Developmental Psychology

When ten-month-old Frances throws her toy out of sight, she looks to see where it falls. Developmental psychologists would say that Frances’ behavior indicates that she has developed:

• Centration

• Conservation

• Egocentrism

• Object permanence

• Accomodation

Seven-year-old Maria helps her mother wash the dishes, while her nine-year-old-brother helps their father with the yard work. This involvement of the children in helping activities directly illustrates the process of:

• Identity diffusion

• Gender-role development

• Preconventional morality development

• Classical conditioning of sex roles

• Evolutionary determinism

In Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation experiment, infants who were classified as securely attached were more likely to

• Have a tantrum when mother left the room

• Express happiness when the mother returned to the room

• Prevent the mother from leaving the room

• Try to play with the stranger when the mother left the room

• Not notice when the mother returned to the room

Mary Ainsworth’s research indicates that a toddler with a secure attachment style is most likely to do which of the following when left with a caregiver, such as a babysitter, for the first time?

• Show distress when left, calm down and play, and run to the mother when she returns

• Cry when left and continue to cry until the mother returns

• Not notice when the mother leaves and not seek attention from the mother when she returns

• Play happily when the mother leaves but exhibit anger and rejection toward the mother when she returns

• Show distress when the mother leaves and not seek attention when the mother returns

Alexandra wants to test her new baby’s Babinski reflex. To elicit the appropriate response, Alexandra will have to:

• stroke her baby’s cheek

• press on her baby’s palm

• turn her baby’s head to one side

• shine a bright light in her baby’s eyes

• stroke the sole of her baby’s foot

Four-year-old Maria knows that she has eaten all her peanuts, but she also realizes that Robbie, who cannot see inside her bag, may not know the peanuts are gone. Her awareness demonstrates that Maria has

• a self-concept

• conservation

• formal operational thought

• theory of mind

• egocentric thinking

. Ten-month-old Jacqueline is seated on a couch. A researcher takes a toy from her hands and hides it under a blanket. Jacqueline reaches for the toy under the blanket. Which of the following concepts is being tested in this study?

• Conservation

• Egocentrism

• Animism

• Object permanence

• Artificialism

Researcher Renee Baillargeon found that four-month-old infants will look longer at a ball if it appears to roll through a solid barrier, demonstrating that babies seem to grasp basic physical laws intuitively. Which of the following theories does this finding challenge?

• Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral development

• Lev Vygotsky’s social cognition learning model

• Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

• Mary Ainsworth’s findings from the Strange Situation

• Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development

Every day Haiying tells her parents something new she would like to be when she grows up. Haiying’s parents listen carefully and provide encouraging words. Even if Haiying’s ideas are fanciful and impractical, her parents never pass judgment or suggest that she is being irrational. Haiying’s parents’ responses to their daughter demonstrate which concept?

• Scaffolding

• Unconditional positive regard

• An authoritarian parenting style

• Accommodation

• Cognitive restructuring

Benjamin is five years old. While his mother is making his lunch, he explains to her that he is very hungry and would like a lot to eat. His mother cuts his sandwich into four pieces, and he is very pleased. Benjamin’s pleasure at having four small pieces instead of one large piece is due to the fact that he lacks:

• conservation

• object permanence

• theory of mind

• assimilation

• accommodation