Deck 8: Cognitive Development: Piagetian and Vygotskian Approaches

Question 1

Cognition refers to

A) the higher-order mental processes by which humans attempt to understand and adapt to their world.
B) permanent changes in behaviour that can be attributed to experience.
C) what one knows.
D) the lower-order mental processes by which humans select, interpret, and organize sensations.

Answer 1

the higher-order mental processes by which humans attempt to understand and adapt to their world.

Question 2

The textbook examines the development of cognition from three perspectives. Which of the following is NOT one of these major approaches?

A) Piagetian
B) Information-processing
C) Sociocultural
D) Humanistic

Answer 2

Humanistic

Question 3

According to Piaget, basic forms of knowledge

A) are present at birth.
B) are established by the end of the sensorimotor period.
C) are established by the end of the concrete operational period.
D) develop throughout childhood.

Answer 3

develop throughout childhood.

Question 4

Piaget's theory and research focus on the

A) learning of specific behaviours.
B) development of cognition over the course of evolution.
C) nature and origins of knowledge.
D) philosophical roots of psychology.

Question 5

Which of the following research questions is most likely to be studied by a scientist working within a Piagetian framework?

A) How do the strategies children use to process text change with age?
B) At what age do infants first distinguish the sound of their mother's voice from that of other females?
C) How do children's ideas about the causes of disease change across childhood?
D) Does the number of items a child can hold in short-term memory with or without rehearsal change with age?

Question 6

Piaget's theory of cognitive development was predominantly influenced by which of the following sets of basic biological principles?

A) Phenotype and genotype
B) Organization, adaptation, and development
C) Mutation and facilitation
D) Adaptation, construction, and deterioration

Question 7

Piaget explained developmental changes in children's thinking in terms of

A) the construction and modification of cognitive structures.
B) learning.
C) increased cognitive capacity and efficiency of processing.
D) the development of connections between individual neurons and neural networks.

Question 8

Which of the following is characteristic of preschoolers' thought processes?

A) The capacity for hypothetical-deductive reasoning
B) The use of operations to understand the world
C) Gradually acquiring the ability to understand object permanence
D) Perceiving a change in an object's appearance as a change in its quantitative properties

Question 9

According to Piaget, human __________ is an environmentally-adaptive phenomenon.

A) play behaviour
B) intelligence
C) mutation
D) maturation

Question 10

The process by which we interpret the environment in terms of our current cognitive structures is known as

A) organization.
B) adaptation.
C) assimilation.
D) accommodation.

Question 11

Attempts to program a DVD Recorder to record a special program by following the sequence of steps one has used in the past to set the microwave to defrost a chicken best illustrate the Piagetian principle of

A) adaptation.
B) appropriation.
C) accommodation.
D) assimilation.

Question 12

The Piagetian concept of accommodation refers to the process by which

A) we interpret the environment to make it fit with our current cognitive structures.
B) the visual system coordinates input from the left and right eyes to produce one image.
C) we modify our cognitive structures to make them fit with the environment.
D) the cognitive system corrects, or reverses, potential disturbances thereby arriving at correct solutions of problems.

Question 13

At age 3, Naeela is quite skilled at blowing whistles, playing her toy trumpet, and blowing bubbles. Her initial attempts to work a kazoo fail, however, and she finds she has to make adjustments to produce sounds with a kazoo. The process by which Naeela modifies her actions to make the kazoo work best illustrates the Piagetian concept of

A) assimilation.
B) compensation.
C) accommodation.
D) organization.

Question 14

According to Piaget, children first begin to use representations to solve problems and to share ideas during the __________ period of cognitive development.

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

Question 15

Concrete operational thinking is characterized by

A) hypothetical-deductive reasoning.
B) the development of operations.
C) increasing egocentrism.
D) understanding the world through overt action.

Question 16

The ability to engage in scientific problem-solving is characteristic of which of Piaget's stages of cognitive development?

A) Preoperational period
B) Sensorimotor period
C) Formal operational period
D) Concrete operational period

Question 17

Piaget's conclusions about infant development were based on

A) computer simulations.
B) questionnaires and surveys.
C) laboratory studies.
D) naturalistic observation and experimentation.

Question 18

One strength of Piaget's studies is that

A) behavioural observations occurred in the controlled setting of the laboratory.
B) they were longitudinal.
C) they involved observations of large numbers of children.
D) they were cross-sectional investigations of children with disabilities.

Question 19

A weakness in Piaget's studies of infants includes

A) a small sample size.
B) observations limited to laboratory settings.
C) single assessments of individual children.
D) lack of experimental manipulations.

Question 20

In Piaget's view, reflexes are important because

A) development occurs as babies adapt their reflexes in response to new experiences.
B) reflexes serve as the means by which babies interact with their parents.
C) reflexes stimulate neurological development.
D) reflexes are key indicators of central nervous system damage.

Question 21

In Piagetian theory, an organized pattern of sucking applied to different stimuli illustrates the concept of a(n)

A) intentional behaviour.
B) concrete operation.
C) sensorimotor scheme.
D) conditioned response.

Question 22

What happens during Piaget's second sensorimotor substage?

A) The infant acquires reflexes.
B) The infant acquires the concept of object permanence.
C) The infant is capable of deferred imitation.
D) The infant develops sensorimotor schemes.

Question 23

The difference between the schemes of substage 1 infants and substage 2 infants is that

A) substage 1 infants use schemes for the pleasure of using them, whereas substage 2 infants use schemes to explore the environment.
B) the schemes of substage 1 infants are limited to single sensory modalities whereas the schemes of substage 2 infants involve the coordination of input from more than one modality.
C) substage 1 infants can reproduce activities they happen upon by chance, whereas substage 2 infants can employ means-ends analysis to produce a desired effect.
D) when trying to solve problems, substage 1 infants use initially successful solutions repeatedly, whereas substage 2 infants engage in active trial and error.

Question 24

The combination of schemes involving different sensory modes is first characteristic of which substage of the sensorimotor period?

A) substage 2 (1 to 4 months)
B) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
C) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
D) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)

Question 25

The difference between the schemes of substage 2 infants and substage 3 infants is that

A) substage 2 infants use schemes for the pleasure of using them, whereas substage 3 infants use schemes to explore the environment.
B) substage 2 infants are limited to reflexive activity, whereas substage 3 infants develop skills and action patterns to interpret the world.
C) substage 2 infants can reproduce activities they happen upon by chance, whereas substage 3 infants can employ means-ends analysis to produce a desired effect.
D) the schemes of substage 2 infants are limited to single sensory modalities whereas the schemes of substage 3 infants involve the coordination of input from more than one modality.

Question 26

An after-the-fact grasp of causality is characteristic of which sensorimotor substage?

A) substage 2 (1 to 4 months)
B) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
C) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
D) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)

Question 27

Lilli accidentally discovers that if she bounces while sitting in her infant seat, a toy attached to the seat spins around. Entranced by the movement of the toy, Lilli continues to bounce and bounce and bounce. Lilli's behaviour is most characteristic of infants in which substage of the sensorimotor period?

A) substage 2 (1 to 4 months)
B) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
C) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
D) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)

Question 28

During which sensorimotor substage do infants first discover procedures for reproducing interesting events?

A) substage 0 (the prenatal period)
B) substage 1 (birth to 1 month)
C) substage 2 (1 to 4 months)
D) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)

Question 29

The difference between the schemes of substage 3 infants and substage 4 infants is that

A) substage 3 infants use schemes for the pleasure of using them, whereas substage 4 infants use schemes to explore the environment.
B) the schemes of substage 3 infants are limited to single sensory modalities whereas the schemes of substage 4 infants involve the coordination of input from more than one modality.
C) substage 3 infants can reproduce activities they happen upon by chance, whereas substage 4 infants can employ means-ends analysis to produce a desired effect.
D) when trying to solve problems, substage 3 infants use initially successful solutions repeatedly, whereas substage 4 infants engage in active trial and error.

Question 30

Which of the following is a limitation of infant thought during the third substage (ages 4 to 8 months) of the sensorimotor period?

A) The infant is unable to reproduce interesting events.
B) The infant cannot figure out in advance how to produce interesting events.
C) The infant is unable to coordinate information from different sensory modalities.
D) The infant cannot coordinate schemes.

Question 31

During which sensorimotor substage do infants first demonstrate genuinely intentional behaviour?

A) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
B) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
C) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)
D) substage 6 (18 to 24 months)

Question 32

According to Piaget, the first genuinely intentional behaviour patterns emerge during __________ of infant development.

A) substage 2 (1 to 4 months)
B) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
C) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
D) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)

Question 33

Baby Rebecca spots her favourite squeaky toy under her dog Roxy's foot. To retrieve the toy, Rebecca needs first to push Roxy's foot aside before attempting to grasp the toy. Rebecca would be cognitively unable to perform this series of actions until which substage of sensorimotor development?

A) substage 2 (1 to 4 months)
B) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
C) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
D) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)

Question 34

When confronted with a still-face situation, where mothers remain unresponsive to infants' attempts to interact, 6-month-old infants attempt to re-establish the interaction by increasing their frequency of vocalization and smiling. This suggests that infants may __________ earlier than Piaget theorized.

A) reproduce activities they happen upon by chance
B) engage in intentional behaviour
C) coordinate input from more than one modality
D) make the A-not-B error

Question 35

What is the primary difference between infant abilities during the fourth and fifth substages of the sensorimotor period?

A) An infant in the fifth substage is capable of symbolic thought.
B) The substage 5 infant acts to achieve goals.
C) The substage 5 infant deliberately varies her behaviour to create new schemes.
D) An infant in the fifth substage can search systematically for hidden objects.

Question 36

The difference between the schemes of substage 4 infants and substage 5 infants is that

A) substage 4 infants use schemes for the pleasure of using them, whereas substage 5 infants use schemes to explore the environment.
B) the schemes of substage 4 infants are limited to single sensory modalities whereas the schemes of substage 5 infants involve the coordination of input from more than one modality.
C) substage 4 infants can reproduce activities they happen upon by chance, whereas substage 5 infants can employ means-ends analysis to produce a desired effect.
D) when trying to solve problems, substage 4 infants repeatedly use initially successful solutions despite subsequent failure, whereas substage 5 infants engage in active trial and error.

Question 37

Babies first begin to use tools to solve problems during which substage of sensorimotor development?

A) substage 2 (1 to 4 months)
B) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
C) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
D) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)

Question 38

The great scientist, Timothy O., is sitting in his high chair observing the different sounds mashed peas, applesauce, and Cheerios make as they hit the floor and walls. The groans emitted by his caregiver provide interesting sidelight, as well. Timothy O. is likely to be in which substage of sensorimotor development?

A) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
B) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
C) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)
D) substage 6 (18 to 24 months)

Question 39

Babies first become capable of mental representation during which substage of sensorimotor development?

A) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
B) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
C) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)
D) substage 6 (18 to 24 months)

Question 40

The ability to solve a problem by imagining the solution in advance first appears during which substage of the sensorimotor period?

A) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
B) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
C) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)
D) substage 6 (18 to 24 months)

Question 41

The transition to the preoperational period is marked by the ability to

A) think about and act on the world internally.
B) act intentionally.
C) engage in tool-use and means-end analysis.
D) conserve mass, volume, and quantity.

Question 42

Juan is exploring a new toy with his mother. He observes that whenever his mother moves a lever, a plastic shape falls through a chute. Juan makes several attempts to operate the lever. He pulls it, pushes it up, and wiggles it. He pauses, as if in deep thought, and then, with sudden deliberation, pushes the lever down and successfully retrieves the plastic shape. According to Piaget, Juan is most likely in which substage of the sensorimotor period?

A) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
B) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
C) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)
D) substage 6 (18 to 24 months)

Question 43

Violet is riding on her tractor when she sees she is approaching a closed door. At first, she keeps on going and crashes into the door. Since she wants to get on the other side of the door, she gets off her tractor, looks at the door, and tries to push it. She sees that the door is not opening. She then decides to try the doorknob. According to Piaget, Violet is most likely in which substage of the sensorimotor period?

A) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
B) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
C) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)
D) substage 6 (18 to 24 months)

Question 44

Object permanence refers to the concept that

A) an object's identity remains the same even when its appearance changes.
B) some objects will exist forever.
C) an object is most likely to be found in the location it was last seen.
D) objects have a permanent existence that is independent of our perceptual contact with them.

Question 45

Babies are likely to search for partially, but not completely, hidden objects during which substage in the sensorimotor period?

A) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
B) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
C) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)
D) substage 6 (18 to 24 months)

Question 46

Babies are first likely to engage in a systematic search for an object hidden from view during which substage of the sensorimotor period?

A) substage 2 (1 to 4 months)
B) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
C) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
D) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)

Question 47

The A-not-B error refers to the tendency of infants to

A) search the location where an object was previously found, even if it was observed to have been moved somewhere else.
B) search for objects they have dropped, but not search for objects others have moved.
C) always search the last place they observed an object first.
D) search visually but not manually for an object.

Question 48

Which of the following is characteristic of thought during substage 4 of the sensorimotor period?

A) Intentional behaviour
B) Systematic search for hidden objects
C) A-not-B error
D) All of the alternatives are correct.

Question 49

The A-not-B error is characteristic of thought during which substage of the sensorimotor period?

A) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
B) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
C) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)
D) substage 6 (18 to 24 months)

Question 50

Maggie is in substage 5 of the sensorimotor period. She should be able to successfully search for a toy if she

A) never saw the toy.
B) observed her mother put the toy in her pocket and then watched as her mother moved it to her purse.
C) observed her mother put the toy in her pocket, but did not watch as her mother considered putting it in her purse before finally hiding it behind a pillow.
D) observed her mother put the toy in her pocket and then transfer it to her purse, but did not witness her mother then return the toy to her pocket.

Question 51

Susan is babysitting her nephew Charlie when he discovers her handbag and its assorted contents, including a pair of small scissors. Susan takes the dangerous object from Charlie and tries to hide it from him in her pocket, under the newspaper, on top of the television, and so on, but Charlie keeps finding the scissors even when he did not see where Susan hid it. What is the youngest Charlie is likely to be?

A) 6 months
B) 10 months
C) 15 months
D) 20 months

Question 52

Kellie's mom is trying to wean her off the bottle. When Kellie gets up in the morning and when she goes to bed at night, she asks for her bottle, even though there are no bottles that are visible. According to Piaget, which substage of sensorimotor development is Kellie in?

A) substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
B) substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
C) substage 5 (12 to 18 months)
D) substage 6 (18 to 24 months)

Question 53

The ability to locate objects even after multiple invisible displacements coincides with the development of

A) representational thought.
B) conservation.
C) intentional behaviour.
D) means-end analysis.

Question 54

According to the textbook, the development of object permanence illustrates two general themes in Piaget's theory. They are

A) recognition and recall.
B) content and structure.
C) progressive decentering and invariants.
D) schemes and operations.

Question 55

Because you are a developmental psychologist, you are often solicited by all of your non-psychologist friends to answer their many questions about their child's development. One couple is worried because their child does not search for objects that they have hidden. You reassure them that their child is following Piaget's developmental stages. How old is this child most likely to be?

A) 2 months
B) 5 months
C) 9 months
D) 12 months

Question 56

In infancy, egocentrism is manifest in a(n)

A) inability to distinguish the self from the outer world.
B) unwillingness to share objects with others.
C) selfish nature.
D) tendency to focus on only one aspect of a problem at a time.

Question 57

Researchers believe Piaget may have underestimated the infant's understanding of object permanence because

A) the items Piaget expected infants to find were not interesting to babies.
B) his means of assessing object permanence required that infants have sufficient motor skills to search for objects and lift barriers.
C) he did not include young infants in his studies.
D) his measures of object permanence required that the infants use language to indicate where the hidden objects were located.

Question 58

Renée Baillargeon (1987) habituated 3.5- and 4.5-month-old infants to a screen that rotated in a 180 degree arc. She then placed a wooden box directly in the path of the screen, and rotated the screen either until it made contact with the box (a possible event) or until it passed through the box (an impossible event). On the basis of what evidence did Baillargeon conclude that 4.5-month-olds possessed some notion of object permanence?

A) The infants moved their heads extensively as if in visual search for the box in the impossible condition.
B) The infants crawled to search for the box in the impossible condition.
C) The infants looked longer at the impossible event.
D) There were no differences in the looking times between the two conditions for the older infants, whereas the younger infants looked longer at the possible event than the impossible event.

Question 59

Research suggesting that Piaget may have underestimated infants' understanding about object relations has been strengthened by recent research that has found

A) brain correlates for the capacity for object permanence.
B) object permanence in actions relying on the foot rather than hand.
C) object permanence in non-human primates
D) All of the alternatives are correct.

Question 60

__________ studies have typically been relied on to reduce the response demands of infants being tested for their understanding of cause-effect relationships.

A) Habituation
B) Preference method
C) Visual tracking
D) Operant-conditioning

Question 61

Meltzoff and Moore have examined infants' ability to imitate facial expression of a variety of sorts. They found that even newborns can imitate mouth opening and tongue protrusion. Other researchers have attempted to replicate Meltzoff and Moore's findings. The best summary of our knowledge to date is:

A) For the first six months, infants are not able to imitate movements for which there is perceptible feedback (e.g., a finger wiggle). They can imitate behaviours for which there is no perceptible feedback.
B) Some researchers have not been able to replicate Meltzoff and Moore's findings.
C) During the first six months, we do not expect babies to imitate mouth movements, because babies tend to focus on hair rather than facial features.
D) By six months of age, babies reliably imitate movements that both do and don't provide perceptible feedback.

Question 62

According to Piaget, it becomes possible for children to share their thinking with others during which period of cognitive development?

A) Sensorimotor period
B) Preoperational period
C) Concrete operational period
D) Formal operational period

Question 63

Symbolic functioning is evidenced when children

A) open their mouths prior to opening a drawer.
B) pretend that a rock is a turtle.
C) use language.
D) All of the alternatives are correct.

Question 64

Which of the following is NOT symbolic functioning?

A) Ngoc sees her friend jump up and down and screams when she doesn't get her way; two days later, Ngoc jumps up and down and screams when her father refuses to buy her a desired toy.
B) Jonathan pretends that a bar of soap is a car.
C) Ethan uses a bowl to carry five pieces of fruit.
D) Reza says "I'm hungry." in Farsi.

Question 65

Which of the following abilities does NOT emerge at the onset of the preoperational period?

A) Ability to talk about objects in their absence
B) Symbolic play
C) Seriation
D) Deferred imitation

Question 66

The realization that the qualitative or generic nature of something is not changed by a change in its appearance is known as

A) qualitative identity.
B) object permanence.
C) reversibility.
D) equilibrium.

Question 67

Archie sees his older sister sweeping with a broom. A week later, he takes the broom and starts sweeping the floor. This is an example of ___________.

A) symbolic function
B) deferred imitation
C) symbolic play
D) All of the alternatives are correct

Question 68

Children who believe a black cat can be transformed into a black dog by placing a dog mask over the cat's head do not yet understand

A) object permanence.
B) motherese.
C) qualitative identity.
D) symbolic representation.

Question 69

Ruby recently got her hair cut and now insists she is a boy unless she is wearing a dress. Ruby appears to lack a complete understanding of

A) transitivity.
B) qualitative identity.
C) class inclusion.
D) compensation.

Question 70

During the preschool years, egocentrism is reflected in children's inability to

A) distinguish between themselves and the external world.
B) consider more than one aspect of a problem at a time.
C) take into consideration the point of view of someone whose perspective is different from theirs.
D) be generous to others.

Question 71

Egocentric speech is exemplified when preschoolers

A) only want to talk about themselves.
B) repeatedly make verbal attempts to draw attention to themselves.
C) talk about things in such a way that the listener could only understand if she/he had the same knowledge.
D) won't let anyone else get a word in edgewise.

Question 72

A Piagetian would describe the difficulties that adult listeners face when having phone conversations with preschoolers in terms of the child's

A) articulation errors.
B) limited vocabulary.
C) self-centredness.
D) egocentric speech.

Question 73

The best-known task for studying children's perspective-taking skills is known as the

A) visual cliff.
B) three mountains problem.
C) conservation of number task.
D) phone task.

Question 74

The concept of centration refers to

A) the young child's tendency to focus on only one aspect of a problem at a time.
B) a form of preoperational reasoning that qualifies as neither deduction nor induction.
C) the belief that psychological phenomena have a real, material existence.
D) the idea that even objects of nature were created by human beings.

Question 75

According to a Piagetian, the most likely reason that a 4-year-old could not solve a conservation of number problem is that

A) 4-year-olds cannot yet count.
B) 4-year-olds do not understand that the numbers in the two sets are equal prior to the transformation.
C) the child's attention is captured by the length of the row and she/he finds it difficult to focus on other aspects of the row of beads, such as the quantitative aspect.
D) the child does not understand the point of the question, Do the two rows have the same number of chips, or does one row have more chips than the other?

Question 76

Conservation of continuous quantity is the conservation of

A) play dough.
B) weight.
C) area.
D) liquid.

Question 77

Approximately what ages are encompassed by the period of concrete operations?

A) 0 to 1 months
B) 2 to 6 years
C) 6 to 12 years
D) 13 years through adulthood

Question 78

Concrete operational thinking is characterized by

A) hypothetical-deductive reasoning.
B) success on conservation tasks.
C) increasing egocentrism.
D) understanding the world through overt action.

Question 79

Which of the following statements about the acquisition of conservation is true?

A) Different forms of conservation are mastered at different times.
B) The first form of conservation to be mastered appears in most American samples around age nine.
C) All forms of conservation are mastered within a period of three years.
D) Conservation is an accomplishment that is specific to males. Females rarely acquire conservation.

Question 80

Different forms of conservation are mastered at different times. Which of the following is in the correct order from earliest to latest acquired?

A) Number, mass, weight
B) Mass, length, number
C) Weight, area, mass
D) Number, length, continuous quantity