PSYC 140 Module 2 : Developmental (Lifespan)
Psychology Exam | Questions & Answers (Verified
Answers) - Portage Learning ( 2026/2027 Update)
1. A researcher conducts a study comparing cognitive performance in two cohorts of adults (ages
60-70 and 20-30) at a single time point. The older cohort performs worse on a processing speed
task. Which conclusion is most justified?
A. Processing speed declines with age, as shown by the age difference.
B. The age difference may reflect cohort effects rather than developmental change.
C. The results are invalid because the study lacked random assignment.
D. Longitudinal follow-up would eliminate the cohort confound.
Answer: B
Rationale: A cross-sectional design confounds age with cohort (generational) effects. The older group
may have had different educational or health histories, so the performance gap could be due to cohort,
not development. Longitudinal designs can track within-person change but still have attrition and
practice effects; they do not eliminate cohort confounds entirely.
2. A developmental psychologist proposes that infant attachment patterns are evolutionarily
adaptive because they promote proximity to caregivers, ensuring protection and resources. This
perspective aligns most closely with which theoretical framework?
A. Piaget's constructivist theory
B. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory
C. Ethological theory (Bowlby's attachment theory)
D. Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model
Answer: C
Rationale: Bowlby's attachment theory is rooted in ethology, emphasizing evolutionarily based behaviors
(e.g., crying, clinging) that keep infants close to caregivers for survival. Piaget focuses on cognitive
stages, Vygotsky on social scaffolding, and Bronfenbrenner on nested environmental systems.
3. In a longitudinal study of adolescent brain development, researchers find that the prefrontal
cortex matures later than the limbic system. This pattern is most directly linked to which observed
behavioral phenomenon?
A. Improved performance on theory of mind tasks
B. Increased risk-taking behavior in adolescence
C. Greater susceptibility to peer pressure in childhood
D. Decline in working memory capacity in late adolescence
Answer: B
Rationale: The limbic system (emotional/reward centers) matures earlier, while the prefrontal cortex
(impulse control, decision-making) matures later. This developmental asynchrony is thought to underlie
Page 1
,heightened risk-taking and sensation-seeking in adolescence, as emotional drives are not yet well
regulated by cognitive control.
4. A 75-year-old retired engineer exhibits preserved vocabulary and general knowledge but slower
performance on novel problem-solving tasks. This pattern best illustrates the distinction between:
A. Crystallized and fluid intelligence
B. Primary and secondary mental abilities
C. Mechanic and pragmatic intelligence
D. Analytic and creative intelligence
Answer: A
Rationale: Crystallized intelligence (accumulated knowledge, vocabulary) remains stable or improves
with age, whereas fluid intelligence (novel reasoning, processing speed) declines. The engineer's strong
vocabulary reflects crystallized intelligence; slower novel problem-solving indicates fluid decline.
5. A researcher uses a sequential design to study memory across adulthood. Participants from
three cohorts (born 1950, 1970, 1990) are tested every 5 years from age 20 to 60. Which advantage
does this design offer over simple longitudinal or cross-sectional approaches?
A. It eliminates practice effects entirely.
B. It allows separation of age, cohort, and time-of-measurement effects.
C. It requires only one testing session per participant.
D. It controls for attrition by replacing dropouts with new participants.
Answer: B
Rationale: Sequential designs combine longitudinal and cross-sectional elements, enabling researchers to
disentangle age-related changes from cohort differences and time-of-measurement effects. Practice
effects remain a concern, and attrition is not eliminated by replacement.
6. A child raised in a deprived orphanage shows severe delays in language and social development.
After adoption into a nurturing family, the child improves markedly but still lags behind peers in
complex language skills. This outcome is best explained by:
A. The concept of canalization
B. The sensitive period hypothesis
C. The cumulative deficit hypothesis
D. The epigenetic principle
Answer: B
Rationale: Sensitive periods suggest that certain experiences are most influential during specific
developmental windows. Language development has a sensitive period in early childhood; deprivation
during this time can cause lasting deficits, though some recovery is possible. Canalization refers to
genetic buffering, cumulative deficit emphasizes accumulation of disadvantage, and epigenetic principle
is Erikson's stage concept.
7. Which of the following findings would most challenge Piaget's theory of formal operational
thought?
Page 2
,A. Adolescents in some cultures fail to solve abstract reasoning problems that Western adolescents typically
solve.
B. Adults often revert to concrete reasoning when dealing with unfamiliar content.
C. Children as young as 4 can pass modified versions of conservation tasks.
D. Both A and B
Answer: D
Rationale: Piaget argued that formal operational thought emerges universally in adolescence. Cultural
variation (A) challenges universality, and context-dependent reasoning (B) challenges the idea of a
stable, stage-like structure. Option C challenges the concrete operational stage but not formal
operations directly. Both A and B together are the strongest challenge.
8. A 30-year-old woman reports feeling 'stuck' and unable to form intimate relationships, despite
having a stable career. According to Erikson's theory, which psychosocial crisis was most likely
inadequately resolved?
A. Trust vs. Mistrust
B. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
C. Identity vs. Role Confusion
D. Intimacy vs. Isolation
Answer: C
Rationale: Erikson proposed that a firm sense of identity (adolescence) is necessary for achieving
intimacy (young adulthood). Difficulty forming intimate relationships often stems from unresolved
identity confusion. While trust (infancy) is foundational, the immediate precursor to intimacy is identity
resolution.
9. A researcher administers a working memory task to participants aged 8, 12, and 16.
Performance improves linearly with age. However, when the researcher adds a concurrent tapping
task, the 12-year-olds' performance drops more than the 8-year-olds'. This interaction suggests:
A. The tapping task was too easy for the 8-year-olds.
B. Developmental improvements in working memory are partly due to increased processing efficiency.
C. The tapping task selectively disrupts the central executive in 12-year-olds.
D. Working memory capacity is fixed by age 8.
Answer: B
Rationale: The greater dual-task cost for 12-year-olds indicates that their working memory improvements
are resource-dependent; when resources are taxed, performance declines more steeply. This supports
the view that efficiency of processing (not just storage) improves with age. Option C is speculative; D is
contradicted by the age effect.
10. A study finds that infants as young as 3 months can distinguish between two different numbers
of dots (e.g., 4 vs. 8) but not between 4 and 6. This finding is most consistent with which account of
numerical cognition?
A. Piaget's stage theory of number conservation
B. The approximate number system (ANS)
C. The exact number system (symbolic representation)
Page 3
, D. Vygotsky's zone of proximal development
Answer: B
Rationale: The ANS allows discrimination of large numerosities only when the ratio is sufficiently
different (e.g., 1:2, but not 2:3). Infants' ability to discriminate 4 vs. 8 but not 4 vs. 6 fits this
ratio-dependent signature. Piaget's conservation is for older children; exact symbolic representation
develops later with language.
11. A researcher is designing a study to examine the interplay between genetic predispositions and
environmental influences on cognitive development across childhood and adolescence. Which
theoretical framework would best guide the formulation of hypotheses that account for
bidirectional influences between the individual and their context over time?
A. Piaget's stage theory of cognitive development
B. Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model
C. Erikson's psychosocial stage theory
D. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory
Answer: B
Rationale: Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model explicitly incorporates multiple interacting
environmental systems (micro-, meso-, exo-, macro-, chrono-) and emphasizes bidirectional influences
between the developing individual and their contexts over time. Piaget's theory focuses on stages but
lacks strong emphasis on environmental bidirectional dynamics. Erikson's theory is psychosocial but not
primarily about cognitive development. Vygotsky's theory emphasizes social interaction but does not
systematically address multiple environmental levels across the lifespan.
12. A longitudinal study tracks a cohort of individuals from infancy into late adulthood, measuring
attachment security at 12 months using the Strange Situation procedure. At age 30, participants
complete an assessment of romantic relationship quality. The results show a significant but modest
correlation between infant attachment classification and adult relationship outcomes. Which
developmental concept is most directly illustrated by this finding?
A. Cumulative continuity of personality
B. Developmental cascades
C. The enduring effects of early experience within a probabilistic epigenetic framework
D. Critical periods in socioemotional development
Answer: C
Rationale: The finding that infant attachment predicts adult relationship quality, albeit modestly,
illustrates that early experiences can have enduring effects but are not deterministic; the probabilistic
epigenetic framework acknowledges that early attachment sets a trajectory that can be modified by
subsequent experiences. Cumulative continuity refers to the tendency for personality traits to be
maintained across time, not specifically attachment. Developmental cascades involve the spread of
effects across domains. Critical periods imply a narrow window of heightened sensitivity, but the modest
correlation suggests plasticity beyond infancy.
Page 4
Psychology Exam | Questions & Answers (Verified
Answers) - Portage Learning ( 2026/2027 Update)
1. A researcher conducts a study comparing cognitive performance in two cohorts of adults (ages
60-70 and 20-30) at a single time point. The older cohort performs worse on a processing speed
task. Which conclusion is most justified?
A. Processing speed declines with age, as shown by the age difference.
B. The age difference may reflect cohort effects rather than developmental change.
C. The results are invalid because the study lacked random assignment.
D. Longitudinal follow-up would eliminate the cohort confound.
Answer: B
Rationale: A cross-sectional design confounds age with cohort (generational) effects. The older group
may have had different educational or health histories, so the performance gap could be due to cohort,
not development. Longitudinal designs can track within-person change but still have attrition and
practice effects; they do not eliminate cohort confounds entirely.
2. A developmental psychologist proposes that infant attachment patterns are evolutionarily
adaptive because they promote proximity to caregivers, ensuring protection and resources. This
perspective aligns most closely with which theoretical framework?
A. Piaget's constructivist theory
B. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory
C. Ethological theory (Bowlby's attachment theory)
D. Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model
Answer: C
Rationale: Bowlby's attachment theory is rooted in ethology, emphasizing evolutionarily based behaviors
(e.g., crying, clinging) that keep infants close to caregivers for survival. Piaget focuses on cognitive
stages, Vygotsky on social scaffolding, and Bronfenbrenner on nested environmental systems.
3. In a longitudinal study of adolescent brain development, researchers find that the prefrontal
cortex matures later than the limbic system. This pattern is most directly linked to which observed
behavioral phenomenon?
A. Improved performance on theory of mind tasks
B. Increased risk-taking behavior in adolescence
C. Greater susceptibility to peer pressure in childhood
D. Decline in working memory capacity in late adolescence
Answer: B
Rationale: The limbic system (emotional/reward centers) matures earlier, while the prefrontal cortex
(impulse control, decision-making) matures later. This developmental asynchrony is thought to underlie
Page 1
,heightened risk-taking and sensation-seeking in adolescence, as emotional drives are not yet well
regulated by cognitive control.
4. A 75-year-old retired engineer exhibits preserved vocabulary and general knowledge but slower
performance on novel problem-solving tasks. This pattern best illustrates the distinction between:
A. Crystallized and fluid intelligence
B. Primary and secondary mental abilities
C. Mechanic and pragmatic intelligence
D. Analytic and creative intelligence
Answer: A
Rationale: Crystallized intelligence (accumulated knowledge, vocabulary) remains stable or improves
with age, whereas fluid intelligence (novel reasoning, processing speed) declines. The engineer's strong
vocabulary reflects crystallized intelligence; slower novel problem-solving indicates fluid decline.
5. A researcher uses a sequential design to study memory across adulthood. Participants from
three cohorts (born 1950, 1970, 1990) are tested every 5 years from age 20 to 60. Which advantage
does this design offer over simple longitudinal or cross-sectional approaches?
A. It eliminates practice effects entirely.
B. It allows separation of age, cohort, and time-of-measurement effects.
C. It requires only one testing session per participant.
D. It controls for attrition by replacing dropouts with new participants.
Answer: B
Rationale: Sequential designs combine longitudinal and cross-sectional elements, enabling researchers to
disentangle age-related changes from cohort differences and time-of-measurement effects. Practice
effects remain a concern, and attrition is not eliminated by replacement.
6. A child raised in a deprived orphanage shows severe delays in language and social development.
After adoption into a nurturing family, the child improves markedly but still lags behind peers in
complex language skills. This outcome is best explained by:
A. The concept of canalization
B. The sensitive period hypothesis
C. The cumulative deficit hypothesis
D. The epigenetic principle
Answer: B
Rationale: Sensitive periods suggest that certain experiences are most influential during specific
developmental windows. Language development has a sensitive period in early childhood; deprivation
during this time can cause lasting deficits, though some recovery is possible. Canalization refers to
genetic buffering, cumulative deficit emphasizes accumulation of disadvantage, and epigenetic principle
is Erikson's stage concept.
7. Which of the following findings would most challenge Piaget's theory of formal operational
thought?
Page 2
,A. Adolescents in some cultures fail to solve abstract reasoning problems that Western adolescents typically
solve.
B. Adults often revert to concrete reasoning when dealing with unfamiliar content.
C. Children as young as 4 can pass modified versions of conservation tasks.
D. Both A and B
Answer: D
Rationale: Piaget argued that formal operational thought emerges universally in adolescence. Cultural
variation (A) challenges universality, and context-dependent reasoning (B) challenges the idea of a
stable, stage-like structure. Option C challenges the concrete operational stage but not formal
operations directly. Both A and B together are the strongest challenge.
8. A 30-year-old woman reports feeling 'stuck' and unable to form intimate relationships, despite
having a stable career. According to Erikson's theory, which psychosocial crisis was most likely
inadequately resolved?
A. Trust vs. Mistrust
B. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
C. Identity vs. Role Confusion
D. Intimacy vs. Isolation
Answer: C
Rationale: Erikson proposed that a firm sense of identity (adolescence) is necessary for achieving
intimacy (young adulthood). Difficulty forming intimate relationships often stems from unresolved
identity confusion. While trust (infancy) is foundational, the immediate precursor to intimacy is identity
resolution.
9. A researcher administers a working memory task to participants aged 8, 12, and 16.
Performance improves linearly with age. However, when the researcher adds a concurrent tapping
task, the 12-year-olds' performance drops more than the 8-year-olds'. This interaction suggests:
A. The tapping task was too easy for the 8-year-olds.
B. Developmental improvements in working memory are partly due to increased processing efficiency.
C. The tapping task selectively disrupts the central executive in 12-year-olds.
D. Working memory capacity is fixed by age 8.
Answer: B
Rationale: The greater dual-task cost for 12-year-olds indicates that their working memory improvements
are resource-dependent; when resources are taxed, performance declines more steeply. This supports
the view that efficiency of processing (not just storage) improves with age. Option C is speculative; D is
contradicted by the age effect.
10. A study finds that infants as young as 3 months can distinguish between two different numbers
of dots (e.g., 4 vs. 8) but not between 4 and 6. This finding is most consistent with which account of
numerical cognition?
A. Piaget's stage theory of number conservation
B. The approximate number system (ANS)
C. The exact number system (symbolic representation)
Page 3
, D. Vygotsky's zone of proximal development
Answer: B
Rationale: The ANS allows discrimination of large numerosities only when the ratio is sufficiently
different (e.g., 1:2, but not 2:3). Infants' ability to discriminate 4 vs. 8 but not 4 vs. 6 fits this
ratio-dependent signature. Piaget's conservation is for older children; exact symbolic representation
develops later with language.
11. A researcher is designing a study to examine the interplay between genetic predispositions and
environmental influences on cognitive development across childhood and adolescence. Which
theoretical framework would best guide the formulation of hypotheses that account for
bidirectional influences between the individual and their context over time?
A. Piaget's stage theory of cognitive development
B. Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model
C. Erikson's psychosocial stage theory
D. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory
Answer: B
Rationale: Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model explicitly incorporates multiple interacting
environmental systems (micro-, meso-, exo-, macro-, chrono-) and emphasizes bidirectional influences
between the developing individual and their contexts over time. Piaget's theory focuses on stages but
lacks strong emphasis on environmental bidirectional dynamics. Erikson's theory is psychosocial but not
primarily about cognitive development. Vygotsky's theory emphasizes social interaction but does not
systematically address multiple environmental levels across the lifespan.
12. A longitudinal study tracks a cohort of individuals from infancy into late adulthood, measuring
attachment security at 12 months using the Strange Situation procedure. At age 30, participants
complete an assessment of romantic relationship quality. The results show a significant but modest
correlation between infant attachment classification and adult relationship outcomes. Which
developmental concept is most directly illustrated by this finding?
A. Cumulative continuity of personality
B. Developmental cascades
C. The enduring effects of early experience within a probabilistic epigenetic framework
D. Critical periods in socioemotional development
Answer: C
Rationale: The finding that infant attachment predicts adult relationship quality, albeit modestly,
illustrates that early experiences can have enduring effects but are not deterministic; the probabilistic
epigenetic framework acknowledges that early attachment sets a trajectory that can be modified by
subsequent experiences. Cumulative continuity refers to the tendency for personality traits to be
maintained across time, not specifically attachment. Developmental cascades involve the spread of
effects across domains. Critical periods imply a narrow window of heightened sensitivity, but the modest
correlation suggests plasticity beyond infancy.
Page 4
