Use these CLEP Human Growth and Development sample questions to review developmental theories, research methods, prenatal development, perception, cognition, language, intelligence, attachment, parenting, personality, and development across the life span.
Topics Covered
- Ecological systems theory
- Longitudinal research
- Prenatal development and teratogens
- Habituation and perceptual development
- Piaget’s cognitive-development theory
- Language development and overregularization
- Fluid and crystallized intelligence
- Attachment
- Parenting styles
- Erikson’s psychosocial theory
- Development from infancy through adulthood
Sample Questions
- A. Microsystem
- B. Mesosystem
- C. Exosystem
- D. Macrosystem
- E. Chronosystem
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The exosystem includes settings that the child does not directly participate in but that still affect the child.
A parent’s workplace can influence family income, stress, and daily routines even though the child is not part of that workplace.
- A. Cross-sectional
- B. Experimental
- C. Longitudinal
- D. Case-study
- E. Naturalistic-observation
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A longitudinal design repeatedly studies the same participants over an extended period.
This method can reveal patterns of individual change, although it may be expensive and vulnerable to participant attrition.
- A. Teratogen
- B. Genotype
- C. Reflex
- D. Phenotype
- E. Schema
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A teratogen is an environmental agent or exposure that can interfere with prenatal development.
Its effects may depend on factors such as timing, dosage, duration, and genetic susceptibility.
- A. Conservation and reversibility
- B. Habituation and dishabituation
- C. Classical extinction and spontaneous recovery
- D. Egocentrism and centration
- E. Assimilation and accommodation
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Habituation is a decrease in response after repeated exposure to the same stimulus.
Renewed attention to a different stimulus is called dishabituation and suggests that the infant can distinguish the new stimulus from the familiar one.
- A. Object permanence
- B. Conservation
- C. Abstract moral reasoning
- D. Deferred imitation
- E. Separation anxiety
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Conservation is the understanding that quantity remains constant even when appearance changes.
Piaget associated reliable success on conservation tasks with the concrete operational stage.
- A. Has memorized the word without understanding grammar
- B. Is applying a regular grammatical rule to an irregular verb
- C. Cannot distinguish nouns from verbs
- D. Has stopped acquiring language
- E. Is repeating an adult’s exact sentence
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The child has learned that past tense is often formed by adding -ed and applies that rule to an irregular verb.
This overregularization error shows active rule learning rather than simple imitation.
- A. Crystallized knowledge always disappears before age 60.
- B. Fluid problem-solving speed may decline while accumulated knowledge remains comparatively stable.
- C. All forms of memory decline at the same rate.
- D. Aging prevents adults from learning new information.
- E. Intelligence becomes completely fixed at adolescence.
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Fluid intelligence involves solving unfamiliar problems quickly and often shows age-related decline.
Crystallized intelligence reflects accumulated knowledge and experience and may remain stable or improve through much of adulthood.
- A. Ignore the caregiver before and after separation
- B. Show distress when the caregiver leaves and seek comfort when the caregiver returns
- C. Remain equally distressed after the caregiver returns
- D. Approach every unfamiliar adult more readily than the caregiver
- E. Show no preference between familiar and unfamiliar people
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Securely attached children commonly use the caregiver as a secure base for exploration.
They may become distressed by separation but generally seek contact and are comforted when the caregiver returns.
- A. Authoritarian
- B. Authoritative
- C. Permissive
- D. Neglectful
- E. Uninvolved
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Authoritative parents combine clear standards and consistent limits with warmth, responsiveness, and age-appropriate autonomy.
Authoritarian parenting also emphasizes control but is typically less responsive and less likely to explain rules.
- A. Identity versus role confusion
- B. Intimacy versus isolation
- C. Generativity versus stagnation
- D. Industry versus inferiority
- E. Integrity versus despair
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Erikson associated middle adulthood with generativity versus stagnation.
Generativity involves contributing to younger people, productive work, caregiving, or activities intended to benefit future generations.
How to Use These Questions
Identify the developmental domain and life stage before evaluating the choices. Many questions require applying a theory or research concept to a new situation rather than simply recalling a definition.
Pay attention to distinctions such as longitudinal versus cross-sectional research, assimilation versus conservation, fluid versus crystallized intelligence, and authoritative versus authoritarian parenting.
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