Darren is an active twelve-year-old boy. When his friend Simon cheats in a game, he tends to get irritated. However, Darren controls his anger and tries explaining to Simon why cheating is bad. Which developmental aspect is Darren displaying in his actions?
- low self-esteem
- self-regulation
- high self-esteem
- self-efficacy
Seriation: The concrete operation that involves ordering stimuli along a quantitative dimension (such as length).
In the context of emotional and personality development in middle and late childhood, which of the following is true of self-regulation?
- Low self-regulation is linked to a narrowing gap in low-socioeconomic-status children's emotional problems.
- High self-regulation is linked to higher levels of deviant behavior.
- It leads to decreased social competence and achievement.
- It is characterized by deliberate efforts to manage one's behavior, emotions, and thoughts.
Emotion: Feeling, or affect, that occurs when a person is in a state or interaction that is important to him or her. Emotion is characterized by behavior that reflects (expresses) the pleasantness or unpleasantness of the state a person is in or the transactions being experienced.
The increased capacity for self-regulation that is seen in middle and late childhood is linked to developmental advances in the
- brain's hypothalamus.
- hippocampus
- brain's prefrontal cortex.
- amygdala
In terms of self-understanding, children in late childhood are more likely than children in early childhood to
- compare themselves with others.
- refrain from social comparison.
- use physical characteristics to describe themselves.
- use outer states to describe themselves.
Self-Understanding: The child’s cognitive representation of self, the substance and content of the child’s self-conceptions.
An aggressive boy's interpretation of an encounter as hostile and his classmates' perception of his behavior as inappropriate are examples of ________ in behavior development.
- stereotyping
- cognitive dissonance
- cultural bias
- social cognition
Social Cognitive Theory: The view of psychologists who emphasize behavior, environment, and cognition as the key factors in development.
According to Kenneth Dodge, aggressive boys are more likely to perceive another child's actions as hostile when
- their self-esteem is challenged.
- the child's intention is ambiguous.
- their aggressive responses can be exercised discreetly.
- the child presents himself or herself as a weak and gullible victim.
It is common to hear children start using the word fair as a synonym for equal or same starting at around ________ years of age.
- four
- six
- eight
- ten
Children's sharing comes to reflect a more complex sense of what is just and right during
- middle and late infancy.
- late infancy.
- middle and late childhood.
- early adolescence.
Middle Adulthood: The developmental period that begins at approximately 40 to 45 years of age and extends to about 60 to 65 years of age.
Four-year-old Maria is sharing one of her favorite toys with her younger brother. In the context of the developmental progression described by William Damon, Maria's sharing is most likely motivated by a sense of
- equality.
- obligation.
- moral duty.
- benevolence.
Habituation: Decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations of the stimulus.
Fernando does not cut in line, raises his hand in class before talking, and stops his car at stop signs on the road. He focuses on rules that have been established by social consensus in order to control behavior and maintain the social system. Which of the following best describes Fernando's reasoning?
- prosocial reasoning
- social order reasoning
- social consensus reasoning
- social conventional reasoning
Social Conventional Reasoning: Thoughts about social consensus and convention, in contrast with moral reasoning, which stresses ethical issues.
In the context of domain theory, which of the following scenarios best represents social conventional reasoning?
- Sheila raising her hand before speaking in class
- Monica providing the airport staff with her passport before boarding her flight
- Damian undergoing a medical test before donating blood to another person
- Mathew punishing his son for lying
Conventional Reasoning: The second, or intermediate, level in Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. At this level, individuals abide by certain standards, but these are standards set by others such as parents or society.
In the context of domain theory, moral rules are widely accepted, somewhat impersonal, and
- arbitrary.
- obligatory.
- only applicable to certain individuals.
- subject to change by social consensus.
Theory: An interrelated, coherent set of ideas that helps to explain phenomena and facilitate predictions.
Unlike nonaggressive children, when aggressive boys search for cues to determine a peer's intention, they respond more
- rapidly.
- efficiently.
- reflectively.
- thoughtfully.
An analysis of stepfamilies found that ________ percent of children in stepfamilies show adjustment problems.
- fifty
- forty
- twenty-five
- twenty
Which of the following statements is true of stepfamilies?
- Most stepfamilies are preceded by divorce rather than death of a spouse.
- Stepfamilies include far more infants or preschool children than elementary and secondary school children.
- The histories and multiple relationships involved in stepfamilies make adjustment between the couples simpler.
- In stepmother families, the mother typically has custody of the children and remarries, introducing a stepfather into her children's lives.
Erica, who has two children, marries Wayne. Wayne has a daughter from his previous marriage. After the union, their family will be considered a ________ stepfamily.
- complex
- segregated
- simple
- mixed
Only ________ of stepfamily couples stay remarried.
- one-fourth
- one-third
- one-half
- three-fourths
Piaget’s Theory: Theory stating that children actively construct their understanding of the world and go through four stages of cognitive development.
In terms of ________ behavior, taking another's perspective improves children's likelihood of understanding and sympathizing with others when they are distressed or in need.
- aggressive
- antisocial
- atypical
- prosocial
In the context of prosocial behavior, which of the following statements is true of perspective taking?
- It improves children's likelihood of understanding and sympathizing with others when they are distressed or in need.
- It makes children become less skeptical of others' claims.
- It is likely to make children engage in more aggressive and oppositional behavior.
- It plays a minimal role in determining whether children develop prosocial attitudes and behavior.
Perspective Taking: The social cognitive process involved in assuming the perspective of others and understanding their thoughts and feelings.
In the context of emotional and personality development, identify a true statement about perspective taking.
- Executive function is at work in perspective taking.
- Children decrease their perspective taking in middle and late childhood.
- Perspective taking refers to global evaluations of the self.
- Perspective taking hinders children's likelihood of understanding and sympathizing with others.
Executive Function: An umbrella-like concept that consists of a number of higher-level cognitive processes linked to the development of the brain’s prefrontal cortex. Executive function involves managing one’s thoughts to engage in goal-directed behavior and to exercise self-control.
In the context of emotional and personality development, which of the following is true of perspective taking?
- It is the social cognitive process involved in assuming the viewpoint of others and understanding their thoughts and feelings.
- It is referred to as the global evaluative dimension of the self.
- It is referred to as the domain-specific evaluation of the self.
- It is the belief that one can master a situation and produce favorable outcomes.
Perspective Taking: The social cognitive process involved in assuming the perspective of others and understanding their thoughts and feelings.