, and hit a new stage when
they can't assimilate new information
Piaget's Stages - Answers Sensorimotor: Birth to 2yrs, focus on here and now, lack object
permanence
Preoperational: 2-7yrs, can consiously construct memories, egocentric
Concrete operations: 7-11yrs, can perform mental operations for physical events
Formal operations: 11-adulthood, can understand reasoning beyond the here and now, can
understand logical concepts and abstract questions
Pros and Cons of Piaget's Theories - Answers Pros: showed us that kids aren't just small adults,
learning is not passive
Cons: children's competence was underestimated and methods were culturally biased
Who is Lev Vygotsky? - Answers Psychologist who developed theories on social and cultural
influences on cognitive development
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) - Answers The middle ground between what learners can
and can't do (what they can do with guidance)
Cognitive Changes in Adolescence - Answers Frontal lobes aren't fully matured, feelings of
uniqueness, care-free
Cognitive Changes in Late Adulthood - Answers Ability to recall information and processing
speed decline, memory of pertinent information increases
TL;DR: Slower learner, but wiser
Early Social Development - Answers Infants quickly develop interest in other people, develop
, stranger anxiety at 8-9 months that peaks at 12-15 months
Temperament - Answers Largely genetic predisposition that determines how a child acts
Easy (40%): Regular sleep/eat/bathroom cycles, adapt to change well
Difficult (10%): Irregular sleep/eat/bathroom cycles, doesn't adapt to change well
Slow to adapt (15%): Start somewhere between easy and difficult, but warm up to easy over
time
Attachment - Answers Emotional connection we share with people we feel close to
Contact Comfort - Answers Reassuring physical contact plays a huge role in attachment, not
reassuring nourishment (discovered by Harry Harlow's work with rhesus monkeys)
Attachment styles - Answers How infants react when away from their primary caregivers/how
they attach as adults
Secure (60%): Calm without parents, able to share feelings/seek comfort with/in others
Insecure - Avoidant (15-20%): Self-reliant, end up rejecting children, promote independence
Insecure - Anxious (15-20%): Confuesed, don't know what to expect from parents, vary between
secure and avoidant
Disorganized (5-10%): Won't learn self-soothing methods, has trouble seeking social support,
parents act frightened and are often unpredictable and erratic
Parenting Styles - Answers Permissive: Lenient, affectionate
Authoritarian: Strict, little affection
Authoritative: Supportive, firm
