EDUC 181 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM 2026/2027
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔Why is it important that parents pay attention to important motor milestones
achieved by their child? - ✔✔To ensure the child's development is progressing in a
healthy manner; missed motor milestones could indicate a developmental issue
✔✔Family Form - ✔✔Who is in your family (nuclear, single parent, extended, childless,
step family, grandparents...)
✔✔Family Function - ✔✔How your family operates
✔✔What is the field of Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS)? - ✔✔Working
with individuals and families with one or more of the following: Psychology, education,
sociology, early intervention, school-based problems, health related problems, therapy,
case management
✔✔Average life expectancy - ✔✔78.7 years
✔✔Qualitative Data - ✔✔participants' viewpoint via questionnaires/interviews, no
statistical analysis used, subjectivity unavoidable
✔✔Quantitative Data - ✔✔numerical data, statistical analysis
✔✔Experimental study design - ✔✔How a study is conducted and how participants are
sorted into groups
✔✔Non-Empirical Research - ✔✔personal reflection, anecdotes, positions, experiences
✔✔Empirical Research - ✔✔systematic observations to test hypotheses
✔✔Data - ✔✔Facts / stats collected for reference or statistical analysis
✔✔Sampling technique - ✔✔The way in which a researcher chooses/recruits
participants for a study
✔✔Probability Sampling - ✔✔gives everyone an equal chance to participate and equally
represents everyone of a population/group
✔✔Nonprobability Sampling - ✔✔people whom are easily and readily available are
chosen to be in a study, not necessarily representative an entire population/group
✔✔Generalizability - ✔✔Results are representative and applicable to the population
being studied
, ✔✔Impact of researcher's sampling technique on the generalizability of their study? -
✔✔If a researcher uses nonprobability, it is more likely that their results will not be
representative or accurate of the population studied.
✔✔Basic Research - ✔✔conducted to test and develop theories, generate general
information, little real-world application, does not benefit anyone directly, but can lead to
development of other questions
✔✔Applied Research - ✔✔solving of day-to-day problems within a subject area
(continuously informs the work done with children and families)
✔✔Longitudinal Study - ✔✔same group of participants, same age, over time. Used to
assess how a single generation changes over time. Patterns may be inconsistent in
subsequent generations, and participants may drop out of the study
✔✔Cross-Sectional Study - ✔✔different ages of participants at the same time.
Differences in age = variable of interest. Does not take into account generational effects
✔✔Theory - ✔✔Interconnected ideas that logically explain a particular pattern of
behaviors
✔✔Microsystem - ✔✔immediate surroundings or experiences
(people/objects/environment)
✔✔Mesosystem - ✔✔connections across different microsystems
✔✔Exosystem - ✔✔social setting that may not be experienced firsthand but still
influences their development (parental job/parental socialization)
✔✔Macrosystem - ✔✔cultures and subcultures in which microsystems are embedded
✔✔Nature vs Nurture - ✔✔To what degree do genetic influences determine traits and
behaviors of an individual as opposed to environmental influences?
✔✔0-2 Sensorimotor - ✔✔infant's knowledge of world based on senses and motor skills
(object permanence, reaction to caregiver, simple reflexes)
✔✔2-7 Preoperational Thought - ✔✔child learns to use symbols to represent aspects of
the world (understanding of emotions, talking, increased mobility)
✔✔7-11 Concrete Operational Thought - ✔✔child understands and applies logical
thinking to experiences (understanding of others' perspectives, increased physical
independence)
QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔Why is it important that parents pay attention to important motor milestones
achieved by their child? - ✔✔To ensure the child's development is progressing in a
healthy manner; missed motor milestones could indicate a developmental issue
✔✔Family Form - ✔✔Who is in your family (nuclear, single parent, extended, childless,
step family, grandparents...)
✔✔Family Function - ✔✔How your family operates
✔✔What is the field of Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS)? - ✔✔Working
with individuals and families with one or more of the following: Psychology, education,
sociology, early intervention, school-based problems, health related problems, therapy,
case management
✔✔Average life expectancy - ✔✔78.7 years
✔✔Qualitative Data - ✔✔participants' viewpoint via questionnaires/interviews, no
statistical analysis used, subjectivity unavoidable
✔✔Quantitative Data - ✔✔numerical data, statistical analysis
✔✔Experimental study design - ✔✔How a study is conducted and how participants are
sorted into groups
✔✔Non-Empirical Research - ✔✔personal reflection, anecdotes, positions, experiences
✔✔Empirical Research - ✔✔systematic observations to test hypotheses
✔✔Data - ✔✔Facts / stats collected for reference or statistical analysis
✔✔Sampling technique - ✔✔The way in which a researcher chooses/recruits
participants for a study
✔✔Probability Sampling - ✔✔gives everyone an equal chance to participate and equally
represents everyone of a population/group
✔✔Nonprobability Sampling - ✔✔people whom are easily and readily available are
chosen to be in a study, not necessarily representative an entire population/group
✔✔Generalizability - ✔✔Results are representative and applicable to the population
being studied
, ✔✔Impact of researcher's sampling technique on the generalizability of their study? -
✔✔If a researcher uses nonprobability, it is more likely that their results will not be
representative or accurate of the population studied.
✔✔Basic Research - ✔✔conducted to test and develop theories, generate general
information, little real-world application, does not benefit anyone directly, but can lead to
development of other questions
✔✔Applied Research - ✔✔solving of day-to-day problems within a subject area
(continuously informs the work done with children and families)
✔✔Longitudinal Study - ✔✔same group of participants, same age, over time. Used to
assess how a single generation changes over time. Patterns may be inconsistent in
subsequent generations, and participants may drop out of the study
✔✔Cross-Sectional Study - ✔✔different ages of participants at the same time.
Differences in age = variable of interest. Does not take into account generational effects
✔✔Theory - ✔✔Interconnected ideas that logically explain a particular pattern of
behaviors
✔✔Microsystem - ✔✔immediate surroundings or experiences
(people/objects/environment)
✔✔Mesosystem - ✔✔connections across different microsystems
✔✔Exosystem - ✔✔social setting that may not be experienced firsthand but still
influences their development (parental job/parental socialization)
✔✔Macrosystem - ✔✔cultures and subcultures in which microsystems are embedded
✔✔Nature vs Nurture - ✔✔To what degree do genetic influences determine traits and
behaviors of an individual as opposed to environmental influences?
✔✔0-2 Sensorimotor - ✔✔infant's knowledge of world based on senses and motor skills
(object permanence, reaction to caregiver, simple reflexes)
✔✔2-7 Preoperational Thought - ✔✔child learns to use symbols to represent aspects of
the world (understanding of emotions, talking, increased mobility)
✔✔7-11 Concrete Operational Thought - ✔✔child understands and applies logical
thinking to experiences (understanding of others' perspectives, increased physical
independence)
