PSYC 2001 Final Exam with Verified
Solutions 2026 Updated
Lifespan Development
What are the three domains of development?
Physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development.
What does physical development involve?
Growth and changes in the body and brain, senses, motor skills, health, and
wellness.
What does cognitive development involve?
Learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity.
What does psychosocial development involve?
Emotions, personality, and social relationships.
What is the normative approach in development?
Focuses on when development 'should' occur using typical patterns and timelines.
Give an example of the normative approach.
Two babies: one walks at 10 months, one hasn't walked at 15 months; average
walking age is 12 months.
What is Piaget's theory of cognitive development?
Children actively build understanding of the world through interaction, progressing
through four universal stages.
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What is the Sensorimotor Stage?
Learning through sensory experience and physical actions; development of object
permanence.
What is the Preoperational Stage?
Increased use of symbols/language, egocentric thinking, lack of conservation.
What is the Concrete Operational Stage?
Logical thinking for concrete objects, understanding conservation, less egocentric.
What is the Formal Operational Stage?
Ability to think abstractly and hypothetically; can reason about moral,
philosophical, and scientific problems.
What is assimilation in Piaget's theory?
Fitting new information into existing schemas.
What is accommodation in Piaget's theory?
Changing existing schemas to fit new information.
What is the conservation task?
Tests if a child understands quantity remains the same despite changes in
shape/appearance.
What is Erikson's view of psychosocial development?
People develop through 8 life stages, each with a psychosocial crisis.
What are the stages of Erikson's psychosocial development?
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1) Trust vs. Mistrust (0-1), 2) Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt (1-3), 3) Initiative vs.
Guilt (3-6), 4) Industry vs. Inferiority (7-11), 5) Identity vs. Confusion (12-18), 6)
Intimacy vs. Isolation (19-29), 7) Generativity vs. Stagnation (30-64), 8) Integrity
vs. Despair (65+).
What are the consequences of successfully achieving intimacy?
Forming close, committed relationships; failure leads to isolation.
What are the consequences of successfully achieving generativity?
Feeling purposeful by contributing to others; failure leads to stagnation.
How do textbook authors evaluate Erikson's theory?
Influential and useful framework but difficult to scientifically evaluate.
What cognitive capacities do newborns have?
Sensory awareness, early learning via conditioning, imitation, recognition memory.
Give an example of newborn learning through conditioning.
Linking a sound or sucking action to a reward like milk.
What abilities do newborns have for social interaction?
Imitation of facial expressions and preference for human voices/faces.
Describe typical motor development in infancy.
Lifts/turns head, rolls over, sits without support, crawls, pulls to stand, walks with
support.
Describe typical motor development in toddlerhood.
Walks steadily, runs, climbs stairs with help, begins jumping/kicking a ball.
PSYC 2001