PSYC 140 Final Exam: Developmental Lifespan
Psychology | Actual Exam 2026/2027 | Verified
Questions
Developmental Lifespan Psychology | Verified Q&A | PSYC 140 Candidates
Comprehensive Original Actual Exam Set | 2026/2027
Introduction
This 2026/2027 comprehensive actual exam set provides original questions covering the
entire human lifespan. The content is designed to reinforce official lifespan psychology
course objectives for actual exam readiness and professional competency by
strengthening knowledge in cognitive developmental milestones, psychosocial stages,
biological vulnerabilities, teratogens, attachment patterns, and early socialization influences.
Each item includes Verified Questions with concise rationales grounded in classical and
contemporary developmental science.
Batch 1: Foundational Theories, Prenatal Development, Infancy, & Early Childhood
(Questions 1–50)
1. Which developmental theorist emphasized that psychological development is
driven by a series of eight psychosocial conflicts spanning from birth to old age?
A. Jean Piaget
B. Erik Erikson
, C. Sigmund Freud
D. Lev Vygotsky
Explanation: Erik Erikson formulated the eight-stage lifespan theory of psychosocial
development, where each stage centers around a specific crisis or conflict that must be
resolved.
2. According to Jean Piaget, during which stage of cognitive development do infants
learn about the world through their sensory impressions and motor activities?
A. Preoperational Stage
B. Concrete Operational Stage
C. Sensorimotor Stage
D. Formal Operational Stage
Explanation: The sensorimotor stage lasts from birth to approximately 2 years of age,
during which infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory
experiences with physical actions.
3. What term did Lev Vygotsky use to describe the range of tasks that are too difficult
for a child to master alone but can be learned with the guidance and assistance of
adults or more-skilled peers?
A. Schema Adaptation
B. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
C. Scaffolding Horizon
D. Operant Conditioning Limit
,Explanation: The Zone of Proximal Development captures the sweet spot of learning
where a child can succeed with optimal social support or scaffolding.
4. Any environmental agent—such as a virus, drug, or radiation—that can cause a
birth defect or negatively alter cognitive and behavioral outcomes during prenatal
development is known as a:
A. Zygote
B. Mutagen
C. Teratogen
D. Carcinogen
Explanation: Teratogens are external environmental hazards that cross the placental
barrier and disrupt typical prenatal structural or functional development.
5. During which period of prenatal development do the major organs and anatomical
structures begin to differentiate, making the organism highly vulnerable to
teratogenic damage?
A. Germinal Period
B. Embryonic Period
C. Fetal Period
D. Zygotic Period
Explanation: The embryonic period (weeks 3 through 8 post-conception) is characterized
by rapid organogenesis, making it the most critical window for structural birth defects.
, 6. A newborn infant automatically turns their face toward the stimulus and makes
sucking motions when their cheek or lip is touched. This survival mechanism is
known as the:
A. Moro Reflex
B. Rooting Reflex
C. Babinski Reflex
D. Grasping Reflex
Explanation: The rooting reflex helps the newborn locate a breast or bottle nipple to begin
feeding.
7. Mary Ainsworth utilized the "Strange Situation" procedure to measure and
categorize differences in infant attachment styles. An infant who cries intensely when
the mother leaves but avoids or resists contact when she returns is demonstrating
which attachment style?
A. Secure Attachment
B. Insecure-Resistant/Ambivalent Attachment
C. Insecure-Avoidant Attachment
D. Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment
Explanation: Insecure-resistant infants show high distress upon separation and a mixture
of proximity-seeking and angry rejection during reunions.
8. What cognitive milestone, typically mastered midway through the sensorimotor
stage, describes an infant's understanding that physical things continue to exist even
when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched?
Psychology | Actual Exam 2026/2027 | Verified
Questions
Developmental Lifespan Psychology | Verified Q&A | PSYC 140 Candidates
Comprehensive Original Actual Exam Set | 2026/2027
Introduction
This 2026/2027 comprehensive actual exam set provides original questions covering the
entire human lifespan. The content is designed to reinforce official lifespan psychology
course objectives for actual exam readiness and professional competency by
strengthening knowledge in cognitive developmental milestones, psychosocial stages,
biological vulnerabilities, teratogens, attachment patterns, and early socialization influences.
Each item includes Verified Questions with concise rationales grounded in classical and
contemporary developmental science.
Batch 1: Foundational Theories, Prenatal Development, Infancy, & Early Childhood
(Questions 1–50)
1. Which developmental theorist emphasized that psychological development is
driven by a series of eight psychosocial conflicts spanning from birth to old age?
A. Jean Piaget
B. Erik Erikson
, C. Sigmund Freud
D. Lev Vygotsky
Explanation: Erik Erikson formulated the eight-stage lifespan theory of psychosocial
development, where each stage centers around a specific crisis or conflict that must be
resolved.
2. According to Jean Piaget, during which stage of cognitive development do infants
learn about the world through their sensory impressions and motor activities?
A. Preoperational Stage
B. Concrete Operational Stage
C. Sensorimotor Stage
D. Formal Operational Stage
Explanation: The sensorimotor stage lasts from birth to approximately 2 years of age,
during which infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory
experiences with physical actions.
3. What term did Lev Vygotsky use to describe the range of tasks that are too difficult
for a child to master alone but can be learned with the guidance and assistance of
adults or more-skilled peers?
A. Schema Adaptation
B. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
C. Scaffolding Horizon
D. Operant Conditioning Limit
,Explanation: The Zone of Proximal Development captures the sweet spot of learning
where a child can succeed with optimal social support or scaffolding.
4. Any environmental agent—such as a virus, drug, or radiation—that can cause a
birth defect or negatively alter cognitive and behavioral outcomes during prenatal
development is known as a:
A. Zygote
B. Mutagen
C. Teratogen
D. Carcinogen
Explanation: Teratogens are external environmental hazards that cross the placental
barrier and disrupt typical prenatal structural or functional development.
5. During which period of prenatal development do the major organs and anatomical
structures begin to differentiate, making the organism highly vulnerable to
teratogenic damage?
A. Germinal Period
B. Embryonic Period
C. Fetal Period
D. Zygotic Period
Explanation: The embryonic period (weeks 3 through 8 post-conception) is characterized
by rapid organogenesis, making it the most critical window for structural birth defects.
, 6. A newborn infant automatically turns their face toward the stimulus and makes
sucking motions when their cheek or lip is touched. This survival mechanism is
known as the:
A. Moro Reflex
B. Rooting Reflex
C. Babinski Reflex
D. Grasping Reflex
Explanation: The rooting reflex helps the newborn locate a breast or bottle nipple to begin
feeding.
7. Mary Ainsworth utilized the "Strange Situation" procedure to measure and
categorize differences in infant attachment styles. An infant who cries intensely when
the mother leaves but avoids or resists contact when she returns is demonstrating
which attachment style?
A. Secure Attachment
B. Insecure-Resistant/Ambivalent Attachment
C. Insecure-Avoidant Attachment
D. Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment
Explanation: Insecure-resistant infants show high distress upon separation and a mixture
of proximity-seeking and angry rejection during reunions.
8. What cognitive milestone, typically mastered midway through the sensorimotor
stage, describes an infant's understanding that physical things continue to exist even
when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched?
