Test Bank for Development Throughout the Lifespan 7th Edition By Berk
CHAPTER 16
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN MIDDLE ADULTHOOD
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Jennifer, age 45, is a Girl Scout leader. She really enjoys giving to and guiding the next generation.
According to Erikson, Jennifer has developed a sense of .
A) autonomy
B) intimacy
C) stagnation
D) generativity
Answer: D
Page Ref: 538
Skill Level: Apply
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Difficult
2. Martin, age 47, is single and has no children. Which of Martin’s activities reflects generativity?
A) He works out at the gym three evenings a week and runs every night.
B) He attends worship services two times per week and participates in a bible study group.
C) He volunteers at the YMCA as a coach and as a ―big brother‖ to preadolescent boys.
D) He participates in community theater and starred in a local production of Guys and Dolls.
Answer: C
Page Ref: 538–539
Skill Level: Apply
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Difficult
3. Childless middle-aged adults .
A) become generative as mentors in the workplace, community volunteers, or in family relationships
B) become stagnant because the primary means of realizing generativity is through parenting a child
C) are likely to become stagnant because they are not making contributions that will survive death
D) are likely to become generative because they have time to focus on what they can get from others
Answer: A
Page Ref: 538–539
Skill Level: Understand
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
4. The negative outcome of Erikson’s midlife stage, stagnation, focuses on .
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved. 1
,Test Bank for Berk, Development Through the Lifespan, 7e
A) role confusion
B) selflessness
C) self-indulgence
D) guilt and shame
Answer: C
Page Ref: 539
Skill Level: Understand
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Easy
5. Adults with a sense of stagnation may express their self-absorption through .
A) a focus on what they can give to others
B) taking little interest in being productive at work
C) a focus on their own children and grandchildren
D) taking interest in young people in their community
Answer: B
Page Ref: 539
Skill Level: Apply
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
6. Highly generative people appear especially .
A) high in anxiety
B) low in autonomy
C) low in self-acceptance
D) well-adjusted
Answer: D
Page Ref: 539
Skill Level: Understand
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
7. Which parent is most likely to be generative?
A) Harlan, who is authoritarian
B) Liberty, who is uninvolved
C) Princess, who is authoritative
D) Seth, who is permissive
Answer: C
Page Ref: 539
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved. 2
,Test Bank for Berk, Development Through the Lifespan, 7e
Skill Level: Apply
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
8. Which statement about generativity and stagnation is true?
A) Childless men score higher in generativity and lower in stagnation than men with children.
B) Among well-educated women, those with children express greater generative concerns.
C) Generativity is rare among low-SES fathers with troubled pasts as sons, students, and intimate partners.
D) Stagnation is associated with more involvement in political activities, including voting and
campaigning.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 539
Skill Level: Understand
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
9. Narratives of highly generative people .
A) usually contain commitment stories
B) often contain themes of contamination
C) often involve stories in which good scenes turn bad
D) typically do not involve any negative life events
Answer: A
Page Ref: 540 Box: SOCIAL ISSUES: HEALTH: Generative Adults Tell Their Life Stories
Skill Level: Understand
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
10. When asked to relate her life story, 50-year-old Carlita told about how she was bullied in high school
as an overweight teen. After dieting routinely for many years, she finally lost 65 pounds in her thirties.
Carlita noted that she received a lot of encouragement and numerous compliments, but she could not
overcome her low self-esteem. Carlita’s life story includes a theme of .
A) invincibility
B) reward
C) contamination
D) redemption
Answer: C
Page Ref: 540 Box: SOCIAL ISSUES: HEALTH: Generative Adults Tell Their Life Stories
Skill Level: Apply
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved. 3
, Test Bank for Berk, Development Through the Lifespan, 7e
Difficulty Level: Difficult
11. Especially in individualistic societies, may help preserve generative commitments.
A) gang membership
B) focusing on career development
C) belonging to a religious community
D) moving away from extended family
Answer: C
Page Ref: 541
Skill Level: Understand
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
12. According to Levinson, middle adulthood begins with a .
A) transitional period
B) stable period
C) significant crisis
D) dream
Answer: A
Page Ref: 541
Skill Level: Remember
Objective: 16.2 Describe Levinson’s and Vaillant’s views of psychosocial development in middle
adulthood, and discuss similarities and differences between men and women.
Topic: Other Theories of Psychosocial Development in Midlife
Difficulty Level: Easy
13. Betty just celebrated her fiftieth birthday. She marked the occasion by taking hang-gliding lessons and
purchasing a more mature wardrobe. According to Levinson, Betty is engaged in which developmental
task?
A) young–old
B) destruction–creation
C) masculinity–femininity
D) engagement–separateness
Answer: A
Page Ref: 541
Skill Level: Apply
Objective: 16.2 Describe Levinson’s and Vaillant’s views of psychosocial development in middle
adulthood, and discuss similarities and differences between men and women.
Topic: Other Theories of Psychosocial Development in Midlife
Difficulty Level: Difficult
14. Which middle-aged man is likely to be highly sensitive about the physical changes of aging?
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved. 4
CHAPTER 16
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN MIDDLE ADULTHOOD
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Jennifer, age 45, is a Girl Scout leader. She really enjoys giving to and guiding the next generation.
According to Erikson, Jennifer has developed a sense of .
A) autonomy
B) intimacy
C) stagnation
D) generativity
Answer: D
Page Ref: 538
Skill Level: Apply
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Difficult
2. Martin, age 47, is single and has no children. Which of Martin’s activities reflects generativity?
A) He works out at the gym three evenings a week and runs every night.
B) He attends worship services two times per week and participates in a bible study group.
C) He volunteers at the YMCA as a coach and as a ―big brother‖ to preadolescent boys.
D) He participates in community theater and starred in a local production of Guys and Dolls.
Answer: C
Page Ref: 538–539
Skill Level: Apply
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Difficult
3. Childless middle-aged adults .
A) become generative as mentors in the workplace, community volunteers, or in family relationships
B) become stagnant because the primary means of realizing generativity is through parenting a child
C) are likely to become stagnant because they are not making contributions that will survive death
D) are likely to become generative because they have time to focus on what they can get from others
Answer: A
Page Ref: 538–539
Skill Level: Understand
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
4. The negative outcome of Erikson’s midlife stage, stagnation, focuses on .
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved. 1
,Test Bank for Berk, Development Through the Lifespan, 7e
A) role confusion
B) selflessness
C) self-indulgence
D) guilt and shame
Answer: C
Page Ref: 539
Skill Level: Understand
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Easy
5. Adults with a sense of stagnation may express their self-absorption through .
A) a focus on what they can give to others
B) taking little interest in being productive at work
C) a focus on their own children and grandchildren
D) taking interest in young people in their community
Answer: B
Page Ref: 539
Skill Level: Apply
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
6. Highly generative people appear especially .
A) high in anxiety
B) low in autonomy
C) low in self-acceptance
D) well-adjusted
Answer: D
Page Ref: 539
Skill Level: Understand
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
7. Which parent is most likely to be generative?
A) Harlan, who is authoritarian
B) Liberty, who is uninvolved
C) Princess, who is authoritative
D) Seth, who is permissive
Answer: C
Page Ref: 539
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved. 2
,Test Bank for Berk, Development Through the Lifespan, 7e
Skill Level: Apply
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
8. Which statement about generativity and stagnation is true?
A) Childless men score higher in generativity and lower in stagnation than men with children.
B) Among well-educated women, those with children express greater generative concerns.
C) Generativity is rare among low-SES fathers with troubled pasts as sons, students, and intimate partners.
D) Stagnation is associated with more involvement in political activities, including voting and
campaigning.
Answer: B
Page Ref: 539
Skill Level: Understand
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
9. Narratives of highly generative people .
A) usually contain commitment stories
B) often contain themes of contamination
C) often involve stories in which good scenes turn bad
D) typically do not involve any negative life events
Answer: A
Page Ref: 540 Box: SOCIAL ISSUES: HEALTH: Generative Adults Tell Their Life Stories
Skill Level: Understand
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
10. When asked to relate her life story, 50-year-old Carlita told about how she was bullied in high school
as an overweight teen. After dieting routinely for many years, she finally lost 65 pounds in her thirties.
Carlita noted that she received a lot of encouragement and numerous compliments, but she could not
overcome her low self-esteem. Carlita’s life story includes a theme of .
A) invincibility
B) reward
C) contamination
D) redemption
Answer: C
Page Ref: 540 Box: SOCIAL ISSUES: HEALTH: Generative Adults Tell Their Life Stories
Skill Level: Apply
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved. 3
, Test Bank for Berk, Development Through the Lifespan, 7e
Difficulty Level: Difficult
11. Especially in individualistic societies, may help preserve generative commitments.
A) gang membership
B) focusing on career development
C) belonging to a religious community
D) moving away from extended family
Answer: C
Page Ref: 541
Skill Level: Understand
Objective: 16.1 According to Erikson, how does personality change in middle age?
Topic: Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation
Difficulty Level: Moderate
12. According to Levinson, middle adulthood begins with a .
A) transitional period
B) stable period
C) significant crisis
D) dream
Answer: A
Page Ref: 541
Skill Level: Remember
Objective: 16.2 Describe Levinson’s and Vaillant’s views of psychosocial development in middle
adulthood, and discuss similarities and differences between men and women.
Topic: Other Theories of Psychosocial Development in Midlife
Difficulty Level: Easy
13. Betty just celebrated her fiftieth birthday. She marked the occasion by taking hang-gliding lessons and
purchasing a more mature wardrobe. According to Levinson, Betty is engaged in which developmental
task?
A) young–old
B) destruction–creation
C) masculinity–femininity
D) engagement–separateness
Answer: A
Page Ref: 541
Skill Level: Apply
Objective: 16.2 Describe Levinson’s and Vaillant’s views of psychosocial development in middle
adulthood, and discuss similarities and differences between men and women.
Topic: Other Theories of Psychosocial Development in Midlife
Difficulty Level: Difficult
14. Which middle-aged man is likely to be highly sensitive about the physical changes of aging?
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved. 4
