after reading thoroughly about human development and the theories advanced in developmental psychology to understand the latter, one can pass this auto-evaluation to check his understanding.

1. Auto-evaluation-PART1
CYP:
Developmental psychology
Development theories

2. Objective
The aim from this auto-evaluation is to help the
student to check his understanding of the
lecture and underline his own weaknesses. The
student can review the lecture in case he doubts
his answers. He can send an email to the teacher
with his answers in short, especially the writing
tasks and ask her for a correction.
No marks are given because the module is
evaluated with an exam only by the end of the
semester.

3. Auto-evaluation Part 1: Introduction to
Developmental Psychology
Check your understanding
Multiple Choice: Select the best answer for each
question.
1. According to developmentalists, the primary
cause of developmental change is
a. maturation
b. learning
c. experience
d. the product of both maturation and learning
e. the product of both learning and experience

4. 2. Among the following, who would not be considered a
“developmentalist”?
a. a sociologist
b. an anthropologist
c. a historian
d. all of the above might be considered developmentalists
e. none of the above would be considered
developmentalists
3. The goals of the developmental sciences discussed in
the lecture include
a. the description of development
b. the explanation of development
c. the optimization of development
d. all of the above

5. 4. Enrique is a developmental psychologist. He studies
children’s adjustment following their
parents’divorce and remarriage. He finds that sullen
children who become withdrawn and isolated after
their parents’ divorce can be helped to become
happier and more social through play therapy.
Which aspect of developmental change does
Enrique’s research most reflect?
a. Development is a continual and cumulative process.
b. Development is marked by plasticity.
c. Development is a holistic process.
d. Development depends upon the historical and
cultural context in which it occurs.

6. Fill in the Blank: Fill in the blank with the
appropriate word or phrase.
In the developmental sciences, typical
patterns of change are called
……………………., whereas individual
variations in patterns of change are
called ………………..
Ideographic - Normative

7. Matching: Match the area of developmental
science with the specific aspects of
development that are studied.
Area of Developmental
1. cognitive .........
2. physical growth .........
3. psychosocial .........
Aspects of Science Development
A-bodily changes and sequencing of motor skills
B- emotions, personality, and relationships
C-perception, language, learning, and thinking

8. Short Answer: Briefly answer the following
question.
Explain the difference between maturation and
learning.
………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………….

9. Essay: Provide a more detailed answer to the
following question. (discuss the topic first in a
group of 5)
Describe differences in the historical and
cultural context between your generation and
your parents’ generation. How might these
differences have affected your development
compared to that of your parents?

10. Auto-evaluation Part 1: Development
theories
Check your understanding
Matching: Match the theoretical viewpoint to its
description by selecting the theory’s title.
Choose from the following options:
a. Piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory
b. information-processing theory
c. ethology and evolutionary theories
d. ecological systems theory
e. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory

11. ------1. Theory claiming that children are “prepared” to
display adaptive patterns of development, provided that
they receive appropriate kinds of environmental inputs at
the most appropriate times.
------2. Theory claiming that children actively construct
knowledge which has stimulated discovery-based
educational programs.
------3. Theory claiming that the natural environment that
influences a developing child is a complex interlocking set
of contexts that influence and are influenced by the child.
------4. Theory claiming that the developing human mind is
a system that operates on stimulus input to convert it to
output—inferences, solutions, etc.
------5. Theory claiming that cognitive growth is socially
mediated and that there are no universal cognitive stages.

12. Fill in the Blank: Complete the following sentences by
filling in the blanks with the appropriate word or
phrase.
1. Piaget proposed that children use the processes of
-----------------and ----------------------to resolve
disequilibriums and help them adapt to their
environments.
2. The evolutionary perspective argues that certain
adaptive characteristics in humans are most likely
to develop during --------------------- , provided that
the environment fosters this development.
Sensitive periods - Accommodation – assimilation

13. Short Answer: Provide a brief answer to the following
questions.
1. List Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory.
2. Dr. Helpful has been asked to create a lesson plan for
the local elementary school. She bases her lesson plan
on the theoretical viewpoint that she adheres to in her
research. Her view is that children learn best when
they are given challenges to solve through their own
trial-and-error and that children should be encouraged
to discover solutions to problems rather than just being
told the answers in lecture format. Which theoretical
position does Dr. Helpful adhere to? What type of
lesson plan is she most likely to create?

14. Essay: Provide a more detailed answer to
the following question.
After a divorce, children fare much better
if their divorced parents can agree on
how their children should be raised and
support each other’s parenting efforts.
Which developmental theory seems best
suited to explaining this finding and how
might it do so?