Ap Psych: Unit 9 (Developmental Psychology) Multiple Choice Questions

Alcohol is a teratogen that can slip through the ____ and damage the fetus or embryo?

placenta

Even as newborns, we prefer sights and sounds that facilitate social responsiveness. This can be seen by a newborn's preference for ____?

face-like images

As infants gain familiarity with with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner. The decrease in an infant's responsiveness is called ____?

habituation

Which question expresses the developmental issue of stability and change?

To what extent do certain traits persist through the life span?

What is the prenatal development sequence?

zygote, embryo, fetus

Some people think that development occurs much in the way a tree grows, slowly and steadily adding one ring each year. Others think that there are rather abrupt developmental jumps, like the transformation of a tadpole into a frog. Which of the following issues would this difference of opinion relate to?

continuity and stages

Which is the longest prenatal stage?

fetus

As the infant's brain develops, some neural pathways will decay if not used. This use-it-or-lose-it process is known as?

pruning

Which of the following depends least on the maturation process?

telling time

Which of the following is true of the early formation of brain cells?

They are overproduced early in the prenatal period, and then the rate decreases and stabilizes

Neural networks grow more complex by ____?

branching outward to form multiple connections

Your friend's baby brother, Matt, loves to play with his pet cat. When he sees a puppy, he points and calls it "Mi Mi" which is what he calls his cat. Matt is demonstrating Piaget's process of ----?

assimilation

If you showed a 2-year-old that you'd hidden a toy behind the bed in a model of her bedroom, she would not be able to find the toy in her real bedroom because she lacks ----/

symbolic thinking

Vygotsky called the space between what a child could learn with and without help the ---?

zone of proximal development

Which of the following is a current belief of researchers that differs from Piaget's original theories?

object permanence develops earlier that Piaget believed

Which of the following cognitive abilities is possible only at formal operational stage?

using a theory of mind to predict the behavior of others

Which of the following identifies children's difficulty seeing another's perspective?

egocentric thinker

Which of the following would indicate that a child understood the conversation?

she would believe that a clay snake would have the same amount of clay as the clay ball that was used to make it

An 18 month old typically recognizes herself in a mirror. This self-awareness contributes to ___?

self concept

In the attachment studies conducted with infant monkeys, what did the Harlows find?

contact comfort was the most important factor in attachment

What do we call an optimal window of opportunity for proper development?

the critical period

Which of the following identifies the parenting style most likely to ground a teen who has missed a curfew -- and to explain the rationale for doing so, after considering the teen's reasons?

authoritative

Which of the following would be considered a sign of secure attachment in a 1-year-old?

becoming distressed when the parent leaves and seeking contact on return

Who identified secure and insecure attachment?

Jerome Kagan

According to research, which type of aggression is more common among males than females?

harmful physical aggression

Gender ______ are the social expectations that guide men and women's behavior?

roles

Gender ______ is a person's sense of being male or female?

identity

Which of the following is generally true of males?

they are more likely to commit suicide

Diego likes to play sports and video games whereas Sara likes to sing, dance, and play "house". This example best depicts which of the following?

gender typing

Carol Gilligan's research emphasizes prominent female characteristics, especially _____?

making social connections

According to Plomin and Daniels, "Two children in the same family are (apart from their shared genes) as different from ________ as are pairs of children selected randomly from the population."

one another

Compared with rats raised in an enriched environment, which of the following is true of rats raised in isolation?

their brain cortex is less developed

What is the primary means by which parents influence the behavior of their children?

genetic contributions

Neurologically, what is the function of pruning?

pruning eliminates unused neural pathways

The growth of -------- around axons speeds neurotransmission, enabling better communication between the frontal lobe and other brain regions.

myelin

The maturation of the brain's ------- lags behind the development of the limbic system, which may explain the impulsivity of teenagers compared with adults.

frontal lobes

-------- believed that a child's moral judgements build of cognitive development. ------- agreed and sought to describe the development of moral reasoning.

Piaget; Kohlberg

Which level of moral reasoning includes a focus on upholding laws in order to gain social approval?

conventional

What development in adolescents allows for greater impulse control?

frontal lobe maturation in late adolescence

Which of Jean Piaget's stages describes typical adolescent thinking?

formal operational

Which of the following correctly describes one of Kohlberg's levels of moral reasoning?

pre-conventional stage, where moral judgement depends on rewards and punishments

According to Erikson, you develop your -----, a part of who you are, from your group memberships.

self-esteem

In many Western societies, it is common for adolescents to graduate high school, go to college, and still live at home with their parents. They have not yet assumed full adult responsibilities and independence. Psychologists have identified this period of time as

emerging adulthood

What is true of social relations during the teen years?

as teens distance themselves from parents, peer relationships become more important

According to Erikson, what is the primary developmental task for adolescents?

identity versus role confusion

Compared with the late nineteenth century, what is true about the transition from childhood to adulthood in Western cultures?

it starts earlier and is completed later

Megan, a third grader, is having trouble with math. She is starting to do poorly in other subjects, because she feels she cannot master math. Based on Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, which stage us Megan in?

competence versus inferiority

Boez is a 2-year-old boy who is in the process of potty training. When Boes urinates in the potty, he has a sense of pride. If Boez urinates in his pants, he runs and hides. According to Erikson, in which psychosocial stage is Boez?

autonomy versus shame and doubt

Which of the following is an example of a primary sex characteristic?

reproductive organs in both sexes

Which of the following is a primary sex characteristic that changes at puberty?

full development of external genitalia in both sexes

Which of the following has been shown to be the most effective intervention to reduce teen pregnancies?

participation in service learning programs

Which of the followung changes does NOT occur with age?

the lens of the eye becomes more transparent

As telomeres shorten, aging cells may die without being replaced with perfect genetic replicas. This process is slowed by

exercise

According to Erikson, which of the following is a dominant goal of adulthood?

generativity

The aging brain may help nurture positive feelings that are reported by many other adults. Brain scans of older adults show that the -------, a neural processing center for emotions, responds less actively to negative events (but not to positive events), and it interacts less with the hippocampus, a brain memory-processing center.

amygdala

What is true of menopause?

women experience menopause around the age of 50, but men don't experience menopause

What is an example of Erickson's concept of generativity?

a 40 year old takes pride in her work and how she raised her children

The ------ is a culturally determined timetable for certain events, such as having children and retirement.

social clock