Growth and Development (adolescence focus) — Hard

Q1. Consider the following statements about development: Statement I: Development is a progressive series of changes — the changes go forward, not backward. Statement II: Development is orderly and coherent — each change has a definite relationship with the changes that come before and after it. Which of the above is/are correct?

• A. Only Statement I is correct
• B. Only Statement II is correct
• C. Both Statement I and Statement II are correct
• D. Neither Statement I nor Statement II is correct

Q2. Differentiate between the principle of integration and the principle of interrelation. Which option correctly distinguishes the two?

• A. Integration says development in one dimension affects all others; interrelation says personality is the sum of all dimensions
• B. Interrelation says development in any aspect affects other aspects; integration says personality is the balanced integration of all aspects
• C. Both principles mean exactly the same thing
• D. Integration is about heredity only; interrelation is about environment only

Q3. An upper-primary teacher in Lucknow finds that in her class 6 the girls have grown taller and look more mature than the boys, but two years later in class 8 several boys have caught up and overtaken them. Which principle explains this?

• A. Principle of integration — all dimensions balance out
• B. Principle of differentiation in rate — individuals differ in the rate of development; girls grow faster than boys at the early stage of development
• C. Principle of continuity — development never stops
• D. Principle of generality to specificity — general response before specific

Q4. Rohan, a 4-year-old, scribbles a haphazard line on the wall and proudly says he has written 'A'. By class 1 his lines become recognisable letters. This sequence of haphazard-line-before-alphabet demonstrates that

• A. The child follows the cephalocaudal direction from head to foot
• B. The child first exercises fundamental muscles before fine motor skills, so the development sequence proceeds from large to small motor control
• C. Development is fully determined by heredity
• D. Adolescence has begun in Rohan

Q5. A pre-school teacher pours water from a wide glass into a tall narrow glass in front of a 5-year-old. The child insists that the narrow glass now has 'more' water. This is because during early childhood the child

• A. Has fully developed abstract logical thinking
• B. Exhibits the semiotic function (ability to deal with symbols) but still lacks reversibility — she cannot mentally undo the act of pouring
• C. Has entered the formal operational stage with hypothetical reasoning
• D. Is showing signs of stress and storm

Q6. Which of the following is NOT a feature of the later childhood stage (7-12 years)?

• A. Children are more aware about their achievements and form groups
• B. Children stick to one or two close friends and prefer to play with same gender
• C. Children develop the ability to generalise facts and start abstract logical thinking
• D. Children start understanding and accepting rules

Q7. Read these two statements about the adolescent height/weight pattern: Statement I: At the age of 13 years girls surpass boys, but by the age of 15 boys surpass girls. Statement II: In majority cases, girls reach their maximum height by 17 and boys by 18. Which is correct?

• A. Only Statement I is correct
• B. Only Statement II is correct
• C. Both I and II are correct
• D. Neither I nor II is correct

Q8. Apoorv's mother has taken half a day off to cook a special meal for his birthday. Apoorv reacts rashly, demands cash to celebrate with friends, shouts that none of his friends celebrate at home, and refuses to be 'insulted' before them. This case best illustrates the simultaneous operation of which adolescent features?

• A. Sensorimotor reflex behaviour + ego-centrism
• B. Peer group as standards + heightened emotionality with stressed parent-relationship
• C. Semiotic function + reversibility
• D. Toilet training + self-assertion

Q9. Assertion (A): During adolescence, the number of friends a child has usually goes down compared to later childhood, but the friends s/he keeps become more influential. Reason (R): The friends at this stage are less in number. Children select their friends on some criteria, and their choices of clothing and fashion are generally guided by the peer group or heroes. Choose the right code

• A. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
• B. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
• C. A is true but R is false
• D. A is false but R is true

Q10. Aparajita has high cognitive ability but is not interested in studies and takes classes lightly; Madhvi has average cognitive ability but works hard, and in the second test her scores improve tremendously. Madhvi's improvement illustrates which side of which debate?

• A. The 'passivity' side of the activity vs passivity debate
• B. The 'activity' side of the activity vs passivity debate — the individual is active and chooses her own pathway of development rather than accepting what comes naturally
• C. The 'nature' side of the nature vs nurture debate
• D. The 'continuity' side of the continuity vs discontinuity debate

Q11. Consider Havighurst's claim about how universal vs context-specific developmental tasks are. Which statement reflects his exact position?

• A. All developmental tasks are equally universal across cultures
• B. All developmental tasks are equally culture-specific and never universal
• C. Biologically determined tasks are more likely to be culturally universal than tasks that have a strong cultural component
• D. Cultural component tasks are more universal than biological tasks

Q12. Sunder has just taken admission in class IX of an urban school after coming from a rural background. On day one, the school looks totally different from his village school; he struggles to adjust with his peer group and to understand the classes. The most appropriate teacher response is to

• A. Insist Sunder uses only standard urban language from day one to 'fit in' quickly
• B. Understand Sunder's background, help him adjust slowly, design tasks for multicultural demands, give examples from different cultures and even use local dialect to teach concepts
• C. Ask Sunder to leave the urban school and return to his village
• D. Ignore Sunder and let him sort it out himself

Q13. Consider the components of education that need to be restructured for a diversified class. Which of the following is NOT one of those components?

• A. Content description — using examples and content from a variety of cultures and groups
• B. Knowledge construction process
• C. An equity pedagogy — matching teaching styles to students' learning styles
• D. Strict uniform discipline through corporal punishment

Q14. The teacher is the most powerful component of the developmental process of students. The teacher's behaviour includes three important components which affect the whole classroom environment. These three components are

• A. Salary, qualification and uniform
• B. Teachers' beliefs about the role and nature of ability; instructional practices; and teacher-student relationship
• C. Lesson plan, blackboard work and homework correction
• D. Punishment, reward and silence

Q15. Consider the five criteria on which the diversified needs of students in a class are identified. Which set is correct?

• A. Caste, religion, language, gender and age
• B. Intelligence, aptitude, interest, culture and residential background
• C. Income, marks, height, attendance and uniform
• D. Family size, syllabus, school fee, holiday and timetable