NCE Human Growth 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which developmental milestone is typically achieved first in infancy?
- Walking independently
- Speaking two-word sentences
- Social smiling (Correct answer)
- Object permanence
Correct answer: Social smiling
Social smiling typically emerges around 6–8 weeks of age, making it one of the earliest observable social milestones in infancy.
Question 2: In Piaget's preoperational stage, 'egocentrism' refers to:
- Selfishness and greed in young children
- The inability to see situations from another person's perspective (Correct answer)
- Excessive self-confidence in academic tasks
- Focus on internal thoughts rather than external events
Correct answer: The inability to see situations from another person's perspective
Piagetian egocentrism means the child cannot cognitively take another's viewpoint, as demonstrated by the classic three-mountain task.
Question 3: According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which level must be satisfied before esteem needs can be addressed?
- Self-actualization
- Cognitive needs
- Belongingness and love needs (Correct answer)
- Transcendence needs
Correct answer: Belongingness and love needs
Maslow's hierarchy places belongingness and love needs (social connection) immediately below esteem needs, requiring social satisfaction first.
Question 4: A teenager begins questioning parental values and exploring different belief systems before making commitments. Marcia would label this status as:
- Identity diffusion
- Identity foreclosure
- Identity moratorium (Correct answer)
- Identity achievement
Correct answer: Identity moratorium
Moratorium involves active exploration without yet making a commitment, representing the questioning phase of identity formation.
Question 5: Which theorist proposed that moral development occurs through stages of heteronomous and autonomous morality in children?
- Erik Erikson
- Lawrence Kohlberg
- Jean Piaget (Correct answer)
- Carol Gilligan
Correct answer: Jean Piaget
Piaget described heteronomous morality (rules are fixed) transitioning to autonomous morality (rules are flexible agreements) in middle childhood.
Question 6: Which term describes the phenomenon where children raised in institutions without consistent caregivers show lasting deficits in social and emotional development?
- Learned helplessness
- Reactive attachment disorder (Correct answer)
- Separation anxiety disorder
- Anaclitic depression
Correct answer: Reactive attachment disorder
Reactive attachment disorder can result from institutional care deprivation, characterized by disturbed and developmentally inappropriate social relatedness.
Question 7: Bernice Neugarten's concept of 'on-time' versus 'off-time' life events suggests that:
- Biological maturation always follows a fixed timetable
- Events experienced outside socially expected timing cause greater stress (Correct answer)
- Early childhood events matter more than later ones
- Life events should align with chronological age markers
Correct answer: Events experienced outside socially expected timing cause greater stress
Neugarten found that events occurring outside of culturally expected timing (e.g., early widowhood) produce more psychological stress than on-time events.
NCE Human Growth 4
Which developmental milestone is typically achieved first in infancy?