Describe the role that Arnold Gesell played in the study of human development
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: Inspired by the work of Charles Darwin, Arnold Gesell and his teacher, G. Stanley Hall, devised theories based on evolutionary ideas. They regarded development as a maturational process—a genetically determined series of events that unfold automatically, much like a flower. Hall and Gesell are remembered for their intensive efforts to describe all aspects of development. They launched the normative approach, in which measures of behavior are taken on large numbers of individuals, and age-related averages are computed to represent typical development. Gesell collected detailed normative information on the motor achievements, social behaviors, and personality characteristics of infants and children. He was also among the first to make knowledge about child development meaningful to parents by informing them of what to expect at each age. His child-rearing books became a central part of a rapidly expanding child development literature for parents.
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A distinguished researcher reviewed the current findings on the etiology of mental disorders. Which of the following is the best summary of the consensus of opinion?
a. Most mental disorders are the result of genetic abnormalities. b. We do not currently know all of the specific causes of most mental disorders. c. Unconscious factors have been overlooked as the root cause of mental disorders. d. Environmental factors have been overlooked in the wake of recent findings on biological etiologies.
Short-term memory storage is to ____ as long-term memory storage is to ____
a. ?semantic; emotional b. ?haptic; informational c. ?limited; unlimited d. ?hierarchical; acoustic
If an operational definition has construct validity:
a. it is consistent with the hypotheses. b. it adequately represents a concept. c. it relies on inductive reasoning. d. it will be uncorrelated with other variables.
ALL BUT WHICH of the following has been a common criticism of biofeedback?
a. Biofeedback may not be more effective than other, less expensive, techniques. b. Studies on biofeedback have not always been able to separate the effects of biofeedback from the effects of other treatments included in the same treatment package. c. Biofeedback may be harmful, depending on the nature of the health condition. d. Rightly or wrongly, biofeedback has a reputation for being faddish or cultish.