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QCAA Psychology EA study materials
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QCAA Psychology EA practice questions

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Question 1Individual development

According to Piaget, which process describes a child interpreting new information so that it fits an existing mental schema?

  1. Assimilation Correct answer.
  2. Accommodation
  3. Equilibration
  4. Conservation

Explanation

Assimilation occurs when a learner takes in new experience and reshapes the incoming information to match a schema they already hold, so the existing structure stays unchanged. Accommodation, by contrast, alters the schema itself when the new information cannot be fitted. Equilibration is the broader drive to balance the two processes.

Question 2Individual development

A toddler who has a schema for 'dog' calls every four-legged animal 'doggy'. Piaget would describe this as:

  1. Accommodation
  2. Assimilation Correct answer.
  3. Object permanence
  4. Reversibility

Explanation

The child is applying an existing category to new objects, which is assimilation because the mental structure is stretched to absorb the new animals rather than being rebuilt. Only when the child begins to distinguish dogs from cats does accommodation occur. Object permanence and reversibility are separate developmental achievements.

Question 3Individual development

During which of Piaget's stages does a child first demonstrate conservation of liquid quantity?

  1. Formal operational
  2. Concrete operational Correct answer.
  3. Preoperational
  4. Sensorimotor

Explanation

Conservation is the hallmark achievement of the concrete operational stage, typically emerging around seven years as children master decentration and reversibility. Preoperational children are typically fooled by appearance. Sensorimotor and formal operational stages are defined by other capacities.

Question 4Individual development

A preoperational child insists that a tall narrow glass holds more water than a short wide glass containing the same amount. Which limitation best explains this?

  1. Failure of abstract reasoning
  2. Egocentric speech
  3. Centration on one perceptual dimension Correct answer.
  4. Lack of object permanence

Explanation

Centration means the child focuses on a single salient feature, here the height of the liquid, and ignores the compensating width. This one-sided attention produces the classic non-conservation error. Object permanence is already achieved, and abstract reasoning is a later-stage concern.

Question 5Individual development

Vygotsky's zone of proximal development is best defined as the gap between what a learner can do alone and what the learner can do:

  1. By imitating peers without feedback
  2. With guidance from a more capable person Correct answer.
  3. Once formal operational thought emerges
  4. After a period of physical maturation

Explanation

The zone of proximal development describes tasks just beyond independent competence that become achievable with scaffolding from a more knowledgeable other. It is a social-interactive construct, not a maturational timetable. Imitation without support does not define the zone.

Question 6Individual development

A teacher gradually withdraws support as a student becomes able to complete a fractions task independently. This practice illustrates:

  1. Centration
  2. Conservation
  3. Assimilation
  4. Scaffolding Correct answer.

Explanation

Scaffolding is temporary, adjustable support that is faded as competence grows, aligning with Vygotskian theory. The teacher first assists within the zone of proximal development and then removes help. The other options are Piagetian concepts unrelated to graduated assistance.

Question 7Individual development

In Vygotskian theory, private or self-directed speech is thought to:

  1. Reflect cognitive immaturity that should be discouraged
  2. Replace social speech permanently in adulthood
  3. Show that the child has not yet developed language
  4. Become internalised as inner speech that guides thinking Correct answer.

Explanation

Vygotsky viewed self-directed speech as a tool for regulating thought that gradually becomes silent inner speech. This contrasts with Piaget, who saw it as egocentric and immature. It therefore supports rather than signals a deficit in development.

Question 8Individual development

According to Erikson, the central psychosocial task of adolescence is resolving:

  1. Identity versus role confusion Correct answer.
  2. Trust versus mistrust
  3. Industry versus inferiority
  4. Intimacy versus isolation

Explanation

Erikson placed identity versus role confusion in adolescence, when young people integrate their various self-conceptions into a coherent identity. Trust versus mistrust belongs to infancy and industry versus inferiority to middle childhood. Intimacy versus isolation follows in young adulthood.

Question 9Individual development

A seventeen-year-old who has explored several career paths and settled on a coherent sense of who they are has, in Marcia's terms, achieved:

  1. Moratorium
  2. Identity diffusion
  3. Identity foreclosure
  4. Identity achievement Correct answer.

Explanation

Identity achievement follows a period of active exploration and results in commitment to a self-chosen direction. Foreclosure is commitment without exploration, and moratorium is exploration without settled commitment. Diffusion is the absence of both.

Question 10Individual development

In Marcia's identity statuses, which pairing correctly matches a status with its defining features?

  1. Diffusion: commitment without exploration
  2. Achievement: commitment without exploration
  3. Foreclosure: exploration with commitment
  4. Moratorium: exploration without commitment Correct answer.

Explanation

Marcia classified identity statuses by whether a person has explored alternatives and whether they have made commitments. Moratorium combines active exploration with the absence of a firm commitment. The other pairings misalign the two dimensions.

Question 11Individual development

Kohlberg's conventional level of moral reasoning is characterised by:

  1. Upholding social rules and gaining approval Correct answer.
  2. Applying abstract universal principles
  3. Avoiding punishment through obedience
  4. Calculating personal profit and loss

Explanation

At the conventional level, moral judgement is guided by conforming to social expectations, maintaining relationships and upholding legitimate authority. Avoiding punishment belongs to the preconventional level, and universal ethical principles define postconventional reasoning. Personal profit calculation is also preconventional.

Question 12Individual development

A child argues that stealing medicine must be wrong because it breaks the law and would damage trust in the community. Which of Kohlberg's levels does this reasoning reflect?

  1. Amoral
  2. Conventional Correct answer.
  3. Postconventional
  4. Preconventional

Explanation

Reasoning grounded in maintaining social order and the legitimacy of laws indicates the conventional level, specifically the law-and-order orientation. Preconventional reasoning would focus on punishment or personal gain. Postconventional reasoning would weigh principles that may transcend particular laws.

Question 13Individual development

Gilligan's critique of Kohlberg's theory argued that his framework:

  1. Overemphasised early childhood experiences
  2. Privileged justice reasoning over an ethic of care Correct answer.
  3. Ignored the role of cultural learning
  4. Failed to distinguish moral stages

Explanation

Gilligan argued that Kohlberg's stages valued abstract justice and individual rights while undervaluing an ethic of care centred on relationships and responsibility. She claimed this bias disadvantaged perspectives more common among girls. Her critique concerned the content and valuation of moral orientations rather than cultural learning or stage structure.

Question 14Individual development

In attachment theory, a primary caregiver who responds sensitively and consistently to an infant's signals is most likely to foster:

  1. Secure attachment Correct answer.
  2. Disorganised attachment
  3. Ambivalent attachment
  4. Avoidant attachment

Explanation

Sensitive, consistent responsiveness allows the infant to use the caregiver as a secure base and safe haven, producing secure attachment. Insecure patterns are associated with inconsistent, rejecting or frightening caregiving. The quality of early responsiveness is therefore central to attachment classification.

Question 15Individual development

Ainsworth's Strange Situation procedure is designed primarily to assess:

  1. Individual differences in infant attachment quality Correct answer.
  2. The child's vocabulary development
  3. The infant's level of object permanence
  4. The child's stage of moral reasoning

Explanation

The Strange Situation uses brief separations and reunions to observe how infants use the caregiver and how they respond on reunion, classifying attachment quality. It does not measure cognitive attainments like object permanence or language. It is also unrelated to moral reasoning stages.

Question 16Individual development

A toddler shows little distress when the caregiver leaves and ignores the caregiver on return. In the Strange Situation this pattern is classified as:

  1. Disorganised
  2. Insecure-resistant
  3. Secure
  4. Insecure-avoidant Correct answer.

Explanation

The avoidant pattern is marked by minimal separation distress and active avoidance or ignoring of the caregiver at reunion. Secure infants greet the caregiver and are easily comforted. Resistant infants show intense distress and ambivalent contact, while disorganised patterns appear contradictory and confused.

Question 17Individual development

Bronfenbrenner's ecological model places a parent's workplace, which affects family life indirectly, within the:

  1. Microsystem
  2. Exosystem Correct answer.
  3. Macrosystem
  4. Chronosystem

Explanation

The exosystem includes settings the child does not directly participate in but which influence their development through effects on the family, such as a parent's workplace. The microsystem covers direct settings like home and school. The macrosystem is the broader cultural context, and the chronosystem concerns time.

Question 18Individual development

Which of Bronfenbrenner's systems refers to the broader cultural values and laws that shape development?

  1. Exosystem
  2. Macrosystem Correct answer.
  3. Mesosystem
  4. Microsystem

Explanation

The macrosystem is the outermost layer of the ecological model and consists of cultural beliefs, ideologies, laws and economic conditions that shape all inner systems. The microsystem involves direct interactions, the mesosystem links microsystems, and the exosystem covers indirect settings.

Question 19Individual development

A researcher studies the same group of children at ages 5, 10 and 15. This design is:

  1. Longitudinal Correct answer.
  2. Cross-sectional
  3. Correlational
  4. Case study

Explanation

A longitudinal design follows the same participants over time and measures them repeatedly, allowing within-person change to be tracked. A cross-sectional design compares different age groups at one time point. Case studies and correlational designs do not involve repeated measurement of one cohort across years.

Question 20Individual development

One key limitation of cross-sectional developmental research is that it:

  1. Requires participants to be followed for many years
  2. Always involves random assignment to conditions
  3. Confounds age differences with cohort differences Correct answer.
  4. Cannot measure any variable quantitatively

Explanation

Because cross-sectional studies compare different age groups at one time, any difference may reflect the particular generation each group belongs to rather than development itself. This is the cohort effect problem. Longitudinal designs avoid this confound but are costly and slow.

Question 21Individual development

A psychologist asks children of ages 4, 8 and 12 to solve the same set of tasks during a single testing session. This study uses a:

  1. Twin study design
  2. Cross-sectional design Correct answer.
  3. Longitudinal-sequential design
  4. Longitudinal design

Explanation

Testing different age groups once, at the same time, is a cross-sectional design that compares cohorts. Longitudinal designs would retest the same children over years. Twin studies examine genetic influence, and sequential designs combine longitudinal and cross-sectional features.

Question 22Individual development

Bandura's observational learning research demonstrated that children's imitation of aggression was influenced most strongly by:

  1. The child's stage of conservation
  2. The child's level of private speech
  3. The observed consequences for the model Correct answer.
  4. The child's attachment classification

Explanation

Bandura's experiments showed that children were more likely to reproduce aggressive acts when the model was rewarded and less likely when the model was punished, demonstrating vicarious reinforcement. This highlights the role of observed consequences in learning. Conservation, attachment and private speech belong to other theories.

Question 23Individual development

According to Bandura's social cognitive theory, a child is most likely to imitate a model when the model is:

  1. Unfamiliar and punished for the behaviour
  2. High in status and rewarded for the behaviour Correct answer.
  3. Similar in age but ignored by others
  4. Low in status and inconsistent in behaviour

Explanation

Vicarious reinforcement and model characteristics jointly determine imitation: models who are prestigious, similar and successful are more likely to be copied. Reward for the model increases the likelihood that the behaviour is reproduced. Punishment and inconsistency reduce imitation.

Question 24Individual development

Which statement best captures the nature versus nurture debate in developmental psychology?

  1. It concerns whether research should use longitudinal or cross-sectional designs
  2. It concerns whether development occurs in stages or continuously
  3. It concerns whether attachment is measured in the home or laboratory
  4. It concerns the relative contributions of heredity and environment to development Correct answer.

Explanation

The nature-nurture debate addresses how genetic inheritance and environmental experience jointly shape development and in what proportions. The stage-versus-continuity question and research design choices are separate issues. Contemporary views emphasise interaction between heredity and environment rather than a strict dichotomy.

Question 25Individual development

A researcher reports that a developmental finding from a single cultural setting may not generalise elsewhere. This concern is best described as a limit on:

  1. External validity Correct answer.
  2. Internal validity
  3. Test-retest reliability
  4. Inter-rater reliability

Explanation

External validity refers to how far findings can be generalised beyond the specific sample and setting studied, including to other cultures. Internal validity concerns causal inference within the study. Reliability indices concern consistency of measurement rather than generalisability.

Question 26Individual development

Piaget's concept of assimilation refers to the process by which a child:

  1. moves from one developmental stage to the next
  2. interprets new experiences using an existing cognitive schema Correct answer.
  3. imitates the behaviour of an adult model
  4. modifies an existing schema to fit new information

Explanation

Assimilation occurs when incoming information is fitted into a schema the child already possesses, so the new experience is understood in familiar terms. Accommodation, by contrast, involves changing the schema itself. Piaget regarded both as complementary parts of adaptation.

Question 27Individual development

Object permanence, the understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight, is first consolidated during the:

  1. concrete operational stage
  2. formal operational stage
  3. sensorimotor stage Correct answer.
  4. preoperational stage

Explanation

Object permanence develops across the sensorimotor period as infants build mental representations of objects. By the end of this stage, infants search for hidden objects reliably. Later stages build on this foundation rather than establishing it.

Question 28Individual development

Erikson's psychosocial stage of infancy centres on resolving the crisis of:

  1. initiative versus guilt
  2. autonomy versus shame and doubt
  3. industry versus inferiority
  4. trust versus mistrust Correct answer.

Explanation

In Erikson's first stage, infants learn whether the world is reliable through the consistency of caregiving, producing either trust or mistrust. The later crises of autonomy, initiative and industry follow in sequence. Each stage builds on the resolution of earlier ones.

Question 29Individual development

Kohlberg's preconventional level of moral reasoning is characterised by judgements based on:

  1. obedience, punishment and personal reward Correct answer.
  2. abstract principles of justice and human rights
  3. social approval and maintaining relationships
  4. religious doctrine learned from family

Explanation

At the preconventional level, moral judgements are guided by avoiding punishment and securing personal benefit rather than by internalised social standards. Social approval belongs to the conventional level. Abstract principles belong to the postconventional level.

Question 30Individual development

In attachment research, a caregiver who is consistently unresponsive to an infant's signals is most likely to foster which attachment pattern?

  1. Disorganised attachment
  2. Insecure-avoidant attachment Correct answer.
  3. Insecure-resistant attachment
  4. Secure attachment

Explanation

Consistently rejecting or unresponsive caregiving is associated with insecure-avoidant attachment, in which infants learn to suppress attachment signals. Secure attachment follows sensitive responsiveness. Disorganised patterns are linked more to frightened or frightening caregiving.

Question 31Individual development

A researcher compares the memory performance of children aged 6, 9 and 12 in a single testing session. This design is:

  1. case study
  2. correlational
  3. cross-sectional Correct answer.
  4. longitudinal

Explanation

A cross-sectional design compares different age groups at one point in time. It allows quick comparison of ages but confounds age with cohort differences. Longitudinal designs follow the same participants over time instead.

Question 32Individual development

A school introduces a peer-mentoring program in which older students coach younger ones in reading. Using Vygotskian theory, the mentors primarily provide:

  1. opportunities for classical conditioning of reading anxiety
  2. stage-appropriate conservation training
  3. scaffolding within the younger students' zone of proximal development Correct answer.
  4. reinforcement schedules that shape reading fluency

Explanation

Vygotsky argued that learning is advanced when a more capable other supports tasks just beyond the learner's independent reach. The mentors supply this assistance within the zone of proximal development. The concept is social and instructional rather than behavioural conditioning.

Question 33Individual development

A child who once called every four-legged animal a 'dog' now says 'that is a horse' after visiting a farm. In Piagetian terms, the child is demonstrating:

  1. centration
  2. egocentrism
  3. assimilation
  4. accommodation Correct answer.

Explanation

The child is modifying an existing schema to incorporate new information that does not fit, which is accommodation. Assimilation would involve interpreting the horse as a dog to preserve the old schema. Centration and egocentrism concern other features of preoperational thought.

Question 34Individual development

A child watches a classmate receive praise for helping tidy the art room and then begins helping too. According to Bandura's social cognitive theory, this is best explained by:

  1. vicarious reinforcement Correct answer.
  2. operant extinction
  3. classical conditioning
  4. sensorimotor adaptation

Explanation

Observing another person being reinforced increases the likelihood that the observer will imitate the behaviour, which Bandura called vicarious reinforcement. The child did not receive the praise directly. Conditioning and extinction accounts do not involve learning by observing consequences to others.

Question 35Individual development

A student who has not yet committed to a career but is actively comparing options and gathering information is, in Marcia's framework, in:

  1. foreclosure
  2. moratorium Correct answer.
  3. achievement
  4. diffusion

Explanation

Moratorium describes active exploration without a settled commitment, which matches the student's behaviour. Foreclosure involves commitment without exploration. Achievement requires both exploration and commitment to be complete.

Question 36Individual development

A child says a rule must be followed because 'everyone in my class would be upset if I broke it'. This reasoning is most consistent with Kohlberg's:

  1. preconventional level
  2. sensorimotor stage
  3. postconventional level
  4. conventional level Correct answer.

Explanation

Reasoning that emphasises social approval and maintaining group expectations reflects the conventional level, particularly the interpersonal concordance orientation. Preconventional reasoning focuses on punishment and reward. Postconventional reasoning appeals to abstract principles.

Question 37Individual development

A caregiver who sometimes responds warmly and at other times ignores the infant's distress is most likely to produce which pattern in the Strange Situation?

  1. Secure attachment
  2. Insecure-avoidant attachment
  3. Insecure-resistant attachment Correct answer.
  4. No attachment at all

Explanation

Inconsistent caregiving is associated with insecure-resistant attachment, in which infants show intense distress and ambivalence toward the caregiver. Secure attachment requires consistent sensitivity. Avoidant patterns follow consistently rejecting care.

Question 38Individual development

A researcher follows the same children from age 4 to age 14 to track vocabulary growth. This design is:

  1. cross-sectional
  2. correlational
  3. experimental
  4. longitudinal Correct answer.

Explanation

A longitudinal design follows the same participants repeatedly over an extended period, allowing within-person change to be observed. Cross-sectional designs compare different age groups at one time. The design described tracks the same children, so it is longitudinal.

Question 39Individual development

A researcher finds that children in one cultural community rarely show the same attachment behaviours as children in the original Strange Situation sample. This finding most directly highlights the issue of:

  1. demand characteristics
  2. inter-rater reliability
  3. random assignment failure
  4. cultural bias in developmental measures Correct answer.

Explanation

When a measure developed in one cultural setting does not capture behaviour in another, the instrument may reflect cultural assumptions rather than universal processes. This is cultural bias. Random assignment and demand characteristics concern experimental procedure, not the cross-cultural validity of a measure.

Question 40Individual development

A parent's workplace policies that affect how much time the parent can spend with a child are best located, in Bronfenbrenner's model, in the:

  1. macrosystem
  2. chronosystem
  3. exosystem Correct answer.
  4. microsystem

Explanation

The exosystem includes settings that do not directly contain the child but influence the child through their effect on family life, such as a parent's workplace. The microsystem involves settings the child directly participates in. The macrosystem concerns broader cultural patterns.

Question 41Individual development

A researcher concludes that a particular parenting practice causes aggression in children because the two variables are strongly associated in a survey. The main weakness of this conclusion is that:

  1. parenting practices are not observable
  2. correlational data cannot establish causation Correct answer.
  3. the sample size was likely too small
  4. aggression cannot be measured reliably

Explanation

Correlational designs reveal association, not causation, because a third variable or reverse direction of effect may explain the link. Establishing causation requires controlled manipulation or strong longitudinal evidence. The other concerns are not inherent to the design described.

Question 42Individual development

In the nature versus nurture debate, the concept of epigenetics is significant because it shows that:

  1. gene expression can be altered by environmental conditions Correct answer.
  2. heredity and environment cannot interact
  3. environment affects behaviour only after childhood
  4. genes determine behaviour independently of environment

Explanation

Epigenetics describes how environmental factors can influence whether and how genes are expressed, without changing the DNA sequence itself. This demonstrates that heredity and environment interact rather than operate separately. It challenges purely genetic or purely environmental explanations.

Question 43Individual development

A child in the preoperational stage insists that a tall narrow glass holds more water than a short wide glass containing the same amount. This error best illustrates:

  1. centration on a single perceptual dimension Correct answer.
  2. inability to use private speech
  3. failure of object permanence
  4. lack of hypothetical reasoning

Explanation

The child is focusing on the height of the liquid and ignoring its width, which is centration. This is characteristic of preoperational thought and explains the failure to conserve. Object permanence and hypothetical reasoning concern different stages.

Question 44Individual development

A teacher wants to support a student's development according to Vygotsky rather than Piaget. The most appropriate strategy would be to:

  1. allow the student to discover concepts without any adult input
  2. focus on drill and repetition of already mastered skills
  3. wait until the student reaches the next stage before introducing new tasks
  4. provide guided assistance on tasks just beyond the student's current independent ability Correct answer.

Explanation

Vygotsky emphasised social guidance within the zone of proximal development, so tasks slightly beyond independent ability with support are most appropriate. Waiting for stage readiness reflects Piaget's maturational view. Discovery without input and repetitive drill do not reflect Vygotskian principles.

Question 45Individual development

Two researchers disagree about whether a child's moral reasoning is at the conventional level. Which methodological issue in Kohlberg's approach is most relevant to this disagreement?

  1. Moral reasoning cannot be assessed in children at all
  2. Judgements may be classified differently depending on how responses are probed and scored Correct answer.
  3. Preconventional reasoning is rarely observed
  4. The stages apply only to non-Western cultures

Explanation

Kohlberg's stage scoring depends on how dilemmas are presented and how responses are interpreted, so classifications can vary between raters or probing methods. This raises reliability and validity concerns. The other statements misrepresent the scope and findings of the theory.

Question 46Individual development

An infant shows a securely attached pattern at 12 months, and the same child shows a secure pattern at 24 months. This consistency is most relevant to which property of attachment classification?

  1. Internal consistency of questionnaire items
  2. Stability of individual differences over time Correct answer.
  3. Construct validity of the Strange Situation
  4. Inter-rater reliability of coders

Explanation

Consistency of classification across time speaks to the stability of individual differences in attachment. Inter-rater reliability concerns agreement between observers at one time. Construct validity concerns whether the measure captures attachment rather than something else.

Question 47Individual development

A developmental psychologist argues that findings from a longitudinal study are limited because participants were drawn from one socioeconomic group. This concern is best described as a threat to:

  1. test-retest reliability
  2. external validity Correct answer.
  3. inter-rater reliability
  4. internal validity

Explanation

External validity concerns the extent to which findings generalise beyond the sample and setting studied. A narrow socioeconomic sample limits generalisation. Internal validity concerns causal inference within the study, and reliability concerns consistency of measurement.

Question 48Individual development

A student who has committed to a career without any exploration, largely adopting a parent's plan, is in Marcia's status of:

  1. foreclosure Correct answer.
  2. diffusion
  3. moratorium
  4. achievement

Explanation

Foreclosure describes commitment adopted without exploration, often by taking on values or plans supplied by others, such as a parent. Moratorium involves exploration without commitment. Achievement requires both exploration and commitment.

Question 49Individual development

According to Piaget, during which stage does a child first become able to understand that a quantity of liquid stays the same when it is poured into a differently shaped container?

  1. The concrete operational stage Correct answer.
  2. The formal operational stage
  3. The preoperational stage
  4. The sensorimotor stage

Explanation

Conservation is the understanding that quantity is unchanged by changes in appearance, and Piaget placed its emergence in the concrete operational stage, roughly ages seven to eleven. Before this, preoperational children are typically fooled by perceptual features such as the height of the liquid. Formal operational thought involves abstract hypothetical reasoning rather than basic conservation.

Question 50Individual development

A 15-year-old begins volunteering at an aged-care home after deciding that caring for vulnerable people matters deeply to her, even though none of her friends do this and her parents did not suggest it. Using Marcia's identity framework, this best illustrates:

  1. Identity diffusion, because she has not yet considered any options
  2. Identity achievement, because exploration has led to a personal commitment Correct answer.
  3. Moratorium, because she is still actively comparing alternatives
  4. Foreclosure, because she has adopted values from the adults around her

Explanation

Identity achievement combines prior exploration with a firm commitment to personally chosen values and roles. The teenager has weighed what matters to her and committed to an activity independent of peer or parental pressure. The key marker is that the commitment follows her own exploration rather than being borrowed or still undecided.