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1 | | Paul Ehrlich and Marcus Feldman, who argue that cultural environments are more influential than genes in shaping development, note which of the following problems with what they call "genetic determinism?" |
| | A) | Twin studies show no developmental differences between fraternal and identical twins. |
| | B) | The human genome project has shown that there are not enough individual genes to explain the complexity of human behavior. |
| | C) | Social institutions, such as schools, do not significantly change development. |
| | D) | Evolutionary psychology has explained how culture matters less than most people think. |
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2 | | Gary Marcus, who asserts that the brain is largely guided by genetic predispositions, talks about the changes to the brain that occur through development as |
| | A) | plasticity. |
| | B) | a gene shortage. |
| | C) | a cascade. |
| | D) | if-then contingencies. |
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3 | | Judith Rich Harris, who argues that parents matter less for development than most people think, contends that |
| | A) | children can largely raise themselves. |
| | B) | parents are too passive in raising children. |
| | C) | children learn to behave differently in and out of the home. |
| | D) | parents shape children to be individualists. |
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4 | | Howard Gardner, who criticizes the suggestion that parents don't matter, claims that a major reason research evidence is not clear about how parents influence children is |
| | A) | the research does not account for biology. |
| | B) | the research uses crude survey categories. |
| | C) | the research goes into too much description. |
| | D) | modern research relies too heavily on Freudian theory. |
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5 | | Stephen Pinker, who asserts that research clearly shows there are small average differences between men and women in the basic cognitive abilities required for certain careers, contends that |
| | A) | there are nearly an equal number of women and men scientists. |
| | B) | women have been discriminated against, and the feminist movement is important. |
| | C) | responses to Harvard president Summers' comments demonstrates quality intellectual discourse. |
| | D) | more women score at the extreme ends of the scale on cognitive tests. |
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6 | | Elizabeth Spelke, who argues that social factors explain most of the difference between the success of men and women in math and science, shows that |
| | A) | there are few meaningful innate sex differences at birth. |
| | B) | sex differences stay constant through most of the lifespan. |
| | C) | most parents and teachers treat boys and girls identically. |
| | D) | it is relatively easy to discern sex differences that are innate and those that are learned. |
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7 | | Phyllida Brown, who discusses ways that alcohol exposure can cause harm during pre-natal development, contends that |
| | A) | pre-natal alcohol exposure is associated with later life behavioral problems. |
| | B) | pre-natal alcohol exposure accelerates the nervous system. |
| | C) | pre-natal alcohol exposure is similar to malnutrition. |
| | D) | pre-natal alcohol exposure has little influence on physical health. |
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8 | | Julia Moskin, who suggests that drinking during pregnancy can be reasonable and the decision should be left to the mother, notes that |
| | A) | doctors are unanimous against any drinking during pregnancy. |
| | B) | drinking during pregnancy has been a taboo for at least a century. |
| | C) | there is little evidence that moderate or occasional drinking is harmful during pregnancy. |
| | D) | the public seems to have much trust in pregnant women's decision making. |
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9 | | Gwen J. Broude, who contends that research on neuroscience has exaggerated the need for brain stimulation in infancy, claims that |
| | A) | infants do not need much brain stimulation. |
| | B) | parents often over-stimulate infants. |
| | C) | infants only need reasonably normal amounts of stimulation. |
| | D) | politicians are best situated to promote appropriate uses of neuroscience research. |
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10 | | Zero to Three, who claim that infancy is more crucial for development than most people realize, suggest that |
| | A) | promoting a "myth of the first three years" will harm healthy child-rearing. |
| | B) | infant brains need as much stimulation as possible. |
| | C) | brain stimulation is more important than any other parental duty. |
| | D) | researchers know exactly what facilitates infant brain development. |
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11 | | Victoria Rideout and colleagues, who suggest that parents find television and electronic media to be a help to family life, find that |
| | A) | very few families expose infants to television and electronic media. |
| | B) | the majority of infants and young children consume electronic media regularly. |
| | C) | parent media use has very little to do with the exposure of infants and young children. |
| | D) | most parents think television plays an important educational role for children. |
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12 | | Wartella and Robb, who review research suggesting potential problems with exposing very young children to television, find that |
| | A) | television clearly retards infant development. |
| | B) | most children do not enjoy television. |
| | C) | learning from television is likely much harder than learning from live models. |
| | D) | television seems to shape infants towards materialistic values. |
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13 | | According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which finds a correlation between media consumption and being overweight, food advertisers often target children because |
| | A) | they spend increasing amounts of money on food. |
| | B) | they are more likely than adults to develop brand allegiances. |
| | C) | they tend to eat more food than adults. |
| | D) | they tend to enjoy the advertising more than adults. |
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14 | | The Federal Trade Commission asserts that there is no reason to suspect that food-related advertising has any causal relationship to the rise in childhood obesity. In fact, they report that |
| | A) | advertising promotes healthy choices. |
| | B) | children in 2004 saw fewer ads than children in 1977. |
| | C) | there are many factors contributing to childhood obesity, but television isn't one of them. |
| | D) | children do not watch advertisements. |
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15 | | The U.S. Government, which asserts that Head Start programs are not doing enough to close achievement gaps between children from different social class and ethnic groups, contends that |
| | A) | very young children need more time for play and social interaction. |
| | B) | very young children need better relationships with adults. |
| | C) | very young children need to work harder. |
| | D) | very young children need more exposure to academic skills. |
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16 | | C. Cybele Raver and Edward F. Zigler, who argue that Head Start should maintain an emphasis on comprehensive services to young children, contend that |
| | A) | cognitive development cannot be separated from other aspects of early childhood. |
| | B) | young children need more time with their parents. |
| | C) | Head Start does not need any changes. |
| | D) | testing is the only way to ensure accountability. |
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17 | | Michael Fumento, who asserts that ADHD is a serious condition that requires medical intervention, argues that |
| | A) | people are too quick to dismiss the reality of ADHD. |
| | B) | drug treatments do not work well enough. |
| | C) | poor parenting causes ADHD. |
| | D) | ADHD is equally present in boys and girls. |
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18 | | Rogers H. Wright, who claims that ADHD is over-diagnosed as a way of explaining challenging behavior, contends that |
| | A) | ADHD is a common brain disease. |
| | B) | ADHD medication does more harm than good. |
| | C) | ADHD affects adults more than children. |
| | D) | ADHD is a gender specific disorder. |
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19 | | Mahoney, Harris, and Eccles, who argue that the "over-scheduling hypothesis" is a myth, find that |
| | A) | most youth participate in very few structured activities. |
| | B) | most youth feel pressure from parents to participate in more activities. |
| | C) | most youth succeed in competitive activities. |
| | D) | certain types of activities do tend to reduce well-being. |
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20 | | Rosenfeld, who contends that over-scheduling is a significant problem for families and youth, contends that |
| | A) | youth who participate in no activities are often more healthy than other youth. |
| | B) | the research by Mahoney, Harris, and Eccles is limited because it is the only available study on this issue. |
| | C) | offerings of structured activities should be cut for all groups of youth. |
| | D) | the stress of over-scheduling influences family life as much as it influences individual youths. |
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21 | | Laurence Steinberg, who suggests that new brain science helps explain adolescent risk taking, contends that |
| | A) | risk taking seems to be housed in the amygdala. |
| | B) | risk taking seems to be housed in the corpus collosum. |
| | C) | risk taking seems to be a product of competition between socioemotional and cognitive-control networks. |
| | D) | risk taking seems to be a product of competition between the id and the superego. |
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22 | | Michael Males, who argues that interpretations of brain science are too deterministic, finds that __________________ differences are more relevant to risk taking than brain differences. |
| | A) | socio-economic |
| | B) | ethnic |
| | C) | geographic |
| | D) | genetic |
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23 | | Jean M. Twenge and Joshua D. Foster, who believe there is a contemporary 'narcissism epidemic' among young adults, emphasize that |
| | A) | American college students' scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory have gone up dramatically over nearly 25 years. |
| | B) | all Americans' scores, regardless of age, on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory have gone up dramatically over nearly 25 years. |
| | C) | American college students' scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory have changed little over nearly 25 years. |
| | D) | all Americans' scores, regardless of age, on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory have changed little over nearly 25 years. |
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24 | | M. Brent Donnellan, Kali H. Trzesniewski, and Richard W. Robins, who claim that fears of a 'narcissism epidemic' are exaggerated, note that |
| | A) | research finds narcissism is actually decreasing. |
| | B) | research finds that any increases in narcissism are quite small. |
| | C) | research finds narcissism is extremely dangerous. |
| | D) | research finds narcissism is far higher in countries other than the US. |
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25 | | Mel Levine, who suggests that today's college graduates are not ready for adult life, states that |
| | A) | most employers are unhappy with this generation of workers. |
| | B) | most parents are unhappy with this generation of children. |
| | C) | most teachers are unhappy with this generation of students. |
| | D) | most college students are unhappy with their peers. |
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26 | | Frank F. Furstenberg, et al., who suggest that today's youth simply take longer to prepare for adulthood, claim that |
| | A) | less students today are going to college than in past generations. |
| | B) | more students are going into the military than in past generations. |
| | C) | adult responsibilities come later in life than in past generations. |
| | D) | most of today's youth are eager for adult responsibilities. |
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27 | | Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, who argues that "emerging adulthood" is a useful concept for understanding lifespan development, asserts that |
| | A) | adolescence now overlaps with full adulthood. |
| | B) | adolescence now gradually transitions to emerging adulthood. |
| | C) | adolescence is completely distinct from emerging adulthood. |
| | D) | adolescence no longer exists. |
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28 | | Hendry and Kloep, who question the validity of "emerging adulthood" as a lifespan stage, suggest that the transition from adolescence to adulthood is |
| | A) | fixed and permanent. |
| | B) | age and gender specific. |
| | C) | challenging and traumatic. |
| | D) | variable and reversible. |
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29 | | Sociologist Andrew Cherlin, who observes a deinstitutionalization of marriage, argues that the meaning of marriage has changed because of an increasing emphasis on |
| | A) | long-term commitment. |
| | B) | kin networks. |
| | C) | child rearing. |
| | D) | expressive individualism. |
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30 | | Frank Furstenberg, who argues that marriage will persist with appropriate policy making, suggests that |
| | A) | families need to put renewed emphasis on marriage as an institution. |
| | B) | younger generations do not feel enough pressure from parents to get married. |
| | C) | the institution of marriage may have changed, but it is still important to society. |
| | D) | traditional marriage ceremonies are the ephemera of a bygone age. |
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31 | | David G. Myers, who contends that society has become too materialistic, emphasizes that |
| | A) | religion and spirituality lead to more altruistic behavior. |
| | B) | materialism only leads to happiness when combined with religion and spirituality. |
| | C) | politicians tend to oppose religion and faith. |
| | D) | religion and faith are never used towards negative ends. |
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32 | | Julie Juola Exline, who suggests that being religious causes deep personal challenges, believes that |
| | A) | adhering to strict religious rules allows for better mental health. |
| | B) | religious people tend to be too agreeable. |
| | C) | religious people tend to have more anger than non-religious people. |
| | D) | being strongly religious often involves disappointment. |
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33 | | Linda Hirshman, who contends that women are continuing to "opt out" of work in favor of family, emphasizes that |
| | A) | feminist influence has made no change in women's lives. |
| | B) | feminist influence has changed some of women's choices, but not the results of those choices. |
| | C) | feminist influence has had a positive effect on family life. |
| | D) | feminist influence has had a positive effect on work life. |
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34 | | Pamela Stone, who suggests that being women have little choice when deciding between work and family, believes that |
| | A) | high-achieving women rarely end up taking care of their children. |
| | B) | work places tend to offer women great flexibility for maintaining both careers and family. |
| | C) | high-achieving women are often surprised by the pressures of balancing work and family life. |
| | D) | public policy tends to pressure women towards staying at work. |
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35 | | Sheila R. Zedlewski and Barbara A. Butrica, who promote the benefits of civic engagement among older adults, maintain that |
| | A) | older people need a great deal of time to rest and relax. |
| | B) | non-profit organizations tend to take advantage of older adults as free labor. |
| | C) | older adults are often particular interested in making more money. |
| | D) | drawing on engagement by older adults offers economic benefits across society. |
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36 | | Marty Martinson, who identifies as a "critical gerontologist," is concerned that promoting civic engagement among older adults |
| | A) | has no value. |
| | B) | has the potential to accentuate inequalities. |
| | C) | would be upsetting to most older adults. |
| | D) | would encourage the continued growth of government social programs for
older adults. |
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37 | | Janice E. Graham and Karen Ritchie, who challenge the relevance of 'Mild Cognitive Impairment' as a medical diagnosis, contend that |
| | A) | the symptoms are too variable to be considered one medical problem. |
| | B) | there is no difference between 'Mild Cognitive Impairment' and Alzheimer's Disease. |
| | C) | there is little evidence that older adults experience cognitive decline. |
| | D) | we should trust pharmaceutical companies to decide what qualifies as a medical problem. |
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38 | | Ronald C. Petersen, who thinks Mild Cognitive Impairment' is a relevant medical diagnosis, has found that |
| | A) | 'Mild Cognitive Impairment' always leads to Alzheimer's Disease. |
| | B) | the abnormal functioning associated with 'Mild Cognitive Impairment' often leads to more serious problems. |
| | C) | 'Mild Cognitive Impairment' has a clear genetic origin. |
| | D) | 'Mild Cognitive Impairment' is often the result of traumatic brain injuries. |
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39 | | Richard T. Hull, who supports physician-assisted suicide, notes that the question of "what kind of life is worth living" is |
| | A) | a matter of religious authority. |
| | B) | a highly personal matter. |
| | C) | a matter for ethical philosophy. |
| | D) | a matter for government legislation. |
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40 | | Margaret Somerville, who argues against physician-assisted suicide, suggests that |
| | A) | legalizing euthanasia would violate religious ethics. |
| | B) | legalizing euthanasia would harm our genetic legacy. |
| | C) | legalizing euthanasia would damage societal values. |
| | D) | legalizing euthanasia would allow death to maintain its mystery. |
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