Developmental Psychology: Exam 1 Study Guide

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Questions and Answers

A researcher is studying the effects of a new teaching method on children's reading comprehension. To ensure the study's results are reliable and valid, which of the following strategies would be most effective?

Relying solely on parental reports to assess reading comprehension, as parents know their children best.
Only assessing children who demonstrate a high interest in reading to minimize variability in the data.
Using a standardized reading comprehension test and comparing the scores of children in the new teaching method group with those in a traditional teaching method group. (correct)
Conducting the study with a small, homogenous group of children to control for extraneous variables.

A pregnant woman is concerned about the potential impact of stress on her developing fetus. Which of the following is the most accurate statement regarding the effects of stress during pregnancy?

Chronic or severe stress can lead to premature birth, low birth weight, and increased irritability in the newborn. (correct)
Moderate stress can be beneficial for fetal development as it prepares the fetus for challenges after birth.
Stress primarily affects the mother's well-being, with minimal impact on the fetus's physical development, only affecting the baby's temperament.
Stress has no impact on the developing fetus as the placenta effectively shields the fetus from maternal stress hormones.

A child consistently calls all four-legged animals 'doggy.' According to the concepts of early speech development, what is this an example of, and how could a caregiver best respond to facilitate language development?

Telegraphic speech; the caregiver should focus on expanding the child's vocabulary by introducing new words unrelated to animals.
Underextension; the caregiver should ignore the error and wait for the child to self-correct.
Holophrastic speech; the caregiver should model more complex sentences to discourage single-word utterances.
Overextension; the caregiver should gently correct the child by providing the correct name for each animal while avoiding criticism. (correct)

A toddler becomes frustrated when trying to fit a square block into a circular opening. According to Piaget's theory, which cognitive process would best enable the child to eventually succeed at this task?

<p>Accommodation, by recognizing the shape difference and adapting their understanding to try a different block or a square opening. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

A researcher observes a group of children in a preschool setting. Some children are playing side-by-side without interacting (simple social play), while others are building a tower together, assigning roles, and coordinating their actions (cooperative play). Based on these observations, what conclusion can be drawn about the children's social development?

<p>The children are demonstrating a range of social development levels, with some engaging in earlier forms of social interaction and others exhibiting more advanced cooperative skills. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Genotype

A person's genetic makeup.

Phenotype

The observable characteristics of a person, resulting from the interaction of the genotype with the environment.

Down Syndrome

A genetic disorder caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Temperament

A set of inborn traits that influence how a child interacts with the world.

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Accommodation (Piaget)

Piaget's term for the process where children adjust to new information.

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Study Notes

Exam 1 Study Guide for PSY 241: Developmental Psychology, Spring 2025

Module 1

Three fundamental characteristics of human development should be defined and exemplified.
There are four interactive forces that affect development, learn to define and identify examples of each.
Understand the basic ideas of learning theories of development, including reinforcement and punishment.
Describe the information-processing theory of cognitive development.
Understand the strengths and weaknesses of research methods in the text (summarized in Table 1.4).

Module 2

Contrast genotype and phenotype.
Define Down syndrome and factors increasing its likelihood.
Learn the stages of pregnancy and differences in the developing organism between each stage.
How do nutrition, stress, and age influence pregnancy?
The effect of alcohol on pregnancy
How to assess health of newborns
Define and identify newborn's 4 states
Learn about SIDS/ safe sleep practices
Study dimensions of temperament
Formula feeding in developing nations
Study Gross and fine motor skills
Learn Self-concept mirror test
Understand Piaget's cognitive development, including equilibration, assimilation, and accommodation concepts
Learn the criticisms of Piaget's theory
General principles of information processing (define/identify examples of Key Terms)
Contrast Classical vs. operant conditioning
Learn about Early speech development
Contrast Overextension vs. Underextension
Describe the psychosocial theory of development
How fathers interact with babies
Strange situation; attachment styles
- Understand Outcomes of attachment styles
- Temperament and attachment
Understand the first expression of fear
Contrast Basic vs. complex emotions
Contrast Simple social play vs. cooperative play
Learn about Gender stereotypes
Remember to study the Key Terms for each section.