PSYC 140 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Why is it important to study human development across the lifespan? - Answers - It
would be inaccurate to say that change, or development, only occurs in childhood.
Particularly when one considers the various aspects of development (aging, growth,
maturation), it is evident that development is lifelong
What does it mean that development is multidirectional? - Answers - Development
involves both improvement and decline. Specific terms, such as growth, aging, and
maturation reflect the multidirectional nature of development.
What does it mean that lifespan development is multidisciplinary? What disciplines are
involved? Why? - Answers - It is particularly important to health professions, education,
and the social sciences. For each of these professional fields, an understanding of the
issues and complexities of specific age groups is key to helping people. In addition, it is
important to study the whole person - for instance, health, thought processes, and
emotions- since each type of development affects the others. One cannot have a good
handle on how to promote healthy behaviors in a client without knowing at least a little
about adaptive and maladaptive emotional states. On the other hand, without some
understanding of the biological underpinnings of emotions, professionals may be
misguided in the decisions they make as they attempt to help.
Since development is multidimensional, there are a variety of areas in which a person
could change. Imagine you are interacting with a teenager. How might the teen be
developing in the biological, social, emotional, and cognitive dimensions? - Answers -
Biological dimension: physical changes going on in the body. Also, it is important to note
how external influences (for instance, drugs, healthful behaviors) influence biology and
vice versa.
Social dimension: how does the individual change in his/her social interactions with
others?
Emotional dimension: how does the individual change in how she/he regulates and
experiences emotion?
Cognitive dimension: how does the individual change in the way he/she thinks?
Summarize each side of the nature / nurture controversy. - Answers - The Nature side
emphasizes biology and maturation. Essentially, one's genetics, personality, and innate
characteristics will naturally enfold and cause one to develop in a particular way. On the
other extreme, the Nurture side emphasizes the role of parents, other individuals, and
the context in which one lives in assessing what primarily influences development. Most
modern psychologists accept both as being integral to development, although some
researchers and theorists may lean toward one or the other side.
Go through the first four theorists in this module (Freud, Erikson, Skinner, and Piaget)
and consider whether each theorist leans toward the nature side, the nurture side, or
some combination of both. - Answers - Most of the theorists and researchers presented
,in this module would acknowledge the role of both nature and nurture. Freud, for
instance, incorporated both nature and nurture perspectives in his theories of
development. While his emphasis on nature is more clearly seen in his view of the
development of personality (id, ego, superego—not discussed in this module), his
emphasis on nurture is evident in his emphasis on early childhood experiences
influencing the psychosexual stages. Erikson, in his emphasis on social influences,
leaned toward the nurture side. The Behaviorists (Skinner) certainly emphasize nurture
over nature. Piaget's theory, however, swings back to the nature side.
Summarize each side of the continuity/discontinuity controversy. Which theorists
(consider Freud, Erikson, Skinner, and Piaget) view development as being
discontinuous? - Answers - A continuous view of development asserts that development
gradually occurs, while a discontinuous view states that development moves forward in
discrete stages. Stage theorists such as Freud, Erikson, and Piaget would view
development as being discontinuous (in general), while the Behaviorists are more apt to
view development as being continuous.
Briefly summarize Freud's developmental theory and Erikson's developmental theory.
How are they similar? How are they different? - Answers - Freud's developmental theory
is based off the premise of the id, ego, and superego and that a person's actions and
development and based on underlying needs and drive. Erikson's developmental theory
is more so influenced by the social environment a person develops in and how they deal
with a crisis in a certain age range. Similarities: both attempt to describe development
across the lifespan. Contrast: Freud's theory is psychosexual, whereas Erikson's is
psychosocial; Freud's theory does not describe any differences between adolescents
and adults, whereas Erikson describes meaningful changes later in the lifespan.
Compare and contrast classical conditioning and operant conditioning. - Answers - Both
forms of learning are about learning associations (one thing goes with another).
However, classical conditioning shows a learned response where a new stimulus is
linked to a natural stimulus-reponse pair. Operant conditioning uses rewards and
punishments to increase or decrease the frequency of behaviors.
Summarize the key elements of Piaget's theory. Why is it considered cognitive in
nature? - Answers - Piaget's theory focused on cognition in childhood and contains four
major stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal
operational. Each of these theories describes how the world is processed as thought
through different ages of life. It is considered cognitive in nature due to its inclusion of
schemas, assimilation, and accommodation which are all cognitive tools to interpret the
world. Schemas are a way of interpreting and envisioning the world.
Compose four sentences to summarize the following theories: information-processing,
sociocultural, ecological. - Answers - Ecological: It is important to understand the many
contexts in which individuals exist.
Sociocultural: Cultural transmission and the role of key individuals in a person's life are
extremely important to development.
, Information processing: Like a computer, the human brain actively manipulates
information in specific ways.
Compare and contrast longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. - Answers - A
longitudinal design enables researchers to observe change over time as well as which
qualities in an individual remain stable, while a cross-sectional design does not address
either of these very well. However, it is generally more difficult to conduct longitudinal
researcher due to the extensive time required. A cross-sectional study simply
investigates a cross-section of a population at once. Both study approaches, however,
can be used to answer questions about certain aspects of lifespan development.
For naturalistic observation, write out the following:
1) What are the advantages of choosing this research design?
2) What are the disadvantages?
3) Summarize the main reason why the study design might be chosen. - Answers -
Naturalistic Observation:
1) Can observe how people act naturally.
2) Researchers can only access the information that they directly observe. The child
may act differently in other settings or at other times.
3) A good design for obtaining detailed information on a person's behaviors.
For the case study, write out the following:
1) What are the advantages of choosing this research design?
2) What are the disadvantages?
3) Summarize the main reason why the study design might be chosen. - Answers -
Case Study:
1) Provides rich and detailed information on one individual.
2) May not be applicable to other cases.
3) Particularly helpful for showcasing an unusual case to spur additional discussion.
For the survey, write out the following:
1) What are the advantages of choosing this research design?
2) What are the disadvantages?
3) Summarize the main reason why the study design might be chosen. - Answers -
Survey:
1) Can obtain a large amount of information with a large sample.
2) People may not accurately report on their own thoughts and behaviors!
3) The most straightforward way to know what someone thinks is to simply ask them, as
in a survey or interview.
For the correlational study, write out the following:
1) What are the advantages of choosing this research design?
2) What are the disadvantages?
3) Summarize the main reason why the study design might be chosen. - Answers -
Correlational study:
Why is it important to study human development across the lifespan? - Answers - It
would be inaccurate to say that change, or development, only occurs in childhood.
Particularly when one considers the various aspects of development (aging, growth,
maturation), it is evident that development is lifelong
What does it mean that development is multidirectional? - Answers - Development
involves both improvement and decline. Specific terms, such as growth, aging, and
maturation reflect the multidirectional nature of development.
What does it mean that lifespan development is multidisciplinary? What disciplines are
involved? Why? - Answers - It is particularly important to health professions, education,
and the social sciences. For each of these professional fields, an understanding of the
issues and complexities of specific age groups is key to helping people. In addition, it is
important to study the whole person - for instance, health, thought processes, and
emotions- since each type of development affects the others. One cannot have a good
handle on how to promote healthy behaviors in a client without knowing at least a little
about adaptive and maladaptive emotional states. On the other hand, without some
understanding of the biological underpinnings of emotions, professionals may be
misguided in the decisions they make as they attempt to help.
Since development is multidimensional, there are a variety of areas in which a person
could change. Imagine you are interacting with a teenager. How might the teen be
developing in the biological, social, emotional, and cognitive dimensions? - Answers -
Biological dimension: physical changes going on in the body. Also, it is important to note
how external influences (for instance, drugs, healthful behaviors) influence biology and
vice versa.
Social dimension: how does the individual change in his/her social interactions with
others?
Emotional dimension: how does the individual change in how she/he regulates and
experiences emotion?
Cognitive dimension: how does the individual change in the way he/she thinks?
Summarize each side of the nature / nurture controversy. - Answers - The Nature side
emphasizes biology and maturation. Essentially, one's genetics, personality, and innate
characteristics will naturally enfold and cause one to develop in a particular way. On the
other extreme, the Nurture side emphasizes the role of parents, other individuals, and
the context in which one lives in assessing what primarily influences development. Most
modern psychologists accept both as being integral to development, although some
researchers and theorists may lean toward one or the other side.
Go through the first four theorists in this module (Freud, Erikson, Skinner, and Piaget)
and consider whether each theorist leans toward the nature side, the nurture side, or
some combination of both. - Answers - Most of the theorists and researchers presented
,in this module would acknowledge the role of both nature and nurture. Freud, for
instance, incorporated both nature and nurture perspectives in his theories of
development. While his emphasis on nature is more clearly seen in his view of the
development of personality (id, ego, superego—not discussed in this module), his
emphasis on nurture is evident in his emphasis on early childhood experiences
influencing the psychosexual stages. Erikson, in his emphasis on social influences,
leaned toward the nurture side. The Behaviorists (Skinner) certainly emphasize nurture
over nature. Piaget's theory, however, swings back to the nature side.
Summarize each side of the continuity/discontinuity controversy. Which theorists
(consider Freud, Erikson, Skinner, and Piaget) view development as being
discontinuous? - Answers - A continuous view of development asserts that development
gradually occurs, while a discontinuous view states that development moves forward in
discrete stages. Stage theorists such as Freud, Erikson, and Piaget would view
development as being discontinuous (in general), while the Behaviorists are more apt to
view development as being continuous.
Briefly summarize Freud's developmental theory and Erikson's developmental theory.
How are they similar? How are they different? - Answers - Freud's developmental theory
is based off the premise of the id, ego, and superego and that a person's actions and
development and based on underlying needs and drive. Erikson's developmental theory
is more so influenced by the social environment a person develops in and how they deal
with a crisis in a certain age range. Similarities: both attempt to describe development
across the lifespan. Contrast: Freud's theory is psychosexual, whereas Erikson's is
psychosocial; Freud's theory does not describe any differences between adolescents
and adults, whereas Erikson describes meaningful changes later in the lifespan.
Compare and contrast classical conditioning and operant conditioning. - Answers - Both
forms of learning are about learning associations (one thing goes with another).
However, classical conditioning shows a learned response where a new stimulus is
linked to a natural stimulus-reponse pair. Operant conditioning uses rewards and
punishments to increase or decrease the frequency of behaviors.
Summarize the key elements of Piaget's theory. Why is it considered cognitive in
nature? - Answers - Piaget's theory focused on cognition in childhood and contains four
major stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal
operational. Each of these theories describes how the world is processed as thought
through different ages of life. It is considered cognitive in nature due to its inclusion of
schemas, assimilation, and accommodation which are all cognitive tools to interpret the
world. Schemas are a way of interpreting and envisioning the world.
Compose four sentences to summarize the following theories: information-processing,
sociocultural, ecological. - Answers - Ecological: It is important to understand the many
contexts in which individuals exist.
Sociocultural: Cultural transmission and the role of key individuals in a person's life are
extremely important to development.
, Information processing: Like a computer, the human brain actively manipulates
information in specific ways.
Compare and contrast longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. - Answers - A
longitudinal design enables researchers to observe change over time as well as which
qualities in an individual remain stable, while a cross-sectional design does not address
either of these very well. However, it is generally more difficult to conduct longitudinal
researcher due to the extensive time required. A cross-sectional study simply
investigates a cross-section of a population at once. Both study approaches, however,
can be used to answer questions about certain aspects of lifespan development.
For naturalistic observation, write out the following:
1) What are the advantages of choosing this research design?
2) What are the disadvantages?
3) Summarize the main reason why the study design might be chosen. - Answers -
Naturalistic Observation:
1) Can observe how people act naturally.
2) Researchers can only access the information that they directly observe. The child
may act differently in other settings or at other times.
3) A good design for obtaining detailed information on a person's behaviors.
For the case study, write out the following:
1) What are the advantages of choosing this research design?
2) What are the disadvantages?
3) Summarize the main reason why the study design might be chosen. - Answers -
Case Study:
1) Provides rich and detailed information on one individual.
2) May not be applicable to other cases.
3) Particularly helpful for showcasing an unusual case to spur additional discussion.
For the survey, write out the following:
1) What are the advantages of choosing this research design?
2) What are the disadvantages?
3) Summarize the main reason why the study design might be chosen. - Answers -
Survey:
1) Can obtain a large amount of information with a large sample.
2) People may not accurately report on their own thoughts and behaviors!
3) The most straightforward way to know what someone thinks is to simply ask them, as
in a survey or interview.
For the correlational study, write out the following:
1) What are the advantages of choosing this research design?
2) What are the disadvantages?
3) Summarize the main reason why the study design might be chosen. - Answers -
Correlational study:
