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PROFESSIONAL GROWTH FINAL PAPER 2026
COMPLETE RESPONSE SET GRADED A+
◉ Theories of development differ from opinion primarily because Answer: they are based on scientific research. ◉ Which of the following helpers is most likely to have an implicit "incrementalist" belief about intelligence? Answer: A counselor who recommends a strategy of academic skill building for a client who is experiencing academic problems. ◉ Stage theories of development typically describe ____________ changes in behavior, cognition, or social relationships. Answer: qualitative ◉ Using Erikson's developmental theory as a framework, which of the following statements is an accurate representation of his ideas? Answer: Successful resolution of a psychosocial crisis at each stage depends upon having more positive than negative experiences in the area of major concern. ◉ Models of development which hold that change typically occurs in shifts between periods of relative stability and periods of disequilibrium are called Answer: stage models
◉ Models of development which hold that change occurs as a continuous process are called Answer: incremental models. ◉ Models of development which hold that change occurs as a function of reciprocal influences, both from within the person and from the external environment are called Answer: multidimensional models. ◉ In Bronfenbrenner's model, proximal processes refer to Answer: reciprocal interactions between an organism and its immediate environment. ◉ Juan, a 7-month-old infant, lives in a city where the availability of high quality child care is very limited. His mother is forced to leave Juan in the care of a young woman who also cares for five other infants and toddlers in her small apartment. According to Bronfenbrenner's theory, which of the following influences on Juan's development represents an example of a proximal process? Answer: The quality of care-giving Juan receives in day care. ◉ Juan, a 7-month-old infant, lives in a city where the availability of high quality child care is very limited. His mother is forced to leave Juan in the care of a young woman who also cares for five other infants and toddlers in her small apartment. Which of the following influences represents an example of a distal process? Answer:
◉ Counselors must recognize the principle of ___________: Individual pathways of development may result in a wide range of possible outcomes. Answer: multifinality ◉ An attempt to forestall the development of problems by promoting health and wellness in the general population is called Answer: primary prevention. ◉ The epigenome is the full set of factors, from the cell to the outside world, that controls the expression of Answer: hereditary material. ◉ In one animal study of the influence of genes on behavior, offspring of rats with genes for low stress reactivity were reared by unrelated mother rats with genes for high stress reactivity. This is an example of Answer: a cross-fostering study. ◉ In one study, young rats exposed to stress vocalized their anxiety. Their mothers, alerted to this distress, responded with diligent caregiving behavior that altered the development of the hippocampus. Which of the following processes or principles does this example demonstrate? Answer: Epigenesis.
◉ Based on your knowledge of prenatal development, which of the following sequences would you expect to be correct? Answer: The heart begins to form before the hands. ◉ Which of the following statements is true about the effects of teratogens on the developing fetus? Answer: The kind of damage done depends on the stage of development during exposure. ◉ When she was pregnant with Joey, Joey's mother had a poor diet because food was in short supply in her war-torn country. The war ended after Joey was born, and his middle-class mother was able to provide him with adequate, nutritious food throughout his childhood. Which of the following outcomes is the most likely for Joey? Answer: Joey is at greater risk of serious ongoing health problems than youngsters who have adequate prenatal nutrition. ◉ The available data indicate that chronic maternal stress during pregnancy has which of the following effects on the fetus? Answer: Is related to newborn hyperactivity and irritability ◉ Which of the following is an accurate description of the long-term effects of chronic
◉ For most mental illnesses and behavioral disorders, like alcoholism and clinical depression, the genetic contribution can best be described as Answer: polygenic. ◉ Symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) include Answer: widely spaced eyes and flattened nose. ◉ Children who suffer severe protein and calorie shortages at any age may experience stunted growth, a protuberant belly, and extreme apathy. This severe starvation syndrome is called Answer: kwashiorkor. ◉ Of the following, which is the most accurate example of coaction? Answer: Genes that are related to a specific disorder may be expressed phenotypically only in a certain kind of environment. ◉ Robert and Nadine both have been laid off. The couple has inadequate access to food or health care. When they realize that Nadine is pregnant, they feel desperate, and they talk to a social worker at a local clinic about their situation. The social worker is able to provide them with referrals to a food outlet, but she is unable to find a prenatal care clinic that provides free services in their neighborhood. Considering the effects of multiple risk factors, what is the most likely potential value of the social worker's efforts? Answer: The fewer risk factors the better, so their unborn child is likely to be better off even with the limited help the social worker provided.
◉ Massage therapy for infants has been very successful in promoting weight gain and social interaction, and in decreasing distress in low birth weight infants. Based upon developmental research, what is the best explanation for this? Answer: Touch is the best developed sense at birth and therefore the most effective avenue for soothing and regulating the newborn. ◉ Brenda and Louise are twin sisters who each married 20 years ago. Brenda and her husband run a small piano tuning business. They have had a small, loyal customer base, and their modest but adequate income has not changed over time. Louise and her husband each work for a corporation, and their incomes have steadily increased over the last 20 years allowing them to increase their standard of living. Assuming that Brenda and Louise began their married lives equally happy, and based on their income histories alone, what would you predict about the subjective well- being of Brenda and Louise today? Answer: Louise and Brenda are probably still about equally happy. ◉ Daniel is very extraverted. He admits that he is not comfortable unless surrounded by other people, and he energetically pursues activities that require the company of others. His cousin Bill, about the same age, is very introverted. Bill is self-reflective and prefers more solitary pursuits. Regardless of their personality characteristics, which of the following is likely to contribute most to their long-term happiness? Answer: They are good friends who are willing to help each other in difficult times.
◉ Anna is a 44-year-old divorced mother of two teenagers. Anna's father, who lives alone in a nearby suburb, has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer. Anna needs to take her father to and from medical appointments while she tries to manage the demands of her own full-time job. She goes to the employee assistance counselor at work for help in coping with the demands of her situation. The counselor understands that the demands on Anna are too great given her available resources, a phenomenon called Answer: role strain. ◉ Anna must care for children as well as a sick loved one on a day- to-day basis. She also needs to keep her job. This situation places her under considerable stress. Coping of this type is called coping with Answer: daily hassles. ◉ Kindling-behavioral sensitization describes Answer: a process of increasing sensitivity to stressful triggers. ◉ Tyrone is a 35-year-old advertising executive. Lately, he has been experiencing some physical symptoms, like shortness of breath and difficulty sleeping. He explains to a counselor that he has been having more difficulty dealing with his work and family responsibilities. A comprehensive intake interview reveals that Tyrone's mother suffered from a diagnosed affective disorder. This piece of information might indicate the presence of Answer: a diathesis.
◉ Jason experienced the death of a close relative due to an act of violence. He comes to counseling to get help dealing with the grief and pain of this experience. After some time, Jason adjusts, and he demonstrates improvements in psychological functioning that exceed his level of adjustment prior to this traumatic event. This is an example of Answer: posttraumatic growth. ◉ Paula is a client who demonstrates highly anxious tendencies. She broods over perceived mistakes, worries about how others view her, and feels that she never meets her own high expectations in ways that satisfy her. Her counselor can conclude that Paula probably also has which of these other characteristics? Answer: High levels of sensitivity to stress. ◉ Laboratory studies have provided evidence for which of the following statements with regard to emotional reactivity? Answer: Positive affectivity is related to higher levels of left prefrontal cortical activity. ◉ Ernest is 42 years old and has been out of work for two months. He lost his position as a program manager when his company merged with another larger company. He made a great deal of money during his time as manager and saved quite a bit, so finances are not an immediate concern. He has not been actively looking for work, and he feels sluggish, sleeps much more than he did in the past, and spends most of his time watching TV. Based on conservation of resources theory, how would you interpret his
◉ Research using habituation and preferential response paradigms has provided us with much of what we know about the infant's perceptual abilities. The habituation paradigm takes advantage of Answer: baby's tendency to orient to new stimulation ◉ Reflective clinicians often absorb the tenets and techniques associated with major theoretical approaches to counseling and then interpret and organize them in ways that are useful for their own work. This aspect of reflective practice is an example of Answer: constructivism. ◉ Which of the following statements does not reflect contemporary critiques of Piagetian theory that have experimental support? Answer: Infants may have a rudimentary understanding of object permanence earlier in infancy than Piaget suspected. ◉ Assimilation can be described as ____________ and accommodation can be described as ____________. Answer: incorporating information / restructuring information. ◉ Which of the following research techniques is an appropriate method for studying cognitive development of individuals during the sensorimotor period? Answer: Habituation paradigm.
◉ Normally developing motor and visual milestones for a 4-month- old include Answer: rolling over, reaching for objects, visual tracking moving objects. ◉ In a number conservation task a set of discrete items is laid out in two rows They are first laid out in exactly the same way, and then one row is moved so that the items are farther apart. Typically, 3- and 4-year-olds Answer: recognize that the rows have the same number when they are arranged identically, but believe there are more items when they are farther apart. ◉ Developmentalists study what infants and children understand about other people's intentions, desires, beliefs, feelings, and so on. This field of study is referred to as Answer: theory of mind. ◉ The ability to use language to communicate effectively by using well-organized narratives primarily depends upon the development of ____________ skill. Answer: pragmatic ◉ Based on what you have learned about language development, what advice would you give to new parents who are concerned about their child's literacy and later success in school? Answer: Parents and caregivers should provide lots of good quality language experience and practice by asking questions and elaborating on many topics of interest to their children.
◉ Vygotsky believed that egocentric or private speech (talking aloud to one's self) played an important role in cognitive development by Answer: helping organize young children's thinking, as a precursor to self-regulation. ◉ The general consensus is that disorders of the autism spectrum Answer: are neurobiological in nature and have high family concordance rates. ◉ General guidelines for intervention programs for children with autism spectrum disorder include Answer: early entry into intervention, use of Applied Behavior Analysis, and parent training and support. ◉ When 2-year-old Sabrina does not comply with requests, her mother tells her that she is not acting like a good girl and that Sabrina's father and sisters will be disappointed. She is told to wait until they come home when she will be punished for her misbehavior. What advice should a counselor give to Sabrina's mother? Answer: Any consequence for misbehavior should be immediate, because Sabrina is too young to understand cause and effect when the consequences are so delayed. ◉ The Phineas Gage matrix describes a syndrome due to frontal lobe damage that diminishes an individual's emotional intensity. From this syndrome we have learned that with decreased emotional
intensity comes Answer: lesser tendency to plan and make rational decisions. ◉ Beginning in the first hours after birth, caregivers interaction with infants in ways that enhance positive affect and attention, such as Answer: smiling, affectionate touching, and high-pitched vocalizations. ◉ When Tamara responds to the crying of her 4-month-old baby, Jessie, she tries to figure out what has caused the baby's distress (hunger, wet diaper, etc.) while making soothing sounds and holding the baby. Tamara's actions are ____________ Jessie's developing emotion regulation abilities. Answer: scaffolding ◉ If a mother and baby are cooing and smiling at each other, and then the mother withdraws and becomes unresponsive, the typical infant will first engage in ____________, and then in ____________. Answer: other-directed coping behaviors / self-directed coping behaviors ◉ Bea is the mother of 4-month-old Alex. She has been depressed since Alex's birth and is frequently withdrawn. Because of Bea's depression, we can expect that, in comparison to other 4-month- olds, Alex experiences will display Answer: more fearfulness and turning away.
more negative than others. In the long run, continuing to be responsive to crying will help Suzie to better regulate her emotions. ◉ Developmental researchers use the term "goodness of fit" to refer to Answer: the match between the caregiver's responses to a child and the child's temperament. ◉ Infants form multiple attachments, to both mother and father and perhaps to a sibling, grandparent, and so on. Which of the following statements is most consistent with available data on the impact of these attachments? Answer: More than one secure attachment adds value, serving as a further protective factor. ◉ A parent whose own working model of attachment is "preoccupied/entangled" is likely to have an infant with which of the following kinds of attachment? Answer: Anxious ambivalent. ◉ Which of the following is a true statement about the stability of infant attachments? Answer: Changes in family stressors that lead to changes in caregiving quality can lead to shifts in attachment quality. ◉ Juan is afraid of snakes. Which of the following is likely to best describe how his brain responds when he first sees a snake? Answer: The lower limbic structures like the amygdala can process the sensory input from the snake and trigger a physical reaction to
the feared stimulus before the input is processed at a more rational level by the cortex. ◉ Basic emotions such as _____________ can be observed in young infants, but self-conscious emotions such as ____________ only emerge in childhood. Answer: surprise and fear / embarrassment and pride ◉ The quality of a children's attachments has been found to affect Answer: how children respond to new social situations. ◉ Phillipa's husband, Manuel, is worried about her plan to return to full-time employment when their baby is 6 months old. He is afraid that there will be a negative effect on the baby's attachment to her mother. Phillipa suggests that she and Manuel discuss the pros and cons of day care with a counselor. What would a well-informed counselor advise this couple? Answer: If Phillipa continues to provide sensitive, responsive care when she is with the baby, and if the day care is good quality, then the baby should still form a secure attachment to Phillipa. ◉ Which of the following is not true with regard to the definition of reactive attachment disorder? Answer: These children behave indifferently, like avoidantly attached youngsters. ◉ Day care researchers have identified a dose-response relationship between the amount of time spent in day care and the age of entry
