Question 1

The original phase of the "Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study" assessed children at which of the following ages?

Accepted Answer

The original phase of the "Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study" assessed children at birth and at 12, 30, and 48 months of age.

Question 2

Suppose that Dr. Jones reads about a new study with an interesting result. She decides to repeat the study in her own lab to see if she gets the same result. In this case, Dr. Jones's study would best be considered a(n):

Accepted Answer

Dr. Jones's study is a replication study because she is attempting to reproduce the same results from a previous study in her own lab.

Question 3

A researcher studies how the scores children receive on a spelling test are affected by the amount of sugar they consumed for breakfast. She identifies a group of children and feeds half of them a high-sugar breakfast and feeds the other half a low-sugar breakfast. She gives them the spelling test three hours later. In this study, what is the independent variable?

Accepted Answer

An independent variable is the variable in an experiment that is manipulated in order to observe its effects on the dependent variable. In this example, the researcher looks at how the amount of sugar consumed (independent variable) affects the dependent variable (scores on a spelling test).

Question 4

Developmental psychologists generally focus their study on the unusual individuals in order to learn about the extremes of human development.

Accepted Answer

Developmental psychologists usually focus on typical individuals, because they hope to better understand developmental processes that are common to nearly all normal individuals. Psychologists interested in the study of abnormal psychology or individual differences would be more likely to study unusual individuals as a method of understanding deviation.
The Nature of Human Development

Question 5

A researcher obtains individuals' permission before randomly assigning them to the treatment or the control group. She is complying with the basic ethical principle regarding:

Accepted Answer

Informed consent refers to the ethical principle that people should participate in research voluntarily, be fully informed of the nature and possible consequences of the research, and not be coerced in any way. In this situation, the researcher is ensuring that informed consent exists.
Changing Perspectives: Children and War

Question 6

A screening committee rejected a research proposal to study frustration in children because the method involved exposing 5-year-olds to repeated failure on a series of highly difficult tasks. The committee's decision to reject this study reflected their concern about which ethical principle?

Accepted Answer

Under certain circumstances, a psychologist may study humans under conditions that involve minimal risk. However, under no circumstances should research be conducted that has the potential for serious or lasting physical or psychological harm. In this example, exposing 5-year-olds to repeated failure might lead these children to doubt their own abilities even after the study ends, suggesting the potential for lasting psychological harm.

Question 7

Which of the following methods of assigning participants to groups in an experiment is the best example of random sampling?

Accepted Answer

Random sampling involves placing people in groups so that the groups are roughly equivalent. When children self-select their groups, they are likely to be unequal in important ways. Having a teacher assign children, although better than letting children self-select, may also result in a non-random sampling, since the teacher may be placing children with some specific strategy in mind. Random sampling is best done by drawing names because no bias of any sort can enter into this selection method.

Question 8

In an experiment testing the effects of a drug on behavior, whether or not a subject receives a drug represents the:

Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the variable that is deliberately manipulated by the researcher, in this case whether or not the subject receives the drug. Therefore, B is the correct answer. The dependent variable is the variable that is measured and affected by the independent variable, whereas the control variable is a variable that is kept constant to prevent it from affecting the outcome of the experiment. Random variable is a statistical term that refers to a variable whose value is uncertain or random.

Question 9

What was the primary purpose of the "Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study?"

Accepted Answer

The primary purpose of the "Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study" was to evaluate the impact of poverty and environmental stress on the development of young children. The study focused on families with unmarried parents and aimed to understand how economic, social, and environmental factors affect child well-being.

Question 10

When George agrees to participate in a research study, he is told that he may quit at any point for any reason. The reason for this option of quitting is required by the ethical guideline the text refers to as:

Accepted Answer

The text defines informed consent as involving a statement of the procedures and risks, as well as the obligations of the participants and the researchers. It gives an example of informed consent as the participant's right to discontinue participation at any point for any reason without fear of punishment.

Question 11

In an experiment, the variable that the researcher manipulates is called the:

Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the one that the researcher manipulates or changes, which may affect the dependent variable. The other variables in the experiment are controlled or held constant to isolate the effects of the independent variable. Uncontrolled variables refer to those that may influence the results but are not accounted for in the experimental design.

Question 12

Suppose you collect data about child abuse and find that mothers who have their first child before age 18 are more likely to be abusive than mothers who are older. However, you also note that young mothers are also more likely to be poor and have less access to prenatal care. Therefore, you cannot draw conclusions about maternal age and child abuse. The reason you cannot draw this conclusion is because your study involved:

Accepted Answer

Confounding results when differences between cohort groups, in this case younger and older mothers, involve cohort effect. In this case, the cohort effects include differences between the two groups of mothers with respect to poverty and prenatal care.

Question 13

According to the text, which ethical principle holds that people should participate voluntarily, should be told fully of the nature and possible consequences of the experiment, and should not be offered excessive rewards to participate?

Accepted Answer

The principle of informed consent states that individuals should participate voluntarily, should be fully informed of the nature and potential consequences of the experiment, and should not be offered excessive rewards to participate.

Question 14

A researcher investigating the effect of peer tutoring on reading skills studies two groups of children in remedial reading classes. One group receives peer tutoring three times a week for three months, the other group does not. At the end of the three months, the two groups are tested in reading skills. What is the independent variable in this experiment?

Accepted Answer

An independent variable is the variable in an experiment that is manipulated in order to observe its effects on the dependent variable. In this example, the researcher manipulates whether children receive peer tutoring or not and observes the effects on reading skills at the end of the experiment.

Question 15

According to the text, in the 1990s, there were 50 regions in the world at war. In about how many of these regions were children involved as soldiers?

Accepted Answer

The text notes that of the 50 regions of the world at war in the 1990s, about two-thirds involved underage soldiers in their conflicts.
Current Issues: Fragile Families and Child Well-Being

Question 16

A researcher investigating the effect of peer tutoring on reading skills studies two groups of children in remedial reading classes. One group receives peer tutoring three times a week for three months, the other group does not. At the end of the three months, the two groups are tested in reading skills. What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

Accepted Answer

The dependent variable is the variable in an experiment that changes as a result of manipulating the independent variable. In this example, the researcher manipulates whether children receive peer tutoring or not and observes the effects on reading skills at the end of the experiment.

Question 17

According to the text, the children who fare best in times of war are those who:

Accepted Answer

The text states that children who have loving parents and good peer relationships fare best in times of war. This suggests that emotional support from parents and peers is crucial for resilience during wartime. The other options do not align with the information provided in the text.

Question 18

Eighteen-year-old Trisha is experiencing the following symptoms: frequent sleep disturbances, the inability to feel normal emotions, problems controlling her impulses, and difficulty concentrating. She walks around much of the time in a "daze," and she often complains of pain in her neck and of feeling generally "ill." Based on information presented in the text, you would conclude that Trisha may be suffering from:

Accepted Answer

The symptoms mentioned in this question are exactly those listed in the text for PTSD, which is discussed in the context of the trauma associated with war. HIV, schizophrenia, and low IQ are not discussed in this chapter and they do not have symptom patterns that would correspond to those of PTSD.

Question 19

Which of the following statements best describes the role of a dependent variable?

Accepted Answer

The dependent variable is the variable that is being measured and observed by the researchers. It is not the variable that is being manipulated or treated (that would be the independent variable). The dependent variable is used in both laboratory and applied research to examine the effects of different variables or interventions.

Question 20

The participants in the "Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study" were:

Accepted Answer

The "Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study" focused on both married and unmarried couples who had just had their first baby, aiming to understand the conditions and outcomes of children born into various family structures.

Quiz 1: Understanding Human Development