LMSW Human Development Theories 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Freud's psychosexual theory, unresolved conflict during the anal stage may result in an adult character marked by:
- Excessive dependency and oral fixation
- Orderliness, stubbornness, and miserliness (Correct answer)
- Vanity, exhibitionism, and competitiveness
- Difficulty with authority and intimacy
Correct answer: Orderliness, stubbornness, and miserliness
Freudian theory associates anal fixation with anal-retentive traits such as excessive orderliness, rigidity, and stubbornness, or anal-expulsive traits like messiness.
Question 2: According to Ainsworth's Strange Situation research, an 'avoidantly attached' infant is MOST likely to:
- Show intense distress at separation and be difficult to console upon reunion
- Explore freely, show little distress at separation, and ignore the caregiver at reunion (Correct answer)
- Show extreme distress and exhibit confused or contradictory behaviors
- Use the caregiver as a secure base with positive reunion responses
Correct answer: Explore freely, show little distress at separation, and ignore the caregiver at reunion
Avoidantly attached infants appear indifferent to the caregiver's departure and return, having learned that emotional needs are unlikely to be met.
Question 3: Helms' White Racial Identity Development model suggests that the 'reintegration' status involves:
- Active exploration of what it means to be White
- Idealization of White culture and hostility toward minority groups (Correct answer)
- Abandoning a previously racist identity
- Genuine appreciation of other racial groups
Correct answer: Idealization of White culture and hostility toward minority groups
In the reintegration status, the person idealizes White culture and may harbor conscious or unconscious hostility toward people of color.
Question 4: A social worker notes that a client demonstrates formal operational thinking when the client:
- Can classify objects by multiple attributes simultaneously
- Uses deductive reasoning to consider hypothetical scenarios (Correct answer)
- Understands that objects exist even when out of sight
- Groups objects by a single perceptual feature such as color
Correct answer: Uses deductive reasoning to consider hypothetical scenarios
Formal operational thinking (Piaget, ages 12+) includes abstract, hypothetical-deductive reasoning about possibilities rather than only concrete realities.
Question 5: Feminist developmental theory most challenges which assumption in traditional developmental models?
- That development is continuous rather than stage-based
- That autonomy and separation are the hallmarks of healthy adult maturity (Correct answer)
- That moral reasoning develops before cognitive reasoning
- That early childhood experiences are irrelevant to adult functioning
Correct answer: That autonomy and separation are the hallmarks of healthy adult maturity
Feminist theorists argue that traditional models overvalue separation-individuation and autonomy, which reflect male norms, while undervaluing relational and interdependent models of development.
Question 6: According to Kübler-Ross's stage model of grief, a dying patient who says 'I'll be a better person if God just gives me more time' is in which stage?
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining (Correct answer)
- Depression
Correct answer: Bargaining
Bargaining involves negotiating with a higher power or fate for more time or a second chance, often accompanied by guilt or 'if only' thinking.
Question 7: Baumrind's 'authoritative' parenting style is associated with which child outcome?
- High obedience but low self-esteem
- Low achievement due to excessive permissiveness
- High competence, self-reliance, and social responsibility (Correct answer)
- Emotional inhibition and fear of exploration
Correct answer: High competence, self-reliance, and social responsibility
Authoritative parenting (warm + firm + responsive) is consistently linked to positive outcomes including high social competence, self-esteem, and academic achievement.
LMSW Human Development Theories 4
In Freud's psychosexual theory, unresolved conflict during the anal stage may result in an adult character marked by: