LMSW Human Growth and Development 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A social worker working with an adolescent client considers how puberty timing may affect psychosocial outcomes. Research suggests that early maturation in girls is most associated with:
- Higher academic achievement
- Increased risk of depression and risky behavior (Correct answer)
- Enhanced peer acceptance and leadership
- Earlier resolution of identity formation
Correct answer: Increased risk of depression and risky behavior
Early-maturing girls are at greater risk for depression, body dissatisfaction, association with older peers, and engagement in risky behaviors compared to on-time or late maturers.
Question 2: Selective optimization with compensation (SOC), a model of successful aging, was developed by:
- Erik Erikson
- Paul Baltes (Correct answer)
- George Vaillant
- Margaret Mahler
Correct answer: Paul Baltes
Paul Baltes developed the SOC model, proposing that successful aging involves selecting fewer but meaningful goals, optimizing resources, and compensating for losses.
Question 3: In Mahler's separation-individuation theory, the 'rapprochement' subphase is characterized by:
- Complete independence from the caregiver
- The infant's inability to distinguish self from caregiver
- The toddler returning to the caregiver after exploring, seeking reassurance (Correct answer)
- The child fully internalizing a stable self-image
Correct answer: The toddler returning to the caregiver after exploring, seeking reassurance
During rapprochement (approximately 15–24 months), toddlers alternate between moving away to explore and returning to the caregiver for emotional refueling.
Question 4: A social worker notes that a 9-year-old child can sort objects by size, classify them by multiple attributes, and understand that operations can be reversed. This child is in Piaget's:
- Sensorimotor stage
- Preoperational stage
- Concrete operational stage (Correct answer)
- Formal operational stage
Correct answer: Concrete operational stage
Concrete operational thinking (ages 7–11) is characterized by logical operations applied to concrete objects, including classification, seriation, and reversibility.
Question 5: The 'still-face' paradigm, used to study infant social development, demonstrates that infants as young as 2–3 months:
- Show no response to changes in caregiver facial expressions
- Become distressed when caregivers display a neutral, unresponsive face (Correct answer)
- Prefer strangers over familiar caregivers
- Can self-regulate without caregiver cues
Correct answer: Become distressed when caregivers display a neutral, unresponsive face
The still-face experiment shows that infants become distressed, withdraw, and attempt to re-engage when caregivers suddenly adopt a neutral expression, revealing early sensitivity to social cues.
Question 6: Which term describes the tendency for children to attribute lifelike qualities to inanimate objects, a characteristic of preoperational thinking?
- Centration
- Animism (Correct answer)
- Egocentrism
- Artificialism
Correct answer: Animism
Animism is the preoperational child's belief that inanimate objects (e.g., clouds, toys) are alive and have feelings or intentions.
Question 7: A social worker is using a strengths-based approach with an older adult client experiencing cognitive decline. Which principle of successful aging is the social worker applying?
- Disengagement theory
- Activity theory (Correct answer)
- Focusing on irreversible losses
- Emphasizing dependence on formal services
Correct answer: Activity theory
Activity theory posits that older adults who remain engaged in meaningful activities maintain higher life satisfaction and well-being, aligning with a strengths-based perspective.
LMSW Human Growth and Development 5
A social worker working with an adolescent client considers how puberty timing may affect psychosocial outcomes.
Research suggests that early maturation in girls is most associated with: