Psych 289 UNL Exam 1 UPDATED
ACTUAL Questions and CORRECT
Answers
What is lifespan development? - CORRECT ANSWER - A field of study that examines patterns of
growth, change, and stability in behavior throughout the lifespan.
Lifelong, multidimensional and multidirectional, highly plastic, and affected by multiple interacting
forces.
A pattern of change involving growth and decline, beginning at conception and lasting until death.
Our brains rate of processing slows as we get older.
Physical limitations are still a part of development.
What is the nature-nurture debate and why are developmentalists concerned with this issue? - CORRECT
ANSWER - This debate explained by: which is more important, genetic or environmental factors.
Nature means the hereditary information that we receive from our parents at the moment of conception.
By nurture, we mean the complex forces of the physical and social world that influence our biological
makeup and psychological experiences before and after birth.
Genetics and Environment interact to determine a given characteristic, behavior or pattern of
development.
How much of a given characteristic behavior, or pattern of development is determined by genetic
influences and how much by environmental influences.
Relative influence of nature and nurture.
In most areas this isn't the debate anymore. There are very few times where neither of these things play a
large role.
,How nature and nurture influence development and how they interact in the new question.
Stress is on the process rather than importance of one or the other.
What is the "discontinuity" versus "continuity" debate? - CORRECT ANSWER - This is a debate
between a process of gradually augmenting the same types of skills that were there to being with.. and a
process in which new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times.
is dev. a smooth progression throughout the lifespan (cont.) or is it a series of abrupt shifts. (disc.)
Smooth- continuous gradual change. Speed of processing gets faster over development.
What is the universal versus context-specific development debate? - CORRECT ANSWER - Is
there major dev. Differences across cultures.
Some researchers believe that it is generalized while some believe that it is different among cultures.
Is there only one developmental path or many?
In some cultures infants will walk sooner than others- very different dev. paths.
What are age-graded, history-graded, and nonnormative influences? Can you give an example of each? -
CORRECT ANSWER - Age graded- due to age.
History graded- related to a specific point in history (9/11) do not effect all ages the same. Depending on
child during the great depression, it had big influence on them once they grew up. Poor nutrition and less
money. Teenagers during the great depression had a good influence on them because they went to work
and wanted to help do something. Went further in life as adults.
-cohort (if you are about the same age you are the same cohort)
, Nonnormative- something that happens to an individual but not the majority.
Summarize each of the major theoretical perspectives (psychoanalytic, behaviorism and social learning,
cognitive, ecological, ethology and evolutionary) in terms of its focus and how it explains individual
development. Which of these theories best fits your own view of development? - CORRECT
ANSWER - Psychoanalytic- Behavior motivated by inner forces, memories and conflicts that are
often unconscious, most psychedelic theories see dev. as disc.
Learning- Motivation- external stimuli. Operant conditioning (skinner)- if the teacher wants to change
Childs behavior she could punish him or reinforce him when he does something good. Lose tokens in
class. Reward systems are more likely to result in change.
Consequences produce changed in probability of behavior occurring again.
Cognitive- focus on process that allow people to know, understand and think about the world. When you
are given new info. you can either assimilate or accommodate. Accommodation is making a new schema
based on the world around you and learning something new. Assimilation is bringing in a new idea into
your schema.
Ecological- Bronfenbrenners theory
5 environmental systems-
Chronosystem- patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course
Macrosystem- attitudes and ideologies of the culture
Exosystem- friends of family, neighbors, legal services, mass media, social welfare services.
Mesosystem- Health services, peers.
Microsystem- Family, School, peers, Neighborhood play area, church group, health services, visit science
museum
Individual- sex, age, health.
Ethology- Study of adaptive value of behavior and its evolutionary history. -critical period
-sensitive period
Duckling trailing behind mom because they have imprinted on her.
ACTUAL Questions and CORRECT
Answers
What is lifespan development? - CORRECT ANSWER - A field of study that examines patterns of
growth, change, and stability in behavior throughout the lifespan.
Lifelong, multidimensional and multidirectional, highly plastic, and affected by multiple interacting
forces.
A pattern of change involving growth and decline, beginning at conception and lasting until death.
Our brains rate of processing slows as we get older.
Physical limitations are still a part of development.
What is the nature-nurture debate and why are developmentalists concerned with this issue? - CORRECT
ANSWER - This debate explained by: which is more important, genetic or environmental factors.
Nature means the hereditary information that we receive from our parents at the moment of conception.
By nurture, we mean the complex forces of the physical and social world that influence our biological
makeup and psychological experiences before and after birth.
Genetics and Environment interact to determine a given characteristic, behavior or pattern of
development.
How much of a given characteristic behavior, or pattern of development is determined by genetic
influences and how much by environmental influences.
Relative influence of nature and nurture.
In most areas this isn't the debate anymore. There are very few times where neither of these things play a
large role.
,How nature and nurture influence development and how they interact in the new question.
Stress is on the process rather than importance of one or the other.
What is the "discontinuity" versus "continuity" debate? - CORRECT ANSWER - This is a debate
between a process of gradually augmenting the same types of skills that were there to being with.. and a
process in which new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times.
is dev. a smooth progression throughout the lifespan (cont.) or is it a series of abrupt shifts. (disc.)
Smooth- continuous gradual change. Speed of processing gets faster over development.
What is the universal versus context-specific development debate? - CORRECT ANSWER - Is
there major dev. Differences across cultures.
Some researchers believe that it is generalized while some believe that it is different among cultures.
Is there only one developmental path or many?
In some cultures infants will walk sooner than others- very different dev. paths.
What are age-graded, history-graded, and nonnormative influences? Can you give an example of each? -
CORRECT ANSWER - Age graded- due to age.
History graded- related to a specific point in history (9/11) do not effect all ages the same. Depending on
child during the great depression, it had big influence on them once they grew up. Poor nutrition and less
money. Teenagers during the great depression had a good influence on them because they went to work
and wanted to help do something. Went further in life as adults.
-cohort (if you are about the same age you are the same cohort)
, Nonnormative- something that happens to an individual but not the majority.
Summarize each of the major theoretical perspectives (psychoanalytic, behaviorism and social learning,
cognitive, ecological, ethology and evolutionary) in terms of its focus and how it explains individual
development. Which of these theories best fits your own view of development? - CORRECT
ANSWER - Psychoanalytic- Behavior motivated by inner forces, memories and conflicts that are
often unconscious, most psychedelic theories see dev. as disc.
Learning- Motivation- external stimuli. Operant conditioning (skinner)- if the teacher wants to change
Childs behavior she could punish him or reinforce him when he does something good. Lose tokens in
class. Reward systems are more likely to result in change.
Consequences produce changed in probability of behavior occurring again.
Cognitive- focus on process that allow people to know, understand and think about the world. When you
are given new info. you can either assimilate or accommodate. Accommodation is making a new schema
based on the world around you and learning something new. Assimilation is bringing in a new idea into
your schema.
Ecological- Bronfenbrenners theory
5 environmental systems-
Chronosystem- patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course
Macrosystem- attitudes and ideologies of the culture
Exosystem- friends of family, neighbors, legal services, mass media, social welfare services.
Mesosystem- Health services, peers.
Microsystem- Family, School, peers, Neighborhood play area, church group, health services, visit science
museum
Individual- sex, age, health.
Ethology- Study of adaptive value of behavior and its evolutionary history. -critical period
-sensitive period
Duckling trailing behind mom because they have imprinted on her.
