A car's warning chime stops the moment a teenager buckles his seat belt, and he now buckles up sooner. In operant conditioning, what is the ending of the chime?Wikipedia, "Reinforcement". College Board outline: Theoretical Perspectives (10%), learning
A four-year-old sees her brother praised for clearing the table, and the next night she clears her own plate. Which theory explains this by her having watched someone else?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 1.7 "Contemporary Theories on Development". College Board outline: Theoretical Perspectives (10%), social cognitive
A mother's employer cuts her hours, and the tighter family budget ends her son's music lessons. In Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, her workplace belongs to which of the boy's systems?Wikipedia, "Ecological systems theory". College Board outline: Theoretical Perspectives (10%), ecological
A theorist holds that children's thinking advances in distinct steps, each different in kind from the one before, and not by slow gradual gain. Which side of a classic developmental issue is this?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 1.5 "Issues in Lifespan Development". College Board outline: Theoretical Perspectives (10%), cognitive developmental
In Freud's structural model, which part of the personality works by the reality principle, meeting the id's demands in ways that fit reality?Wikipedia, "Id, ego and superego". College Board outline: Theoretical Perspectives (10%), psychodynamic
Konrad Lorenz found that newly hatched geese follow the first suitable moving thing they see within hours of hatching. What is this rapid, time-limited learning called?Wikipedia, "Imprinting (psychology)". College Board outline: Theoretical Perspectives (10%), evolutionary
Show all 60 questions (54 more)
Research methods 4
A study starts with groups aged 5, 8 and 11 and retests all three groups every two years. Which research design is this?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 1.9 "Research Involving Time-Spans". College Board outline: Research Strategies and Methodology (6%), cross sequential
A survey finds that children who are read to more at home have larger vocabularies. What may the researcher conclude from this correlation alone?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 1.8 "Research Methods". College Board outline: Research Strategies and Methodology (6%), correlational
On one day a researcher tests groups of 20-, 40- and 60-year-olds and finds the oldest group least at ease with new technology. Why can she not conclude that aging itself caused the difference?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 1.9 "Research Involving Time-Spans". College Board outline: Research Strategies and Methodology (6%), cross sectional
To test a memory game, a researcher randomly gives half a class the game and the other half a puzzle, then tests everyone's recall. What is the recall score?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 1.8 "Research Methods". College Board outline: Research Strategies and Methodology (6%), experimental
Biological development 7
A person has three copies of chromosome 21 in place of the usual two. Which condition results?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 2.4 "Chromosomal Abnormalities". College Board outline: Biological Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), genetic disorders
A woman inherits one gene for a recessive disorder and one typical gene, and she shows no sign of the disorder. Which terms name, in order, the genes she inherited and the traits she actually shows?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 2.2 "Genotypes and Phenotypes". College Board outline: Biological Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), heredity, genetics, and genetic testing
An infant controls her head before her trunk, and her trunk before her legs. Which principle of development does this order follow?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 3.3 "From Reflexes to Voluntary Movements". College Board outline: Biological Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), motor development
In which prenatal period do the major structures of the body take form, so that harmful substances can do the greatest damage?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 2.6 "Prenatal Development". College Board outline: Biological Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), prenatal influences
What is the name for the midlife transition in which fertility declines?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 8.5 "Climacteric". College Board outline: Biological Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), physical growth and maturation; aging
Which change of puberty is a primary sexual characteristic?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 6.1 "Growth in Adolescence". College Board outline: Biological Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), sexual maturation
Why can the same teratogen damage different body structures in different pregnancies?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 2.7 "Tetratogens". College Board outline: Biological Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), teratogens
Perceptual development 4
A 72-year-old finds it a little harder each year to follow conversations, in both ears. Which common change of late adulthood is this?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 9.5 "Physical Changes of Aging". College Board outline: Perceptual Development Throughout the Life Span (6%), sensory acuity
About how far from the face can a newborn typically see?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 3.4 "Sensory Capabilities". College Board outline: Perceptual Development Throughout the Life Span (6%), sensory acuity
An infant stares at a new picture, looks less each time it is shown again, then stares anew when the picture changes. Which process are researchers measuring?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 3.4 "Sensory Capabilities". College Board outline: Perceptual Development Throughout the Life Span (6%), habituation
Hubel and Wiesel kept one eye of young kittens closed for their first three months. Full vision developed only in the open eye. What does this result support?Wikipedia, "Critical period". College Board outline: Perceptual Development Throughout the Life Span (6%), sensitive periods; sensory deprivation
Cognitive development 7
A 14-year-old will not go to school with a small pimple because, he says, everyone will stare at it. Which feature of adolescent egocentrism is this?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 6.6 "Cognitive Development in Adolescence". College Board outline: Cognitive Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), thinking
A father sorts the edge pieces to help his daughter start a jigsaw, then helps less as she improves. What is this temporary support called in Vygotsky's theory?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 4.9 "Vygotskys Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development". College Board outline: Cognitive Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural theory
A young infant plays with a toy, but when a blanket is dropped over it he does not search for it. According to Piaget, what has he not yet developed?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 3.6 "Piaget and the Sensorimotor Stage". College Board outline: Cognitive Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), Jean Piaget's cognitive development theory
In a noisy classroom a child follows her teacher's voice and ignores the chatter around her. Which kind of attention is she using?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 4.11 "Attention". College Board outline: Cognitive Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), attention
Most adults cannot recall events from their first few years of life. What is this called?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 3.7 "Infant Memory". College Board outline: Cognitive Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), memory
Water is poured from a short, wide glass into a tall, thin one, and a four-year-old says there is now more because the level is higher. What does her focus on height alone show?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 4.8 "Cognitive Development in Early Childhood". College Board outline: Cognitive Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), Jean Piaget's cognitive development theory
Which ability marks dialectical thought, among the most advanced forms of postformal thinking?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 7.7 "Cognitive Development in Emerging and Early Adulthood". College Board outline: Cognitive Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), problem solving and planning
Language development 5
A 13-month-old says only 'juice' to mean that she wants more juice. What are one-word expressions like this called?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 3.8 "Language". College Board outline: Language Development (8%), semantic development
A child knows to take turns in conversation, stay on topic and lower her voice in a library. Which part of language is this?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 3.8 "Language". College Board outline: Language Development (8%), pragmatics
A child says 'two foots' and 'he runned', forms she has never heard an adult use. What do these errors show?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 4.15 "Language Development". College Board outline: Language Development (8%), development of syntax
Adults tend to talk to babies in a high-pitched voice, with exaggerated sounds and lively facial expression. What is this way of talking called?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 3.8 "Language". College Board outline: Language Development (8%), vocalization and sound
Which theorist argued that the human brain contains a language acquisition device with a universal grammar common to every human language?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 3.8 "Language". College Board outline: Language Development (8%), environmental, cultural, and genetic influences
Intelligence 4
A 60-year-old beats her 25-year-old grandson on a vocabulary and general-knowledge test but is slower at unfamiliar timed puzzles. Which ability gives her the advantage?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 8.6 "Brain Functioning". College Board outline: Intelligence Throughout the Life Span (6%), developmental stability and change
IQ scores have a standard deviation of about 15. Which score is often used as the threshold for giftedness?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 5.8 "Measuring Intelligence - Standardization and the Intelligence Quotient". College Board outline: Intelligence Throughout the Life Span (6%), giftedness
Mia earns average marks at school but is known for common sense and street smarts in everyday problems. Which intelligence in Sternberg's triarchic theory is her strength?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 5.7 "Theories of Intelligence". College Board outline: Intelligence Throughout the Life Span (6%), concepts of intelligence and creativity
Scores on intelligence tests rose substantially around the world over past decades. What is this rise called?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 5.8 "Measuring Intelligence - Standardization and the Intelligence Quotient". College Board outline: Intelligence Throughout the Life Span (6%), intelligence tests
Social development 7
A girl gets back at a classmate by spreading rumors about her and telling others not to sit with her. Which kind of aggression is this?Wikipedia, "Relational aggression". College Board outline: Social Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), aggression
An 80-year-old lets casual acquaintances drift away and gives her time to a few emotionally close relatives and friends. Which theory predicts this narrowing?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 9.19 "Social Networks in Late Adulthood". College Board outline: Social Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), interpersonal relationships
Asked why stealing is wrong, a child answers, 'Because you get punished.' At which of Kohlberg's levels is this reasoning?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 5.12 "Kohlbergs Stages of Moral Development". College Board outline: Social Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), moral development
From parents, peers and what they observe in society, young children form their own ideas of the attributes that go with being male or female. What are these ideas called?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 4.19 "Gender". College Board outline: Social Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), gender
In the Strange Situation a toddler shows little emotion when his mother leaves and ignores her when she returns. Which attachment style is this?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 3.10 "Forming Attachments". College Board outline: Social Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), attachment
Leo has always said he will be a dentist like his mother and has never looked at any other path. Which of Marcia's identity statuses is this?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 6.10 "Psychological Development in Adolescence". College Board outline: Social Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), self
Sally leaves after putting her ball in a basket. Anne moves it to a box. A child who says that Sally will look in the basket is showing what?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 4.14 "Children's Understanding of the World". College Board outline: Social Development Throughout the Life Span (12%), social cognition
Family, home and society 5
A 48-year-old helps care for her 80-year-old father while supporting her two grown children. Which group does she belong to?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 8.13 "Midlife Relationships". College Board outline: Family, Home, and Society Throughout the Life Span (8%), family relationships
A man who is terminally ill asks only to live long enough to see his daughter graduate. Which of Kübler-Ross's five stages of loss is this?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 10.10 "Grief Bereavement and Mourning". College Board outline: Family, Home, and Society Throughout the Life Span (8%), death and dying
At a parent-teacher conference, a child's home and school come into contact. In Bronfenbrenner's theory, which system is made of such links between a child's immediate settings?Wikipedia, "Ecological systems theory". College Board outline: Family, Home, and Society Throughout the Life Span (8%), Bronfenbrenner, Urie
Two parents hold high but reasonable expectations, explain their rules with reasoning and stay warm and responsive. Which of Baumrind's parenting styles is this?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 4.20 "Parenting Styles". College Board outline: Family, Home, and Society Throughout the Life Span (8%), parenting styles
What must be true before a patient can enter hospice care?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 10.5 "Curative Palliative and Hospice Care". College Board outline: Family, Home, and Society Throughout the Life Span (8%), death and dying
Personality and emotion 5
A 50-year-old coaches youth soccer and mentors younger coworkers, wanting to care for the next generation. Which of Erikson's stages is she in?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 8.12 "Erikson- Generativity vs Stagnation". College Board outline: Personality and Emotion (8%), Erikson, Erik
A baby is not very active, adapts slowly to change and is often in a bad mood. How did Chess and Thomas classify such a child?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 3.9 "Psychosociological Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood". College Board outline: Personality and Emotion (8%), temperament
A crawling baby meets an unfamiliar toy, looks at her mother's face, sees a smile and then reaches for it. What is this use of another person's reaction called?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 3.9 "Psychosociological Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood". College Board outline: Personality and Emotion (8%), development of emotions
After one failed test a student decides the cause lies in himself, will never change and will spoil everything he tries. Which explanatory style is this?Wikipedia, "Explanatory style". College Board outline: Personality and Emotion (8%), attribution styles
Researchers put a spot of rouge on a toddler's nose and place her before a mirror. She touches her own nose, not the reflection. What has she developed?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 3.9 "Psychosociological Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood". College Board outline: Personality and Emotion (8%), development of emotions
Schooling, work and interventions 3
A new retiree spends her first months traveling and doing what she could not do while working. Which of Atchley's phases of retirement is this?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 9.14 "Work and Retirement". College Board outline: Schooling, Work, and Interventions (6%), retirement
Head Start began in 1965. Whom was it set up to serve?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 4.16 "Preschool". College Board outline: Schooling, Work, and Interventions (6%), intervention programs and services
In Holland's theory of vocational types, which type is described as the persuaders?Wikipedia, "Holland Codes". College Board outline: Schooling, Work, and Interventions (6%), occupational development
Developmental psychopathology 3
Autism spectrum disorder involves deficits in social interaction and in communication. Which other feature is part of the picture?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 4.17 "Autism Spectrum Disorder". College Board outline: Developmental Psychopathology (6%), autism spectrum disorders
Which form of dementia is the most common diagnosis among older adults?National Institute on Aging, "What Is Dementia? Symptoms, Types, and Diagnosis". College Board outline: Developmental Psychopathology (6%), cognitive disorders, including dementia
Which learning disability, one of the most commonly diagnosed, involves difficulty in the area of reading?Lally and Valentine-French, Lifespan Development, 2nd edition, section 5.10 "Children with Learning Disabilities". College Board outline: Developmental Psychopathology (6%), learning disabilities
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the College Board's published outline of the CLEP Human Growth and Development exam (https://clep.collegeboard.org/clep-exams/human-growth-development, read 2026-10-11): Theoretical Perspectives 10%; Research Strategies and Methodology 6%; Biological Development Throughout the Life Span 12%; Perceptual Development Throughout the Life Span 6%; Cognitive Development Throughout the Life Span 12%; Language Development 8%; Intelligence Throughout the Life Span 6%; Social Development Throughout the Life Span 12%; Family, Home, and Society Throughout the Life Span 8%; Personality and Emotion 8%; Schooling, Work, and Interventions 6%; Developmental Psychopathology 6%. The bank holds 6, 4, 7, 4, 7, 5, 4, 7, 5, 5, 3, 3 questions on them. Every fact was read on 2026-10-11 in the public page the question names: M. Lally and S. Valentine-French, Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective, 2nd edition, College of Lake County, Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0, in the LibreTexts copy (https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Psychology/Developmental_Psychology/Lifespan_Development_-_A_Psychological_Perspective_2e_(Lally_and_Valentine-French)) (50 questions); Wikipedia articles on Freud's structural model, ecological systems theory, imprinting, reinforcement, critical periods, relational aggression, explanatory style and Holland's types (9); and the National Institute on Aging's page What Is Dementia? (1). Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
Practice for the Human Growth and Development exam with 60 questions of our own, spread over the outline's twelve topics. This free CLEP Human Growth and Development practice test is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the College Board.
Read the full guide
Twelve topics and their weights
The College Board's exam page, read October 11, 2026, lists theoretical perspectives (10%), research methods (6%), biological (12%), perceptual (6%), cognitive (12%) and language development (8%), intelligence (6%), social development (12%), family, home and society (8%), personality and emotion (8%), schooling, work and interventions (6%) and developmental psychopathology (6%).
Timing
Exam mode asks 60 questions in 60 minutes, the real exam's pace of a minute a question.
Where the answers come from
Each explanation names its source: Lally and Valentine-French's open textbook Lifespan Development, a Wikipedia article, or the National Institute on Aging.
The exam keeps to the terminology, criteria and classifications of DSM-5, the College Board says.
The outline asks for knowledge applied to particular situations, so most questions here are short cases about a child, a teen or an adult.
Questions and answers
Is this human growth and development CLEP practice test free?
Yes. Every question, explanation, timed round and printed test on this page is free, with no account. Answers and the missed pile are kept only in your browser.
What does the Human Growth and Development CLEP cover?
Infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and aging, at the level of a one-semester beginners' course in human development or developmental psychology: the major theories and research on physical, cognitive and social development, and how to apply them.
How many questions are on the CLEP Human Growth and Development exam?
About 90, to be answered in 90 minutes, the College Board's exam page says. Some are pretest questions that are not scored.
Is this CLEP practice test for Human Growth and Development the real exam?
No. Every question is our own, written from the published outline and a named public source. None is copied or reworded from a real exam or an official sample question, so a score here is only a count of right answers.
What score earns credit on the CLEP Human Growth and Development exam?
A 50, on a scale that runs from 20 to 80, is the score at which the American Council on Education recommends 3 semester hours. Your college decides its own credit-granting score, so ask it first.