Deck 9: The Growth of Knowledge

Question 1

Each year, Stacy's doctor tracks how much weight she has gained in her medical chart.Stacy displays small yearly increases in weight, which illustrates:

A) foundational change
B) qualitative change
C) quantitative change
D) structural change

Answer 1

quantitative change

Question 2

All of the following are main dimensions used to describe theories of cognitive development EXCEPT:

A) active versus passive development
B) foundational versus emergent constraints
C) global versus local change
D) qualitative versus quantitative change

Answer 2

active versus passive development

Question 3

________ refers to modification of cognitive structures to fit what the child has learned about the environment.

A) Accommodation
B) Assimilation
C) Compensation
D) Reversibility

Answer 3

Accommodation

Question 4

Piaget's three mountains task shows that ________ influences young children's understanding of spatial relations.

A) centration
B) egocentrism
C) identity
D) vitalism

Question 5

John, an elementary school student, is taking a test.One of the questions states that Gary has more money than Gordon, and Gordon has more money than Geoff.John must determine if Gary has more money than Geoff.This question is tapping:

A) class-inclusion inferences
B) hypothetico-deductive reasoning
C) order relations
D) transitive reasoning

Question 6

What logical operator is necessary to successfully reason about class-inclusion relations?

A) centration
B) compensation
C) equivalences
D) reversibility

Question 7

Madison comes to understand the principles of cause and effect and applies these to many areas of life from physics to social interactions.This illustrates:

A) domain-general development
B) domain-specific development
C) foundational development
D) local development

Question 8

All the following are examples of basic-level categories EXCEPT:

A) balls
B) desks
C) dresses
D) animals

Question 9

Which of the following statements is true about cognitive developmental theories?

A) Both Piaget and Vygotsky proposed broad, sweeping changes in children's modes of thought.
B) Only Piaget proposed broad, sweeping changes in children's modes of thought.
C) Only Vygotsky proposed broad, sweeping changes in children's modes of thought.
D) Both Piaget and Vygotsky believed that development proceeded in a domain-specific fashion.

Question 10

Piaget's theory posits that children progress through four stages of development characterized by different ways of thinking and understanding the world.This progression illustrates:

A) chronologic change
B) qualitative change
C) quantitative change
D) passive change

Question 11

________ are patterns of understanding and interacting with the world.

A) Cognitive maps
B) Constructs
C) Schemes
D) Sensorimotor reflexes

Question 12

Skinner believed that parents respond more positively to babble that resembles adult speech sounds and more negatively to those that do not, guiding and shaping the child's speech to become more like a mature speaker's.This belief points to the importance of ________ constraints.

A) emergent
B) foundational
C) global
D) local

Question 13

At which level are all category members both maximally similar to each other and maximally distinct from members of other categories?

A) basic
B) hierarchical
C) subordinate
D) superordinate

Question 14

Toys are an example of what type of category?

A) basic-level
B) hierarchical
C) subordinate
D) superordinate

Question 15

Which best describes Piaget's view of development?

A) There are quantitative, domain-general changes in children's thinking.
B) There are qualitative, domain-general changes in children's thinking.
C) There are quantitative, domain-specific changes in children's thinking.
D) There are qualitative, domain-specific changes in children's thinking.

Question 16

A researcher presents a child with two identical glasses of water.She then pours one of the glasses into a tall glass beaker and asks the child if the amount of water has changed.This illustrates a(n) ________ task.

A) conservation
B) object substance
C) symbolic representation
D) transitive reasoning

Question 17

Jiang learns to recognize Chinese characters through repeated exposure.This illustrates:

A) emergent constraints
B) foundational constraints
C) global constraints
D) local constraints

Question 18

Which of the following best describes Piaget's theory?

A) Cognitive development is almost entirely the result of hard-wired systems that are not dependent on experience.
B) Infants are born with built-in sensorimotor reflexes, which are modified and transformed into schemes with experience.
C) Cognitive development does not depend on built-in systems, but rather schemes are built solely from an infant's active exploration of the environment.
D) Cognitive development does not depend on built-in systems, but rather schemes are built through the zone of proximal development.

Question 19

Which of the following statements about foundational and emergent constraints is true?

A) Both foundational and emergent constraints arise from genetic factors.
B) Emergent constraints arise from genetic factors and foundational constraints arise from environmental factors.
C) Foundational constraints arise from genetic factors and emergent constraints arise from environmental factors.
D) Both foundational and emergent constraints arise from environmental factors.

Question 20

A researcher believes that as young children start to understand how solid objects collide with one another and cause movement, this understanding is largely guided by intuitions about physical mechanics that are present in infancy.This illustrates ________ constraints.

A) emergent
B) foundational
C) global
D) local

Question 21

All of the following are correct associations between a period of cognitive development and relevant cognitive skills EXCEPT:

A) sensorimotor: object permanence
B) preoperational: symbolic representations
C) concrete operational: hypothetico-deductive reasoning
D) formal operational: scientific reasoning

Question 22

The order of Piaget's developmental stages is:

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

Question 23

All of the following are characteristics of the preoperational child EXCEPT:

A) the ability to mentally represent ideas
B) the ability to think about the relations between concrete properties
C) the ability to use symbols such as words
D) the ability to use language to communicate

Question 24

Cin Cin, a preschooler, is shown a plate of fruit consisting of seven grapes and two blueberries.If asked if there are more grapes or more fruit, Cin Cin will likely say:

A) there are more grapes
B) there is more fruit
C) there is the same amount of grapes and fruit
D) grapes are a type of fruit

Question 25

Preschoolers are much better at sorting objects into ________ level categories than they are at using other category levels.

A) basic
B) hierarchical
C) subordinate
D) superordinate

Question 26

Gabriel is a preoperational child participating in Piaget's seriation task.He is asked to arrange a set of rods in order from shortest to longest.Which is the most likely outcome?

A) Gabriel is too young to participate in this task and will only play with the rods.
B) Gabriel will likely line up rods as increasing in length at one end but ignore the other end.
C) Gabriel will only be able to successfully complete this task if the rods are different colors.
D) Gabriel will easily be able to line the rods in order from shortest to longest.

Question 27

Danica is a preschooler who is only able to focus on one aspect of a problem and is unable to attend to multiple aspects simultaneously.According to Piaget, Danica would be in which stage of cognitive development?

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

Question 28

Carolina, a young child, originally sees two equal rows of coins.When an experimenter spreads out one of the rows of coins, Carolina thinks this row gets longer but does not realize that the increase of length is due to an increase in the space between coins.This illustrates Carolina lacks the logical operator of:

A) compensation
B) identity
C) reversibility
D) seriation

Question 29

Jasmine wants a big piece of cake.Her mother puts it on a big plate, and Jasmine complains that she wants more cake.Jasmine is satisfied when her mother moves the cake to a small plate because she is only focused on one dimension, plate size.This phenomenon of focusing excessively on a single dimension is called:

A) centration
B) compensation
C) conservation
D) seriation

Question 30

The ability to think systematically about different possibilities that might depart from the current reality is referred to as:

A) hypothetico-deductive reasoning
B) reversibility
C) transitive reasoning
D) zone of proximal development

Question 31

Allie, a 7-year-old, sees two rows of pennies of equal length.The experimenter spreads out one row and asks Allie if they have the same number.Allie says they do have the same number and one row just has more space between pennies.What stage is Allie in?

A) concrete operational period
B) formal operational period
C) preoperational period
D) sensorimotor period

Question 32

Leilani is in the period of formal operations and her sister Elise is in the period of concrete operations.When faced with Piaget's pendulum task, which is the most likely result?

A) Both Leilani and Elise will tinker with the system without systematically controlling variables.
B) Only Leilani will carefully test the effects of changing a single variable holding everything else constant.
C) Only Elise will carefully test the effects of changing a single variable holding everything else constant.
D) Both Leilani and Elise will carefully test the effects of changing a single variable holding everything else constant.

Question 33

Preoperational children lack all of the following abilities EXCEPT:

A) compensation
B) identity
C) reversibility
D) symbolic representation

Question 34

Suzanne puts her blocks in order of size starting with the biggest block and ending with the smallest block.This demonstrates:

A) centration
B) conservation
C) reversibility
D) seriation

Question 35

Latoya is 3 years old.According to Piaget, she would be in which period of cognitive development?

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

Question 36

At what stage did Piaget believe that children fully understand how to consistently classify objects and understand the relationships among classes?

A) concrete operational period
B) formal operational period
C) preoperational period
D) sensorimotor period

Question 37

Jackie and her twin, Jill, are served hot dogs for lunch.Each receives one hot dog, and their mother first helps cut Jackie's hot dog into pieces.Jill is upset and says that Jackie has more hot dog than she does.This illustrates that Jill has not yet mastered:

A) conservation
B) geometric information
C) seriation
D) transitive reasoning

Question 38

All the following are true of the formal operational period EXCEPT:

A) the formal operational period differs from earlier periods in Piaget's theory in that not all children achieve it
B) the hallmark of the formal operational period is the ability to engage in hypothetico-deductive reasoning
C) children in formal operations can reason logically without reference to the immediate surroundings
D) thinking during formal operations has been likened to an engineering model of trying to figure out how to get things to work

Question 39

Ashwin is able to reason logically without reference to his immediate surroundings.What stage of development best describes Ashwin?

A) concrete operational period
B) formal operational period
C) preoperational period
D) sensorimotor period

Question 40

All of the following are true about the concrete operational period EXCEPT:

A) most children enter the concrete operational period around 7 years of age and move to the next stage by age 12
B) the concrete operational child has acquired the mental operator of reversibility
C) upon entering concrete operations, the child is able to smoothly use identity and compensation across all tasks
D) the concrete operational child starts to respond correctly to conversation and classification tasks

Question 41

Children appear to build on their early insights about small numbers, using these patterns as a foundation for understanding new and quite different kinds of number concepts.This is an example of:

A) animism
B) bootstrapping
C) hypothetico-deductive reasoning
D) scaffolding

Question 42

Donaldson's research suggests that children fail the classic Piaget number conservation task because they:

A) do not understand the task instructions
B) misinterpret the experimenter's intentions
C) cannot think in terms of reversibility and identity
D) lack the requisite numerical knowledge

Question 43

Research with children with specific language impairment (SLI) suggests:

A) children with SLI show significant delays in language, but this does not affect their counting-out-loud routines
B) children with SLIs use systems of invented hand gestures to overcome their language difficulties and understand number
C) children with SLIs are able to learn basic principles of arithmetic in ways that are independent of their struggles with language
D) research on children with SLIs suggests that learning counting and mathematical principles is heavily influenced by language

Question 44

________ is/are used to mentally represent the spatial layout of the environment and infer distance, direction, and ways of navigating.

A) Cognitive maps
B) Cognitive schemas
C) Geometric information
D) Landmark processes

Question 45

Chandler is solving a math problem and figures out which principles to use for the particular task.This illustrates:

A) applicational competence
B) conceptual competence
C) procedural competence
D) utilizational competence

Question 46

Which of the following is true of children's representation of spatial relations?

A) Both preoperational and concrete operational children think about and remember spatial layouts and relations in terms of their own point of view.
B) Only preoperational children think about and remember spatial layouts and relations in terms of their own point of view.
C) Only concrete operational children think about and remember spatial layouts and relations in terms of their own point of view.
D) Both preoperational and concrete operational children think about and remember spatial layouts and relations in terms of independent coordinates.

Question 47

Bryant and Trabasso's study suggests that children were failing the Piaget seriation task because of the task's:

A) attention demands
B) linguistic demands
C) memory demands
D) motor demands

Question 48

All of the following statements about numerical understanding are true EXCEPT:

A) infants seem to have some sense of numerosity of small displays and some intuitive arithmetic skills
B) infants' understanding of number is similar to preschoolers' understanding of number
C) young children do not usually understand-sometimes until age 10-that a count can proceed in any order
D) children's increasing understanding of number words and plural forms may help them see more complex numerical relations

Question 49

Chong believes that food and water instill a force in animals that enables them to move and be active, and without this force, the animals would become increasingly inactive and tired.Chong's beliefs illustrate:

A) animism
B) centration
C) essentialism
D) vitalism

Question 50

Which of the following statements is true of children in "biology-deprived" environments?

A) Children and adults in biology-deprived environments reason in less sophisticated ways about biological problems than those in biology-enriched environments.
B) Children, but not adults, in biology-deprived environments reason in less sophisticated ways about biological problems than those in biology-enriched environments.
C) Adults, but not children, in biology-deprived environments reason in less sophisticated ways about biological problems than those in biology-enriched environments.
D) There is no difference in the ways that children and adults in biology-deprived environments reason about biological problems than those in biology-enriched environments.

Question 51

Donaldson did two variations on Piaget's number conservation task with two rows of objects.In one variation, the clumsy experimenter pretends to slip and accidentally change the length of one of the rows.In a second version, the child sees a naughty teddy bear change the length of one of the rows.Which of the following is true of these variations on the number conservation task?

A) Preschoolers are likely to fail all three of these versions of the number conservation task.
B) Preschoolers are more likely to succeed on the naughty teddy bear task than both the clumsy experimenter task and traditional number conservation task.
C) Preschoolers are more likely to succeed on the clumsy experimenter task than both the naughty teddy bear task and traditional number conservation task.
D) Preschoolers are more likely to succeed on both the naughty teddy bear task and clumsy experimenter task than the traditional number conservation task.

Question 52

Infants seem to be aware of all the following mechanical principles EXCEPT:

A) objects exist continuously and move on connected paths
B) an object's length and weight can affect its balance
C) objects cohere as bounded wholes and cannot interpenetrate
D) objects cannot influence other objects without touching them

Question 53

All of the following statements about using geometric information are true EXCEPT:

A) geometric information involves constructing a mental representation of the environment's overall shape
B) using geometric information requires paying attention to local landmarks as consistent reference points
C) individuals can use geometric information successfully in low light conditions or with limited visual acuity
D) using geometric information only fails in perfectly symmetrical environments

Question 54

Kendra tells her mother that she needs to take her teddy bear with her to the store so that he is not lonely.This is an illustration of:

A) animism
B) compensation
C) egocentrism
D) vitalism

Question 55

Sophie does not know anything about kidneys.Her teacher tells her that people have kidneys and asks whether horses also have kidneys.Sophie believes that they do based on knowing people have kidneys.This illustrates:

A) animistic thinking
B) egocentric rationalization
C) hypothetico-deductive reasoning
D) property attribution

Question 56

All of the following statements about counting across cultures are true EXCEPT:

A) almost every culture's number system shares fundamental assumptions about what numbers are
B) almost every culture's number system shares fundamental assumptions about what sorts of operations can be performed on numbers
C) children all over the world engage in counting and are quite similar in their counting patterns
D) children all over the world vary considerably in how they link counting to other forms of mathematical knowledge

Question 57

Maxine is 5 years old and is being taught about a new bird, the quetzal, by an adult.She is most likely to prefer to learn:

A) about general species of birds regardless of how knowledgeable the adult is
B) about general species of birds if the adult is knowledgeable
C) about this particular bird if the adult is knowledgeable
D) about this particular category of bird regardless of how knowledgeable the adult is

Question 58

All of the following are considered universal core biological beliefs EXCEPT:

A) groups of animals and plants can be organized taxonomically
B) animal and plant types have distinct essences
C) organisms have properties that are adapted to their needs within their niches
D) living things change their appearance radically over the course of development

Question 59

Carey asked preschoolers questions such as "do worms eat?" Her findings suggest a ________ view of development.

A) biology out of physical mechanics
B) biology out of psychology
C) psychology out of biology
D) psychology out of physical mechanics

Question 60

The National Research Council report called Taking Science to School suggests all of the following EXCEPT:

A) science instruction should focus on gradual growth and accumulation of knowledge that builds on earlier knowledge
B) providing snapshots of unrelated topics over various years is not an optimal teaching strategy
C) science teachers can build on students' rudimentary understanding in the areas of space, number, physical mechanics, and biology
D) science teachers should remember students are limited by Piagetian stages in which certain kinds of reasoning are impossible

Question 61

Ms.Stout is a second grade teacher.She carefully designs a lesson to help one of her students advance to a new level of mathematical understanding.The student transitions into a new zone of ________ development.

A) conterminous
B) distal
C) proximal
D) scaffolded

Question 62

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Both Piaget and Vygotsky focused on the child as an autonomous individual.
B) Piaget, but not Vygotsky, believed that cognitive development must be considered within broader sociocultural influences.
C) Vygotsky, but not Piaget, believed that cognitive development must be considered within broader sociocultural influences.
D) Both Piaget and Vygotsky believed that cognitive development must be considered within broader sociocultural influences.

Question 63

Vygotsky stressed which of the following?

A) counting
B) language
C) naïve psychology
D) naïve physical mechanics

Question 64

Differentiate between foundational and emergent constraints.

Question 65

List three alternative reasons why young children who understand conservation may fail conversation tasks.

Question 66

What are schemes and how did Piaget believe they changed with development?

Question 67

Describe the three logical operators necessary for conservation that Piaget believed the preoperational child lacked.

Question 68

________ is the belief that living things have underlying realities that are responsible for their surface properties.

A) Animism
B) Centration
C) Essentialism
D) Vitalism

Question 69

Describe the achievements and limitations of a preschooler's counting ability.

Question 70

Describe the abilities and limitations associated with the preoperational child's use of symbols.

Question 71

What are three universal core biological beliefs?

Question 72

________ proposed the theory of sociocultural development.

A) Carey
B) Piaget
C) Spelke
D) Vygotsky

Question 73

Differentiate between basic-level, subordinate, and superordinate categories, and provide an example of each.

Question 74

Describe how the performance of preoperational and concrete operational children differs on Piaget's three mountains task.

Question 75

Kenisha is helping her daughter put together a puzzle.She provides support in subtle ways, such as suggesting that they focus on the edges of the puzzle.This illustrates:

A) bootstrapping
B) foundational constraints
C) property attribution
D) scaffolding

Question 76

Describe Piaget's theory using the three dimensions of cognitive development.

Question 77

How would the performance of a concrete operational child differ from that of a formal operational child on the pendulum task?

Question 78

Define conservation and provide examples of two conservation tasks.

Question 79

Tina is teaching her daughter to cook.Tina lays out the ingredients in the order in which they will need them.She helps her daughter break the eggs and then guides her through mixing the ingredients.This is an example of what Vygotsky referred to as:

A) bootstrapping
B) compensation
C) guided exploration
D) scaffolding

Question 80

Differentiate between qualitative versus quantitative development.