Developmental Theories

A graduate student is considering topics for a Master’s thesis. The graduate advisor recommends: “There are several sets of well-developed ideas about that topic. You must first review their explanations and use that to make predictions for your research.” The graduate advisor is recommending that the student review ________.”

• research

• observations

• hypotheses

• theories

“If parents use an authoritative parenting style, then their children will be more well-adjusted psychologically than children of parents who use permissive or authoritarian parenting styles.” This statement is an example of a ________.

• hypothesis

• research study

• observation

• theory

A research advisor tells a graduate student, “Now that you have developed hypotheses based on a theory, you can ________ to test your hypotheses.”

• generate practical applications

• perform observations

• engage in scientific debate

• conduct research

Many popular quotes by famous people reference a “blank slate” as a platform and springboard for creativity. We may credit the popularity of this phrase to ________, an early scholar of human development.

• John B. Watson

• Jean Piaget

• John Locke

• Jean-Jacque Rousseau

A therapist, whose approach to psychotherapy is based on Sigmund Freud’s theory, explains that a patient’s problematic behavior is based on ________.

• observational learning without consequences

• being stuck in the developmental task of trust vs. mistrust

• unconscious motives, fears, and anxieties

• a classically conditioned response

An infant smiles when something feels good and cries when something feels bad. The infant’s parent, a psychotherapist whose work is based on Sigmund Freud’s theory, jokes, “This baby is all id.” Which of Freud’s principles is this parent referring to?

• The oral principle

• The pleasure principle

• The neurosis principle

• The reality principle

Parents are at an indoor playspace their five-year-old child. The parents observe the child check out the slide, then check out a play house before deciding to play on a climbing structure. According to Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, by allowing the child to explore within limits and by supporting the child’s choice, these parents are helping their child successfully navigate which stage of development

• Autonomy versus Shame

• Industry versus Inferiority

• Trust versus Mistrust

• Initiative versus Guilt

A parent tells a school counselor, “I am concerned that my child has developed an inferiority complex. My child feels like he does not measure up to peers.” According to Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, this child may be struggling to accomplish the developmental task of the Industry versus Inferiority stage of development, which is ________.

• care

• competence

• purpose

• will

Two young adult friends are talking about their dating preferences. One friend says, “I prefer to go to the movies by myself. I believe you have to know yourself and be good company for yourself before you can be good company for someone else.” Erik Erikson would agree that we must have a strong sense of self before we can develop successful intimate relationships. This statement describes the key developmental task in which stage of psychosocial development?

• Intimacy versus Isolation

• Generativity versus Stagnation

• Identity versus Role Confusion

• Integrity versus Despair

When describing how difficult it is for her patients to quit smoking, a specialist in substance abuse medicine states, “Smoking is associated with so many things, like waking up in the morning, after a meal, on breaks at work, when getting home at work. When my patients try to quit, everything that was associated with smoking makes them crave a cigarette.” The specialist is describing ________.

• the Skinner Box

• the law of effect

• classical conditioning

• operant conditioning