Developmental Theory to Know for the Social Work Exam

It seems that straightforward knowledge questions have been phased out of the social work licensing exam over time. You're not likely to see something asking, "The areas in Freud's tripartite theory of personality are:" Too dry, simple, and unsocialworky to make it onto the test. (You know the answer: Superego, Ego, Id.) Be less surprised to see vignettes that draw upon your understanding of various theories, while also testing your basic social work grounding. "A mother brings her 8-year-old to see a social worker reporting [some difficult, upsetting controversial, or otherwise heartbreaking symptom]. A social worker using attachment theory is MOST likely to see these symptoms as:" You've had to weather the impact of the symptoms, keep your eye on what's being asked, and, as a bonus, know something about attachment theory. Answer enough of those correctly, and you're a licensed social worker! Toward that end, here's Wikipedia's list of developmental psychology theories (from the page about developmental psychology, naturally). To lightly review:

• Attachment theory
• Constructivism
• Ecological systems theory
• Psychosexual development
• Stages of moral development
• Stages of psychosocial development
• Theories of cognitive development
• Stages based on the model of hierarchical complexity
• Zone of proximal development
• Evolutionary developmental psychology

It's worth restating here that light review is what's called for. You will not be expected to have deep knowledge about all of the above. The ASWB exam is designed to assess beginning social workers, not PhD candidates (and not psychologists). Adjust your study intensity appropriately. Good luck!