NCE Human Growth 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Freud's psychosexual theory, the latency stage is characterized by:
- Intense focus on genital pleasure
- Repression of sexual impulses and focus on social skills (Correct answer)
- Oral fixation behaviors
- Oedipal conflict resolution
Correct answer: Repression of sexual impulses and focus on social skills
During the latency stage (approximately ages 6–12), sexual impulses are repressed and children focus on intellectual and social development.
Question 2: A counselor notices a client in her 60s reflecting on whether her life had meaning. According to Erikson, this client is navigating which stage?
- Generativity vs. stagnation
- Integrity vs. despair (Correct answer)
- Intimacy vs. isolation
- Identity vs. role confusion
Correct answer: Integrity vs. despair
Ego integrity vs. despair is Erikson's final stage, in which older adults evaluate the meaning and value of their lives.
Question 3: Which concept describes an infant's cognitive tendency to apply an existing schema to new objects, such as calling all men 'daddy'?
- Accommodation
- Assimilation (Correct answer)
- Equilibration
- Conservation
Correct answer: Assimilation
Assimilation is the process of incorporating new information into an existing schema without changing the schema.
Question 4: Research on temperament by Thomas and Chess identified which three broad categories?
- Secure, avoidant, disorganized
- Easy, difficult, slow-to-warm-up (Correct answer)
- Active, passive, reactive
- Introverted, extroverted, ambiverted
Correct answer: Easy, difficult, slow-to-warm-up
Thomas and Chess categorized infant temperament as easy, difficult, or slow-to-warm-up based on nine behavioral dimensions.
Question 5: The concept of 'generativity' in Erikson's theory primarily involves:
- Generating income for retirement
- Contributing to society through raising children or mentoring others (Correct answer)
- Finding a romantic partner
- Resolving past traumas
Correct answer: Contributing to society through raising children or mentoring others
Generativity involves caring for the next generation through parenting, teaching, or community contributions, contrasted with stagnation.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes 'scaffolding' in the context of child development?
- Providing punishment to shape behavior
- Offering temporary support that is gradually withdrawn as the child gains competence (Correct answer)
- Testing a child's baseline cognitive abilities
- Structuring play environments for safety
Correct answer: Offering temporary support that is gradually withdrawn as the child gains competence
Scaffolding involves a more skilled person providing assistance tailored to the learner's current level, then reducing support as mastery develops.
Question 7: Gilligan criticized Kohlberg's moral development theory primarily because:
- It ignored cultural differences
- It was based predominantly on male subjects and overlooked a care-based ethic (Correct answer)
- It did not address spiritual development
- It overemphasized postconventional reasoning
Correct answer: It was based predominantly on male subjects and overlooked a care-based ethic
Gilligan argued that Kohlberg's model, derived from male samples, undervalued women's relational, care-oriented approach to moral reasoning.
NCE Human Growth 3
In Freud's psychosexual theory, the latency stage is characterized by: