LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT COMPREHENSIVE
EXAM 2026 QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◉ At 10 months old, Suzie is very active, responds intensely to
stimulation, avoids new stimulation, and tends to be irritable and
fussy. Suzie's mother, Anne, wants to be a good caregiver, but Suzie's
fussiness and intensity have made her feel like a failure. Anne
sometimes finds herself withdrawing from Suzie and not responding
when Suzie cries, because she feels like it will do no good. What
advice should Anne's counselor give her? Answer: Anne is not
responsible for her baby's fussiness. Some babies are needier and
more negative than others. In the long run, continuing to be
responsive to crying will help Suzie to better regulate her emotions.
◉ Developmental researchers use the term "goodness of fit" to refer
to Answer: the match between the caregiver's responses to a child
and the child's temperament.
◉ Infants form multiple attachments, to both mother and father and
perhaps to a sibling, grandparent, and so on. Which of the following
statements is most consistent with available data on the impact of
these attachments? Answer: More than one secure attachment adds
value, serving as a further protective factor.
,◉ A parent whose own working model of attachment is
"preoccupied/entangled" is likely to have an infant with which of the
following kinds of attachment? Answer: Anxious ambivalent.
◉ Which of the following is a true statement about the stability of
infant attachments? Answer: Changes in family stressors that lead to
changes in caregiving quality can lead to shifts in attachment quality.
◉ Juan is afraid of snakes. Which of the following is likely to best
describe how his brain responds when he first sees a snake?
Answer: The lower limbic structures like the amygdala can process
the sensory input from the snake and trigger a physical reaction to
the feared stimulus before the input is processed at a more rational
level by the cortex.
◉ Basic emotions such as _____________ can be observed in young
infants, but self-conscious emotions such as ____________ only emerge
in childhood. Answer: surprise and fear / embarrassment and pride
◉ The quality of a children's attachments has been found to affect
Answer: how children respond to new social situations.
◉ Phillipa's husband, Manuel, is worried about her plan to return to
full-time employment when their baby is 6 months old. He is afraid
that there will be a negative effect on the baby's attachment to her
mother. Phillipa suggests that she and Manuel discuss the pros and
,cons of day care with a counselor. What would a well-informed
counselor advise this couple? Answer: If Phillipa continues to
provide sensitive, responsive care when she is with the baby, and if
the day care is good quality, then the baby should still form a secure
attachment to Phillipa.
◉ Which of the following is not true with regard to the definition of
reactive attachment disorder? Answer: These children behave
indifferently, like avoidantly attached youngsters.
◉ Day care researchers have identified a dose-response relationship
between the amount of time spent in day care and the age of entry
into day care and which later outcome? Answer: aggression and
neediness at school age
◉ Counselors who work with young children to enhance their
mental health should take an active role in Answer: providing
support and information for parents.
◉ Recent research on the self-system supports the idea that the self
is ____________ in nature. Answer: multidimensional
◉ Becky is struggling to learn her alphabet letters. Her kindergarten
teacher, frustrated by failed attempts to teach her, says to Becky, "All
the other girls and boys can write most of the letters and you can't
even say their names." The teacher believes she is motivating the
, child to work harder by comparing Becky to the others. Which of the
following predictions is most consistent with Cooley's theory of self-
development? Answer: Becky will incorporate her teacher's negative
evaluations into her construction of her own sense of self.
◉ The term ____________ refers to the description of a person's
attributes, whereas the term ____________ refers to how a person feels
about those attributes. Answer: self-concept / self-esteem
◉ Marie has a 2½-year-old daughter. The babysitter has been calling
her daughter "naughty" and "a bad girl" when the child is
uncooperative. The babysitter says that the little girl doesn't
understand what she is saying so it doesn't matter. Marie is unsure
about what to do. Based upon information presented in this chapter,
what would you say to Marie? Answer: Marie should find some way
to stop this before these labels become part of her daughter's
developing self-understanding.
◉ At what age would a young child typically show self-recognition,
the ability to recognize themselves in a mirror? Answer: By 18
months.
◉ Alex is 22 months of age. He knows that he should not play with
his food at the dinner table, but he sometimes still does so. His
parents can usually redirect his behavior with simple reminders
about what he should be doing. What is happening cognitively to
help him grow in self-control? Answer: With repeated experience,
EXAM 2026 QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◉ At 10 months old, Suzie is very active, responds intensely to
stimulation, avoids new stimulation, and tends to be irritable and
fussy. Suzie's mother, Anne, wants to be a good caregiver, but Suzie's
fussiness and intensity have made her feel like a failure. Anne
sometimes finds herself withdrawing from Suzie and not responding
when Suzie cries, because she feels like it will do no good. What
advice should Anne's counselor give her? Answer: Anne is not
responsible for her baby's fussiness. Some babies are needier and
more negative than others. In the long run, continuing to be
responsive to crying will help Suzie to better regulate her emotions.
◉ Developmental researchers use the term "goodness of fit" to refer
to Answer: the match between the caregiver's responses to a child
and the child's temperament.
◉ Infants form multiple attachments, to both mother and father and
perhaps to a sibling, grandparent, and so on. Which of the following
statements is most consistent with available data on the impact of
these attachments? Answer: More than one secure attachment adds
value, serving as a further protective factor.
,◉ A parent whose own working model of attachment is
"preoccupied/entangled" is likely to have an infant with which of the
following kinds of attachment? Answer: Anxious ambivalent.
◉ Which of the following is a true statement about the stability of
infant attachments? Answer: Changes in family stressors that lead to
changes in caregiving quality can lead to shifts in attachment quality.
◉ Juan is afraid of snakes. Which of the following is likely to best
describe how his brain responds when he first sees a snake?
Answer: The lower limbic structures like the amygdala can process
the sensory input from the snake and trigger a physical reaction to
the feared stimulus before the input is processed at a more rational
level by the cortex.
◉ Basic emotions such as _____________ can be observed in young
infants, but self-conscious emotions such as ____________ only emerge
in childhood. Answer: surprise and fear / embarrassment and pride
◉ The quality of a children's attachments has been found to affect
Answer: how children respond to new social situations.
◉ Phillipa's husband, Manuel, is worried about her plan to return to
full-time employment when their baby is 6 months old. He is afraid
that there will be a negative effect on the baby's attachment to her
mother. Phillipa suggests that she and Manuel discuss the pros and
,cons of day care with a counselor. What would a well-informed
counselor advise this couple? Answer: If Phillipa continues to
provide sensitive, responsive care when she is with the baby, and if
the day care is good quality, then the baby should still form a secure
attachment to Phillipa.
◉ Which of the following is not true with regard to the definition of
reactive attachment disorder? Answer: These children behave
indifferently, like avoidantly attached youngsters.
◉ Day care researchers have identified a dose-response relationship
between the amount of time spent in day care and the age of entry
into day care and which later outcome? Answer: aggression and
neediness at school age
◉ Counselors who work with young children to enhance their
mental health should take an active role in Answer: providing
support and information for parents.
◉ Recent research on the self-system supports the idea that the self
is ____________ in nature. Answer: multidimensional
◉ Becky is struggling to learn her alphabet letters. Her kindergarten
teacher, frustrated by failed attempts to teach her, says to Becky, "All
the other girls and boys can write most of the letters and you can't
even say their names." The teacher believes she is motivating the
, child to work harder by comparing Becky to the others. Which of the
following predictions is most consistent with Cooley's theory of self-
development? Answer: Becky will incorporate her teacher's negative
evaluations into her construction of her own sense of self.
◉ The term ____________ refers to the description of a person's
attributes, whereas the term ____________ refers to how a person feels
about those attributes. Answer: self-concept / self-esteem
◉ Marie has a 2½-year-old daughter. The babysitter has been calling
her daughter "naughty" and "a bad girl" when the child is
uncooperative. The babysitter says that the little girl doesn't
understand what she is saying so it doesn't matter. Marie is unsure
about what to do. Based upon information presented in this chapter,
what would you say to Marie? Answer: Marie should find some way
to stop this before these labels become part of her daughter's
developing self-understanding.
◉ At what age would a young child typically show self-recognition,
the ability to recognize themselves in a mirror? Answer: By 18
months.
◉ Alex is 22 months of age. He knows that he should not play with
his food at the dinner table, but he sometimes still does so. His
parents can usually redirect his behavior with simple reminders
about what he should be doing. What is happening cognitively to
help him grow in self-control? Answer: With repeated experience,
