MSW Human Development and Behavior 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, the 'zone of proximal development' (ZPD) refers to:
- The gap between a child's current ability and what they can achieve with guidance (Correct answer)
- The developmental stage where a child begins formal schooling
- The range of cognitive tasks a child can complete independently
- The biological limit of a child's intellectual potential
Correct answer: The gap between a child's current ability and what they can achieve with guidance
The ZPD is the distance between what a learner can do independently and what they can achieve with skilled assistance.
Question 2: A 70-year-old client reports feeling a strong sense of fulfillment when reviewing their life. According to Erikson, this person is successfully resolving which stage?
- Generativity vs. Stagnation
- Integrity vs. Despair (Correct answer)
- Industry vs. Inferiority
- Intimacy vs. Isolation
Correct answer: Integrity vs. Despair
Ego integrity vs. despair is Erikson's final stage (late adulthood), achieved when one accepts one's life as meaningful and complete.
Question 3: Which attachment pattern is characterized by a child who shows little distress when separated from the caregiver and ignores them upon return?
- Secure attachment
- Anxious-ambivalent attachment
- Disorganized attachment
- Avoidant attachment (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Avoidant attachment
Avoidant attachment involves emotional detachment and minimal distress at separation, often linked to consistently unresponsive caregiving.
Question 4: In Kohlberg's moral development theory, the 'social contract' orientation belongs to which level?
- Pre-conventional level
- Conventional level
- Post-conventional level (Correct answer)
- Transcendent level
Correct answer: Post-conventional level
The social contract orientation is Stage 5 within the post-conventional level, where morality is based on agreed-upon social rules that protect individual rights.
Question 5: Which theorist proposed that personality is shaped by the interplay of the 'id,' 'ego,' and 'superego'?
- Carl Jung
- Alfred Adler
- Sigmund Freud (Correct answer)
- Karen Horney
Correct answer: Sigmund Freud
Freud's structural model divides the psyche into the id (instincts), ego (reality), and superego (moral conscience).
Question 6: A social worker notes that a client raised in poverty has internalized beliefs of helplessness and low self-efficacy. This best illustrates which concept?
- Operant extinction
- Learned helplessness (Correct answer)
- Cognitive dissonance
- Reaction formation
Correct answer: Learned helplessness
Learned helplessness occurs when repeated exposure to uncontrollable negative events leads individuals to believe their actions cannot affect outcomes.
Question 7: During which Piagetian stage does a child first demonstrate the concept of object permanence?
- Preoperational stage
- Formal operational stage
- Concrete operational stage
- Sensorimotor stage (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Sensorimotor stage
Object permanence—understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight—emerges during the sensorimotor stage (birth to ~2 years).
MSW Human Development and Behavior 2
According to Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, the 'zone of proximal development' (ZPD) refers to: