Deck 3: Age-Level Characteristics

Question 1

In the elementary grades, gender differences in motor skill performance

A) are no longer apparent because children are more androgynous than they were in the 1950s.
B) should be acknowledged and reinforced because they allow young children to form more stable self-concepts.
C) have been magnified in recent years because girls are encouraged to participate in competitive sports.
D) are small in magnitude and may reflect gender-role stereotyping.

Answer 1

are small in magnitude and may reflect gender-role stereotyping.

Question 2

Four-year-old Gina was unusual among her age-mates because she was able to

A) thread a needle.
B) climb a jungle gym.
C) recognize most of her letters.
D) engage in rough-and-tumble play.

Answer 2

thread a needle.

Question 3

An elementary-age child who seems to waste time in class rather than working to complete assignments should be

A) ignored and allowed to suffer the consequences.
B) provided with a tutor so that the child can catch up.
C) admonished in front of the class for not keeping up with the assignments.
D) praised or given a small reward whenever he or she does complete an assignment.

Answer 3

praised or given a small reward whenever he or she does complete an assignment.

Question 4

A second grader is typically uncomfortable with

A) rules that must be followed without exception.
B) teachers who feel a need to repeat rules several times.
C) changing rules as the need arises.
D) having to follow the same rules all the time.

Question 5

Researchers who study the play patterns of preschool and kindergarten children have noted that

A) children of this age do not really play at all because of their egocentric tendencies.
B) because of egocentrism, children of this age engage in one type of play activity over and over.
C) young children are capable of engaging in many different types of play.
D) children's play activities should be limited since they do not make much of a contribution to children's social, emotional, and cognitive development.

Question 6

A child who first realizes that learning is easier when words or ideas that belong to the same category are grouped together or that generating a visual image of a word makes it easier to recall is most likely to be at what grade level?

A) preschool/kindergarten
B) primary grades
C) elementary grades
D) middle school

Question 7

One way to encourage a sense of industry in an elementary school child who consistently fails to complete homework assignments is to

A) gently admonish the child in front of the class that homework assignments need to be taken seriously.
B) provide praise or a small reward when the child does finish assignments on time.
C) suggest that the child rely on classmates to help with the assignments.
D) ignore the problem and let the child suffer the consequences.

Question 8

Assume that you are a preschool or kindergarten teacher and would like to help your students more accurately assess their capability for performing particular tasks. You consult Chapter 3 of Psychology Applied to Teaching and decide on the basis of the research findings summarized there that you should

A) create a relatively unstructured classroom that emphasizes free play.
B) allow your students to perform the task several times so they can compare their prior performance to the most recent one.
C) ignore the issue until the children are older and in Piaget's concrete operational stage of cognitive development.
D) have your students compare their performance to that of a peer who has done the task correctly.

Question 9

Which of the following statements concerning children's play activity in preschool and kindergarten is generally supported by research?

A) Young children show little interest in play activities.
B) Free play contributes to young children's social, emotional, and cognitive development.
C) Time devoted to free play activities should be limited since they provide no noticeable academic benefits.
D) Young children's play activities should be structured and supervised by adults since children engage in the same type of play over and over.

Question 10

When five-year-old Mikey brought his brand-new crane to preschool, which of the following most likely occurred?

A) The preschool girls wanted to learn about cranes and how they are used.
B) The other boys were not particularly interested in playing with the crane.
C) The other boys wanted to play with Mikey and were very interested in his new crane.
D) Both the boys and the girls in his class wanted to play with him because gender-based differences in toy preferences are not apparent at such young ages.

Question 11

A four- or five-year-old child who has begun to develop a theory of mind

A) understands that people's behavior is a reflection of their beliefs about the world.
B) can engage in abstract thinking.
C) understands what it means to mind one's manners.
D) is intellectually advanced and a candidate for a gifted and talented class.

Question 12

Why should primary grade teachers use books featuring large type?

A) Young children are attracted to contrasts between small and large objects.
B) Young children have difficulty focusing on small print.
C) Large print helps hold the children's attention.
D) Young children respond better to vivid stimuli.

Question 13

Third grade is a time when

A) most children have not yet developed a high degree of motor control.
B) children finally have the necessary stamina to get through a day of school with minimal rest periods.
C) children's penmanship becomes more like adults'.
D) children are likely to get hurt because they become overconfident in their physical skills.

Question 14

Which of the following statements by a teacher is most likely to cause primary grade children to become upset?

A) After I explain these rules, I want you to follow them all the time.
B) Let's go over the rules of this game one more time.
C) Let's follow the same procedure we always follow.
D) Since we don't have much time left, let's change the rule about waiting.

Question 15

Which of the following statements would be consistent with research on gender differences in children's motor skill performance in the primary grades?

A) Girls are slightly better broad jumpers than boys.
B) Boys, on the average, have better balance and are more flexible than girls.
C) Girls tend to surpass boys on tasks that involve rhythmic movements.
D) Boys are slightly better than girls on tasks involving batting and throwing, but girls can run a lot faster.

Question 16

By fifth and sixth grades, children are often likely to

A) imitate their parents in manner of dress.
B) demonstrate their growing need for independence by assuming behaviors similar to those of their friends.
C) be concerned about what their teachers think of them.
D) demonstrate emerging formal operational thought.

Question 17

A four- or five-year-old child who understands that people's behavior is a reflection of their beliefs about the world

A) is intellectually advanced and a candidate for a gifted and talented class.
B) has begun to develop a theory of mind.
C) understands what it means to mind one's manners.
D) is capable of abstract thinking.

Question 18

One reason that today's preschool teachers don't emphasize to their children that they must color within the lines of a coloring book (as teachers did a generation ago) is that

A) it is considered creative to color outside the lines.
B) large-muscle control is necessary for this activity.
C) preschoolers don't like the structure of a coloring book.
D) preschoolers have problems with this type of coordination.

Question 19

An isolated shoplifting episode by a ten-year-old girl

A) may represent an effort on her part to be accepted by a peer group with whom she identifies.
B) is a very strong indication that the child will be a juvenile delinquent.
C) usually signifies family problems, such as the loss of a job.
D) should probably be ignored so that it will not be encouraged or condoned.

Question 20

As a kindergarten teacher, you would most likely observe which of the following play behaviors?

A) boys playing next to each other with trucks and cranes
B) boys and girls playing together with trucks and cranes
C) boys and girls acting out a story, using dolls
D) girls experimenting with construction toys

Question 21

An eleven-year-old girl who appears to be going through puberty is

A) probably maturing earlier than the average eleven-year-old girl.
B) probably not yet curious about sex, in spite of her developing body.
C) behind boys in terms of the average age of puberty.
D) average in terms of female adolescent development.

Question 22

Describe the nature of large- and small-muscle control in the preschool child.

Question 23

A student who has a moderate degree of self-efficacy for solving math problems will likely

A) persist on a mathematical task until success is attained or corrective feedback is given.
B) abandon a math task at the first sign of difficulty.
C) avoid obviously difficult math problems because she is realistic about her possibilities for success.
D) attempt to solve the problems that appear easy and then guess on the others so that he does not establish a pattern of failure.

Question 24

A fourteen-year-old boy who appears to be going through puberty is

A) probably maturing later than the average fourteen-year-old boy.
B) average in terms of male adolescent development.
C) ahead of girls in terms of average age of puberty.
D) probably not curious about sex in spite of his developing body.

Question 25

A middle school boy who is physically less mature than the other boys in his class is most likely to

A) have lower self-esteem and stronger feelings of inadequacy.
B) excel academically.
C) be more popular with girls than boys.
D) All of these answers.

Question 26

The factors that are associated with the onset of sexual activity for white high school males and females and African American males and females are

A) the same for each gender and race.
B) the same for each gender but different for each race.
C) different for each gender and race.
D) the same for each race but different for each gender.

Question 27

Which of the following best describes the influence parents or peers have on adolescent behavior?

A) Parents influence styles and tastes.
B) Parents influence occupational choices.
C) Peers influence achievement aspirations.
D) Peers influence long-term goals.

Question 28

The middle school student most likely to have low self-esteem and suffer from depression, yet be popular with members of the opposite sex is the

A) early-maturing boy.
B) early-maturing girl.
C) late-maturing boy.
D) late-maturing girl.

Question 29

Juvenile delinquents are least likely to exhibit which of the following characteristics?

A) lack of respect for rules and authority figures
B) an unstable family structure
C) respect for the role of education
D) rejection by most of their classmates

Question 30

In order to improve learning outcomes for adolescents, middle school teachers should provide which of the following?

A) a supportive, caring environment in which to meet social, emotional, and cognitive needs
B) a teacher-determined set of classroom rules to discourage students from distracting one another
C) teacher-student relationships that are more professional and less personal, compared with those in elementary classrooms
D) lower level activities in order to minimize opportunities for student failure

Question 31

A high school student whose parents have a history of alcohol abuse and have just gone through a divorce

A) should nonetheless be able to maintain an emotional balance because of the capacity to engage in formal operational thought.
B) should be watched for signs of depression and considered a potential suicide risk.
C) should be left pretty much alone, since adolescents who have these kinds of problems prefer not to discuss them.
D) is likely to be gregarious and friendly so as not to attract too much attention to personal circumstances.

Question 32

The early-maturing male middle school student is likely to draw favorable responses from adults because he

A) is no longer concerned about the impact of puberty.
B) tends to be more sophisticated socially than his age-mates.
C) is more capable of formal operations than his age-mates.
D) looks more like an adult.

Question 33

What is theory of mind and at about what age is it usually first noticeable?

Question 34

When do gender differences in toy preferences and play activities begin to be noticeable in the K-12 school program?

Question 35

An eleven-year-old girl who is taller and heavier than an eleven-year-old male classmate is

A) unusual, since size differences between boys and girls are virtually nonexistent at this age.
B) likely to excel in sports because of her size.
C) probably not interested in the things most girls are interested in at the age of eleven.
D) not at all unusual for this age.

Question 36

What forms and types of play are you likely to see preschool and kindergarten age children engage in?

Question 37

Juvenile delinquents are most likely to exhibit which of the following characteristics?

A) They typically come from lower-SES families.
B) They are envied by their classmates.
C) They are often competent in basic skills but are not interested in demonstrating their academic skills.
D) They care little about schoolwork and are easily distracted from it.

Question 38

Elementary children's self-images are

A) composed of a self-description, self-esteem, and self-concept.
B) relatively stable because of their generalized nature.
C) based on comparisons with peers.
D) All of these answers.

Question 39

Which of the following concepts would an elementary student most likely have difficulty comprehending?

A) The volume of a liquid in a short wide glass remains the same when poured into a tall thin glass.
B) A manatee and a kangaroo are both mammals.
C) Someone's personality is influenced by unconscious and conscious factors.
D) Two people may have different perspectives of the same event.

Question 40

Students who have a strong sense of self-efficacy will likely

A) abandon tasks when progress becomes difficult because they tend to be perfectionists.
B) avoid novel tasks because they are not able to conceptualize the probability of success over failure.
C) ask a teacher for help as soon as a task becomes difficult because they are very realistic about their abilities and limitations.
D) have high expectations of success and, therefore, persist on a given task even when it becomes difficult.

Question 41

Which aspects of adolescent behavior are most likely to be influenced by parents and which aspects are most likely to be influenced by peers?

Question 42

What are some techniques you might use to encourage primary and elementary grade students to develop a sense of industry (as defined by Erikson)?

Question 43

Note the effects of early maturation on middle school girls.

Question 44

What is the average age of puberty for girls and for boys?

Question 45

Explain why the discussion of controversial issues may be difficult with adolescents.

Question 46

Why is it important for a teacher to be familiar with the concept of self-efficacy?

Question 47

Describe what happens to student social behaviors during elementary school through the influence of the peer group/adult norms.

Question 48

Most preschool and kindergarten children are not particularly adept at accurately judging how well they have performed on a particular task. What does research suggest as a good way to help them make more accurate judgments?

Question 49

Explain why the accident rate peaks at the third-grade level.

Question 50

At about what age or grade level do children demonstrate they are aware of how they think?

Question 51

What cognitive strengths and weaknesses of elementary children should teachers keep in mind when designing lesson plans?

Question 52

What are some characteristics that may reveal that an elementary school student is heading toward delinquency?

Question 53

List two major factors that place adolescents at risk for suicide.

Question 54

Note the effects of late maturation on middle school girls.

Question 55

Using Diana Baumrind's authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive approaches to child rearing as a guide, describe how such teachers would behave and what the likely effect would be on their students.

Question 56

How does Piaget's description of moral development help explain why elementary grade children may become upset about changing the rules of a game?

Question 57

Note the effects of early maturation on middle school boys.

Question 58

What are some of the primary characteristics of friendships between adolescent girls?

Question 59

Note the effects of late maturation on middle school boys.

Question 60

What significant difference between boys and girls in their physical growth becomes apparent, and may influence their behavior, from the ages of ten to about fourteen?

Question 61

Describe what the typical elementary school age child can and cannot do with respect to logical thinking and storing information in memory.

Question 62

Current thinking among developmental psychologists and educators is that children in the middle school grades face intense psychological demands due to major physical, social, emotional, and cognitive changes, and that these changes call for a particular type of school environment. Describe the changes that middle school students typically experience and the type of educational environment that would best meet their needs.

Question 63

Describe the major physical characteristics of primary grade children that are mentioned in Chapter 3 and note the implications of these characteristics for primary grade teachers.