Chapter.1 Goals, Theories, And Methods Complete Test Bank

Test Bank to accompany

Child Development: Context, Culture, and Cascades

Chapter 1: Goals, theories, and Methods

Multiple Choice Questions

1. A scientist interested in examining age-related differences in children’s use of mathematical strategies is an example of which developmental approach?

a. Basic developmental science.

b. Explanatory developmental science.

c. Applied developmental science.

d. Descriptive developmental science.

e. Cognitive developmental science.

Learning Objective: 1.1 Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative changes in development.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

2. Gradual changes in an infant’s ability to move is an example of _______ change.

a. progression

b. sequential

c. qualitative

d. quantitative

e. responsive

Learning Objective: 1.1 Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative changes in development.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

3. The transition from babbling to using words can be considered an example of _______ change.

a. linguistic

b. motivational

c. qualitative

d. sequential

e. quantitative

Learning Objective: 1.1 Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative changes in development.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

4. The spread or variability among children in various aspects of development are called

a. emergent skills.

b. individual differences.

c. developmental onset.

d. rates of change.

e. quantitative change.

Learning Objective: 1.2 List three ways that children differ in their course of development.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

5. A child in a remote village in Brazil may not understand basic math concepts because the language does not have words for numbers. This reflects a cultural influence on

a. age of onset of a skill.

b. a child’s intelligence.

c. qualitative change.

d. the form a skill takes.

e. stability of math concepts.

Learning Objective: 1.2 List three ways that children differ in their course of development.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

6. Rutter (1981) conducted a study on children from an orphanage: When infants received adequate care in adoptive homes, they became more affectionate, more cheerful. This is an example of

a. plasticity—infants can adapt and even change in response to improved environments or experiences.

b. stability—infants maintain consistent levels of temperament.

c. instability—difficult environments early on lead to instability during adult life.

d. continuity of behavior across changing environments.

e. stable adaptiveness—changing environments is normal and can be positive or negative.

Learning Objective: 1.3 Explain and contrast developmental stability and developmental plasticity.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

7. The nature-nurture seesaw is best summarized by which of the following?

a. Primary focus should be given to genetic/heredity elements.

b. Degree to which genes and/or the environment influences individuals must be considered.

c. Origins of personality or temperament are influenced by environment.

d. The relative influence from parents in personality development must be considered .

e. The genes expressed by adopted children in their new home is significant.

Learning Objective: 1.4 Understand the main arguments that characterize the nature-nurture debate in developmental psychology.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

8. A child has difficulty processing information early on, leading to challenges in making friends and later experiences of being bullied. What are these related effects called?

a. Non-normative developmental factors

b. Normative effects of development

c. Domains of development

d. Delayed development

e. Developmental cascades

Learning Objective: 1.5 Define a developmental cascade and discuss how cascading influences can be seen across domains and across developmental time.

Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

9. A child is overtly scolded by nonresponsive parents often. In adolescence, the child begins to form relationships with peers who demonstrate antisocial, even violent behaviors. This example demonstrates

a. cascades over time.

b. the cascade effect.

c. cascades within time.

d. developmental cascades of adolescence.

e. antisocial cascades.

Learning Objective: 1.5 Define a developmental cascade and discuss how cascading influences can be seen across domains and across developmental time.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

10. Early philosopher John Locke viewed children as a tabula rasa, meaning they were

a. small adults.

b. inherently damned.

c. a blank slate.

d. inherently good.

e. benevolent.

Learning Objective: 1.6 Compare how early philosopher’s advice to parents about raising children differs from current advice to parents.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

11. Why did early French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau believe formal education should begin at age 12?

a. Rousseau believed children were blank slates and needed time to grow.

b. Rousseau believed children should be free to explore the world unrestricted.

c. Rousseau worried about disease in schools and thought younger children should be protected from these threats.

d. Rousseau believed formal education would not stick during childhood.

e. Rousseau believed by age 12 children could evaluate the merits of their elders.

Learning Objective: 1.6 Compare how early philosopher’s advice to parents about raising children differs from current advice to parents.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

12. Policies and programs are developed to improve and enhance the lives of families and children. Which national program has been implemented to benefit children’s learning?

a. A social-media program that encourages acculturation at a young age

b. A daycare program that focuses on a Rousseau learning curriculum

c. An after-school program that has not changed learning objectives since the 1970s

d. A school performance program that begins during middle school

e. A library reading program that encourages children to explore many books

Learning Objective: 1.7 List ways that developmental science has affected programs and policies for young children.

Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

13. Theory is best defined as

a. interconnected statements, ideas or principles that explain observable events.

b. guesses or hunches about observed behaviors in nature.

c. a group of hypotheses used to create a set of new ideas.

d. research questions that are tested using case studies.

e. working ideas that are developed during data collection phases.

Learning Objective: 1.8 Explain how environmental experiences can shape biologically rooted behaviors in adaptive ways.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

14. A developmental scientist hypothesizes that children learn language at such young ages because the brain guides learning through “regions” innately dedicated to language. Which idea best characterizes this type of theory?

a. Bottom-up explanation of development

b. Direct theory of learning

c. Top-down explanation of development

d. Active agent explanation of development

e. Experiential learning

Learning Objective: 1.8 Explain how environmental experiences can shape biologically rooted behaviors in adaptive ways.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

15. A teenager begins bullying other kids at school. Upon investigation, a school psychologist discovers the student has been neglected at home and feels powerless. Which theoretical orientation might explain the teen’s bullying behavior?

a. Natural selection theory

b. Evolutionary theory

c. Biological tendency theory.

d. Deindividuation theory

e. Nativist theory

Learning Objective: 1.8 Explain how environmental experiences can shape biologically rooted behaviors in adaptive ways.

Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

16. A child has the impulse to hit other children when he gets upset. However, the child realizes such behaviors are inappropriate and unacceptable, and therefore the child refrains from hitting. According to Freud’s theory, the

a. child is repressing the unconscious understanding of what is right to do.

b. id is overwhelming the ego.

c. ego and superego are in conflict over what is desired versus appropriate.

d. superego is imposing societal demands on the id.

e. id has taken over.

Learning Objective: 1.9 Distinguish between Freud’s psychosexual stage theory and Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory.

Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

17. A child is attempting to gain math competency to keep up with the class. According to Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory, this child is experiencing conflict from which stage?

a. Integrity vs despair

b. Generativity vs stagnation

c. Industry vs inferiority

d. Initiative vs guilt

e. Autonomy vs dyscalculia

Learning Objective: 1.9 Distinguish between Freud’s psychosexual stage theory and Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory.

Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

18. Adrian is living on his own for the first time and is pursuing a romantic relationship with a friend. Out of fear of rejection, Adrian is struggling with self-doubt and is hesitant to share his feelings. This serves as an example of which psychosocial stage?

a. Autonomy vs relationships

b. Intimacy vs isolation

c. Autonomy vs shame and doubt

d. Latent vs phallic.

e. Love vs despair.

Learning Objective: 1.9 Distinguish between Freud’s psychosexual stage theory and Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory.

Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

19. Benita is trying to replace her cravings to smoke by drinking a juice that she hates anytime she feels a craving. She is hoping this will decrease her smoking behavior. This type of conditioning is known as

a. operant conditioning.

b. classical conditioning.

c. behaviorism conditioning.

d. unconditioned response.

e. conditioned response.

Learning Objective: 1.10 Compare and contrast the learning theories of classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

20. A mother and young child walked past a man with long hair. The child shouted: “Why does that mommy have a beard?” After mother explains that men can have long hair, the child now modifies the notion of men to include possibly having long hair. This is an example of

a. accommodation.

b. assimilation.

c. proximal development.

d. behaviorism.

e. embarrassing phenomena.

Learning Objective: 1.11 Explain key features of Piaget’s constructivist theory and how it contrasts with behaviorism.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

21. Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development is best characterized by which example?

a. A child is unable to understand a new mathematical concept regardless of the teacher’s help.

b. A child figures out how to correctly spell a four-syllable word alone.

c. A child counts to five, but the teacher helps the child count a few more numbers to 10.

d. A parent tests a child’s zone of proximal development by asking his/her child to calculate 2 + 2 quickly.

e. Children that have reached the formal operational stage have outgrown limits in their zone of proximal development.

Learning Objective: 1.12 Describe Vygotsky’s main theoretical contribution to developmental science.

Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyze

22. Which theorist claimed that children have an innate ability to rapidly acquire language?

a. Chomsky

b. Piaget

c. Brahms

d. Vygotsky

e. Bandura

Learning Objective: 1.13 Explain how a nativist approach to core capacities aligns with evolutionary perspectives of human development.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

23. A boy brings a doll everywhere he goes. He sees other boys playing with blocks and never dolls. The boy puts his doll away and joins the other boys. According to Bandura, the boy did this because

a. social learning theory emphasizes children get jealous at this age.

b. social learning theory states children will learn by watching other children.

c. the boy only cares about fitting in with others.

d. the boy will slowly introduce his doll to the other boys.

e. the boy learned that other boys prefer playing with blocks to dolls and chose to do the same.

Learning Objective: 1.14 Explain the principles of social learning theory, and how Bandura’s research illustrated these principles.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

24. Danika’s mom is angry on the phone, raises her voice, and yells before slamming the phone down. Later, Danika’s mom sees Danika yelling at her doll for being late and abruptly pushing the doll onto the floor. This is an example of

a. zone of proximal development.

b. learned language development.

c. imitating evaluative development.

d. pretend play, a normative behavior for Danika’s age.

e. observational learning.

Learning Objective: 1.14 Explain the principles of social learning theory, and how Bandura’s research illustrated these principles.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

25. Robyn and Marlene climbed the neighbors’ fence to use their trampoline. Robyn’s mom got angry and put Robyn on a timeout before giving a chore to Robyn. Marlene saw Robyn get scolded and punished and never climbed the fence again. Why?

a. She saw what would happen to her (vicarious reinforcement learning).

b. She never got the chance (reciprocal determinism).

c. She fears punishment more than the reward of fun (negative reinforcement).

d. She observed Robyn is more capable of climbing than she is (limited physical abilities).

e. She realized her cognitive functioning is more advanced than Robyn’s (formal operational).

Learning Objective: 1.14 Explain the principles of social learning theory, and how Bandura’s research illustrated these principles.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

26. A developmental systems theorist is most likely to hold that human behavior is shaped by
a. a wide range of factors, including biology and environment.

b. operant conditioning.

c. an orderly process, directed by the brain, that occurs as human beings grow and develop.

d. social experiences.

e. cultural norms and expectations.

Learning Objective: 1.16 Explain how developmental systems theorists conceptualize development.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

27. A stay-at-home working parent decides to work full time outside the home. This will impact the child through effects on the

a. micro and meso systems.

b. micro and chrono systems.

c. micro and exo systems.

d. exo and chrono systems.

e. micro, meso, and exo systems.

Learning Objective: 1.17 Describe Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological theory of development.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

28. Why might children be influenced by physical and/or social settings, customs, beliefs, and views of caregivers in their home?

a. Children are blank slates and will model their parents.

b. Children learn by observing others.

c. Children’s learning is shaped by the cultural context.

d. Vygotsky believes incentives may play a key role.

e. Children are influences by such factors because of their early attachment formation.

Learning Objective: 1.18 Understand the components of culture and the how culture affects children’s experiences and development.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

29. A researcher wants to identify leading causes of adolescent use of vaping. Which statement could serve as a hypothesis?

a. Teens will start vaping due to initial pressure by friends and peers.

b. Teens were found to be unaware of the risks.

c. Past research reported teens perceived vaping as unrelated directly to health.

d. Results indicated decline in knowledge of cost to vape.

e. Hypotheses must be in the form of a question.

Learning Objective: 1.19 Understand the steps involved in the scientific method.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

30. Discovery-based science allows for a new way of learning why teens behave a certain way. Which reflects a discovery-based approach to this question?

a. Following the scientific method’s procedures closely

b. Focusing on hypotheses and survey results

c. Surveying as many as possible (n=) minimum of 10,000 teens with a set of predefined questions

d. An open-ended interview with teens to understand the motivations and reasoning of their behaviors

e. Collecting data from teens in a stratified way

Learning Objective: 1.20 Compare discovery-based research to the traditional scientific method.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

31. Which approach would limit the generalizability of study findings to the population of interest?

a. Predefined variables

b. Convenience sampling

c. Experimental research

d. Longitudinal designs

e. Discovery-based science

Learning Objective: 1.21 Understand the decisions involved in determining the participants or sample to be included in a research study.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

32. Why might qualitative research allow for more depth in understanding a phenomenon?

a. Qualitative research is quick, and it is easy to find participants.

b. Qualitative research draws out participants’ experiences from their perspectives, rather than preguided hypotheses.

c. Qualitative research is usually cheaper to conduct than survey methods.

d. Qualitative research has low non-response rates allowing for more successful analyses.

e. Qualitative methods avoid the risk of social desirability biases.

Learning Objective: 1.22 Compare and contrast the various approaches or methods developmental scientists use to gather data.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

33. A researcher observes children at a playground during recess. This study is designed with no interactions with the subjects. This type of study is known as

a. structural observation.

b. naturalistic observation.

c. stratified sampling.

d. snowball sampling.

e. direct viewing assessment.

Learning Objective: 1.22 Compare and contrast the various approaches or methods developmental scientists use to gather data.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

34. A researcher wants to measure the frequency of cyberbullying at different grade levels at an elementary school. Which type of study should be applied?

a. Convenience sample study

b. Longitudinal study

c. Cross-sectional study

d. Cohort sequential study

e. Correlational study

Learning Objective: 1.23 Compare and contrast the benefits and limitations of the different study designs used in developmental science.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

35. An experiment that follows the same group of children over a period of time is called a _______ study.

a. correlational

b. cross-sectional

c. longitudinal

d. cohort sequential

e. microgenetic

Learning Objective: 1.23 Compare and contrast the benefits and limitations of the different study designs used in developmental science.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

36. A researcher has designed a study that will involve obtaining frequent, closely spaced observations of children. This is a _______ study.

a. correlational

b. cross-sectional

c. longitudinal

d. cohort sequential

e. microgenetic

Learning Objective: 1.23 Compare and contrast the benefits and limitations of the different study designs used in developmental science.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

37. Behavioral genetic studies generally involve observing

a. two more groups of children of different ages over time.

b. the same participants over time, typically months or years.

c. associations between two ore more variables without manipulating the variables.

d. twins, adopted children, or genome-wide associations.

e. children of different ages at roughly the same point in time.

Learning Objective: 1.23 Compare and contrast the benefits and limitations of the different study designs used in developmental science.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

38. A university class practiced writing cover letters all semester. To test what they learned about letter-writing, the final essay asks them to write about ways to job search. This violates _______ validity.

a. face

b. concurrent

c. predictive

d. external

e. inter-rater

Learning Objective: 1.24 Distinguish among the different types of validity and explain why they are crucial to the quality of research.

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

39. Middle schoolers participated in a sex education and health program early in the year. They were tested at the end of the program to measure what they retained. A week later, they were tested again to see if individual children received similar scores. Which type of reliability is demonstrated?

a. Test-retest reliability

b. Cronbach’s alpha of reliability

c. Replicability

d. Interobserver reliability

e. Pre- and post-test reliability

Learning Objective: 1.25 Define different forms of reliability.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

40. A group of researchers attempted to recreate several studies with identical procedures. These researchers discovered that most repeated studies were unable to match the original results. This shows a problem in which phenomenon?

a. Test-retest reliability

b. External validity

c. Scientific replicability

d. Response bias

e. Cross-sectional design error

Learning Objective: 1.26 Explain the concepts of replication and transparency in research, and why transparency is vital to replication.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

41. All studies must be reviewed by an institutional scientific review board. Which of the following guidelines is true?

a. Harm to participants can only be minimal if the goal is to advance treatments for medical science.

b. Participants must consent to participate, and once they do, they must complete the study.

c. Participants should be given the list of each other’s contact information for support.

d. If there is a need for deception, participants must be debriefed after the study.

e. Informed consent is not required if study is conducted online.

Learning Objective: 1.27 Explain why developmental research must adhere to ethical guidelines and the process used to ensure the ethical treatment of children.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

Short Answer Questions

42. Discuss the ways that cascading influences in one domain of development (e.g., cognition, physical, socio-emotional) affect other domains across developmental time with an example.

Learning objective: 1.5 Define a developmental cascade and discuss how cascading influences can be seen across domains and across developmental time.
Bloom’s Level: 4. Analysis

43. New parents are bringing their infant into their new home for the first time. Mark and Mary are worried about being the best possible parents and creating an optimal home environment for their newborn child to grow with firm and fair discipline. What would philosophers Rousseau and Locke recommend these parents do? What would a child developmentalist say today?

Learning Objective: 1.10 Compare and contrast the learning theories of classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

Bloom’s Level 3. Applying

46. Cindy walks into preschool and sees boys playing on one side of the room and girls playing on the other side of the room, which affects how she thinks about boys and girls playing together. A few days later, she sees two boys pretending in the playhouse with girls and this causes Cindy to adjust her schema on how boys and girls play. Explain what happened to Cindy’s schema.

Learning Objective: 1.11 Explain key features of Piaget’s constructivist theory and how it contrasts with behaviorism.

Bloom’s Level 4. Analyzing

47. Children learn by observing others around them, even if behaviors are positive or negative. If children see bullying or other negative social behaviors go unpunished what impact might this have on witnessing such an event?

Learning Objective: 1.14 Explain the principles of social learning theory, and how Bandura’s research illustrated these principles.

Bloom’s Level 4. Analyzing

48. Stakeholders are meeting together for a large grant opportunity that will provide extra educational and economic opportunities for children and families in a deprived community. From a bioecological standpoint, how might more opportunities and financial support impact individuals and families across each system?

Learning Objective: 1.17 Describe Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological theory of development.

Bloom’s Level 4. Analyzing

49. As children grow, they become more efficient at processing and storing new information. Teenagers, are known to multitask (e.g., listen to music, actively chat on discord, write a paper, etc.). If a teen is only partially paying attention to a lesson on how a plant cell divides through the process of meiosis, what would the information processing theory predict about what the teen would be able to recall later?

Learning Objective: 1.15 Explain how information processing theories draw connections between humans and computers.

Bloom’s Level 3. Applying

50. Researchers want to test a new method of studying high-school course material that they hope to implement at a national level. A large group of students will be taught strategies that aid studying, and be instructed to implement the strategies on 3 separate days during 1-hour study breaks. A second group of students will also study for 3 separate days for 1-hour breaks, but without being taught memory strategies. That is, the researchers will only include half of the enrolled class in the group taught the new strategies and the other half of the class will study without any specific instruction. Then researchers will test students on their learning at the end of the study. What kind of study design does this represent? How should the sample population be selected and how generalizable would this study be?

Learning Objective: 1.22 Compare and contrast the various approaches or methods developmental scientists use to gather data.

Bloom’s Level 3. Applying

51. A school district reported elevated rates of bullying victimization as well as suicidal ideation. To combat this issue all classes are required to have counselors visit and speak with students. When surveyed again, the rates of bullying and ideation have decreased substantially. Discuss the potential issues with reliability and validity.

Learning Objective: 1.24 Distinguish among the different types of validity and explain why they are crucial to the quality of research.

Bloom’s Level 3. Applying