Psychology Of Human Development and Learning Past Questions and

Answers
1. In a fertilized egg, the cell divides and expand outward to become an embryo. This is the
principle of

A. Development being sequential

B. Development being continuous

C. Cephalocaudal principle

D. Proximodistal principle

Answer: D

2. A relatively lasting / permanent change in behavior as a result of experience is termed…….

A. Growth

B. Learning

C. Maturity

D. Intelligence

Answer: B

3. During prenatal period, the spinal cord develops and then the head, chest and trunk grow
followed by the arms and legs. This is an example of ……………

A. Development is continuous

B. Proximodistal principle

C. Development is sequential

D. Cephalocaudal principle

Answer: B

4. According to research, structural abnormalities include deletions, translocation, inversions

and duplication. Inversion is the process whereby ………….
A. A portion of one chromosome is missing

B. A portion of one chromosome is transferred to another chromosome and turned

C. A. portion of a chromosome is broken off and turned upside down and reattached.

D. A portion of the chromosome is duplicated resulting in extra genetic material

Answer: C

5. Which developmental theory was based on how each stage, a person experiences a crisis
which could have a positive or negative outcome for personality development?

A. Operant conditioning

B. Psychosocial theory

C. Cognitive theory

D. Classical

Answer: B

6. A newborn will need support with the head, by two months after which the physical
control will move downwards to the arms and to the legs. This phenomenon is termed as
…………….

A. Cephalocaudal Principle

B. Development is Sequential

C. Proximodistal Principle

D. Development is Continuous

Answer: A

7. What characteristics are normally seen in the play patterns of the 4-year-old child?

A. The 4-year-old puts toys away without supervision

B. The 4-year-old frequently has imaginary playmates

C. The 4-year-old enjoys a group of 5 or 6 peers

D. The 4-year-old engages in solitary and parallel play most of the time

Answer: B

8. Environmental factors that shape development include all the following except……

A. Quality of nutrition

B. Intelligence

C. Culture

D. Quality of learning

Answer: B

9. Kofi is a teacher in Unipra JHS, he had an in-service training on threats to prenatal

development. After the training, Kofi’s perceptions of his students changed. He is likely to do
the following except, ………………

A. Refer students with medical conditions to the school nurse

B. Design his instruction to suit all the students

C. Collaborate with parents of students with special needs

D. Cane students who score low marks in class test

Answer: D

10. Trisomy 21 is caused by an extra copy of the 21st chromosome. It also known as ……...

A. Turner’s syndrome

B. Klinefelter syndrome

C. Down syndrome

D. Fragile X syndrome

Answer: C

11. Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development in which a child gains independence from
caregivers is:

A. Initiative vs guilt
B. Autonomy vs shame and doubt

C. Basic trust vs mistrust

D. Industry vs inferiority

Answer: B

12. When becoming old and looking back, people tend to evaluate their life and want to know
if they lived a successful life. At what stage of Erickson’s psychosocial stages is the above
description synonymous to?

A. Integrity vs despair

B. Identity vs role confusion

C. Intimacy vs isolation

D. Generativity vs stagnation

Answer: A

13. Ama was born in 1985 and after 15 years Ama has increased in height, body parts have
been magnified and also the organs and body systems. One could realize that Ama’s height, size
and gait has changed. This phenomenon is termed ………...

A. Changes

B. Growth

C. Maturity

D. Learning

Answer: B

14. As Ekow became older, his brain developed in a way that meant he was able to handle
more complex tasks than he could before. This phenomenon meant that Ekow is/has…………

A. Changed

B. Grown

C. Matured

D. Learned
 Answer: C

15. As a child develops, he or she adds to the skills already acquired and the new skills become
the basis for further achievement and mastery of skills. This is an instance of

A. Development being Sequential

B. Proximodestal Principle

C. Cephalocaudal Principle

D. Development being Continuous

Answer: D

16. Growth is Asynchronous. This means…………...

A. There are individual rates of growth

B. Growth proceeds from center upwards

C. Growth is characterized by critical periods

D. It is influenced by environmental factors

Answer: A

17. A baby boy with klinefelter syndrome is known to have……………

A. Ocular Albinism (OAI) on the X chromosome

B. An extra X chromosome in most of its cell

C. A breakage of the tip of an X chromosome

D. An extra Y chromosome

Answer: B

18. Kwame and Ama are planning to get married and have children. Kwame is a carrier of the
sickle cell disease. Ama has a normal hemoglobin gene combination. What is their percentage
chance of having children who do NOT have the sickle trait?

A. 50%

B. 100%
C. 25%

D. 0%

Answer: A

19. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development began with his study of: ……….

A. Mollusks

B. Children

C. sRhesus monkeys

D. Dogs

Answer: B

20. Piaget reasoned that before the individual can organize and interpret experiences, they
must first……………...

A. Receive appropriate tuition

B. Create schemas

C. Intellectualize it

D. Represent it mentally

Answer: D

21. Pick the odd one out………

A. Zygote

B. Fetus

C. Embryo

D. Ovum

Answer: D

22. The following influences growth except, …………….

A. Genetics

B. Disease
C. Nutrition

D. Social status

Answer: D

23. Which of the following is true concerning prenatal exposure to smoke? ………

A. Significantly increased infant growth

B. Increased birth weight

C. Increase risk of sudden infant death syndrome

D. Increased future behavioral performance

Answer: C

24. Physical characteristics such as weight, height, skin, color and psychological characteristics
such as intelligence and personality are synonymous to? …………

A. Phenotype

B. Zygote

C. Genotype

D. Chromosome

Answer: A

25. The cognitive stage in which abstract thought emerges is: …………...

A. Concrete operational stage

B. Preoperational stage

C. Sensorimotor stage

D. Formal operational stage

Answer: D

26. Hemophilia A&B is more prevalent in female children …………

A. True

B. False
 Answer: B

27. All the following are periods of prenatal development except ………….

A. Embryonic

B. Germinal

C. Postpartum

D. Fetal

Answer: C

28. The cognitive abilities of an adolescent differ from that of a child primarily in that, unlike a
child, an adolescent thinking is not necessarily tied to …………….

A. Fantasy

B. Concrete events

C. Abstract ideas

D. Logic

Answer: B

29. According to Erickson, which group of people are significant in integrity versus despair?
………….

A. Household, workmates

B. Friends, partners

C. Peers, role models

D. Mankind, my kind

Answer: A

30. In a Piagetian classroom, children are encouraged to discover themselves through

spontaneous interaction with the environment, rather than the presentation of readymade
knowledge. ………….

A. True

B. False
 Answer: A

31. Piaget believed that extensive interaction with …………... is essential for each person’s
cognitive development.

A. Authority figures

B. One’s own family

C. Other children

D. The environment

Answer: D

32. I can be measured, and I am influenced by genetics. I am also characterized by quantity.

Who am I?

A. Growth

B. Maturity

C. Learning

D. Development

Answer: A

33. Kukua is married and found that she has the sickle cell trait and the husband too has sickle
cell trait. What is their percentage chance of giving birth to a child who is sickle cell anaemic?
……………

A. 25 percent

B. 75 percent

C. 50 percent

D. 100 percent

Answer: A

34. At the germinal stage the sperm cell and the ovum (egg) combines to form a single cell
called ………………

A. Fetus
B. Zygote

C. Embryo

D. Ectoderm

Answer: B

35. Kukua is married and found that she has the sickle cell trait and the husband is sickle
anaemic. What is their percentage chance of giving birth to a child without a sickle cell trait nor
sickle cell anaemia? …………..

A. 50 percent

B. 75 percent

C. 0 percent

D. 25 percent

Answer: C

36. According to Erickson, what virtue is exhibited in integrity versus despair? ………

A. Love

B. Care

C. Wisdom

D. Competence

Answer: C

37. Piaget theory of cognitive development is essentially about ……………...

A. The influence of the social world on the growing child

B. The development of the ability to think

C. Therapeutic procedures to correct cognition

D. Problems in sensory-motor development

Answer: B

38. The most risky STORCH infection within the first trimester of pregnancy is …
 Answer: Rubella (R) infection

39. Abena, beginning this week, has begun to engage in goal directed behavior, thus cause and
effect relationship. Abena can be said to have developed………….

A. Primary circular reaction

B. Secondary circular reaction

C. Tertiary circular reaction

D. Coordination of secondary circular reaction

Answer: D

40. A deviation of the 23rd pair of chromosomes leads to …………… syndrome.

Answer: turner

41. The principle of human development which explains that a child’s first step occurs as a
result of aggregation experience is……………….

A. Proximodistal

B. Cephalocaudal

C. Epigenetic

D. Asynchronous

Answer: C

42. Adoma knows that quantity of objects remains same if nothing is added despite changes in
spatial arrangement. Adoma has acquired the principle of

A. Object permanence

B. Class inclusion

C. Reversibility

D. Conservation

Answer: D

43. Before the nineteenth century, man tried to study himself via all the following EXCEPT
A. Guesses

B. Intuitions

C. Superstitions

D. Speculations

Answer: B

44. Kobby was six inches tall two months ago, however as at yesterday he measured eight
inches. Kobby has experienced……………….

A. Improvement

B. Maturation

C. Growth

D. Development

Answer: C

45. Kwame my first son, before the lockdown could only brush his teeth. However, two weeks
in the lockdown, Kwame can bath as well. Kwame is said to have……………...

A. Matured

B. Developed

C. Grown

D. Learned

Answer: D

46. In experimental research, the group that receives the treatment is called
the………..group.

A. Confounded

B. Controlled

C. Experimental

D. Extraneous
Answer: C

47. Akosua sees herself as the most intelligent and pretty girl in the whole Mampong
municipality. What concept explains Akosua’s behavior?

A. Selfishness

B. Egocentrism

C. Animillism

D. Conservation

Answer: B

48. If two variables are directly correlated, a change in one variable is accompanied by a …………
change in the other.

A. Exponential

B. Positive

C. Negative

D. Progressive

Answer: B

49. Adwubi initially could not do simple multiplication, however, after receiving tutorial from
her sister on the use of the multiplication table, she has overcome her initial difficulty. Adwubi
achieved this milestone as result of……………...

A. Zone of proximal development

B. Trial and error

C. Imitation

D. Scaffolding

Answer: D

50. Adwoa was told by a midwife to be aware of continuum of biological and environmental
conditions that are used to identify children whose well-being are at risk. This advice Adwoa
received highlights…………….
A. Developmental risk

B. Teratogens

C. Embryopathy

D. Genetic disorders

Answer: B

51. My aim is to assist people to understand how human language has evolved over the
thousands of year of human existence. My proper name should be………….

A. Clinical psychology

B. Language psychology

C. Existence psychology

D. Educational psychology

E. Evolutionary psychology

Answer: B

52. Once Kwesi was born there was that expectation that he will have the full complement of
all his 32 teeth as the years go by, even though at 2 months his mouth looked hollow. This
means that:

A. Growth is asynchronous

B. Growth is unpredictable

C. Growth is sequential

D. Growth is directional

E. Growth is predictable

Answer: E

53. Which of the following cannot be included in the paternal causes of prenatal
abnormalities?

A. Inducing of maternal stress by father of unborn baby

B. Poor working environment of father of unborn baby

C. Strenuous exercising by father of unborn baby

D. Illicit use of drugs of father of unborn baby

E. Poor eating habits of the father of unborn child

Answer: B

54. When Baby Adwoa is startled by sudden noise, she throws both her two hands and legs up
and begins crying. This is an example of a:

A. Babinski Reflex

B. Startled Reflex

C. Uncomfortable Reflex

D. Moro Reflex

E. Frightened Reflex

Answer: D

55. They were born at the same time. How can one be more intelligent than the other”?

Mrs. Addico grumbled. What process is Mrs. Addico misunderstanding?

A. Growth

B. Intelligence

C. Maturation

D. Changes

E. Development

Answer: E

56. During Kofi’s first day at school, the parents informed you the teacher to take very good
care of him, because he easily gets tired, bleeds profusely when cut, and has pains in the joints
when the weather is cold. Kofi must be suffering from………….?

A. Rubella disease

B. Ocular Albinism
C. Sickle cell disease

D. Childhood jaundice

E. Down syndrome

Answer: E

57. Mummy! Mummy!! Look I have hairs in my armpit and my voice has change, am now a
man. Robert told the mother. Which field of psychology explains these changes

A. Anatomy psychology

B. Developmental psychology

C. Abnormal psychology

D. Social psychology

E. Child psychology

Answer: B

58. Two-year-old David’s ability to move and manipulate objects is an example of……...?

A. Reflexive reactions

B. Muscle coordination

C. Developmental milestone

D. Eye coordination

E. Motor skills.

Answer: E

59. I normally work with judges to ensure that the truth prevails and that no innocent person is
convicted to prison and no guilty person is acquitted because of an error in the evidence. who
am I?

A. Prison psychology

B. Forensic psychology

C. Neuropsychology
D. Criminal psychology

E. Incarceration psychology

Answer: B

60. The socioemotional processes associated with human development has all the following
components except:

A. Changes in the individual’s personality

B. Changes in the individual’s emotion

C. Changes in the individual’s language

D. Changes in the individual’s relationship with others

E. Changes in the individual’s mental perceptions

Answer: C

61. All reflexes in humans cease after infancy.

A. True

B. False

Answer: B

62. Both Agnes and Michael are six years old and in class 1. During Physical Education period,
teacher Kuuku scolded Michael for not being able to pick up a small sack though Agnes could do
so. What principle of growth and development is the teacher ignoring?

A. Growth and development is continuous for individuals

B. Growth and development is gradual for individuals

C. Growth and development is epigenetic for individuals

D. Growth and development is different for individuals

E. Growth and development sequential for individuals

Answer: D

63. Having been born to very big parents Baby Jacob was bigger than all his contemporaries at
2 years. Baby Jacob’s situation is an example of the fact that………….?
A. Development proceeds from general to specific

B. Growth is genetic

C. Growth is both quantitative and qualitative

D. Development is predictable

E. Growth and development is continuous

Answer: B

64. In teaching, it is advised that teachers teach by starting from simple concepts to enable the
students grasp the information before moving to more complex task. This is an example of
…………………...

A. Cephalocaudal principle

B. Orthogenetic principle

C. Continuous principle

D. Proximodistal principle

E. Sequential principle

Answer: B

65. Clinical Psychology and counselling Psychology can be said to bedfellows.

A. False

B. True

Answer: A

66. At three years Thomas could not pick up 10kg bag of rice. However, when he turned 12 yrs.
he picked it effortlessly. This relates to ………… than anything.

A. Growth

B. Maturation

C. Strength

D. Acculturation
E. Development

Answer: A

67. I regret coming to school, am not just happy because my grades are very bad. Which field
of psychology will help this student to deal with her problem?

A. Environmental psychology

B. Developmental psychology

C. Counselling psychology

D. Cognitive psychology

E. Social psychology

Answer: C

68. The subject matter of this branch covers psychological ways and means of improving all
aspects of teaching or learning process, including the learner, learning process, learning
material, learning environment and the teacher.

A. Legal psychology

B. Learning psychology

C. Clinical psychology

D. Educational psychology

E. Industrial psychology

Answer: D

69. Maturation is a subset of development

A. True

B. False

Answer: A

70. Development is more perceptible than growth.

A. False
B. True

Answer: B

71. Prenatal abnormalities in babies are mainly caused by genetic factors that are outside the
control of the pregnant mother.

A. True

B. False

Answer: B

72. At the pre-conventional level of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development, the individual
makes decisions based on consequences of their behavior.

A. True

B. False

Answer: A

73. Which of the following best describes infant reflexes in humans?

A. Matured responses to stimuli before knowing what the stimuli is

B. Innate behavioral responses to stimuli before knowing what the stimuli is

C. Adaptive responses to stimuli before knowing what the stimuli is

D. Frightened responses to stimuli before knowing what the stimuli is

E. Maturational responses to stimuli before knowing what the stimuli is

Answer: B

74. At the initiative versus guilt stage of Erikson, the individual normally feel rejected when he
is not affirmed for trying something new.

A. False

B. True

Answer: B

75. Kofi Nimoh, a Nursery 1 4-year-old pupil, is not able to draw a circle very well. What
principle of growth explains this situation?
 A. Growth is a continuous process.

B. Growth involves general movement to more specific movement

C. Growth proceeds from the center of the body outwards

D.Growth is asymmetrical

E. Growth is influenced by environmental factors

Answer: D

76. “After 30 years of working I don’t find any joy in working. At 60 years, I have nothing to
prove. I want to focus on my children now”. What stage would Erikson consider this to be?

A. Identity vs Role confusion

B. Trust vs Mistrust

C. Integrity vs Despair

D. Generativity vs Stagnation

E. Industry vs Inferiority

Answer: D

77. “I deal with how humans are able to learn, communicate, perceive people and their
environment, how to remember what they learn and solve problems”. Who am I?

A. Para psychology

B. Clinical psychology

C. Cognitive psychology

D. Environment psychology

E. Personality psychology

Answer: C

78. When growing Mensah was able to lift his hand first before being able to hold a spoon in
his hand. This is an example of…………...

A. Growth and development is direction

B. Growth and development is sequential

C. Proximodistal developmentD. Growth and development is gradual

E. Cephalocaudal development

Answer: D

79. “I can’t disappoint my friends! They expect me to come to the party, Mummy. I don’t want
them to feel I am abandoning them. I will do the chores when I come back. The party is
important to me”, Jessica told her mum and rushed out. Jessica’s morality is at:

A. Universal Ethics Orientation

B. Obedience or Punishment

C. Self Interest Orientation Stage

D. Social Conformity Orientation

E.Law and Order Orientation

Answer: D

80. Kwame knows the acceptable pattern of behavior but because of his hostile attitude, he
willingly violates group expectations. Kwame is said to be having a/an………... act.

A.Unsocial

B.Para socia

C. Anti-socia

D.Uni-socia

E. Prosocial

Answer: D