Developmental Psychology Across A
Lifespan Exam with Questions and
complete solutions
The successful outcome of Erikson's stage of ________ results in a healthy sense of independence.
a. initiative vs guilt
b. identity vs identity confusion
c. industry vs inferiority
d. autonomy vs shame and doubt - ✔✔d. autonomy vs shame and doubt
Researchers increasingly study the development of adulthood. This implies that development is:
a. multidirectional
b. lifelong
c. contextual
d. multidisciplinary - ✔✔b. lifelong
Which theory most strongly emphasizes the role of biology and evolution in development?
a. ethological
b. ecological
c. cognitive
d. behavioral - ✔✔a. ethological
The functional capacities of a person's vital organ system indicate ________ age.
a. chronological
b. social
,c. psychological
d. biological - ✔✔d. biological
Which of the following is NOT a weakness associated with standardized tests?
a. They allow an individual's performance to be compared with that of another.
b. People may behave differently in different settings.
c. Their use assumes that people's behaviors are consistent and stable.
d. People's performances may be influenced by their emotions in different settings. - ✔✔a.
They allow an individual's performance to be compared with that of another.
Nala decides to explore teenage pregnancy prevention for her Master's thesis. According to the
scientific method, what should be her first step in getting started?
a. Analyze the information she has gathered.
b. Draw conclusions from the collected data.
c. Begin to collect information.
d. Conceptualize the problem to be studied. - ✔✔d. Conceptualize the problem to be studied.
Piaget theorized that children move through distinct stages of cognitive development, with each stage
being qualitatively different from the one preceding. His theory reflects which aspect of
developmental philosophy?
a. multidirectionality
b. stability
c. discontinuity
d. nature - ✔✔c. discontinuity
A researcher studies the effect of exercise on stamina. Participants are randomly assigned to be in an
exercise or no-exercise group for 12 weeks. Stamina is then measured by how long participants can walk
comfortably on a treadmill. In this study, the dependent variable is:
a. the heart rate during the exercise program.
b. the number of minutes participants spend comfortably on the treadmill.
c. whether the duration of the exercise program is 12 weeks or longer.
,d. whether the participants are in the exercise program or not. - ✔✔b. the number of
minutes participants spend comfortably on the treadmill.
Ecological theory has been criticized for paying too little attention to:
a. biological foundations
b. social consideration
c. microdimensions of culture
d. environmental settings - ✔✔a. biological foundations
During her intake interview, Jody's psychiatrist asks for a familial history of mental disorders, as well as
for details about her childhood friends, neighborhood, and schools. The psychiatrist is gathering
information related to the influence of ________ on development.
a. environment
b. cognitive acuity and coping skills
c. biology
d. biology and environment - ✔✔d. biology and environment
Each fall, the choir teacher faces the task of retraining the deepening voices of some of his male
students. What period of development are these students most likely in?
a. young adulthood
b. adolescence
c. late childhood
d. middle childhood - ✔✔b. adolescence
An eclectic theoretical orientation assumes that:
a. the different developmental theories are all correct and complete within their own contexts.
b. no single theory can account for all of human development.
c. development is a predictable and rigid process.
d. contemporary theories are more accurate than those created before 1950. - ✔✔b. no single
theory can account for all of human development.
, Infants raised in orphanages may not develop a positive and secure attachment to a caregiver in
their first year of life. According to John Bowlby, what might the consequences of this be?
a. The outcome will depend on the child's temperament.
b. The infant will bond to the first moving object seen after birth.
c. Life-span development will likely not be optimal.
d. As long as the child is adopted by age 10, no negative effects will be experienced. - ✔✔c. Life-
span development will likely not be optimal.
Which of the following theories is NOT a stage theory and claims that development is continuous
rather than discontinuous?
a. the information-processing theory
b. Erikson's theory of psychosocial development
c. Piaget's theory of cognitive development
d. Freud's theory of personality development - ✔✔a. the information-processing theory
Which of the following statements is NOT true of a theory?
a. A theory is an interrelated, coherent set of ideas that may suggest hypotheses.
b. A theory is an interrelated, coherent set of ideas that helps make predictions.
c. When studying a topic, it is advisable to choose one developmental theory and disregard all others.
d. A theory is an interrelated, coherent set of ideas that helps explain phenomena. - ✔✔c.
When studying a topic, it is advisable to choose one developmental theory and disregard all others.
Of special consideration for social policy intervention are children who grow up:
a. in very rural or very urban environments
b. in poverty
c. in single-parent homes
d. as part of a minority group - ✔✔b. in poverty
Lifespan Exam with Questions and
complete solutions
The successful outcome of Erikson's stage of ________ results in a healthy sense of independence.
a. initiative vs guilt
b. identity vs identity confusion
c. industry vs inferiority
d. autonomy vs shame and doubt - ✔✔d. autonomy vs shame and doubt
Researchers increasingly study the development of adulthood. This implies that development is:
a. multidirectional
b. lifelong
c. contextual
d. multidisciplinary - ✔✔b. lifelong
Which theory most strongly emphasizes the role of biology and evolution in development?
a. ethological
b. ecological
c. cognitive
d. behavioral - ✔✔a. ethological
The functional capacities of a person's vital organ system indicate ________ age.
a. chronological
b. social
,c. psychological
d. biological - ✔✔d. biological
Which of the following is NOT a weakness associated with standardized tests?
a. They allow an individual's performance to be compared with that of another.
b. People may behave differently in different settings.
c. Their use assumes that people's behaviors are consistent and stable.
d. People's performances may be influenced by their emotions in different settings. - ✔✔a.
They allow an individual's performance to be compared with that of another.
Nala decides to explore teenage pregnancy prevention for her Master's thesis. According to the
scientific method, what should be her first step in getting started?
a. Analyze the information she has gathered.
b. Draw conclusions from the collected data.
c. Begin to collect information.
d. Conceptualize the problem to be studied. - ✔✔d. Conceptualize the problem to be studied.
Piaget theorized that children move through distinct stages of cognitive development, with each stage
being qualitatively different from the one preceding. His theory reflects which aspect of
developmental philosophy?
a. multidirectionality
b. stability
c. discontinuity
d. nature - ✔✔c. discontinuity
A researcher studies the effect of exercise on stamina. Participants are randomly assigned to be in an
exercise or no-exercise group for 12 weeks. Stamina is then measured by how long participants can walk
comfortably on a treadmill. In this study, the dependent variable is:
a. the heart rate during the exercise program.
b. the number of minutes participants spend comfortably on the treadmill.
c. whether the duration of the exercise program is 12 weeks or longer.
,d. whether the participants are in the exercise program or not. - ✔✔b. the number of
minutes participants spend comfortably on the treadmill.
Ecological theory has been criticized for paying too little attention to:
a. biological foundations
b. social consideration
c. microdimensions of culture
d. environmental settings - ✔✔a. biological foundations
During her intake interview, Jody's psychiatrist asks for a familial history of mental disorders, as well as
for details about her childhood friends, neighborhood, and schools. The psychiatrist is gathering
information related to the influence of ________ on development.
a. environment
b. cognitive acuity and coping skills
c. biology
d. biology and environment - ✔✔d. biology and environment
Each fall, the choir teacher faces the task of retraining the deepening voices of some of his male
students. What period of development are these students most likely in?
a. young adulthood
b. adolescence
c. late childhood
d. middle childhood - ✔✔b. adolescence
An eclectic theoretical orientation assumes that:
a. the different developmental theories are all correct and complete within their own contexts.
b. no single theory can account for all of human development.
c. development is a predictable and rigid process.
d. contemporary theories are more accurate than those created before 1950. - ✔✔b. no single
theory can account for all of human development.
, Infants raised in orphanages may not develop a positive and secure attachment to a caregiver in
their first year of life. According to John Bowlby, what might the consequences of this be?
a. The outcome will depend on the child's temperament.
b. The infant will bond to the first moving object seen after birth.
c. Life-span development will likely not be optimal.
d. As long as the child is adopted by age 10, no negative effects will be experienced. - ✔✔c. Life-
span development will likely not be optimal.
Which of the following theories is NOT a stage theory and claims that development is continuous
rather than discontinuous?
a. the information-processing theory
b. Erikson's theory of psychosocial development
c. Piaget's theory of cognitive development
d. Freud's theory of personality development - ✔✔a. the information-processing theory
Which of the following statements is NOT true of a theory?
a. A theory is an interrelated, coherent set of ideas that may suggest hypotheses.
b. A theory is an interrelated, coherent set of ideas that helps make predictions.
c. When studying a topic, it is advisable to choose one developmental theory and disregard all others.
d. A theory is an interrelated, coherent set of ideas that helps explain phenomena. - ✔✔c.
When studying a topic, it is advisable to choose one developmental theory and disregard all others.
Of special consideration for social policy intervention are children who grow up:
a. in very rural or very urban environments
b. in poverty
c. in single-parent homes
d. as part of a minority group - ✔✔b. in poverty
