Practice test for Development Across the Life Span
Note: These questions are part of a larger data base of questions & are selected
to represent the type of question you should expect on exams. Exam questions,
however, may deal with topics not covered in the practice tests or in lectures but are discussed in
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Use these sample questions to test yourself & to practice for the test.
1. The thinking and attitudes of many who survived the Depression of the 1930's changed
them for the rest of their lives. This would be an example of a
cohort effect.
cultural group.
longitudinal group.
cross-sequential group.
2. If a person has one gen for blue eyes but actually has brown eyes, blue eyes must
be a __________ trait.
dominant
recessive
sex-linked
polygenic
3. In _________ syndrome, the 23rd pair of chromosomes consists of an XXX pairing, resulting
in reduced masculine characteristics and excessive height.
PKU
Down
Klinefelter's
Turner's
4. Which of the following represents the fertilization process for monozygotic twins?
One egg is fertilized by two different sperm.
One egg splits and is fertilized by two different sperm.
One egg is fertilized by one sperm and then splits.
Two eggs are fertilized by one sperm.
5. What part of an infants body is said to stay in an immature state until needed to
produce more cells?
uterus
stem cells
umbilical cord
placenta
6. Based upon today's science and medicine, when does the age of viability begin?
between 8 and 12 weeks
between 12 and 18 weeks
between 22 and 26 weeks
between 28 and 36 weeks
7. Dr. Kahn measure how long baby Lyda looks at a particular simulation. The technique
is know as
preferential looking.
dishabituation.
habituation.
stimulus discrimination.
8. At what age can the typical infant roll over?
2 months
5 weeks
8 months
12 months
9. Studies of the infant brain show signs of what scientists call synaptic pruning. What occurs
during this process?
The brain creates additional neural connections by removing parts of the
surrounding bone.
Unused synaptic connections and nerve cells are cleared out to make way for new cells.
New cells work to "rewrite" old cells and ultimately change their functioning.
New cell will not develop until the body makes sufficient physical space within
the brain.
10. In which of Piaget's stages does the child become capable of understanding conservation?
sensorimotor
preoperational
formal operations
concrete operations
11. Monique says "milk" when she wants her milk from the kitchen counter. Subsequently
she says "milk" after she has had a drink. Using a single phase to mean different things is
an example of
telephrase.
private speech.
holophrase.
public speech.
12. Which of the following is a myth regarding immunizations?
Most immunizations are make up of dead viruses.
If all the other children in a school are immunized, there is really no harm in not
immunizing one's own child.
Vaccines work in up to 99 percent of cases.
Only in rare cases do immunizations trigger seizures.
13. In the Strange Situation __________ babies would only cry when their mother left the room
but were happy upon her return.
secure
avoidant
ambivalent
disorganized-disoriented
14. What is a new explanation as to why teenagers and young adults may engage in
risky and dangerous behavior?
Such behavior is due to the tremendous pressure applied by peers.
Such behavior is actually hereditary.
Such behavior may be due to unbalanced levels of hormones in the body.
Such behavior may be due to the incomplete development of the prefrontal cortex.
15. Samantha enters a classroom where two students are talking. When they stop their
discussion, Samantha is certain they must have been talking about her. Such a belief
is an example of
the imaginary audience.
the personal fable.
abstract egocentrism.
formal operations.
16. What cognitive changes occurring during middle adulthood are the most noticeable?
Changes in memory begin to occur.
Problem-solving skills diminish.
Hearing begins to decline.
Hair begins to turn gray.
17. Independence and self-reliance in the teenage years is most likely due
to __________ parenting.
authoritarian
authoritative
permissive neglectful
permissive indulgent
18. The crisis of late adulthood, according to Ericson, is
identity versus role confusion.
generatively versus stagnation.
intimacy versus isolation.
integrity versus despair.
19. Which theory of aging states that unstable oxygen molecules tend to steal electrons
as the bounce around, thus causing damage to surrounding cells?
cellular-clock theory
wear-and-tear theory
free-radical theory
activity theory
20. Kip is worried that he is losing his mind because he finds himself angry at a friend who
died in an automobile accident. Based on Kubler Ross's research what might you tell him?
Anger of this type is self-destructive and unhealthy.
Anger is usually a mask for your true feelings of sadness.
Anger towards a deceased individual is simply not normal and may require
psychological counseling.
Anger is a normal reaction to death and not a sign of mental illness.
21. A researcher decides to follow a group of children into adulthood to assess whether
attachment styles formed with their parents has an effect on their intellectual growth over
time. This is an example of what type of research?
Cross-sectional
Cross-sequential
Longitudinal
Experimental
Case study
22. The key to formal operational thinking is the ability to think about __________ concepts.
concrete
sensory
symbolic
abstract
23. Erik Erikson's theory emphasized:
repeated resolutions of unconscious conflicts about sexual energy.
developmental change throughout the human life span.
changes in children's thinking as they mature.
the influence of sensitive periods in the various stages of biological maturation.
24. Which statement BEST resolves the nature-nurture controversy?
Nature is clearly more important in development.
The interaction between nature and nurture is most important in development.
Nurture is clearly more important in development.
Neither plays a particularly strong role in development.
25. Which of these theorists believed that people develop through a series of stages related to age?
Jean Piaget
Erik Erikson
Lawrence Kohlberg
All of these
26. What is maturation?
The difference between girls and boys in the timing of puberty
Genetically programmed growth and development
The ability to focus simultaneously on several aspects of a problem
The reaction infants display when separated from people to whom they are attached
27. During which stage are teratogens most dangerous?
Germinal stage
Embryonic stage
Fetal stage
Perinatal stage
28. What do social clocks indicate?
The life events, behaviors, and issues that are typical for a particular age
The ages at which children develop specific social skills
Age at which Eriksons 6th stage of psychosocial development would be likely to occur
When individuals are likely to reach Kohlbergs final stage of moral development
29. The order of the stages of dying as proposed by Elisabeth Kόbler-Ross are:
denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance, depression.
anger, denial, bargaining, depression, acceptance.
denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.
anger, bargaining, acceptance, depression, denial.
30. According to Baltes (1987), the life-span perspective has the following characteristics, EXCEPT being:
lifelong.
unidirectional.
multidimensional.
plastic.
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Robert C. Gates