Question 1

One limitation of microgenetic studies is that

Accepted Answer

A)  participant dropout often distorts developmental trends. 
B)  they are difficult to carry out. 
C)  they often create ethical issues. 
D)  cohort effects often limit the generalizability of the findings.

Question 2

Dr. Kirk wants to study sibling relationships at differing ages. Dr. Kirk has children with one or more siblings in grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 complete his questionnaire. This is an example of a _______________ study.

Accepted Answer

A)  cross-sectional 
B)  longitudinal 
C)  microgenetic 
D)  sequential

Question 3

Because participants are measured only once in the cross-sectional design, researchers need not be concerned about difficulties like _____________ and ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  cohort effects; practice effects 
B)  selective attrition; cohort effects 
C)  cohort effects; biased sampling 
D)  participant dropout; practice effects

Question 4

Which of the following is true regarding the major domains of development?

Accepted Answer

A)  The domains of development are separate and distinct. 
B)  Each period of development is made up of a new set of domains. 
C)  The physical domain has little influence on the other domains. 
D)  Development is divided into three broad domains: physical, cognitive, and emotional and social.

Question 5

Two types of systematic observation used in child development research are naturalistic and structured observation. Explain the benefits and limitations of each.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Two types of systematic observation used in...

Question 6

Theorists who believe that children who are high or low in a characteristic will remain so at later ages typically stress the importance of

Accepted Answer

A)  heredity. 
B)  stages. 
C)  nurture. 
D)  plasticity.

Question 7

Dr. Jones believes that a child's mind, body, and physical and social worlds form an integrated system that guides mastery of new skills. The system is constantly in motion. His view is consistent with which recent theoretical perspective?

Accepted Answer

A)  evolutionary developmental psychology 
B)  sociocultural theory 
C)  ecological systems theory 
D)  dynamic systems perspective

Question 8

Sustained musical experiences, such as music lessons, can lead to

Accepted Answer

A)  substantial increases in intelligence that do not arise from comparable drama lessons. 
B)  substantial decreases in social maturity that do not arise from comparable drama lessons. 
C)  small increases in intelligence that do not arise from comparable drama lessons. 
D)  small increases in social maturity that do not arise from comparable drama lessons.

Question 9

One way Professor Hudgens could use the matching technique to assign the participants to the experimental conditions would be to

Accepted Answer

A)  flip a coin or draw names out of a hat. 
B)  let the parents choose in which experimental group they would like their children to participate. 
C)  assign equal numbers of children with high and low parental conflict to each treatment condition. 
D)  let the children choose in which experimental group they would like to participate.

Question 10

The major limitation of correlational studies is that

Accepted Answer

A)  the findings do not provide information about how people behave outside the laboratory. 
B)  the findings do not reveal relationships between participants' characteristics and their behavior. 
C)  researchers cannot make inferences about cause and effect. 
D)  the results cannot be generalized to other people and settings.

Question 11

In Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, the ___________________ encompasses connections between microsystems, such as home, school, and neighborhood.

Accepted Answer

A)  mesosystem 
B)  exosystem 
C)  macrosystem 
D)  chronosystem

Question 12

A major advantage of structured observation is that it

Accepted Answer

A)  is useful for studying behaviors that investigators rarely have an opportunity to see in everyday life. 
B)  permits participants to display their thoughts in terms that are as close as possible to the way they think in everyday life. 
C)  yields richly detailed narratives that offer valuable insight into the many factors that affect development. 
D)  allows researchers to see the behavior of interest as it occurs in natural settings.

Question 13

Dr. Stephens would like to obtain rich, descriptive insights into processes of development of one individual. Which of the following methods is best suited to meet Dr. Stephens' needs?

Accepted Answer

A)  naturalistic observation 
B)  a case study 
C)  structured observation 
D)  a clinical interview

Question 14

Dynamic systems theorists emphasize that

Accepted Answer

A)  children are driven mainly by instincts and unconscious motives. 
B)  different skills vary in maturity within the same child. 
C)  sensitive periods are key to understanding development. 
D)  development can be best understood in terms of its adaptive value.

Question 15

Dr. Kempsell combines interviews, observations, and test scores to obtain a full picture of one individual's psychological functioning. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

A)  naturalistic observation. 
B)  structured observation. 
C)  a structured interview. 
D)  the clinical method.

Question 16

Reid believes that the difference between the immature and the mature being is simply one of amount or complexity. Reid views development as

Accepted Answer

A)  discontinuous. 
B)  determined by nature. 
C)  continuous. 
D)  determined by nurture.

Question 17

Which of the following is true about Charles Darwin's contribution to developmental theories?

Accepted Answer

A)  He proved that the development of the human child followed the same general plan as the evolution of the human species. 
B)  Scientific child study was born out of his first attempts to document an idea about development. 
C)  He launched the normative approach, in which measures of behavior are taken on large numbers of individuals and age-related averages are computed to represent typical development. 
D)  He proved that human development is a genetically determined process that unfolds automatically, much like a flower.

Question 18

Information-processing researchers often use ______________ to map the precise steps individuals use to solve problems and complete tasks.

Accepted Answer

A)  clinical interviews 
B)  flowcharts 
C)  imprinting 
D)  social mediation

Question 19

Children can evaluate the logic of verbal statements without referring to real-world circumstances in Piaget's _______________ stage.

Accepted Answer

A)  sensorimotor 
B)  preoperational 
C)  concrete operational 
D)  formal operational

Question 20

The ultimate responsibility for the ethical integrity of research with children lies with the

Accepted Answer

A)  investigator. 
B)  institutional review board. 
C)  child. 
D)  child's parents.

Exam 1: History, Theory, and Research Strategies