LMSW Human Growth and Development 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, the 'zone of proximal development' (ZPD) refers to:
- Tasks a child can complete independently
- The gap between what a child can do alone and with guidance (Correct answer)
- The maximum cognitive potential a child will ever reach
- Skills learned through operant conditioning
Correct answer: The gap between what a child can do alone and with guidance
The ZPD is the distance between a child's independent problem-solving level and what they can achieve with skilled guidance or collaboration.
Question 2: A 70-year-old client reports feeling a deep sense of satisfaction when reflecting on her life's accomplishments. According to Erikson, she is successfully resolving which stage?
- Generativity vs. Stagnation
- Integrity vs. Despair (Correct answer)
- Identity vs. Role Confusion
- Intimacy vs. Isolation
Correct answer: Integrity vs. Despair
Ego integrity vs. despair is Erikson's final stage, in which older adults evaluate their lives and develop either acceptance or regret.
Question 3: Which attachment style is characterized by a child who shows distress when the caregiver leaves but is not comforted upon return, often pushing the caregiver away?
- Secure attachment
- Avoidant attachment
- Anxious-ambivalent attachment (Correct answer)
- Disorganized attachment
Correct answer: Anxious-ambivalent attachment
Anxious-ambivalent (resistant) attachment involves heightened distress at separation combined with ambivalence and resistance to comfort upon reunion.
Question 4: Bronfenbrenner's macrosystem includes:
- Direct interactions between a child and their school
- The relationship between a child's home and school environments
- Cultural values, laws, and societal norms that influence development (Correct answer)
- The physical setting in which a child lives
Correct answer: Cultural values, laws, and societal norms that influence development
The macrosystem encompasses the overarching cultural beliefs, ideologies, and social structures that shape all other ecological systems.
Question 5: A social worker observes that a 4-year-old child engages in play alongside other children without interacting with them. This is best described as:
- Cooperative play
- Associative play
- Parallel play (Correct answer)
- Solitary play
Correct answer: Parallel play
Parallel play occurs when children play near each other using similar materials but do not directly interact or coordinate their activities.
Question 6: According to Kohlberg, a person who obeys rules to avoid punishment is operating at which level of moral development?
- Conventional — Stage 3
- Post-conventional — Stage 5
- Pre-conventional — Stage 1 (Correct answer)
- Conventional — Stage 4
Correct answer: Pre-conventional — Stage 1
Stage 1 (Obedience and Punishment Orientation) is the first pre-conventional stage, where moral reasoning is driven solely by avoiding punishment.
Question 7: Which developmental theorist proposed that infants are born with innate schemas that are modified through assimilation and accommodation?
- Erik Erikson
- Jean Piaget (Correct answer)
- Lev Vygotsky
- John Bowlby
Correct answer: Jean Piaget
Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory posits that children use assimilation (fitting new info into existing schemas) and accommodation (changing schemas) to adapt.
LMSW Human Growth and Development 2
According to Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, the 'zone of proximal development' (ZPD) refers to: