Chapter 3 Child Development

You are interested in looking at the relationship between education and well-being. You decide that you will use the number of years of schooling completed as the way you will measure level of education. This step in the scientific method is called: a. operationalizing the concept. b. establishing the validity of your measure. c. determining if your measure is reliable. d. standardizing your measure.

A

As part of research study, a researcher decides that she will use the number of pieces of junk mail that a family receives each week as an indicator of how wealthy the family is. If we do not have a good reason to believe that these two things are related, her measure of family wealth is a. unreliable. b. not valid. c. unstandardized. d. multidimensional.

B

Research that has the primary goal of satisfying our curiosity and increasing our understanding of the world we live in is called: a. fundamental research. b. basic research. c. scientific research. d. primary research.

B

Which of the following correlations is the strongest? a. +.25 b. -.82 c. +.63 d. -.11

B

A cohort effect is the biggest problem for a. longitudinal studies. b. experimental research. c. observational research. d. cross-sectional studies.

D

The unique advantage of experimental research is that it a. can be used with large, diverse groups of participants. b. relies on norms to determine what is typical or average. c. can produce data that periodically is updated. d. can identify the causes of behavior.

D

A disadvantage of using physiological measures in research on infants and young children is that a. it requires expensive and sophisticated equipment. b. these measures cannot be used with children who are too young to understand and follow complicated instructions. c. the procedures are invasive and painful so parents don't want to consent to them. d. they can give us a static picture of brain structure, but not brain functioning.

A

Attrition is a problem for longitudinal studies because a. all participants are not at equal risk of being lost from the study over time. b. you cannot add new measures to the study as it goes on. c. all groups in the study must be as much the same as you can possibly make them. d. it creates a cohort effect among the participants.

A

Case studies are often used to study a. individuals who are exceptional in some way. b. large, representative groups of individuals. c. group differences. d. retrospective recall.

A

Children of mothers who are incarcerated are compared to children of mothers who reside with the children in their own homes on a number of cognitive outcomes. This is an example of a(n) a. natural or quasi-experiment. b. case study. c. randomized trial. d. archival study.

A

One of the advantages of using physiological measures when conducting research is that a. they do not require that the participant be able to use language. b. you can utilize multiple methods to collect the data. c. data can be gathered quickly and efficiently. d. the interpretation of the data is always clear and straightforward.

A

One of the disadvantages of using surveys to conduct research is that a. respondents may not be able to accurately recall and report on the behavior covered by the survey. b. it is a very expensive and time-intensive method of collecting data. c. the researcher must develop norms for the responses and update those norms periodically. d. the researcher must be sure that the groups of participants who answer the questions are comparable in as many ways as possible.

A

Professor Tyrone is interested in studying how the use of media (such as having the television on, answering text messages, or listening to an I-pod) affects students' ability to study for their courses. It would be better if she got permission to look up the students' grade point average than to simply ask the students to self-report their grade point average because a. they might not correctly report their grade point average in an attempt to make themselves look better to the researcher. b. students don't pay much attention to grades, so many may not have this information in their memory. c. grade point averages change so frequently that it is difficult for students to accurately recall what it is. d. it won't be clear to students what information Professor Taylor is looking for when she asks about their grade point average.

A

Research that has measured the event-related potentials (ERPs) of infants found that infants paid more attention to a stimulus when their caregivers a. reacted to the stimulus in a negative way than in a positive way. b. appeared to be ignoring the stimulus. c. reacted to the stimulus in a positive way than in a negative way. d. reacted in a neutral way to the stimulus.

A

The norm for a standardized test represents a. the average or typical performance of a child of a given age on a specific test. b. the size of the sample that is used to develop the test items. c. other tests that measure the same or similar qualities or characteristics. d. the highest and lowest score that any child gets on the test.

A

There is a cohort effect in cross-sectional studies when a. the different groups in the study have had different life experiences. b. the researcher uses different measures for the different groups in the study. c. participants drop out of the study for various reasons over time. d. the measures that are being used in the study change over time.

A

When conducting a case study, it is particularly important that the researcher a. gathers a representative sample for the study. b. remains objective in her observations and interpretation of them. c. carefully explains the purpose of the study to the subject. d. uses valid, standardized tests in the assessment process.

A

When you find a positive correlation between two variables, it means that a. these variables have a beneficial effect on the child's development. b. changes in the first variable will cause a change in the second variable. c. as the value of one variable goes up so does the value of the second variable. d. these two variables can predict the value of a third variable.

A

Because the participants who drop out of a longitudinal study are likely to be different in some ways from those who remain until the end of the study a. the conclusions drawn from longitudinal studies are seldom reliable. b. the sample that is initially representative becomes increasingly biased over time. c. there will be a cohort effect upon the final results. d. attrition will make the sample more representative over time.

B

In a natural experiment conducted in India that compared children of the same age who had different number of years of schooling, the researchers concluded that a. schooling made a smaller impact on the children's competence than did the children's everyday experiences. b. competence increased in direct relationship to the number of years of school the child had attended. c. there was no difference for children in elementary school, but schooling became more important for older children. d. the structure of the children's families had a bigger impact than did the number of years they had attended school.

B

One important reason why a researcher might choose to collect data using observations is that a. the data are easier to interpret than data collected using other research methods. b. observations can capture behavior as it naturally occurs. c. the conclusions can be more easily generalized to other groups of children. d. we can draw causal inferences from our observations.

B

One of the advantages of doing research by using observations is that we can a. determine the causes of behavior. b. observe behavior as it naturally occurs. c. compare a single individual to an entire group of individuals. d. generalize our results to most populations.

B

One of the challenges with doing a cross-sectional study is that a. you must have groups that cover the entire age range from infancy through adolescence. b. you must be certain that the different age groups you use are as similar to each other as you possibly can make them. c. it will be hard to get the statistical tools that you need to adequately analyze your data. d. your findings may no longer be relevant by the time your study is completed.

B

The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and the American College Testing (ACT) program are used by many colleges as part of the admissions process because a. they are free from bias and give every student an equal chance of being admitted. b. when taken together with high school grade point average (GPA) they predict college GPA better than high school GPA alone. c. they are designed to give an advantage to traditionally underrepresented groups of students. d. these tests are able to detect differences in inherent ability or aptitude between students.

B

When we use observations to conduct research a. we are able to identify the causes of the behavior we observe. b. we can be certain that we are seeing behavior as it naturally occurs. c. it does not tell us directly about the causes of the behaviors we see. d. they cannot help us to formulate new hypotheses that we can later test.

B

A controversy surrounding the use of intelligence tests by the U.S. Army during World War I and World War II centered around whether a. the achievement items were better predictors of abilities than the performance items. b. a larger number of items would improve the accuracy of the tests in placing recruits in specific jobs. c. group differences in scores reflected inherent differences in mental abilities or were biased against members of certain groups. d. the tests were useful for assessing individuals who were older than their mid-twenties.

C

A researcher who is conducting observations to test her own hypothesis may see or pay more attention to behavior that tends to support that hypothesis, so she must guard against a. premature interpretation. b. causal references. c. observer bias. d. sampling bias.

C

Changes that occur in the sample in a longitudinal study over time that make it less representative than it was at the start of the study create a. a cohort effect. b. perceptual bias. c. sample bias. d. generalization deficits.

C

If you read that a correlational study has found that children who participate in more extracurricular activities have higher self esteem, you could conclude that a. participating in extracurricular activities makes children feel good about themselves. b. getting children to participate in more extracurricular activities will lead to increases in self esteem. c. participation in extracurricular activities is associated with higher self esteem. d. high self-esteem drives children to seek out activities at which they can excel.

C

In an experiment, the difference between the experimental group and the control group is that a. the experimental group is always larger than the control group. b. the control group knows what is being tested in the experiment, but the experimental group is "blind" to the purpose of it. c. the experimental group gets the special treatment that the researcher is studying and the control group doesn't. d. the control group is always tested before the experimental group is.

C

Inter-rater reliability is established when: a. many researchers have used the same measure in their research. b. a measure has been used with a variety of different samples. c. more than one observer looks at the same behavior and gets the same results. d. a sample has the same characteristics as the population from which it is drawn.

C

Participants are randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group in an experiment a. to ensure that there will be an equal number of males and females in the experimental group and the control group. b. so that the participants will not be able to figure out what is being tested in the experiment. c. to help ensure that the two groups are not systemically different from each other at the start of the experiment. d. so that the researcher will not know which group is being given the independent variable.

C

Physiological tests (such as EEGs and ERPs) are particularly useful in research on a. infants because their central nervous system is more responsive than the central nervous system of older children. b. adolescents because they often are not aware of their true feelings and can't report on them. c. infants and young children who are not yet speaking and therefore cannot answer questions or follow complex instructions. d. adolescents because their hormones make their central nervous system more reactive to physical stimuli than to words.

C

When Piaget was conducting his research, he might present a story and then ask children questions about it. There were some questions he asked every child, but there also were questions that were specifically tied to the child's initial response. Piaget was using a ____________ to conduct his research. a. standardized interview b. a modified interview c. clinical interview d. flexible interview

C

When we have a negative correlation a. there is no relationship between the two variables being studied. b. the effect of the manipulation has a detrimental effect on the children. c. the value of one variable increases as the value of the other variable decreases. d. the strength of the correlation is minimal.

C

A study that has several groups of different ages that are followed over time and which has an overlap in the ages of the groups is a a. multi-phasic study. b. longitudinal study. c. cohort study. d. cross-sequential study.

D

Applied developmental research is research that: a. has the primary purpose of adding to our theoretical understanding of the process of development. b. provides information that is interesting and important. c. uses the scientific method to try to reach valid conclusions. d. is intended to help us make changes that will improve the lives of children.

D

Children who have been the victims of child maltreatment are followed from early childhood through adolescence with their psychological and emotional well being assessed every 3 years during this time. This is an example of a a. an archival study. b. longitudinal study. c. a correlational study. d. a cross sectional study.

D

If we conduct a research study using a sample of 14- to 16-year old adolescents attending school in ethnically-diverse middle class communities, we could correctly generalize our results to a. all adolescents between the ages of 14 to 16. b. all middle class adolescents. c. all middle class adolescents between the ages of 14 to 16. d. adolescents who have characteristics similar to those of the sample.

D

If you were interested in studying what causes disagreements among friends in middle school and how those disagreements are resolved, an appropriate technique to use to study this topic would be a. a time sample. b. a case study. c. a path analysis. d. an event sample.

D

One of the major challenges with conducting longitudinal research is that a. it is very difficult to construct matched groups of subjects for your sample. b. the groups of participants you are studying have had different life experiences. c. you need to continually update the tests and measures that you are using. d. it takes a great deal of time and money to conduct such research.

D

Professor Alsmith looks at changes in self-esteem across adolescence by measuring the self-esteem of 11 year olds, 13 year olds, 15 year olds, and 17 year olds and comparing the results between the groups. This is an example of a(n) a. archival study. b. longitudinal study. c. correlational study. d. cross sectional study.

D

The __________ variable is the one that the researcher controls or manipulates in the experiment and the _________ variable is the outcome that is measured at the end of the experiment. a. dependent; independent b. independent; control c. dependent; concluding d. independent; dependent

D

We cannot determine the causes of behavior from a correlation because a. a negative correlation means that the two variables are not related to each other. b. the relationship may not hold for the control group. c. we need more than two variables before we can determine the causes of behavior. d. we do not have control over other variables that may affect the correlation.

D

When a researcher conducts a clinical interview, the interviewer a. asks everyone the same set of questions in the same order. b. asks questions from a standard set of questions, but in random order from one respondent to another. c. talks to a third party who is familiar with the experiences of the person who is the subject of the interview. d. can ask additional questions based on the respondent's answers or ask the respondent to expand on an answer.

D

When we are interpreting the results of a study, it is important to remember that a. we must have practical significance, whether or not we have statistical significance. b. most studies have only limited application to real world situations. c. the conclusions are generalizations that apply to groups of people, not to every single individual. d. a good study should confirm the null hypothesis of the study.

D

When we use our observations to make a detailed record of everything that occurs in a stream of behavior, we can a. carefully control and manipulate the variables we are interested in. b. infer the causes of the behaviors that we are observing. c. generalize our results to other children in similar circumstances. d. use it to generate new hypotheses for future research.

D