Deck 5: Coming to Understand the Physical World

Question 1

A child who explores objects with her mouth is most likely in which Piagetian stage?

A) oral
B) sensorimotor
C) preoperational
D) concrete operational

Answer 1

sensorimotor

Question 2

A scheme is a child's:

A) failure to master the A-not-B error
B) interpretation of the new and unfamiliar in terms of what is already known
C) alteration of what is known based on a new experience
D) pattern of interacting with the environment

Answer 2

pattern of interacting with the environment

Question 3

A child engaged in secondary circular reactions is most likely to:

A) accidentally lick his lip with his tongue
B) increasingly refine touching his tongue to his lip
C) accidentally touch a toy and hear it rattle
D) increasingly refine his physical movements until he can make the rattle shake

Answer 3

increasingly refine his physical movements until he can make the rattle shake

Question 4

If 14-month-old Anna plays with a remote control first by treating it like a phone, but then by understanding it is different from a phone and points it at the TV, she has engaged in:

A) assimilation
B) accommodation
C) primary circular reaction
D) equilibration

Question 5

Accommodation is said to occur when a child:

A) develops a pattern of environmental interaction based on knowledge and interpretation
B) interprets something unique according to preexisting schemes
C) alters a scheme to better fit something new that has been encountered
D) works to achieve a dynamic balance between schemes and environment

Question 6

According to Piaget's theory, children experience a very different world than adults; this is partially because children:

A) need to "unlock" particular stages of cognitive development
B) cannot grasp the complexities of their internal world and cognition
C) are working to manage their understanding of the external world
D) do not understand there is an external world separate from themselves

Question 7

Piaget's theory suggests that development occurs:

A) sequentially, but at different rates in children across the world
B) in various orders of stages depending on the child's needs
C) in an invariant and universal sequence
D) simultaneously across all the stages, but earlier stages are mastered first because they take less time

Question 8

In developmental order, Piaget's stages of development are:

A) preoperational, sensorimotor, formal operational, concrete operational
B) sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational
C) sensorimotor, concrete operational, preoperational, formal operational
D) sensorimotor, preoperational, formal operational, advanced operational

Question 9

Based on an infant's development throughout the sensorimotor period, a nursery would be outfitted best by providing:

A) little stimulation and activity so one does not overwhelm a child
B) classical music constantly while the child is in the room
C) access to several interesting toys the child can manipulate that are periodically switched
D) as many toys and sources of stimulation as will fit in the space available

Question 10

If a child is said to be in the preoperational stage of development, this means she is able to:

A) think quasi-logically about objects in front of her, but cannot use mental operations
B) apply quasi-logical thinking to objects she has in front of her
C) think abstractly and logically about hypothetical ideas
D) use symbols and engage in mental representation, but not think abstractly

Question 11

Explicit cognition refers to a thought process that involves having an:

A) intuitive understanding of the environment
B) awareness of knowledge
C) underlying sense of events
D) unusual perceptiveness for others' thoughts

Question 12

Piaget is known as a "stage" theorist.This means that he believed children's development depends on:

A) assimilation leading to equilibration
B) accommodation leading to adaptation
C) assimilation and accommodation leading to qualitative changes
D) assimilation and accommodation leading to quantitative changes

Question 13

Piaget's sensorimotor period of development typically lasts from:

A) birth to 6 months
B) 6 months to 1 year
C) 7 years to 12 years
D) birth to 2 years

Question 14

A child who understands how to throw a ball even though she cannot explain exactly how she does it demonstrates:

A) accommodation
B) assimilation
C) implicit cognition
D) explicit cognition

Question 15

If 1-year-old Alonzo plays with a remote control by putting it up to his ear to "talk" to it, he has:

A) accommodated his understanding of phones
B) accommodated his understanding of remote controls
C) assimilated the remote control into his idea of a phone
D) assimilated the phone into his idea of a remote control

Question 16

For $29.95, the "Widget-for-Your-Infant DVD" promises to vastly improve your infant's abilities by using neuroscience principles to increase the number of synaptic connections in your infant and selectively prune unnecessary connections.Based on your understanding of neuroscience, you are skeptical because you know that:

A) research has shown that several more expensive DVD programs are better
B) development is determined by experiences at certain critical periods, and so watching DVDs is useless
C) the patterns and pruning of synapses in infants are mostly influenced by genetics
D) DVDs have not been found to work as well as using structured classical music

Question 17

Mia has just moved into the next stage of Piagetian development.Based on this, you can expect that her thinking and abilities:

A) about how objects, social agents, and scientific reasoning work will change
B) about how to understand and use hypothetico-deductive reasoning will change
C) will change across all domains simultaneously
D) will change slowly across one domain at a time

Question 18

Piaget's theory is said to stress "domain generality." This is important because it means that his theory:

A) lays out a clear progression for the overall stages to follow from infancy to adulthood
B) involves a child approaching all tasks in a stage with that stage's level of reasoning
C) explains how a child develops a sense of object concept
D) lays out a clear trajectory for understanding categorization

Question 19

You are designing a summer camp nature curriculum for 10-year-olds.Knowing Piaget's theory, you would be sure to include:

A) educational materials and hands-on activities
B) educational materials and detailed discussions
C) detailed notes and an interesting lecture
D) detailed notes and discussions

Question 20

When Juan is shown his bear being hidden under his blanket multiple times, he learns to reach under the blanket and get it.This time, you hide his bear under his blanket, but then move it behind your back while he's watching you.If Juan looks under his blanket again, he has committed the:

A) displacement error
B) social agent error
C) B-not-A error
D) place error

Question 21

Evidence for infants being able to "add" and "subtract" from Wynn (1992) would be their dishabituation at seeing:

A) one red block slide into a green block
B) two red blocks slide into a green block
C) one toy mouse after two were placed behind a screen
D) two toy mice when two were placed behind a screen

Question 22

If 4-month-old Jacob has developed an understanding of object solidity, then he will dishabituate more strongly on the drawbridge task when:

A) the solid object stops the drawbridge from making a full arc
B) the drawbridge passes unobstructed through a solid object
C) the solid object passes unobstructed through the drawbridge
D) the drawbridge makes a full unencumbered 180° arc

Question 23

Researchers have conducted studies in which they give infants unique opportunities to experience causality (for example, by picking up objects with Velcro gloves).The findings from these studies contribute to the idea that causation is:

A) biologically driven by a module
B) environmentally driven through learning
C) dependent on spatial contiguity
D) dependent on temporal contiguity

Question 24

The development and use of number concepts occurs:

A) in both animals and people
B) only in people
C) only in westernized people
D) only in collective cultures

Question 25

During which of the sensorimotor substages do tertiary circular reactions emerge?

A) substage 1
B) substage 3
C) substage 5
D) substage 6

Question 26

Infants who are inferring causal relationships may do so based on temporal contiguity.This means that events that happen:

A) closer in time are thought to be causal
B) further apart in time are thought to be causal
C) closer in space are thought to be causal
D) further apart in space are thought to be causal

Question 27

Piaget believed infants make the A-not-B error because they cannot:

A) fully mentally represent unseen objects
B) fully pay attention to the adult moving the object
C) inhibit their initial reflex impulses
D) inhibit with their dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Question 28

Why is it generally considered tentative to describe what infants are thinking in research about causation?

A) Researchers can only base their inferences on what the infants say to them.
B) Researchers can make inferences but do not really know what an infant is thinking.
C) Researchers cannot make inferences because habituation tasks are inconclusive.
D) Researchers often use older children to tell them what it is infants are thinking.

Question 29

Studies that have examined the use and understanding of number (such as Izard et al., 2009) by using visual and acoustic information have found:

A) infants under 1 year cannot process the competing forms of information simultaneously
B) infants must be at least 6 months of age to understand visual and acoustic number
C) newborn infants cannot recognize the difference between numbers because of poor vision
D) newborn infants can recognize the difference between numbers like 4 and 12

Question 30

The A-not-B error involves children:

A) randomly scanning A and B locations for where an object might be hidden
B) first looking for a hidden object in a place where it was previously hidden
C) first looking for a hidden object in a place where they saw it moved
D) not looking for a hidden object initially due to competing schemes

Question 31

According to Piaget and other theorists, for Ming-Mei to progress beyond the A-not-B error, she will need to:

A) learn object permanence, overcome reflexes, and develop more cortically
B) learn object permanence, overcome reflexes, and develop more subcortically
C) learn object solidity, overcome egocentric representation, and develop more cortically
D) learn object solidity, overcome allocentric representation, and develop more subcortically

Question 32

According to Spelke, all of the following would be ways infants would think objects would interact EXCEPT:

A) Two objects coming into contact can impact each other.
B) Outside forces like wind can move objects.
C) Objects that are not supported will fall.
D) Objects in motion stay in motion.

Question 33

A 3-year-old child who understands object permanence and solidity begins to be capable of:

A) using symbols to mentally represent objects
B) quasi-logical thought with concrete information
C) logical abstract thought
D) primary circular reactions

Question 34

According to Piaget, children commit the A-not-B error because of an inability to apply:

A) a new scheme to the object that is now in a new location
B) an old scheme to the object that is now in a new location
C) a new scheme to the object in its old location
D) an old scheme to the object in its old location

Question 35

More modern research on the A-not-B error has found all of the following EXCEPT that infants:

A) are more surprised when they find an object in place A
B) who receive communicative cues are more likely to look in place B
C) will look more at place B even though they reach for A
D) are reflexively prevented from retrieving the object from place B

Question 36

In the A-not-B error task, A and B are, respectively, the:

A) place where the child has moved the object, and the new location of the object
B) place where the adult has moved the object, and the old location of the object
C) incorrect location of the moved object, and the correct location of the object
D) correct location of the moved object, and the incorrect location of the object

Question 37

Infants' strong reactions to events that seem impossible or violate physical laws suggest they can think about:

A) social agents
B) causal relations
C) habituation
D) dishabituation

Question 38

All of the following would be involved in a study examining what infants expect to happen to objects when they pass out of their sight EXCEPT that infants view a car roll down a ramp and:

A) stop at the bottom of the ramp before it gets to a screen which blocks the infant's view
B) continue rolling behind and past a screen blocking their view
C) continue rolling behind and past a screen that had a block behind it, out of the way
D) continue rolling behind and past a screen that had a block in the path of the car

Question 39

The example of the kingfisher making accurate dives for fish is an important example of how:

A) coordinated behavior depends upon successfully attaining object concept
B) flexible understanding leads to the successful attainment of object concept
C) coordinated behavior does not necessarily imply flexible understanding
D) flexible understanding leads to the coordination of automatic behavior

Question 40

An important concept involved in understanding whether infants understand causal relationships is called spatial contiguity.This means, for example, that causal relationships can occur because:

A) block "A" starts to move and stops, then block "B" moves
B) block "A" moves at the same time as block "B"
C) block "A" moves some time after block "B" has moved
D) block "A" hits block "B" causing it to move

Question 41

Once infants understand how social agents and inanimate objects move, they have an expectation that:

A) inanimate objects can move on their own
B) social agents must be acted upon to move
C) inanimate objects can move on their own; social agents must be acted upon
D) social agents can move on their own; inanimate objects must be acted upon

Question 42

Piaget's view has been considered extraordinary and influential, even if it has been found to have problems.Briefly describe the four main reasons for his theory's impact.

Question 43

You are designing a study to examine infants' understanding of number.You should consider all of the following EXCEPT that:

A) when you use more objects they create a bigger display overall
B) you are largely limited to habituation/dishabituation paradigms
C) you are largely limited to infants' use of egocentric representation
D) arranging multiple objects together creates different shapes and patterns

Question 44

If Eugene remembers that he left his book on his right, near his leg, he is using:

A) egocentric representation
B) allocentric representation
C) geometric cues
D) landmark cues

Question 45

Using an experimental setup, a 5-month-old infant sees a hand move a ball and not a bear.When the hand reappears the infant will "expect" the hand will move:

A) the bear next
B) the ball again
C) both objects
D) neither object

Question 46

Kuhlmeier et al.(2003) showed 12-month-olds animation of a triangle "helping" a ball move up a hill and a square trying to "hinder" the ball.Subsequently, they found the infants:

A) looked longer when the ball approached the "helper"
B) looked longer when the ball approached the "hinderer"
C) looked randomly between the "helper" and "hinderer"
D) did not seem to dishabituate to either the "helper" or the "hinderer"

Question 47

By 18 months of age, one should expect infants to imitate the:

A) intended actions completed by machines
B) intended actions completed by social agents
C) intended actions completed by both machines and social agents
D) intended actions completed by inanimate objects

Question 48

Which statement would support a nativist's interpretation of the development of categorization and the understanding of objects?

A) Infants have learned categories for objects through experience.
B) Infants have many experiences with objects refining their categories.
C) Infants have strengthened associations between categories and their properties.
D) Infants have predetermined biases to think about categories.

Question 49

By 1 year, infants come to understand the differences between what to expect from animate and inanimate objects.This would be represented by a 1-year-old infant looking longer when an:

A) inanimate object creates disorder from order
B) animate object creates disorder from order
C) inanimate object creates order from disorder
D) animate object creates order from disorder

Question 50

A young child who looks at a plane in the sky and says "bird" has engaged in adaptation by:

A) assimilating the new information for a plane into an existing scheme for birds
B) accommodating the new information for a plane into an existing scheme for birds
C) accommodating the new information into a new scheme for planes
D) assimilating the new information for a plane into a new equilibrated concept

Question 51

Dr.Jacobs needs to infer what infants are thinking for a developmental research project that involves watching an object move.He should use:

A) a computer and other technology to track the infants' eye movements
B) a video recorder to estimate infants' movements toward or away from the object
C) calipers and other devices to measure infants' head circumference
D) a tape measure to find the distance between infants and objects of interest

Question 52

Jason understands that his younger sister Angele is different in important ways from his teddy bear because of all of the following EXCEPT that:

A) social agents cannot respond immediately to causal influences
B) social agents can respond to what they hear or see from a distance
C) social agents are understood to have intentions for their actions
D) social agents can change their trajectories

Question 53

Knowing spatial representation is important for infants who are learning about space, as a new parent you would want to set your home up with several options for all of the following EXCEPT ________ to help your infant learn the space.

A) beacons
B) landmarks
C) geometric cues
D) categorical cues

Question 54

You want to study number concepts in infants.Your best choice of research methods would be to:

A) ask infants about their understanding of numbers and if they can count
B) present an infant with 3 red and 3 green blocks and record which she reaches for
C) habituate an infant to 3 blocks, and see if dishabituation occurs when you show 1 block
D) dishabituate an infant to 1 block, and then see if she is upset when you take it away

Question 55

If an infant sees a furry object "beep" and turn to "look" in a particular direction and then he turns and looks in the same direction himself, he is suggesting all of the following EXCEPT:

A) he likely views the furry object as a nonsocial physical object
B) he likely views the furry object as a social agent
C) he likely views the "face" as the side toward him during the interaction
D) he likely views the "beep" as a meaningful, contingent interaction

Question 56

For a class project, you need to replicate the study by Newman et al.(2008) on cats.You know from this research that infants will dishabituate when the cat moves like a cat that only shares its hat color.This is because the infants apparently categorized the cats based on the:

A) internal cue of hat color to external cues
B) internal cue of stomach color to external cues
C) external cue of hat color to internal cues
D) external cue of stomach color to internal cues

Question 57

You notice that Marissa is able to locate a variety of objects around her playroom.What techniques is this 6-month-old likely using to do this? A 6-month-old is:

A) limited developmentally and so she can only use beacons
B) limited to what is near her so she can only use landmarks
C) engaged in more sophisticated thought and uses geometric cues
D) capable of all three types of allocentric representation

Question 58

You want to keep your 5-month-old infant's bedroom interesting for him.He has recently seemed to become bored with a mobile hanging off the bottom corner of his crib.You know based on allocentric spatial representation that he will find it most interesting if you:

A) leave the mobile at the bottom of the crib, and place him in the crib the same way
B) move the mobile to the top of the crib, and place him in the crib the same way
C) leave the mobile at the bottom of the crib, and place him in the crib the opposite way
D) move the entire crib and mobile several feet to the side, and place him in the crib the same way

Question 59

Gerard is setting up a detailed investigation of social agents.He could use all of the following for his social agents EXCEPT:

A) undergraduate assistants
B) red and green blocks
C) dogs and cats
D) furry robots that can move and beep

Question 60

Spatial relations that reference where things are relative to landmarks are considered:

A) schematic
B) thematic
C) egocentric
D) allocentric

Question 61

Take the position of either an empiricist or a nativist, briefly explain your approach, and, then, describe how an infant's ability to categorize emerges according to your view.

Question 62

Use the example of the kingfisher (a bird) to take a stance on whether researchers can "know" what an infant is thinking.

Question 63

Given your understanding of development and the milestones reached in infancy, explain how targeting the first few years of an infant's life for social policy may not be the best approach, except in one particular instance.

Question 64

Briefly describe a design to assess intermodal sensing of number and what that ability means.

Question 65

Argue that infants do think about the physical world.Be sure to include five principles that might guide infants' thinking about physical objects to support your claims, and generally how research has supported this view.

Question 66

Briefly explain how it is that dishabituation studies are used to examine infants' understanding of social agents' goals, and how the interpretation of these findings can be difficult.

Question 67

Vanessa watches two blocks move: first one, then the other, without touching each other.Next, she watches two people move: first one, then the other, without touching each other.Which scenario would you expect her to dishabituate more strongly to and why?

Question 68

How is spatial representation in infants encoded, and how are these encoded concepts tied to different abilities/expectations?

Question 69

Briefly describe and track a child's development through Piaget's stages.

Question 70

Briefly describe how Piaget suggested infants develop cognitively through the process of adaptation.Include examples.

Question 71

What are four main differences between social agents and inanimate objects that seem to guide infants' thinking?

Question 72

Briefly describe an infant making the A-not-B error.What would Piaget say making this error means?

Question 73

Describe spatial and temporal contiguity and how these ideas are important for understanding infants' understanding of causation.Refer to the use of the red and green blocks described in the text.

Question 74

Describe how an infant's manipulation of objects progresses through most of the sensorimotor period (that is, through the first year and a half of life).