AP Psychology: Developmental Methods and Physical Development — Drill 13

About This Drill

AP Psychology: Developmental Methods and Physical Development — Drill 13 is a Multiple Choice practice drill covering Unit 3: Development and Learning. It contains 5 original questions created by Brian Stewart, a Barron's test prep author with over 20 years of tutoring experience.

AP Psychology practice questions on developmental research methods and physical development across the lifespan. Covers longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, cohort effects, newborn reflexes, synaptic pruning, and data interpretation for AP exam prep.

Questions in This Drill

1. A developmental researcher recruits 100 four-year-olds in 2010 and tests their vocabulary. She then retests the same children at ages 8, 12, and 16 to track how vocabulary grows with age. Which research design best describes her approach?
2. A pediatrician notices that a 2-week-old infant, when startled by a loud clap, throws out her arms and then pulls them back toward her body. The pediatrician reassures the parents that this is a normal newborn reflex that typically disappears in early infancy. Which of the following best describes what the pediatrician is observing?
3. A team of researchers wants to know whether reading ability changes with age. In 2024, they give the same reading test to three groups: 20-year-olds, 50-year-olds, and 80-year-olds. They find that the 80-year-olds score lowest and conclude that reading ability declines with age. Which of the following most seriously weakens their conclusion?
4. A neurologist is examining brain scans of a typical 2-year-old and a typical 20-year-old. She notes that the 2-year-old's brain shows an unusually dense network of synaptic connections, many of which will be eliminated as the child matures, while the 20-year-old's brain shows fewer but more efficient connections. Which developmental process best accounts for the difference she observes?
5. A researcher reports the following correlations, each computed from a large sample:
   
   • Correlation between child's age (in months, ages 6–24) and number of spoken words: r = +0.82
   • Correlation between parental income and child's number of spoken words at age 2: r = +0.35
   • Correlation between hours of screen time per day and child's number of spoken words at age 2: r = −0.18
   
   A colleague says, "This shows that giving a child a tablet causes their vocabulary to shrink." Which of the following is the best critique of the colleague's claim?