NR 222 Final Exam Mega Bundle | Comprehensive Developmental
Theories & Nursing Concepts Practice Questions, Step-by-Step
Rationales, Case-Based Learning, and Guaranteed Pass Study Guide
(2026 Updated)
1. A nurse is assessing a 4-year-old child who insists on choosing her own clothes
and dressing herself, even if the clothes do not match. According to Erikson, this
child is in which psychosocial stage?
A. Trust vs. Mistrust
B. Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt
C. Initiative vs. Guilt
D. Industry vs. Inferiority
Rationale: Initiative vs. Guilt (ages 3–6) involves asserting control and making
choices. Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (1–3) focuses on toilet training and basic
independence. Industry (6–12) is about competence.
2. A nurse working in a long-term care facility notices that an 80-year-old resident
frequently talks about her life achievements and regrets. This behavior reflects
which of Erikson’s stages?
A. Generativity vs. Stagnation
B. Ego Integrity vs. Despair
C. Identity vs. Role Confusion
D. Intimacy vs. Isolation
Rationale: Late adulthood (65+) focuses on reflecting on life to achieve integrity
or despair. Generativity (middle adulthood) is about guiding the next generation.
,3. According to Piaget, a 14-month-old infant drops a toy repeatedly and watches
it fall. This behavior demonstrates:
A. Object permanence
B. Secondary circular reactions
C. Concrete operational thought
D. Hypothetical-deductive reasoning
Rationale: Secondary circular reactions (4–8 months) involve repeating actions to
cause an effect. By 14 months, this is actually tertiary circular reactions
(experimentation), but among the choices, secondary is the standard exam
answer for early repetition.
4. A nurse is educating parents of a 6-month-old about developmental
milestones. Which statement by the parents indicates correct understanding?
A. “Our baby should be able to walk alone.”
B. “Stranger anxiety begins around now.”
C. “Our baby can sit with support and roll over.”
D. “The baby can scribble with a crayon.”
Rationale: At 6 months, infants sit with support and roll over. Walking alone
occurs around 12 months; stranger anxiety begins around 7–9 months; scribbling
occurs around 15–18 months.
5. A nurse is applying Kohlberg’s theory to a 10-year-old child who says, “I won’t
steal because I might get punished.” This represents which level?
A. Post-conventional
B. Conventional
,C. Pre-conventional (Stage 1: Punishment/Obedience)
D. Pre-conventional (Stage 2: Instrumental hedonism)
Rationale: Pre-conventional level (typical before age 9–10) bases morality on
consequences. Stage 1 focuses on avoiding punishment. Stage 2 focuses on
seeking rewards.
6. A 35-year-old nurse mentors new graduates and organizes a community
vaccination drive. According to Erikson, this nurse is successfully resolving:
A. Intimacy vs. Isolation
B. Generativity vs. Stagnation
C. Identity vs. Role Confusion
D. Integrity vs. Despair
Rationale: Middle adulthood (30–65) generativity involves guiding the next
generation and contributing to society.
7. A nurse assesses an adolescent who is trying different hairstyles, clothing, and
friend groups. This behavior is typical of:
A. Industry vs. Inferiority
B. Identity vs. Role Confusion
C. Initiative vs. Guilt
D. Autonomy vs. Shame
Rationale: Adolescence (12–18) involves exploring different roles to form a
personal identity.
8. According to Freud, a 3-year-old boy who is intensely attached to his mother
and sees his father as a rival is in which psychosexual stage?
, A. Oral
B. Anal
C. Phallic
D. Latency
Rationale: The phallic stage (3–6 years) includes the Oedipus complex, where a
boy feels rivalry with his father for his mother’s attention.
9. A nurse is teaching a parenting class. Which statement reflects Piaget’s
concrete operational stage (ages 7–11)?
A. “My child thinks a taller glass has more juice even when poured from the same
cup.”
B. “My child understands that 4 + 3 = 7 and 7 – 3 = 4.”
C. “My child can think about abstract justice.”
D. “My child imitates a gesture I made yesterday.”
Rationale: Concrete operational thinking includes logical operations with
concrete events, such as reversibility. Option A describes preoperational
centration; option C is formal operational; option D is sensorimotor.
10. A nurse observes that a 16-year-old patient is able to consider multiple
solutions to a problem and think hypothetically. This cognitive ability is:
A. Concrete operational
B. Formal operational
C. Preoperational
D. Sensorimotor
Rationale: Formal operational stage (age 11 and older) involves abstract,
hypothetical, and systematic reasoning.
Theories & Nursing Concepts Practice Questions, Step-by-Step
Rationales, Case-Based Learning, and Guaranteed Pass Study Guide
(2026 Updated)
1. A nurse is assessing a 4-year-old child who insists on choosing her own clothes
and dressing herself, even if the clothes do not match. According to Erikson, this
child is in which psychosocial stage?
A. Trust vs. Mistrust
B. Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt
C. Initiative vs. Guilt
D. Industry vs. Inferiority
Rationale: Initiative vs. Guilt (ages 3–6) involves asserting control and making
choices. Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (1–3) focuses on toilet training and basic
independence. Industry (6–12) is about competence.
2. A nurse working in a long-term care facility notices that an 80-year-old resident
frequently talks about her life achievements and regrets. This behavior reflects
which of Erikson’s stages?
A. Generativity vs. Stagnation
B. Ego Integrity vs. Despair
C. Identity vs. Role Confusion
D. Intimacy vs. Isolation
Rationale: Late adulthood (65+) focuses on reflecting on life to achieve integrity
or despair. Generativity (middle adulthood) is about guiding the next generation.
,3. According to Piaget, a 14-month-old infant drops a toy repeatedly and watches
it fall. This behavior demonstrates:
A. Object permanence
B. Secondary circular reactions
C. Concrete operational thought
D. Hypothetical-deductive reasoning
Rationale: Secondary circular reactions (4–8 months) involve repeating actions to
cause an effect. By 14 months, this is actually tertiary circular reactions
(experimentation), but among the choices, secondary is the standard exam
answer for early repetition.
4. A nurse is educating parents of a 6-month-old about developmental
milestones. Which statement by the parents indicates correct understanding?
A. “Our baby should be able to walk alone.”
B. “Stranger anxiety begins around now.”
C. “Our baby can sit with support and roll over.”
D. “The baby can scribble with a crayon.”
Rationale: At 6 months, infants sit with support and roll over. Walking alone
occurs around 12 months; stranger anxiety begins around 7–9 months; scribbling
occurs around 15–18 months.
5. A nurse is applying Kohlberg’s theory to a 10-year-old child who says, “I won’t
steal because I might get punished.” This represents which level?
A. Post-conventional
B. Conventional
,C. Pre-conventional (Stage 1: Punishment/Obedience)
D. Pre-conventional (Stage 2: Instrumental hedonism)
Rationale: Pre-conventional level (typical before age 9–10) bases morality on
consequences. Stage 1 focuses on avoiding punishment. Stage 2 focuses on
seeking rewards.
6. A 35-year-old nurse mentors new graduates and organizes a community
vaccination drive. According to Erikson, this nurse is successfully resolving:
A. Intimacy vs. Isolation
B. Generativity vs. Stagnation
C. Identity vs. Role Confusion
D. Integrity vs. Despair
Rationale: Middle adulthood (30–65) generativity involves guiding the next
generation and contributing to society.
7. A nurse assesses an adolescent who is trying different hairstyles, clothing, and
friend groups. This behavior is typical of:
A. Industry vs. Inferiority
B. Identity vs. Role Confusion
C. Initiative vs. Guilt
D. Autonomy vs. Shame
Rationale: Adolescence (12–18) involves exploring different roles to form a
personal identity.
8. According to Freud, a 3-year-old boy who is intensely attached to his mother
and sees his father as a rival is in which psychosexual stage?
, A. Oral
B. Anal
C. Phallic
D. Latency
Rationale: The phallic stage (3–6 years) includes the Oedipus complex, where a
boy feels rivalry with his father for his mother’s attention.
9. A nurse is teaching a parenting class. Which statement reflects Piaget’s
concrete operational stage (ages 7–11)?
A. “My child thinks a taller glass has more juice even when poured from the same
cup.”
B. “My child understands that 4 + 3 = 7 and 7 – 3 = 4.”
C. “My child can think about abstract justice.”
D. “My child imitates a gesture I made yesterday.”
Rationale: Concrete operational thinking includes logical operations with
concrete events, such as reversibility. Option A describes preoperational
centration; option C is formal operational; option D is sensorimotor.
10. A nurse observes that a 16-year-old patient is able to consider multiple
solutions to a problem and think hypothetically. This cognitive ability is:
A. Concrete operational
B. Formal operational
C. Preoperational
D. Sensorimotor
Rationale: Formal operational stage (age 11 and older) involves abstract,
hypothetical, and systematic reasoning.
