NBCC Human Growth & Development 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is an example of a 'critical period' in human development?
- Learning a second language in high school
- Language acquisition during early childhood (Correct answer)
- Developing abstract reasoning in adolescence
- Forming occupational identity in early adulthood
Correct answer: Language acquisition during early childhood
Early childhood is considered a critical (or sensitive) period for language acquisition, during which exposure to language is essential for full linguistic development.
Question 2: Bandura's social learning theory emphasizes that children learn behavior primarily through:
- Classical conditioning with environmental stimuli
- Operant reinforcement schedules
- Observation and imitation of models (Correct answer)
- Biological maturation of the nervous system
Correct answer: Observation and imitation of models
Bandura demonstrated through the Bobo doll experiments that children readily imitate aggressive and other behaviors observed in models.
Question 3: According to Marcia's identity status model, an adolescent who has made firm commitments without exploring alternatives is in which status?
- Identity diffusion
- Identity moratorium
- Identity foreclosure (Correct answer)
- Identity achievement
Correct answer: Identity foreclosure
Identity foreclosure occurs when an adolescent commits to an identity (often parental) without personally exploring alternatives.
Question 4: The process by which existing schemas are modified to incorporate new information that does not fit is called:
- Assimilation
- Accommodation (Correct answer)
- Equilibration
- Organization
Correct answer: Accommodation
Accommodation involves restructuring existing cognitive schemas to account for new experiences that cannot be assimilated.
Question 5: In late adulthood, Erikson's final psychosocial crisis is:
- Intimacy vs. Isolation
- Integrity vs. Despair (Correct answer)
- Generativity vs. Stagnation
- Industry vs. Inferiority
Correct answer: Integrity vs. Despair
Ego integrity versus despair involves reflecting on one's life with either satisfaction and meaning or regret and bitterness.
Question 6: Which parenting style, identified by Baumrind, is associated with high warmth and high structure, and generally produces the most positive child outcomes?
- Authoritarian
- Permissive
- Uninvolved
- Authoritative (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Authoritative
Authoritative parenting combines responsiveness with clear expectations and is consistently linked to higher self-esteem, academic success, and social competence.
Question 7: The epigenetic principle underlying Erikson's psychosocial theory states that:
- Genetic factors solely determine personality development
- Development occurs in a fixed sequence and each stage builds on the previous one (Correct answer)
- Environmental factors can permanently alter DNA expression
- Crises in development are random and unpredictable
Correct answer: Development occurs in a fixed sequence and each stage builds on the previous one
The epigenetic principle holds that development unfolds according to a predetermined sequence in which each stage has its critical period and depends on prior resolution.
NBCC Human Growth & Development 5
Which of the following is an example of a 'critical period' in human development?