Child Development

1. When would a psychologist label a child as developing typically?

a. when they reach 2 years of age with no obvious physical problems

b. when they follow a predictable developmental trajectory
c. when they reach specific levels of reading and writing ability
d. when they can walk unaided
Answer: B
2. Which of the foll-owing is a source of difficulty in defining ‘typical’ development?

a. differing cultural and societal values

b. differing personal values
c. variations in development due to individual differences
d. all of these
Answer: D
3. How long after conception do our brains begin to develop and how long until their basic anatomical
structure is complete?

a. 3 months and 8 months

b. 3 weeks and 7 months
c. 8 weeks and 7 months
d. 7 weeks and 8 months
Answer: B
4. With regard to the development of the brain, what does the term ‘plasticity’ mean?

a. a cluster of neurons
b. the scar tissue formed after a brain injury
c. flexibility of brain organization
d. none of these
Answer: C
5. Which of the following words complete this sentence?
It is NOT unusual for a young child who has suffered a degree of brain damage in a car accident to make a
complete recovery several months later. This is because in ______ children, the job of the damaged ______
can be taken on by other structures that have not yet become ______ for other functions.

a. older, brain, available

b. young, neural structures, specialized
c. developed, area, advanced
d. prepubescent, hippocampus, known
Answer: B
6. Which of these is a behavioural disorder that is characterized by inattention and impulsivity, as well as other
symptoms?

a. ADHD
b. autism
c. Down syndrome
d. rubella
Answer: A
7. One of the main biological explanations of ADHD suggests that it is caused by abnormalities in three areas
of the brain. Which of the following is NOT one of those areas?
 a. cerebellum
b. hippocampus
c. basal ganglia
d. frontal lobes
Answer: B
8. Autism develops when changes in the ______ between brain cells invoke mechanisms of ______, which in
turn alter the patterns in which parts of the brain connect to each other.

a. cerebrospinal fluid, autophagy

b. neurofilaments, nutrition
c. synapses, plasticity
d. gap junctions, exocytosis
Answer: C
9. The acronym ADHD stands for

a. Attention-Directed Hypoactivity Disorder

b. Attitude Dependent Hyperactivity Disorder
c. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
d. Attention-Directing Hypothalamic Density
Answer: C
10. What does the field of genetics look at?

a. traits and characteristics passed on through genes

b. illnesses and disorders that can be cured using radiation
c. DNA strings that affect future education
d. chromosomes that change hair colour in later life
Answer: A
11. How many chromosomes come from the mother and the father?

a. 21 from the father, 25 from the mother

b. 22 from the mother, 22 from the father
c. 20 from the mother, 26 from the father
d. 23 from the father, 23 from the mother
Answer: D
12. Errors or omissions in ______ can cause spontaneous abortion of a foetus. This happens with about ______
of human embryos.

a. intercourse, half
b. genes or chromosomes, two thirds
c. ultrasound, 1%
d. neurogenesis, half
Answer: B
13. Phenylketonuria (PKU) is caused by which of the following?

a. recessive gene carried by both parents

b. dominant gene carried by both parents
c. dominant gene carried by the mother
d. dominant gene carried by the father
Answer: A
14. Huntington’s disease is what kind of condition?

a. behavioural
 b. recessive gene
c. dominant gene
d. it is unknown
Answer: C
15. Down syndrome occurs in approximately how many individuals?

a. 1 in 100
b. 1 in 1,000
c. 1 in 3,000
d. 3 in 10,000
Answer: B
16. What is a maturational lag?

a. delayed maturity in one or more areas of development

b. delayed maturity in all areas of development
c. maturing at a rate faster than others of the same age
d. a constantly changing level of maturity
Answer: A
17. What concept has been drawn from the work of Lorenz?

a. innate attachment
b. critical period
c. genetic predisposition
d. the existence of ADHD
Answer: B
18. Which of the following is TRUE according to the critical period hypothesis?

a. a child is less susceptible to environmental stimulation during a critical period than at other times
during the lifespan
b. a child’s development will progress along a predictable trajectory during a critical period, irrespective
of environmental influences
c. environmental influences will cause a child to enter a critical period of development
d. a child is more susceptible to environmental stimulation during a critical period than at other times
during the lifespan
Answer: D
19. What is behavioural imprinting?

a. knowing which object to follow

b. knowing who is related
c. learning your species
d. learning to attach
Answer: A
20. Genie’s case supports the notion of what?

a. sensitive period
b. critical period
c. attachment types
d. none of these
Answer: B
21. Bowlby proposed that the development of attachment had what kind of basis?

a. biological
 b. emotional
c. evolutionary
d. psychodynamic
Answer: A
22. Bowlby based his findings on his work with whom?

a. orphaned children
b. juvenile thieves
c. army officers
d. preschool children
Answer: B
23. Children who develop an attachment bond later in life have an increased risk of what?

a. insecure and maladaptive attachment relationships

b. extreme and overly emotional attachment relationships
c. behavioural and emotional disorders
d. learning difficulties
Answer: A
24. The ‘zone of proximal development’ (Vygotsky, 1978) is

a. an area of learning that a child will be unable to master either with or without support
b. an area of learning in which a child is able to progress independently
c. an area of learning in which a child is able to learn with support from someone more capable
d. an area of learning in which a child has become proficient
Answer: C
25. Briggs-Gowan et al. (2001) found that poor children tend to show higher rates of which of the following:

a. inattention and hyperactivity

b. anxiety and depression
c. aggression
d. all of these
Answer: D
26. Carefully managed parental separation means children may be at lower risk of what?

a. social problems
b. behavioural problems
c. academic problems
d. all of these
Answer: D
27. What did Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) find?

a. children’s beliefs in each other’s abilities can affect performance

b. teachers’ beliefs about a child’s performance can affect their learning
c. children’s beliefs in themselves affect the way teachers treat them
d. children’s beliefs in themselves affect the way other children treat them
Answer: B
28. What is the self-fulfilling prophecy?

a. people act the way others expect them to

b. people go against what others expect of them
c. people act on only the good things others say
d. people act on only the bad things others say
Answer: A
29. According to Hyde, Punch and Grimbeek (2011), high expectations by parents of a child’s abilities to
communicate and succeed academically after a cochlear implant has been fitted tends to be a predictor of
which of the following?

a. negative outcomes in those areas

b. symptoms of stress and anxiety in the child
c. positive outcomes in those areas
d. parental disappointment
Answer: C
30. What do we mean by labelling?

a. identifying the genes an individual has and labelling them

b. identifying a series of atypical behaviours and labelling them
c. identifying the needs of a child and labelling them
d. a way of trying to prevent repeated behaviours
Answer: B