Deck 14: Cognitive Development in Adolescence

Question 1

Jocelyn is 16 and hoping to join the Peace Corps after college and work in Bolivia. She has never traveled there, but she has read a lot about the Peace Corps and the work they are doing, and Jocelyn can see herself working there teaching English. Which stage of cognitive development is she in?

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

Answer 1

formal operational thought

Question 2

In Piaget's swinging pendulum experiment, what strategies did adolescents in formal operational thought use?

A) They randomly changed variables so could not come to clear conclusions
B) They changed one variable at a time and therefore could come to a conclusion
C) They could not decide on a strategy to use to solve the pendulum problem as it was too complex
D) They made the pendulum too heavy so that it slowed down

Answer 2

They changed one variable at a time and therefore could come to a conclusion

Question 3

Do all people think at the level of formal operational thought once they have conquered concrete operational thinking?

A) Yes, otherwise abstract thought would be obsolete
B) Yes, it is a skill that all adults need to use, irregardless of culture or career
C) No, not everyone needs to in their daily lives or work
D) No, people in pre-industrialized cultures have not advanced enough to be able to think this way

Answer 3

No, not everyone needs to in their daily lives or work

Question 4

Which component of adolescent egocentrism is the adolescent who drinks and drives, believing that unlike others, nothing bad will happen to her is acting out?

A) Naïve idealism
B) Imaginary audience
C) Personal fable
D) Hypothetico-Deductive Thinking

Question 5

Which component of adolescent egocentrism is the teenager who attempts suicide after a painful break up with her boyfriend, believing that no one would understand the pain she is going through experiencing?

A) the imaginary audience
B) the personal fable
C) naïve idealism
D) formal operational thought

Question 6

Shelby spends hours each morning in the bathroom applying make up before school, thinking about how others will see her when she walks into class. Which part of adolescent egocentrism is she exhibiting with this behavior?

A) naïve idealism
B) the personal fable
C) the imaginary audience
D) hypothetico-deductive thinking

Question 7

Which part of adolescent egocentrism allows the adolescent to consider issues of social injustice?

A) naïve idealism
B) the personal fable
C) the imaginary audience
D) hypothetico-deductive thinking

Question 8

How do teens executive processes compare to those of younger children?

A) Teens executive processes are more efficient than younger children
B) Younger children have better executive processes
C) There is no difference between the executive processes of younger children and teens
D) Executive processes peak in middle childhood and begin to decrease thereafter

Question 9

When Eduardo's third grade teacher asks the class a question, Eduardo yells out the answer even though he has been reminded to raise his hand and wait to be called on. What is Eduardo lacking that teens have more than younger children?

A) memory
B) concentration
C) response inhibition
D) the imaginary audience

Question 10

Fourteen-year-old Martha is being interviewed by the admissions staff at a private high school.When asked what she would like to do for a career one day, Martha pauses and collects her thoughts before answering with the first thing that pops into her head. What does Martha have that younger children have not developed yet?

A) response inhibition
B) focus
C) the personal fable
D) hypothetico-deductive thinking and planning

Question 11

What do adolescents with executive processes excel at?

A) Problem solving
B) Academic learning
C) Metamemory
D) All of the above

Question 12

What happens when students typically enter high school after spending eight years in an elementary school?

A) Their grades improve
B) Their grades decline
C) Their grades stay the same
D) Their socialization improves

Question 13

How do children's goals change once they enter middle school?

A) They change from having task goals to ability goals
B) They change from having ability goals to task goals
C) They adopt goals for the first time
D) They focus on goals that are longer range such as future career goals.

Question 14

Which goal is the middle school student focusing on if he wants to get a 100% on his math test so the teacher will think he is the smartest in the class?

A) competitive goal
B) personal goal
C) academic goal
D) ability goal

Question 15

Which approach to middle school education does the National Middle School Association recommend?

A) A team approach where teachers work together
B) Assigning each new student with the name of a mentor teacher with whom they can meet if problems arise
C) One which treats children as if they are more similar to high school students than elementary school students
D) One where there are adequate social activities so that all students come to believe that school is equated with fun

Question 16

What is the single most powerful predictor of dropping out of high school that researchers have identified?

A) students who have learning disabilities
B) poverty
C) students with few school friends
D) failing ninth grade algebra

Question 17

What is a drop out prevention strategy that has been effective for high school students?

A) ninth-grade academies that provide academic support to at-risk students
B) after school programs
C) teen pregnancy prevention information given out at school
D) finding a student peer mentor

Question 18

What are the two groups that secondary school students fall into?

A) Popular or rejected students
B) Intellectual or athletic students
C) Engaged or disengaged students
D) Advantaged or disadvantaged students

Question 19

Which parenting style tends to encourage engaged high school students?

A) authoritarian
B) authoritative
C) permissive
D) neglecting

Question 20

What is one of the reasons why so many high school students disengage?

A) It is easier than getting involved in activities
B) Lots of teens find extracurricular activities boring
C) There is peer pressure to not do well in school
D) Budget cuts in athletics have made it difficult for students to play sports

Question 21

Schools that reach out to all students, helping them to connect in real ways and to feel safe is an example of which type of prevention?

A) primary
B) secondary
C) tertiary
D) intervention

Question 22

Which racial or ethnic group has the highest high school drop out rate?

A) Hispanic Americans
B) African Americans
C) Whites
D) Native Americans

Question 23

What is the primary reason why the majority of students report dropping out of high school?

A) Classes were boring
B) They became pregnant
C) Failing grades
D) Lack of parental support

Question 24

Which of the following are the long term consequences to dropping out of high school?

A) depression
B) unemployment
C) poverty
D) all of the above

Question 25

When character education is implemented in a school, what are the outcomes?

A) More parental involvement
B) Increase in suspension of students
C) Rise in academic achievement
D) Absenteeism increases

Question 26

Which of the following is a virtue that comprises character?

A) Self esteem
B) Fortitude
C) Generosity
D) Helpfulness

Question 27

What is character education curriculum?

A) A series of lessons designed to teach students culturally acceptable ways of behaving
B) An assessment process that allows schools to identify "characters" or students at-risk of dropping out
C) A curriculum used by inner city high schools to prevent dropping out
D) A well researched curriculum designed in the 1960s to teach empathy skills to high school students

Question 28

How has playing video games helped girls academically?

A) Girls are learning strategies which they then use in science classes
B) Girls who know how to play video games are more popular with classmates, making them want to attend school
C) Girls scores on tests of spatial perception improve which transfers to math achievement
D) Girls learn problem solving that helps with social situations in school

Question 29

What are the outcomes for teens who work while in high school?

A) They are able to decide on a career easier than youth who did not work
B) They are more likely to go to college than non-working peers
C) They are less likely to go to college than non-working peers
D) They are less likely to learn to budget money than peers who are not employed

Question 30

What benefits are seen when high school students work at skills based jobs?

A) They felt confident and competent
B) They more often went on to later be terminated from a job in adulthood
C) They decided on a career very easily
D) They changed jobs frequently

Question 31

What is the first stage of Super's career decision making process?

A) The exploratory stage
B) The growth stage
C) The fantasy stage
D) The role play stage

Question 32

What happens during the growth stage of career development?

A) Young people begin to connect their personal characteristics with potential career choices
B) Children learn about their abilities and interests
C) Young people take on apprenticeship roles to explore their abilities and interests
D) Professionals become mentors to new workers

Question 33

What happens during the exploratory stage of career development?

A) Teens begin to connect their personal characteristics with possible career choices
B) Children take on various roles to explore potential future work ideas
C) Teens begin to explore internships that could lead to a career choice
D) College students select a major and begin coursework to decide if that is the best career path for them

Question 34

What did John Holland's research prove with regard to career choice?

A) That career paths are seldom direct but rather haphazard as young people take on jobs and roles in life
B) That each of us tends to choose and be successful at careers that match our personality
C) That like love, there is one true career for each person that will make them ultimately happy
D) That the careers that you play acted as a child are most often the jobs you seek later as an adult

Question 35

Which personality type is most likely to choose a career which involves organizing and planning as well as abstract thinking such as engineering or science?

A) realistic
B) investigative
C) social
D) enterprising

Question 36

Mike is an auto mechanic. While in school he played football but had just a few close friends.
Which personality type is he, according to Holland?

A) conventional
B) enterprising
C) realistic
D) investigative

Question 37

John was voted most outgoing in his high school and was the class president. He loves to socialize and is very popular. John can't imagine a job where he wasn't working with groups of people, harnessing their energy towards a common goal. Which personality type is John?

A) conventional
B) enterprising
C) realistic
D) social

Question 38

What is the role of parents with regard to a young person's career choice?

A) Young people tend to choose careers at the same social-class levels as their parents
B) Adolescents tend to ignore their parents career advice
C) Parents can be instrumental in connecting their teens to others in potential career settings
D) Adolescents often follow the advice that parents give with regard to career choice

Question 39

Do gender specific careers still exist today?

A) No, thanks to the women's movement there are no longer stereotypical women's jobs and men's jobs
B) No, there are discrimination laws that would not allow this to happen
C) Yes, there are still stereotypical gender specific jobs
D) Yes, there are still careers that women only can do and men only can do

Question 40

What is an example of a job that is stereotypically a woman's job?

A) Doctor
B) Housewife
C) Teacher
D) Lawyer

Question 41

What are stereotypical men's jobs like?

A) They tend to be in service occupations
B) They tend to be in health care
C) They tend to be technical and varied
D) They tend to be more difficult

Question 42

Who today is more likely to work as clerks, medical assistants, and secretaries?

A) Men
B) Women
C) Men and women
D) Androgynous people

Question 43

What is unique about young people who choose a job that stereotypically has been considered the opposite gender's work?

A) They are homosexual
B) They are transgendered
C) They are androgynous
D) They are ambiguous with regard to gender identity

Question 44

Which ethnic and racial groups complete two years or less of algebra in high school?

A) Whites and Hispanic Americans
B) Native Americans and African Americans
C) African Americans and Hispanics
D) Native Americans and Middle Eastern

Question 45

What do high scores on standardized math tests indicate?

A) Those students who score high are enrolled in advanced math classes
B) Those students who score high are typically White and Asian American
C) Students who do well had taken more algebra classes than low scoring students
D) All of the above

Question 46

Why might girls be uninterested in playing video games?

A) They are primarily marketed to boys.
B) Girls don't find them challenging enough.
C) Girls typically don't do well on video games
D) Parents of girls don't allow them to play video games

Question 47

What contributes to girl's success in science classes?

A) Whether or not their parents succeeded when they were in high school
B) How much homework help is given them by parents
C) If their science teacher is a female
D) Parents who give the message that science is a great field for females

Question 48

What is the impact of character education on schools?

A) Once the program is implemented, reports of behavior problems declines
B) Students who are in scouts tend to become character education leaders as these programs share similar goals
C) More students go on to graduate from high school when this curriculum is used
D) The data on the efficacy is difficult to draw conclusions about as it is largely anecdotal

Question 49

What is the link between dropping out of school and mental illness?

A) Drop outs are more likely to be depressed in adulthood
B) Depression is the major reason high school students drop out
C) Mental illness is often diagnosed once a student drops out of school
D) Drop outs are not diagnosed with mental illness as much as high school graduates

Question 50

Robert says that his grades in high school are low because his teachers just don't care. What locus of control does Robert's thinking reflect?

A) Internal locus of control
B) External locus of control
C) Motivational locus of control
D) Behavioral locus of control

Question 51

Maya admitted to her parents that her lousy report card was the result of her not studying hard enough. Which locus of control does Maya use when explaining her poor grades?

A) Internal locus of control
B) External locus of control
C) Motivational locus of control
D) Intrinsic locus of control

Question 52

Patrick skips classes nearly every day. He never does his homework or anything else connected to school. What type of student is Patrick?

A) unmotivated
B) engaged
C) disengaged
D) rebellious

Question 53

Tracy is a cheerleader, serves on student government, and writes for the school newspaper.Her parents are presidents of the PTO at her school. What type of student is Tracy?

A) Motivated
B) Involved
C) Engaged
D) Popular

Question 54

Why are the early days of high school so important?

A) They set a pattern of success or failure that continues into adulthood
B) Cliques are formed within the first week of school, defining the student
C) Poor adjustment leads to increased drop out rates
D) New students feel a great deal of stress regarding adjustment to a new school

Question 55

Zach attends a high school that only has ninth grade contained within the school. What type of school is Zach attending?

A) Montessori high school
B) Ninth-grade academy
C) Waldorf high school
D) Private high school

Question 56

Which secondary school arrangement helps to lessen the transitional difficulties associated when students enter high school?

A) Having an elementary school go through eighth grade so there is only one transition
B) Having the student transition to junior high and then to high school
C) Having students attend middle school from fifth grade on
D) None of the configurations lessen the drops in achievement and self esteem when students enter high school.

Question 57

Which type of learning improves as students get older?

A) Conceptual
B) Academic
C) Applied
D) Abstract

Question 58

Which part of the brain is responsible for executive processes?

A) brain stem
B) hippocampus
C) prefrontal cortex
D) cerebellum

Question 59

What do improved executive processes allow teens to be better at than their school age peers?

A) Focusing on information that will allow them to accomplish a goal
B) Acting more independently
C) Becoming empathetic
D) Understanding complex subject matter

Question 60

Young teens are not as good as older teens at thinking abstractly. What can help them to learn to do so?

A) They need to experiment with their formal operational schemes before they are proficient at using them.
B) They need complex problems and examples that will help them to acquire the ability to think abstractly.
C) Their executive processes need time to mature.
D) They need to take more abstract courses such as philosophy.

Question 61

Before Erin goes to the gym to exercise she spends a lot of time choosing her workout clothing, picturing herself walking into the gym and what people's reactions will be when they see her. Which component of adolescent egocentrism is Erin experiencing?

A) naïve idealism
B) hypothetico-deductive thinking
C) imaginary audience
D) personal fable

Question 62

Because of the frequency with which teens are using text-messaging language, what are the anticipated consequences with regard to their English skills?

A) Their use of correct grammar will decline
B) They will invent new words that will be added to future dictionaries
C) Their use of language will not suffer as a result
D) It is too early to tell

Question 63

How does usage of formal operational thought currently compare to the frequency of use in prior generations?.

A) Prior generations did not need to think abstractly as much as we do today so it has increased
B) Prior generations could not rely on technology so they used formal operational thought more than generations do today
C) Usage of formal operational thought has remained consistent among teens in prior generations
D) Usage of formal operational increased in the 1990s when compared to earlier years

Question 64

Sandra believes that if she is accepted into her first choice of colleges then she will be happy, succeed, and in four years begin an exciting career as a photojournalist. Which form of thinking is Sandra using to think about these future events?

A) Systematic problem solving
B) Naïve idealism
C) Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
D) Concrete operational thought

Question 65

In what ways is formal operational thought different from cognitive abilities found in concrete operational thinking?

A) It is abstract thinking
B) It is problem solving
C) It is the ability to solve a problem using logic
D) It is the ability to use your imagination

Question 66

What is the process of finding a solution to a problem by testing single factors called?

A) systematic problem solving
B) hypothetico-deductive reasoning
C) concrete operational thinking
D) abstract thinking

Question 67

Why is it that teens can understand metaphors and younger children cannot?

A) Formal operational thinking allows for this understanding
B) High schools discuss metaphors in English and lower grades do not
C) Metaphors are highly complex ways of communicating
D) Teens use metaphors frequently when talking to each other

Question 68

Maggie understood what her mother meant when she told her sister, "Too many cooks spoil the broth," but her sister did not. She replied, "I thought we were having spaghetti for supper, not soup." Why could Maggie understand this statement but her younger sister could not?

A) Maggie is in formal operational thought so she can understand such abstract concepts
B) Maggie's sister has never heard that statement before
C) Maggie's sister is in formal operational thought and therefore analyzed her mother's comment too abstractly
D) Maggie used her systematic problem solving abilities to understand the meaning

Question 69

What is adolescent egocentrism?

A) The inability for the adolescent to see the world from another person's perspective
B) Selfishness seen in teens
C) Belief that the adolescents thoughts, beliefs, and feelings are different from everyone else's
D) The same as egocentrism in early childhood

Question 70

The period of cognitive development where adolescents learn to think abstractly and to reason logically is __________ .

Question 71

In adulthood, rates of formal operational thinking increase with__________ .

Question 72

High levels of technology and complex lifestyles such as those found in industrialized cultures require more abstract thinking or thinking at the level of __________ .

Question 73

The teenager who engages in risky behavior, believing he is immortal is acting out his own__________ .

Question 74

Spending an unprecedented amount of time in front of the mirror may be a sign that the teenage is painfully picturing that the whole world notices every detail about her or acting as though she has an__________ .

Question 75

Adolescents' maturing executive processes enable them to approach __________ , the kind of learning required in school, more effectively than they did in earlier years.

Question 76

Luke wants to be chosen to pitch for his town baseball league. Every day after school he goes to the batting cages and practices pitching, believing that if he works hard enough, he will be better than his team mates and be chosen as the first string pitcher. Luke has set a(n) __________ goal for himself, hoping to be better than anyone else on his team.

Question 77

Sarah is in a school chorus. Everyone tells her she is the best vocalist in the group, but she doesn't care at all about that. Sarah just wants to be able to sing the national anthem without her voice cracking at the high notes. Sarah is setting a __________ goal for herself.

Question 78

Failing __________ is the single most powerful predictor of dropping out of high school that researchers have identified.

Question 79

Self contained ninth grades are called __________ .

Question 80

__________ are better at identifying effective strategies for solving the types of problems found on standardized math tests.