BAPSY Dynamics of Human Development and Behavior 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which concept describes the cumulative advantage or disadvantage in health, resources, and opportunities that accumulates as people age?
- Terminal drop
- Cumulative inequality (Correct answer)
- Differential aging
- Weathering hypothesis
Correct answer: Cumulative inequality
Cumulative inequality theory holds that social advantages and disadvantages compound over time, producing increasingly divergent outcomes among older adults.
Question 2: A child raised with consistent rules but warm emotional support is most likely to develop which personality traits according to developmental research?
- High obedience but low self-esteem
- High self-esteem, independence, and social competence (Correct answer)
- Passivity and dependence on authority
- Impulsivity and risk-taking behavior
Correct answer: High self-esteem, independence, and social competence
Authoritative parenting—combining warmth with clear structure—is consistently linked to high self-esteem, social competence, and autonomous decision-making.
Question 3: According to Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence, which component involves applying mental processes to everyday real-world situations?
- Analytical intelligence
- Creative intelligence
- Practical intelligence (Correct answer)
- Experiential intelligence
Correct answer: Practical intelligence
Practical intelligence (sometimes called 'street smarts') refers to the ability to apply knowledge effectively in everyday, real-world contexts.
Question 4: The phenomenon called 'reminiscence bump' refers to the finding that older adults have the best recall for autobiographical events that occurred during:
- Early childhood (ages 0–5)
- Late adolescence and early adulthood (ages 15–25) (Correct answer)
- Middle adulthood (ages 40–55)
- The most recent decade of life
Correct answer: Late adolescence and early adulthood (ages 15–25)
The reminiscence bump describes older adults' enhanced recall of events from late adolescence and early adulthood, a period rich in novel identity-forming experiences.
Question 5: Which developmental concept explains why children raised in the same family can turn out very differently in personality due to unique individual experiences?
- Nonshared environmental influences (Correct answer)
- Shared environmental influences
- Gene-environment correlation
- Epigenetic modification
Correct answer: Nonshared environmental influences
Nonshared environmental influences are the experiences unique to each individual child within a family, such as different peer groups, teachers, or birth-order effects.
Question 6: Kübler-Ross's stage model of grief has been criticized primarily because:
- It does not apply to terminal illness
- People rarely progress through the stages in a fixed linear order (Correct answer)
- The stages were derived from observing children, not adults
- It underemphasizes the role of depression in grieving
Correct answer: People rarely progress through the stages in a fixed linear order
Research shows that grief responses are highly variable; many people skip stages, revisit them, or experience them simultaneously rather than in the proposed sequence.
Question 7: Which concept describes the way individuals actively select, shape, and evoke environments based on their genetic predispositions, linking nature and nurture?
- Epigenesis
- Canalization
- Gene-environment interaction
- Gene-environment correlation (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Gene-environment correlation
Gene-environment correlation refers to the systematic relationship between a person's genetic tendencies and the environments they are exposed to or seek out.
BAPSY Dynamics of Human Development and Behavior 5
Which concept describes the cumulative advantage or disadvantage in health, resources, and opportunities that accumulates as people age?