CPSY 2301 - Review Questions (Exam 1) With
Complete Solutions
What is the study of child psychology? - ANSWER Child psychology is a field of study
dedicated to understanding ALL aspects of human growth from conception to
adolescence.
What do developmental scientists study? - ANSWER Developmental psychologists study
all forms of development, including physical, socioemotional, and cognitive
development.
Describe ways that views of childhood have shifted throughout history. What sources of
information inform us about earlier beliefs? - ANSWER Throughout time, childhood and
the importance of a child's health has become more important. In the medieval times,
studying development relied on art and the reports of coroners.
Describe the factors that led to an interest in the scientific study of children's
development in the 19th and 20th centuries. How did industrialization change the lives
of children? How have views of childhood shifted throughout history? - ANSWER Charles
Darwin's view of evolution led to an increased interest in the study of development. As
industrialization occurred, the birth and death rates both dropped, which changed views
on development.
Describe the basic issues in the field of developmental psychology (described in text and
lecture), as well as issues of plasticity and individual differences (described in text). What
,is the current view within each issue? What evidence is relevant in the study of each of
these issues? - ANSWER Basic issues in the field of development include:
1. Is development influenced by NATURE or NURTURE? - This question asks which has a
greater impact on development. (Currently, it's viewed as both)
2. Is development ACTIVE or PASSIVE? - This question asks whether the child plays a role
in their own development or whether they are shaped by external forces. (Currently, it's
viewed as bidirectional)
3. Is development CONTINUOUS OR DISCONTINUOUS? - Is development gradual or is it
more abrupt? (Currently, it's viewed as more gradual)
4. Is there ONE course of development or MANY? - Is development universal or does it
rely on cultural contexts? (Currently, it's viewed as relying on sociocultural contexts)
----
Plasticity - To what extent is development subject to change as a result of either
deliberate intervention or chance experience?
Individual Differences - How does a person come to have characteristics that make them
different from all other people? How stable are these?
Describe the basic tenets of Piaget's theory of cognitive development, Vygostky's
sociocultural theory, Freud's and Erikson's psychoanalytic theories of development,
Watson's learning theory, Bandura's social learning theory, and Bronfenbrenner's
ecological model. Describe the basic premise of dynamic systems theory. - ANSWER
Piaget - Focuses on children adapting to their environment and is a stage theory
Vygotsky - Focuses on the importance of sociocultural context and the zone of proximal
development (what can be accomplished alone or with a partner)
Freud - Importance of sexual instincts and the shift from one body part to another
, Erikson - 8 stage theory that believes development continues through lifespan and each
stage has its own issue or question to resolve
Watson - Observable behavior and how it is shaped by environment around the child
Bandura - Observational learning through modeling and imitation
Bronfenbrenner - Ecological model of external systems that are a joint function of the
characteristics of the person and of the environment over the course of the person's life
up to that time
Describe the key criteria that guide scientific research (ie. objectivity, reliability, validity,
replicability). - ANSWER ~ Objectivity - Unbiased analysis of data
~ Reliability - Consistency of research findings; get same results every time and be in
agreement
~ Replicability - If other researchers recreate the experiment, they will get the same
results
~ Validity - Data being collected matches the thing the researcher is trying to study
Differentiate between naturalistic observations and experiments (be sure to discuss the
relation between the experimental condition and the control condition). What are the
advantages and disadvantages of each research method? - ANSWER Naturalistic
observations simply observe without interfering, while experiments attempt to take a
variable and control it. Experiments can identify causal factors, but people might behave
differently in an experiment than they would naturally. On the other hand, natural
observations can lead to unbiased results, but cannot necessarily identify any causal
behavior.
Complete Solutions
What is the study of child psychology? - ANSWER Child psychology is a field of study
dedicated to understanding ALL aspects of human growth from conception to
adolescence.
What do developmental scientists study? - ANSWER Developmental psychologists study
all forms of development, including physical, socioemotional, and cognitive
development.
Describe ways that views of childhood have shifted throughout history. What sources of
information inform us about earlier beliefs? - ANSWER Throughout time, childhood and
the importance of a child's health has become more important. In the medieval times,
studying development relied on art and the reports of coroners.
Describe the factors that led to an interest in the scientific study of children's
development in the 19th and 20th centuries. How did industrialization change the lives
of children? How have views of childhood shifted throughout history? - ANSWER Charles
Darwin's view of evolution led to an increased interest in the study of development. As
industrialization occurred, the birth and death rates both dropped, which changed views
on development.
Describe the basic issues in the field of developmental psychology (described in text and
lecture), as well as issues of plasticity and individual differences (described in text). What
,is the current view within each issue? What evidence is relevant in the study of each of
these issues? - ANSWER Basic issues in the field of development include:
1. Is development influenced by NATURE or NURTURE? - This question asks which has a
greater impact on development. (Currently, it's viewed as both)
2. Is development ACTIVE or PASSIVE? - This question asks whether the child plays a role
in their own development or whether they are shaped by external forces. (Currently, it's
viewed as bidirectional)
3. Is development CONTINUOUS OR DISCONTINUOUS? - Is development gradual or is it
more abrupt? (Currently, it's viewed as more gradual)
4. Is there ONE course of development or MANY? - Is development universal or does it
rely on cultural contexts? (Currently, it's viewed as relying on sociocultural contexts)
----
Plasticity - To what extent is development subject to change as a result of either
deliberate intervention or chance experience?
Individual Differences - How does a person come to have characteristics that make them
different from all other people? How stable are these?
Describe the basic tenets of Piaget's theory of cognitive development, Vygostky's
sociocultural theory, Freud's and Erikson's psychoanalytic theories of development,
Watson's learning theory, Bandura's social learning theory, and Bronfenbrenner's
ecological model. Describe the basic premise of dynamic systems theory. - ANSWER
Piaget - Focuses on children adapting to their environment and is a stage theory
Vygotsky - Focuses on the importance of sociocultural context and the zone of proximal
development (what can be accomplished alone or with a partner)
Freud - Importance of sexual instincts and the shift from one body part to another
, Erikson - 8 stage theory that believes development continues through lifespan and each
stage has its own issue or question to resolve
Watson - Observable behavior and how it is shaped by environment around the child
Bandura - Observational learning through modeling and imitation
Bronfenbrenner - Ecological model of external systems that are a joint function of the
characteristics of the person and of the environment over the course of the person's life
up to that time
Describe the key criteria that guide scientific research (ie. objectivity, reliability, validity,
replicability). - ANSWER ~ Objectivity - Unbiased analysis of data
~ Reliability - Consistency of research findings; get same results every time and be in
agreement
~ Replicability - If other researchers recreate the experiment, they will get the same
results
~ Validity - Data being collected matches the thing the researcher is trying to study
Differentiate between naturalistic observations and experiments (be sure to discuss the
relation between the experimental condition and the control condition). What are the
advantages and disadvantages of each research method? - ANSWER Naturalistic
observations simply observe without interfering, while experiments attempt to take a
variable and control it. Experiments can identify causal factors, but people might behave
differently in an experiment than they would naturally. On the other hand, natural
observations can lead to unbiased results, but cannot necessarily identify any causal
behavior.
