Lesson 7.6.1

7.6.1 Issues and debates in child psychology Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Psychology, Unit 7

20 questions

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Lesson 7.6.1, Issues and debates in child psychology: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Psychology (9PS0), Unit 7: Child psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which ethical tension is central to research with children, as set out in the issues and debates for child psychology?

    • Comparing the mean and median of a data set
    • Choosing between a laboratory and a field setting for every study
    • Balancing children's rights to participate with their right to protection
    • Deciding whether to use a male or female researcher for each session

  2. Which practical problem is specific to conducting a meta-analysis such as van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988)?

    • Obtaining ethical approval for a laboratory study
    • Comparing results from studies that used different procedures, samples and measures
    • Writing an abstract that fits within a word limit
    • Recruiting a large sample of volunteers who are willing to take part

  3. Why is it difficult to obtain objective data when using observation with young children?

    • Observers may interpret behaviour in line with their expectations, so subjectivity can enter the data
    • Children always behave the same way when watched
    • Children cannot be observed at all
    • Observations never produce any quantitative data

  4. How does reducing attachment to a single test such as the Strange Situation illustrate reductionism?

    • It explains a complex relationship in terms of one simple measure, which may ignore other influences
    • It proves attachment is caused by genes alone
    • It makes the study more ecologically valid by using a real home
    • It shows that attachment is only affected by the environment

  5. Ainsworth's and Bowlby's theories of attachment are compared in psychology. Which difference between them is most often discussed?

    • Bowlby stressed the caregiver's role in an evolutionary context, whereas Ainsworth developed a way to classify attachment differences
    • Both researchers studied only adult relationships
    • Bowlby developed the Strange Situation, whereas Ainsworth developed the theory of monotropy
    • Ainsworth argued that attachment is entirely genetic, whereas Bowlby argued it is entirely learned

  6. An evolutionary explanation of attachment suggests that attachment behaviours evolved because they helped infants do what?

    • Develop language before the age of one
    • Avoid all contact with strangers
    • Learn to read at an early age
    • Stay close to a caregiver and so gain protection and increase survival

  7. How does cross-cultural research on attachment help psychology address the nature-nurture debate?

    • It proves that nurture has no role because all cultures are identical
    • It removes the need to consider either nature or nurture
    • Cultural differences in attachment suggest an environmental role, while similarities suggest a biological basis
    • It shows that nature is irrelevant because children from all cultures behave in the same way

  8. Which statement best describes why psychology is sometimes questioned as a science when studying children?

    • Because psychology uses no quantitative data at all
    • Because all research on children is automatically controlled and objective
    • Because children cannot be included in any scientific study
    • Because findings from studies of children can be difficult to replicate and measure objectively in natural settings

  9. A researcher argues that the Strange Situation is culturally biased. Which evaluation point supports this argument?

    • It was developed and standardised in one culture, so behaviours in other cultures may be judged against the wrong norms
    • It has been applied to adults in every culture
    • It is a laboratory study with no control group
    • It uses only quantitative data, which is always biased

  10. A study of children's attachment uses only girls because they are easier to recruit. Which issue from the issues and debates does this illustrate?

    • Ethical protection of children
    • Reductionism in explaining behaviour
    • Nature-nurture interaction
    • Gender bias in research

  11. Which ethical principle is most relevant when a researcher asks a 6-year-old to take part in an observation in a classroom?

    • Obtaining consent from an adult with responsibility for the child and ensuring the child can withdraw
    • Deception so that the child behaves naturally
    • Maximising the number of observations regardless of consent
    • Recording the child's speech without anyone's knowledge

  12. A practical issue in observational research with children is the choice of time sampling or event sampling. Which problem is most likely with event sampling?

    • It cannot be used with any children
    • It always produces qualitative data only
    • It records every behaviour at all times, so it is too quick
    • It records behaviour only at fixed intervals, so rare events can be missed

  13. Comparing findings across cultures can address the 'psychology as a science' debate by allowing which of the following?

    • Ruling out the use of experiments entirely
    • Removing the need for any statistical analysis
    • Testing whether findings are universal or culture-specific, which strengthens the claim to general laws
    • Making all children behave in the same way

  14. Which statement best describes an issue of 'comparisons between ways of explaining behaviour' in child psychology?

    • Measuring the height of children in different countries
    • Using only one theory to explain every type of behaviour
    • Evaluating how different theories, such as attachment explanations, account for the same behaviour and what each one emphasises
    • Ignoring all theories because they are all the same

  15. Why does a researcher need to consider the ethics of a study as well as its practical design when working with children?

    • Because ethics and practical design both affect whether a study is valid and whether children are protected from harm
    • Because the ethics of a study rarely affects its validity or its effect on participants
    • Because ethics only applies to adult participants
    • Because practical design is only about the cost of the study

  16. A study uses a 'Strange Situation' type procedure in a lab. A critic says the setting is too artificial. Which evaluation point does this criticise?

    • Ecological validity
    • Reliability of the researcher
    • Internal consistency of the questionnaire
    • Objectivity of the statistical test

  17. Which issue links most directly to the nature-nurture debate in child psychology?

    • Whether a sample should be random or volunteer
    • Whether differences in attachment across cultures are due to genetic or environmental factors
    • Whether observations should be overt or covert
    • Whether researchers should use a questionnaire or interview

  18. Which design choice in a meta-analysis would reduce the effect of publication bias on the conclusions?

    • Including only studies with statistically significant results
    • Searching for and including unpublished studies alongside published ones
    • Excluding all studies from countries outside Europe
    • Using only studies that used the same sample size

  19. An argument that child psychology research is limited by reductionism would most strongly claim which of the following?

    • Statistical tests are never used in child psychology
    • Complex child development is being reduced to one or a few simple variables, which may miss the influence of context
    • Research always uses too many variables to be understood
    • Child development is entirely unaffected by environment

  20. Which statement about the interaction of nature and nurture in child development is most accurate?

    • Nature and nurture always act independently of one another
    • Genes alone determine all developmental outcomes
    • The environment has no effect once a child is born
    • Genes and environment interact, so the effect of one often depends on the other

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