PSYC 140 Developmental
Psychology Final Exam 2025/2026
Complete Questions with Correct
Detailed Answers || Already Graded
A+ <Recent Version>
Portage Learning
1. What is developmental psychology? - ANSWER ✔ Developmental
psychology studies the changes that occur across the human lifespan,
whether physical, cognitive, or social development.
2. Define nature - ANSWER ✔ the genetic and biological disposition of an
individual
3. The environmental influences on individuals, such as friends, family and
culture.
4. Discuss the lifespan approach to human development. - ANSWER ✔ In the
past, developmental psychologists only focused on change in childhood. The
Lifespan approach to human development recognizes that very important
changes occur in adulthood as well. The Lifespan approach to development
emphasizes human change from conception to death. Each period of life is
considered to be important.
5. What are the differences between a cross-sectional and longitudinal study? -
ANSWER ✔ Cross-sectional studies examine people at one period of time,
while longitudinal studies follow participants over a longer period of time.
,6. What is maturation? - ANSWER ✔ has to do with something becoming
more developed and more advanced.
7. What factors influence whether or not a teratogen will have an effect? -
ANSWER ✔ The mother's health, the amount of the teratogen, and the
timing of the teratogen. Organs that are in the process of forming are at the
greatest risk of a teratogen.
8. What tips are recommended in order to prevent SIDS? - ANSWER ✔ Don't
smoke around an infant, don't sleep with an infant, make sure the crib or
sleeping area is free of anything that could fall over the infant's face and
obstruct breathing, lie the baby on her back to sleep
9. Name 3 examples of gross motor skills. - ANSWER ✔ walking, running,
jogging. playing a sport
10.Which hormone is produced by the hypothalamus and triggers the release of
gonadotropins? - ANSWER ✔ GnRH
11.What is menopause? - ANSWER ✔ A woman going 12 months without
menstruation.
12.How did Jean Piaget come up with his theory of cognitive development? -
ANSWER ✔ By observing his children as they grew up as well as other
children.
13.Describe the sensorimotor stage - ANSWER ✔ From birth to age 2,
according to Piaget. In this stage, infants learn about the world by interacting
with it—by touching and tasting. Infants must physically interact with
something in order to think about it. Infants in this stage do not understand
object permanence.
14.What is object permanence? - ANSWER ✔ The idea that objects still exist
even if you can't see them.
15.What mental task do preoperational children have trouble with? - ANSWER
✔ Conservation.
,16.They cannot conserve substances, or they don't understand that the physical
properties of substances or subjects do not change if nothing is added or
taken away
17.What are the differences between concrete operational thought and formal
operational thought? - ANSWER ✔ Concrete Operational thought is logical
and sequential. Conservation.
18.Formal Operational thought is even beyond simple logic and includes
scientific and abstract reasoning.
19.What is overregularization? - ANSWER ✔ Over-applying a grammar rule.
20.What is your reaction to the results from the Seattle Longitudinal Study? Be
specific. - ANSWER ✔ I am not surprised that the middle-aged adults
outperformed their younger selves. We learn every day and with age comes
knowledge and experience.
21.What is a crisis, according to Erikson? - ANSWER ✔ A moment of decision
22.Describe the Trust vs. Mistrust stage. - ANSWER ✔ If infants have loving
caregivers who supply safety and security for the infant, the baby will
develop a sense of trust in them. If, however, the infant's life is chaotic and
lacks reliable caregivers, the infant may develop a mistrustful outlook
toward people.
23.What are some of the main issues in Erikson's childhood stages? - ANSWER
✔ Autonomy vs. Self Doubt: children recognizing that they are separate
from their parents.
24.Initiative vs. Guilt: children understanding that they have the ability to make
and create things.
25.Competence vs. Inferiority: children realizing that they can be good at
certain things.
26.What is the basic crisis in adolescence? - ANSWER ✔ Identity crisis.
identity vs role confusion
, 27.Compare the crises in early adulthood, middle age, and late adulthood. -
ANSWER ✔ Intimacy vs. Isolation (early adulthood): will the adult be
intimate with people or will he or she be lonely and cut off from others.
Generativity vs. Stagnation (middle age): will the adult leave a legacy, or
will he and she be self-indulged and selfish. Ego Integrity vs. Despair (late
adulthood): will the adult be satisfied with the life that he or she led, or will
the adult become bitter and full of despair.
28.Describe the four parenting styles. - ANSWER ✔ Authoritarian parents are
strong disciplinarians who do not show much affection to their children.
29.Authoritative parents are also strong disciplinarians, who balance discipline
with love. This is thought to be the best parenting style, and research
indicates that children from authoritative families tend to show the best
outcomes in terms of psychological and school functioning.
30.Permissive parents are quite lax on discipline, but shower their children with
affection. While this style may be acceptable for an easy child with few
problem behaviors, some kids growing up in permissive families turn out to
be aggressive with poor impulse control.Neglectful parents are neither
affectionate nor strong on discipline.
31.Neglect is a form of child maltreatment, and neglectful parents fail to
monitor their children or provide necessary support.
32.Give an overview of Kohlberg's theory of moral development. - ANSWER
✔ Kohlberg classified individuals into various stages: preconventional,
conventional, post-conventional. The pre-conventional stage view morality
as externally controlled; the conventional stage considers the social
ramifications of moral laws; the post-conventional stage sees universal laws
as being morally binding
33.What develops in the womb during pregnancy? - ANSWER ✔ Organs and
their functions
34.What sense do infants start developing in the womb? - ANSWER ✔ Hearing
35.Are taste and smell well-developed in infants at birth? - ANSWER ✔ Yes,
both taste and smell are well-developed in infants at birth.
Psychology Final Exam 2025/2026
Complete Questions with Correct
Detailed Answers || Already Graded
A+ <Recent Version>
Portage Learning
1. What is developmental psychology? - ANSWER ✔ Developmental
psychology studies the changes that occur across the human lifespan,
whether physical, cognitive, or social development.
2. Define nature - ANSWER ✔ the genetic and biological disposition of an
individual
3. The environmental influences on individuals, such as friends, family and
culture.
4. Discuss the lifespan approach to human development. - ANSWER ✔ In the
past, developmental psychologists only focused on change in childhood. The
Lifespan approach to human development recognizes that very important
changes occur in adulthood as well. The Lifespan approach to development
emphasizes human change from conception to death. Each period of life is
considered to be important.
5. What are the differences between a cross-sectional and longitudinal study? -
ANSWER ✔ Cross-sectional studies examine people at one period of time,
while longitudinal studies follow participants over a longer period of time.
,6. What is maturation? - ANSWER ✔ has to do with something becoming
more developed and more advanced.
7. What factors influence whether or not a teratogen will have an effect? -
ANSWER ✔ The mother's health, the amount of the teratogen, and the
timing of the teratogen. Organs that are in the process of forming are at the
greatest risk of a teratogen.
8. What tips are recommended in order to prevent SIDS? - ANSWER ✔ Don't
smoke around an infant, don't sleep with an infant, make sure the crib or
sleeping area is free of anything that could fall over the infant's face and
obstruct breathing, lie the baby on her back to sleep
9. Name 3 examples of gross motor skills. - ANSWER ✔ walking, running,
jogging. playing a sport
10.Which hormone is produced by the hypothalamus and triggers the release of
gonadotropins? - ANSWER ✔ GnRH
11.What is menopause? - ANSWER ✔ A woman going 12 months without
menstruation.
12.How did Jean Piaget come up with his theory of cognitive development? -
ANSWER ✔ By observing his children as they grew up as well as other
children.
13.Describe the sensorimotor stage - ANSWER ✔ From birth to age 2,
according to Piaget. In this stage, infants learn about the world by interacting
with it—by touching and tasting. Infants must physically interact with
something in order to think about it. Infants in this stage do not understand
object permanence.
14.What is object permanence? - ANSWER ✔ The idea that objects still exist
even if you can't see them.
15.What mental task do preoperational children have trouble with? - ANSWER
✔ Conservation.
,16.They cannot conserve substances, or they don't understand that the physical
properties of substances or subjects do not change if nothing is added or
taken away
17.What are the differences between concrete operational thought and formal
operational thought? - ANSWER ✔ Concrete Operational thought is logical
and sequential. Conservation.
18.Formal Operational thought is even beyond simple logic and includes
scientific and abstract reasoning.
19.What is overregularization? - ANSWER ✔ Over-applying a grammar rule.
20.What is your reaction to the results from the Seattle Longitudinal Study? Be
specific. - ANSWER ✔ I am not surprised that the middle-aged adults
outperformed their younger selves. We learn every day and with age comes
knowledge and experience.
21.What is a crisis, according to Erikson? - ANSWER ✔ A moment of decision
22.Describe the Trust vs. Mistrust stage. - ANSWER ✔ If infants have loving
caregivers who supply safety and security for the infant, the baby will
develop a sense of trust in them. If, however, the infant's life is chaotic and
lacks reliable caregivers, the infant may develop a mistrustful outlook
toward people.
23.What are some of the main issues in Erikson's childhood stages? - ANSWER
✔ Autonomy vs. Self Doubt: children recognizing that they are separate
from their parents.
24.Initiative vs. Guilt: children understanding that they have the ability to make
and create things.
25.Competence vs. Inferiority: children realizing that they can be good at
certain things.
26.What is the basic crisis in adolescence? - ANSWER ✔ Identity crisis.
identity vs role confusion
, 27.Compare the crises in early adulthood, middle age, and late adulthood. -
ANSWER ✔ Intimacy vs. Isolation (early adulthood): will the adult be
intimate with people or will he or she be lonely and cut off from others.
Generativity vs. Stagnation (middle age): will the adult leave a legacy, or
will he and she be self-indulged and selfish. Ego Integrity vs. Despair (late
adulthood): will the adult be satisfied with the life that he or she led, or will
the adult become bitter and full of despair.
28.Describe the four parenting styles. - ANSWER ✔ Authoritarian parents are
strong disciplinarians who do not show much affection to their children.
29.Authoritative parents are also strong disciplinarians, who balance discipline
with love. This is thought to be the best parenting style, and research
indicates that children from authoritative families tend to show the best
outcomes in terms of psychological and school functioning.
30.Permissive parents are quite lax on discipline, but shower their children with
affection. While this style may be acceptable for an easy child with few
problem behaviors, some kids growing up in permissive families turn out to
be aggressive with poor impulse control.Neglectful parents are neither
affectionate nor strong on discipline.
31.Neglect is a form of child maltreatment, and neglectful parents fail to
monitor their children or provide necessary support.
32.Give an overview of Kohlberg's theory of moral development. - ANSWER
✔ Kohlberg classified individuals into various stages: preconventional,
conventional, post-conventional. The pre-conventional stage view morality
as externally controlled; the conventional stage considers the social
ramifications of moral laws; the post-conventional stage sees universal laws
as being morally binding
33.What develops in the womb during pregnancy? - ANSWER ✔ Organs and
their functions
34.What sense do infants start developing in the womb? - ANSWER ✔ Hearing
35.Are taste and smell well-developed in infants at birth? - ANSWER ✔ Yes,
both taste and smell are well-developed in infants at birth.
