Chapter 2: Theoretical Foundations of Adolescent Development
1. A specific explanation of a phenomenon that can be confirmed or disconfirmed is called
a. a model
b. a theory
c. an axiom
d. a law
2. _______ is the assumption that the same set of laws are sufficient to describe behavior at
all points in the life cycle.
a. Reductionism
b. Epigenesis
c. A model
d. The epigenetic principle
3. What environmental theorist proposed that behavior is under the control of the events that
follow it instead of reflecting preceding motives or intentions?
a. Robert Havighurst
b. Jean Piaget
c. Robert Kegan
d. B.F. Skinner
4. Observing what others do and imitating this behavior is called ______________.
a. observational learning
b. operant conditioning
c. reflective abstraction
d. assimilation
5. A phenomenon in which organisms detect regularities in their surroundings and
anticipate them is called __________________.
a. assimilation
b. habituation
c. accommodation
d. equilibration
6. Piaget proposed a sophisticated way of understanding how individuals make sense of
their surroundings. Which of these four stages of cognitive development are in order
according to one’s lifespan development?
a. Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete operational and Formal
b. Concrete operational, Preoperational, Formal operational and Sensorimotor
c. Preoperational, Sensorimotor, Concrete operational and Formal operational
d. Formal operational, Preoperational, Concrete operational and Sensorimotor
7. A cognitive stage in life in which thinking becomes abstract is called _____________.
a. formal operational
b. sensorimotor
