Hesi: Growth And Development Exam
– 2026 Edition||Questions And
Answers With Rationales/Graded
A+/2026 Update/100% Correct
/Instant Download
.
SECTION A: PRINCIPLES OF GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT (1–15)
1. Which principle of development explains why infants gain control of their head
before their legs?
A) Proximodistal
B) Cephalocaudal ✔️
C) Orthogenetic
D) Mass-to-specific
Rationale: Cephalocaudal means head-to-tail development; control begins at the
head and moves downward.
2. The proximodistal principle states that:
A) Growth proceeds from the center of the body outward. ✔️
B) Development is unpredictable.
C) Motor skills develop before cognitive skills.
D) Growth occurs only during puberty.
Rationale: Proximodistal = near to far (spine → fingers).
3. A child’s height increases rapidly during infancy, then slows, then increases
again in adolescence. This illustrates:
A) Continuous development
B) Discontinuous (stage) development
C) Growth spurts (periods of rapid growth) ✔️
D) Cephalocaudal pattern
,Rationale: Growth is not linear; spurts occur in infancy and puberty.
4. Which is NOT a principle of growth and development?
A) Development proceeds at an individual rate.
B) All areas of development are interdependent.
C) Development stops after age 25. ✔️
D) Development follows a predictable pattern.
Rationale: Development continues across the lifespan, not stopping at 25.
5. A child learning to walk before running demonstrates:
A) Reflexive development
B) Sequential development ✔️
C) Regressive development
D) Cultural determinism
Rationale: Skills build on prior mastery in sequence.
6. The term “plasticity” in development refers to:
A) Inability to change
B) The brain’s ability to reorganize after injury ✔️
C) Fixed genetic destiny
D) Only prenatal changes
Rationale: Plasticity = capacity for modification, especially in childhood.
7. Who proposed the Psychosocial Stages of Development?
A) Piaget
B) Erikson ✔️
C) Vygotsky
D) Kohlberg
Rationale: Erikson’s 8 stages span birth to old age.
8. The “sensitive period” concept is most associated with:
A) Skinner
B) Lorenz (ethology) ✔️
C) Bandura
D) Freud
Rationale: Lorenz’s imprinting showed a critical/sensitive period for attachment.
, 9. Which reflects normative development?
A) A 4-year-old can tie shoelaces.
B) A 9-month-old begins crawling. ✔️
C) A 3-year-old reads fluently.
D) A 6-year-old drives a car.
Rationale: Crawling at 9 months is typical/normative.
10. A child’s vocabulary grows from 50 to 500 words in a few months. This is:
A) Maturation
B) A developmental milestone (vocabulary spurt) ✔️
C) Reflex enhancement
D) Stagnation
Rationale: Rapid word learning is a language milestone.
11. Which domain includes emotions, temperament, and social skills?
A) Cognitive
B) Physical
C) Psychosocial ✔️
D) Moral
Rationale: Psychosocial = emotions, relationships, personality.
12. A baby’s grasping reflex fading as voluntary reaching improves is an example
of:
A) Disuse atrophy
B) Integration of reflexes into voluntary movement ✔️
C) Regression
D) Abnormal development
Rationale: Reflexes are replaced by purposeful actions.
13. According to Gesell, development is primarily driven by:
A) Environment
B) Maturation (genetic blueprint) ✔️
C) Accidental learning
D) Peer pressure
Rationale: Gesell emphasized nature-driven maturation.
– 2026 Edition||Questions And
Answers With Rationales/Graded
A+/2026 Update/100% Correct
/Instant Download
.
SECTION A: PRINCIPLES OF GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT (1–15)
1. Which principle of development explains why infants gain control of their head
before their legs?
A) Proximodistal
B) Cephalocaudal ✔️
C) Orthogenetic
D) Mass-to-specific
Rationale: Cephalocaudal means head-to-tail development; control begins at the
head and moves downward.
2. The proximodistal principle states that:
A) Growth proceeds from the center of the body outward. ✔️
B) Development is unpredictable.
C) Motor skills develop before cognitive skills.
D) Growth occurs only during puberty.
Rationale: Proximodistal = near to far (spine → fingers).
3. A child’s height increases rapidly during infancy, then slows, then increases
again in adolescence. This illustrates:
A) Continuous development
B) Discontinuous (stage) development
C) Growth spurts (periods of rapid growth) ✔️
D) Cephalocaudal pattern
,Rationale: Growth is not linear; spurts occur in infancy and puberty.
4. Which is NOT a principle of growth and development?
A) Development proceeds at an individual rate.
B) All areas of development are interdependent.
C) Development stops after age 25. ✔️
D) Development follows a predictable pattern.
Rationale: Development continues across the lifespan, not stopping at 25.
5. A child learning to walk before running demonstrates:
A) Reflexive development
B) Sequential development ✔️
C) Regressive development
D) Cultural determinism
Rationale: Skills build on prior mastery in sequence.
6. The term “plasticity” in development refers to:
A) Inability to change
B) The brain’s ability to reorganize after injury ✔️
C) Fixed genetic destiny
D) Only prenatal changes
Rationale: Plasticity = capacity for modification, especially in childhood.
7. Who proposed the Psychosocial Stages of Development?
A) Piaget
B) Erikson ✔️
C) Vygotsky
D) Kohlberg
Rationale: Erikson’s 8 stages span birth to old age.
8. The “sensitive period” concept is most associated with:
A) Skinner
B) Lorenz (ethology) ✔️
C) Bandura
D) Freud
Rationale: Lorenz’s imprinting showed a critical/sensitive period for attachment.
, 9. Which reflects normative development?
A) A 4-year-old can tie shoelaces.
B) A 9-month-old begins crawling. ✔️
C) A 3-year-old reads fluently.
D) A 6-year-old drives a car.
Rationale: Crawling at 9 months is typical/normative.
10. A child’s vocabulary grows from 50 to 500 words in a few months. This is:
A) Maturation
B) A developmental milestone (vocabulary spurt) ✔️
C) Reflex enhancement
D) Stagnation
Rationale: Rapid word learning is a language milestone.
11. Which domain includes emotions, temperament, and social skills?
A) Cognitive
B) Physical
C) Psychosocial ✔️
D) Moral
Rationale: Psychosocial = emotions, relationships, personality.
12. A baby’s grasping reflex fading as voluntary reaching improves is an example
of:
A) Disuse atrophy
B) Integration of reflexes into voluntary movement ✔️
C) Regression
D) Abnormal development
Rationale: Reflexes are replaced by purposeful actions.
13. According to Gesell, development is primarily driven by:
A) Environment
B) Maturation (genetic blueprint) ✔️
C) Accidental learning
D) Peer pressure
Rationale: Gesell emphasized nature-driven maturation.
