Introduction to Child Development Exam
UPDATED ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS
Why should someone study development? - CORRECT ANSWER To better understand human
nature and how we grow, evolve, and become who we are.
To better understand how environment shapes us
To understand ourselves better
To raise our children better
To better choose and design social policies for children's well being.
What are the 7 major themes in child development? - CORRECT ANSWER Nature and
Nurture
The Active Child
Continuity/Discontinuity
Mechanisms of Change
The Sociocultural Context
Individual Differences
Research and Children's Welfare.
What was Plato's belief about children's development? - CORRECT ANSWER They are born
with innate knowledge.
What was Aristotle's belief about children's development? - CORRECT ANSWER All
knowledge comes with experience and the mind of an infant is like a black board on which nothing
has yet been written.
What was Rousseau's belief about children's development? - CORRECT ANSWER Children
should be given maximum freedom from the beginning as they learn primarily from their own
spontaneous interactions with objects and other people.
, How did Darwin contribute to the study of children's development? - CORRECT ANSWER
His evolutionary theory influences the thinking of modern developmentalists on a wide range
of topics and his observations on the motor, sensory and emotional growth of his infant son
represented one of the first methods for studying children.
How is Alfred Binet significant in the field of study for child development? - CORRECT ANSWER
Him and his colleagues pioneered the systematic testing of children's intelligence and were
among the first to investigate differences among children of the same age.
Define: Psychoanalytic Theory - CORRECT ANSWER Freud's theory. Biological drives,
especially sexual ones, are a crucial influence on development.
How did John Watson contribute to the study of children's development? - CORRECT ANSWER
He was the father of Behaviorist Theory. Proposed that children's development is determined
by environmental factors, especially with operant conditioning.
Define: Nature - CORRECT ANSWER Refers to our biological endowment - the genes we
receive from our parents.
Define: Nurture - CORRECT ANSWER Refers to the wide range of environments, both
physical and social, that influence our development.
What is more prevalent in development? Nature or Nurture? - CORRECT ANSWER Every
characteristic we possess is created through the joint workings of the two; they shape development.
Ex. Identical Twin Studies
How do children shape their own development? - CORRECT ANSWER Through their
selection of what to pay attention to. Their preferences help them learn about important parts of the
world.
List some things children (the active child) do that helps them develop? - CORRECT ANSWER
Infants' preference for attending their mother's face leads to reciprocal interactions than can
strengthen mother-infant bond.
Playing by themselves/make believe. As they grow older, they rely less on their parents to help with
determine their environments and choose their own friends and activities, exerting a large impact on
their future.
UPDATED ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS
Why should someone study development? - CORRECT ANSWER To better understand human
nature and how we grow, evolve, and become who we are.
To better understand how environment shapes us
To understand ourselves better
To raise our children better
To better choose and design social policies for children's well being.
What are the 7 major themes in child development? - CORRECT ANSWER Nature and
Nurture
The Active Child
Continuity/Discontinuity
Mechanisms of Change
The Sociocultural Context
Individual Differences
Research and Children's Welfare.
What was Plato's belief about children's development? - CORRECT ANSWER They are born
with innate knowledge.
What was Aristotle's belief about children's development? - CORRECT ANSWER All
knowledge comes with experience and the mind of an infant is like a black board on which nothing
has yet been written.
What was Rousseau's belief about children's development? - CORRECT ANSWER Children
should be given maximum freedom from the beginning as they learn primarily from their own
spontaneous interactions with objects and other people.
, How did Darwin contribute to the study of children's development? - CORRECT ANSWER
His evolutionary theory influences the thinking of modern developmentalists on a wide range
of topics and his observations on the motor, sensory and emotional growth of his infant son
represented one of the first methods for studying children.
How is Alfred Binet significant in the field of study for child development? - CORRECT ANSWER
Him and his colleagues pioneered the systematic testing of children's intelligence and were
among the first to investigate differences among children of the same age.
Define: Psychoanalytic Theory - CORRECT ANSWER Freud's theory. Biological drives,
especially sexual ones, are a crucial influence on development.
How did John Watson contribute to the study of children's development? - CORRECT ANSWER
He was the father of Behaviorist Theory. Proposed that children's development is determined
by environmental factors, especially with operant conditioning.
Define: Nature - CORRECT ANSWER Refers to our biological endowment - the genes we
receive from our parents.
Define: Nurture - CORRECT ANSWER Refers to the wide range of environments, both
physical and social, that influence our development.
What is more prevalent in development? Nature or Nurture? - CORRECT ANSWER Every
characteristic we possess is created through the joint workings of the two; they shape development.
Ex. Identical Twin Studies
How do children shape their own development? - CORRECT ANSWER Through their
selection of what to pay attention to. Their preferences help them learn about important parts of the
world.
List some things children (the active child) do that helps them develop? - CORRECT ANSWER
Infants' preference for attending their mother's face leads to reciprocal interactions than can
strengthen mother-infant bond.
Playing by themselves/make believe. As they grow older, they rely less on their parents to help with
determine their environments and choose their own friends and activities, exerting a large impact on
their future.
