LMSW LMSW Human Development Theories Questions and Answers 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client in her 70s reports feeling a sense of despair about her life choices and fears death without meaning. According to Erikson, she is struggling with which stage?
- Generativity vs. Stagnation
- Identity vs. Role Confusion
- Ego Integrity vs. Despair (Correct answer)
- Intimacy vs. Isolation
Correct answer: Ego Integrity vs. Despair
Erikson's final stage, Ego Integrity vs. Despair, involves reviewing one's life in old age; those who find meaning achieve integrity, while those filled with regret experience despair.
Question 2: According to Kohlberg's postconventional level of moral development, moral decisions are guided by:
- Fear of punishment from authority figures
- Adherence to social rules to gain approval
- Universal ethical principles that may transcend laws (Correct answer)
- Reciprocal exchange — 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours'
Correct answer: Universal ethical principles that may transcend laws
At the postconventional level, individuals develop their own moral principles based on universal ethics such as justice and human rights, which may override societal laws.
Question 3: Self-psychology, developed by Heinz Kohut, emphasizes the role of 'selfobjects.' Which of the following best defines a selfobject?
- An internalized representation of a rejecting caregiver
- A person or experience that provides functions the self cannot yet perform for itself (Correct answer)
- An unconscious projection of unacceptable desires
- A transitional object that replaces the mother during separation
Correct answer: A person or experience that provides functions the self cannot yet perform for itself
Kohut defined selfobjects as persons or experiences that provide psychological functions — such as mirroring, idealizing, or twinship — needed to maintain a cohesive sense of self.
Question 4: The concept of 'scaffolding,' derived from Vygotsky's theory, refers to:
- Establishing firm behavioral limits to structure a child's environment
- Temporary support provided by a more skilled person to help a learner accomplish a task (Correct answer)
- The gradual withdrawal of reinforcement to extinguish behavior
- Structured schemas that organize a child's cognitive development
Correct answer: Temporary support provided by a more skilled person to help a learner accomplish a task
Scaffolding is a teaching strategy in which support is provided within the ZPD and gradually withdrawn as the learner develops competence.
Question 5: A social worker notes that a 4-year-old client believes the sun is alive because it 'moves across the sky.' This is an example of which Piagetian concept?
- Egocentrism
- Animism (Correct answer)
- Centration
- Object permanence
Correct answer: Animism
Animism is the preoperational tendency to attribute life and intentionality to inanimate objects, such as believing the sun moves purposefully.
Question 6: Which theorist proposed a life-span developmental framework specifically focused on adult transitions including the 'mid-life transition' around age 40?
- Erik Erikson
- Daniel Levinson (Correct answer)
- Robert Havighurst
- Lawrence Kohlberg
Correct answer: Daniel Levinson
Daniel Levinson's theory outlined distinct seasons of adulthood, with the mid-life transition (around age 40–45) as a period of re-evaluation of one's life structure.
Question 7: In the context of human development, 'epigenetics' as used by Erikson (not molecular biology) refers to the principle that:
- Genetics fully determine personality development
- Each stage of development builds upon the successful resolution of prior stages (Correct answer)
- Environmental factors can permanently alter DNA expression
- Development stops after adolescence
Correct answer: Each stage of development builds upon the successful resolution of prior stages
Erikson used the epigenetic principle to mean that each psychosocial stage emerges in a predetermined sequence and builds on the resolution of earlier stages.
LMSW LMSW Human Development Theories Questions and Answers 5
A client in her 70s reports feeling a sense of despair about her life choices and fears death without meaning.
According to Erikson, she is struggling with which stage?