Psychic Human Development and Behavior 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to developmental psychology, at what age do children typically begin to show a 'theory of mind' — understanding that others have different beliefs?
- Around 18 months
- Around 4 years (Correct answer)
- Around 7 years
- Around 10 years
Correct answer: Around 4 years
Most children develop theory of mind around age 4, passing the classic false-belief task.
Question 2: Which attachment style, identified by Ainsworth, is characterized by a child who is distressed when a caregiver leaves but is not comforted upon return?
- Secure
- Avoidant
- Anxious-ambivalent (Correct answer)
- Disorganized
Correct answer: Anxious-ambivalent
Anxious-ambivalent (resistant) children show high distress at separation but resist comfort upon reunion.
Question 3: Erikson's psychosocial stage of 'Intimacy vs. Isolation' corresponds to which life period?
- Adolescence
- Early adulthood (Correct answer)
- Middle adulthood
- Late adulthood
Correct answer: Early adulthood
Early adulthood (roughly ages 18–40) is when Erikson believed individuals grapple with forming intimate relationships.
Question 4: Which theoretical framework suggests that psychic or intuitive abilities may be an extension of normal sensory processing rather than a separate paranormal faculty?
- Quantum consciousness theory
- Super-psi hypothesis
- Sensory leakage model (Correct answer)
- Morphic resonance theory
Correct answer: Sensory leakage model
The sensory leakage model proposes that apparent psychic hits result from subtle, unconscious sensory cues rather than paranormal means.
Question 5: Piaget's 'concrete operational' stage is primarily associated with which cognitive milestone?
- Object permanence
- Conservation of matter (Correct answer)
- Formal hypothetical reasoning
- Symbolic play
Correct answer: Conservation of matter
Children in the concrete operational stage (ages 7–11) master conservation, understanding that quantity doesn't change with shape.
Question 6: In psychic research, what does 'psi' broadly refer to?
- A measure of psychological stress
- Anomalous cognition or influence beyond known sensory channels (Correct answer)
- The statistical significance threshold in parapsychology
- A personality trait linked to intuition
Correct answer: Anomalous cognition or influence beyond known sensory channels
Psi is a general term for purported anomalous phenomena including telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis.
Question 7: The 'Big Five' personality model dimension most strongly linked to openness to psychic experiences is:
- Conscientiousness
- Agreeableness
- Openness to Experience (Correct answer)
- Neuroticism
Correct answer: Openness to Experience
High Openness to Experience correlates with greater belief in and reported experiences of psychic phenomena.
Psychic Human Development and Behavior 2
According to developmental psychology, at what age do children typically begin to show a 'theory of mind' — understanding that others have different beliefs?