Deck 7: Three Cognitive Theories: Bruner, Piaget, and Vygotsky

Question 1

Which of the following is not a difference between cognitivism and behaviorism?

A) Cognitive psychology is mainly interested in higher mental functions rather than observable behavior, the interest of behavioral psychology.
B) Behavioral psychological research emphasizes research on humans, whereas cognitive psychological research emphasizes animal research.
C) The principal aim of behaviorisistic theories is to determine the existing relationships between behavior and its antecedents/consequences as opposed to cognitive theories' desire to make plausible and useful inferences about the mental processes that intervene between input and output.
D) Cognitive theories tend to be less ambitious in scope than were behavioristic theories.

Answer 1

Behavioral psychological research emphasizes research on humans, whereas cognitive psychological research emphasizes animal research.

Question 2

More abstract aspects of categories are represented in the

A) frontal lobe.
B) cerebellum.
C) midbrain.
D) hindbrain.

Answer 2

frontal lobe.

Question 3

The exemplar models' approach to "abstraction" argues that concepts are represented by

A) an ideal example.
B) higher level abstractions.
C) many examples of a specific category.
D) real life examples that have actually been experienced.

Answer 3

real life examples that have actually been experienced.

Question 4

According to Bruner, cognitive psychology research is limited by its scientific paradigm of

A) emphasizing human subjects.
B) the computational model of mind.
C) studying the relationships between behaviors' antecedents and consequences.
D) constructivism.

Question 5

Which of the following describe a category according to Bruner?

A) Categories are but one way human cognitive activity occurs, although not the most important.
B) The use of a category causes one to go beyond available sensory information.
C) A category is a concept but not a percept.
D) A category is a percept but not a concept.

Question 6

Which of the following is not specified in rules for categorization of an object?

A) attributes definitive of that to be categorized
B) the manner in which criterial attributes are to be combined
C) attributes are of equal criterial importance
D) acceptance limits are placed on attributes

Question 7

Which of the following accurately describes Bruner's representational systems?

A) The order of development is motor, symbolic, and enactive.
B) Each representational system is distinct, sequential, and exclusively descriptive of an individual at that stage.
C) Though two of the representational systems develop and are utilized in childhood, the third does not appear until the adult years.
D) As each representational system is acquired, it is added to and used alongside those that preceded it.

Question 8

Conversing with a fellow airline passenger on a flight to Europe, it is discovered that the passenger is an American, from California, residing in the Bay Area, in the East Bay, in Berkeley, on Benvenue Avenue. The following is descriptive of this information:

A) Each location is a criterial attribute for a category.
B) The locations illustrate a coding system.
C) Benvenue Avenue is the most general code.
D) The passenger provided excessive detail.

Question 9

According to Bruner, the goal of cognitive psychology is to understand

A) genetic structure.
B) stimuli.
C) information processing.
D) the mind and how it achieves meaning.

Question 10

A prototype of "abstraction" is which of the following ways of describing abstraction?

A) It is an ineffective way to communicate.
B) It is a composite of all examples of the thing.
C) It is a result of supposing what a thing should be like.
D) It is an instance of actual encounter with the thing represented.

Question 11

American Sign Language is an example of

A) enactive representation.
B) symbolic representation.
C) iconic representation.
D) motoric representation.

Question 12

The relationship between categories and rules is as follows:

A) Categories have no rules.
B) Only some categories have rules.
C) Rules for categories are societal.
D) Categories are rules.

Question 13

Referring to a whale as a mammal is an example of

A) coding.
B) inferring.
C) generalizing.
D) discriminating.

Question 14

The stage at which children perceive all men as "Daddy" is the

A) precognitive stage.
B) sensorimotor stage.
C) pre-intuitive stage.
D) preconceptional stage.

Question 15

The data collection method upon which Piaget based his theory was

A) observation of individuals in locations such as homes, schools, and playgrounds.
B) an interview technique of asking questions and at times allowing responses to determine the next question.
C) controlled experiments utilizing dependent and independent variables.
D) reflection upon his own cumulative life experience.

Question 16

Which of the following was central to Piaget's theory?

A) characteristics of post-adolescence development
B) abnormal responses of children to their environments
C) children and their adaptation to an environment
D) extension of existing developmental theories

Question 17

What is the relationship of assimilation to adaptation?

A) The interaction of assimilation and adaptation leads to accommodation.
B) Assimilation and adaptation are separate unrelated examples of accommodation.
C) The interaction of assimilation and accommodation lead to adaptation.
D) Assimilation is a type of adaptation involving a change in understanding.

Question 18

Piaget's equilibration is a

A) balance of adaptation and accommodation.
B) balance of accommodation and assimilation.
C) preponderance of accommodation.
D) preponderance of assimilation.

Question 19

According to Piaget, intelligence is

A) relatively fixed and capable of measurement.
B) mobile so that change occurs in measurement over time.
C) a process concept related to adaptability.
D) an action concept solely dependent on one's ability to accommodate.

Question 20

Piaget's stage theory is characterized by

A) increasing levels of adaptation.
B) the necessity of fully completing one stage before moving on to the next.
C) universal regression at the third stage.
D) the impossibility of identifying age appropriate behavior.

Question 21

Which of the following concepts in Piaget's theory relates to logical thought?

A) conservation
B) transductive reasoning
C) seriation
D) operation

Question 22

Which of the following involves a transition from prelogical, egocentric thinking to more fully regulated thinking?

A) preconceptual substage
B) formal operations
C) preoperational stage
D) concrete operations

Question 23

Which of the following is true of Piaget's theory?

A) Acquisition of knowledge is a gradual development dependent on genetic inheritance.
B) The stage of development influences a child's representation of the world.
C) Environmental factors alone influence development.
D) The stage of development has no influence upon cognitive representation.

Question 24

Which of the following is an appropriate pairing of stage with type of thinking?

A) concrete operations/propositional thinking
B) sensorimotor/intuitive thinking
C) formal operations/hypothetical thinking
D) preoperational/concrete thinking

Question 25

Which of the following is true of Piaget's theory?

A) The formal operations stage characterizes those in late adolescence and adulthood.
B) Cross-cultural studies have confirmed all of Piaget's stages.
C) There is minimal age variation with regard to when children go through the stages.
D) The last of the stages is formal operations.

Question 26

Piaget's méthode clinique refers to his

A) research laboratory.
B) interview technique.
C) psychotherapeutic technique.
D) medical clinic.

Question 27

A balance between assimilation and accommodation is known as

A) adaptation.
B) intelligence.
C) méthode clinique.
D) equilibration.

Question 28

A child's desire to be like a sports hero illustrates

A) concept attainment.
B) assimilation.
C) accommodation.
D) intelligence.

Question 29

The inability to apply that which was learned in school, despite academic success, would cause Piaget to question

A) common sense.
B) the educational system.
C) teaching techniques.
D) intelligence.

Question 30

Piaget refers to an inborn ability as

A) adaptation.
B) schema.
C) metaphor.
D) accommodation.

Question 31

During a child's sensorimotor stage, when objects are not sensed

A) the child cries.
B) the child seeks to locate the objects.
C) the objects become mentally represented.
D) the objects cease to exist.

Question 32

According to Piaget, to properly develop, a child should

A) be isolated.
B) interact with the environment.
C) be mentored.
D) be monitored.

Question 33

A later evaluation of Piaget's theory concluded that he

A) underestimated the ability of young children.
B) underestimated the abilities of adults.
C) underestimated the abilities of adolescents.
D) borrowed heavily from other stage theories.

Question 34

Which of the following is not a theme of Vygotsky's theory?

A) importance of culture
B) forces within the child
C) role of language
D) relationship between educator and educated

Question 35

The most important theme in Vygotsky's theory is:

A) Social interaction is fundamentally involved in the development of cognition.
B) Genetics predisposes human intelligence.
C) A child's cognitive development is highly accelerated through isolation.
D) Practice and repetition improve learning.

Question 36

According to Vygotsky, a key element in developing logical thought is:

A) practice.
B) experience.
C) motivation.
D) language.

Question 37

Parents and teachers should strive to have children engage in activities within the child's zone of proximal growth, meaning that the activities are

A) easily accomplished on the first try, so that the child does not become discouraged.
B) not so easy that the child can accomplish them right off the bat, nor so difficult that even with help, they cannot be accomplished.
C) difficult to accomplish, so that the child always seeks assistance in order to actively engage in social interactions.
D) easily accomplished, so that child does not become dependent on adult assistance.