Deck 15: Cognitive Development in Adolescence

Question 1

Lourdes is capable of hypothetico-deductive reasoning. When faced with a problem, which of the following will she do first?

A) Develop a general theory of all possible variables that might affect the outcome.
B) Deduce specific hypotheses about what might happen in a situation.
C) Test her hypotheses in an orderly fashion to see which ones work in the real world.
D) Examine the most obvious predictions about a situation.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The ________ of propositional reasoning can be explained as the understanding that the accuracy of conclusions drawn from premises rests on the rules of logic, not on real-world confirmation.

A) major premise
B) logical necessity
C) secondary premise
D) metacognitive understanding

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The teacher says, "If mice are bigger than cats, and cats are bigger than elephants, then mice are bigger than elephants." This statement is likely to be judged

A) false by 11-year-old Craig.
B) false by 13-year-old Michael.
C) true by 9-year-old Rana.
D) true by 12-year-old Paige.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In watching a concrete operational child and a formal operational adolescent solve the pendulum problem, what difference would be evident?

A) The concrete operational child will be completely unable to solve the problem.
B) The formal operational adolescent will solve the problem intuitively, without experimentation.
C) The formal operational adolescent will systematically test alternative hypotheses.
D) None; both will use similar strategies.

Question 5

For adolescents, propositional thought

A) limits their reasoning to the here and now.
B) prevents them from solving the red-and-green poker chip problem.
C) provides them with access to new realms of knowledge, such as higher math.
D) enables them to get along better with their peers.

Question 6

An experimenter hides a poker chip in her hand and asks children to indicate whether the following statement is true, false, or uncertain: "Either the chip in my hand is green or it is not green." A concrete operational child will say the statement is ________. A formal operational adolescent will say the statement is ________.

A) uncertain; true
B) true; uncertain
C) uncertain; false
D) true; false

Question 7

Marcus is able to evaluate the logic of verbal statements without making reference to real-world circumstances. Marcus is engaging in

A) hypothetico-deductive reasoning.
B) propositional thought.
C) concrete operational thought.
D) cognitive intuition.

Question 8

In trying to solve the pendulum problem, formal operational adolescents usually

A) fail to notice variables not suggested by the concrete materials of the task.
B) think of many possible hypotheses.
C) have difficulty separating out the effects of variables.
D) are totally stumped; the problem is not solved until adulthood.

Question 9

Six-year-old children can understand that hypotheses must be confirmed by the appropriate evidence, and they can sort out evidence concerning ________ variable(s).

A) only one
B) one or two
C) three
D) four or more

Question 10

Bryan hears the following statement: "Either the train is moving or it is not moving." If Bryan is in the formal operational stage, he will say that

A) he needs to see the train to determine whether the statement is true or false.
B) the statement is true.
C) the statement is false.
D) the statement is both true and false at the same time.

Question 11

Research into the development of formal operational tasks among peasants in tribal and village societies found that

A) formal operational thought occurs more often in women than men.
B) they often reason at a much higher level than young people in industrialized nations.
C) people can be capable of formal operational thought even if they rarely display it in everyday life.
D) they are incapable of mastering formal operational tasks.

Question 12

Many college students and adults are not fully formal operational because

A) they lack extensive experience on the specific tasks that are being assessed.
B) they are not motivated to solve formal operational tasks.
C) only the very brightest people become fully formal operational.
D) they are more interested in socializing than in thinking.

Question 13

In biology class, Zia had to determine which of two fertilizers was best for growing African violets. She tested not just for type of fertilizer but also for its concentration and frequency of use. Zia used

A) hypothetico-deductive reasoning.
B) propositional thought.
C) hierarchical classification.
D) transitive inference.

Question 14

School-age children have difficulty drawing accurate conclusions from propositional statements because they

A) find it more difficult to inhibit activation of well-learned knowledge.
B) adhere rigidly to the logical necessity of the statement.
C) are unable to think logically about any problem.
D) cannot yet understand the concept of a hypothesis.

Question 15

Veronique can think abstractly about things she cannot perceive concretely. She is in Piaget's ________ stage.

A) concrete operational
B) formal operational
C) emerging adulthood
D) hypothetical reasoning

Question 16

One reason that adolescents and adults do not always engage in formal operational thinking is that they

A) lack educational experiences that foster abstract reasoning.
B) may be capable of it, but fall back on less demanding intuitive judgments.
C) lack the motivation for higher-level thinking and problem solving.
D) prefer to make trial-and-error judgments.

Question 17

An English student who excels at analyzing the themes of a play

A) will also excel at analyzing political events.
B) can apply her formal operational abilities to mathematics problems.
C) may not be especially good at formal operational tasks in another subject area.
D) simultaneously develops formal operations that can be applied to academic tasks, but not real-world problems.

Question 18

A person in Piaget's formal operational stage

A) can come up with general logical rules through internal reflection.
B) is able to use inductive reasoning for the first time.
C) can only "operate on reality."
D) has just learned that hypotheses must be confirmed by appropriate evidence.

Question 19

Taking college courses

A) has no measurable impact on formal operational reasoning.
B) leads to improvements in formal operational reasoning on all kinds of tasks.
C) improves formal operational reasoning on tasks related to course content.
D) improves propositional thought but not hypothetico-deductive reasoning.

Question 20

Twelve-year-old Alicia hears the following: "A spoon is something that can be used to stir. Suppose something is not a spoon. Can it be used to stir?" Alicia will

A) say that she needs to see the object in question.
B) be able to reason correctly after hearing the statement.
C) say "no."
D) say "only if it is a fork."

Question 21

While out shopping, Mrs. Salveson becomes upset with her teenage daughter's sarcastic responses to her questions. Understanding the concept of the imaginary audience, how would you advise Mrs. Salveson to react to her daughter's behavior?

A) Address the problem immediately when it happens to avoid the likelihood of it recurring.
B) Wait until she can speak to her daughter alone, and address the problem then.
C) Ignore the behavior and hope that it will disappear as she matures.
D) Have another respected adult, like a teacher or counselor, deal with the behavior.

Question 22

Information-processing findings confirm that scientific reasoning

A) results from abrupt, stagewise change.
B) develops gradually.
C) is fully developed by age 12.
D) is more advanced in boys than girls.

Question 23

Charquinta is trying to solve a scientific problem and applies logic more effectively to the theory that she doubts than to the theory that she favors. Charquinta

A) is lacking in scientific reasoning skills.
B) has acquired scientific reasoning skills.
C) has developed the metacognitive capacity to evaluate her own objectivity.
D) has developed a flexible, open-minded approach to cognitive problem-solving.

Question 24

The heart of scientific reasoning is

A) coordinating theories with evidence.
B) designing experiments.
C) developing hypotheses.
D) conducting statistical analyses of data.

Question 25

Why should parents refrain from finding fault with their teenagers in public?

A) Teens already tend to believe that they are the focus of everyone else's attention and concern, so critical remarks in public can be mortifying.
B) Parents tend to judge teen behavior incorrectly, so they run a higher risk of being critical without a legitimate reason.
C) The best way to ride out the storminess of adolescence is to appease teens as much as possible; being critical will only create more problems.
D) Recent research has found that adolescents who suffer such public criticism engage in higher levels of delinquency than their peers.

Question 26

Researchers regard ________ as central to the development of abstract thought.

A) processing capacity
B) application of memory strategies
C) metacognition
D) attentional self-regulation

Question 27

________________ helps explain the long hours adolescents spend inspecting every detail of their appearance and why they are so sensitive to public criticism.

A) Egocentrism
B) Concrete thinking
C) The imaginary audience
D) Metacognition

Question 28

_________________ lead(s) adolescents to think more about themselves.

A) Overly permissive child rearing and a lack of structure
B) The ability to reflect on their thoughts, combined with physical and psychological changes,
C) Individualistic values and a disregard for others' feelings
D) Selfishness and poor problem-solving skills

Question 29

Piaget acknowledged that

A) formal operational thinking is culturally transmitted from parents or more expert peers to children.
B) achievement of the formal operational stage probably occurs as a result of new information-processing abilities.
C) very few adults are capable of formal operational thinking.
D) people in some societies may not demonstrate formal operations as a result of lack of experience with hypothetical problems.

Question 30

Young teenagers are convinced that they are the object of everyone else's attention and concern. This feature of adolescent thought is called

A) propositional reasoning.
B) the imaginary audience.
C) the personal fable.
D) rule assessment.

Question 31

According to Piaget, the new form of egocentrism that appears at adolescence involves an inability to distinguish

A) the self from the surrounding world.
B) another person's view of an object from one's own view.
C) subjective and objective aspects of experience.
D) perspectives of self and others.

Question 32

As teenagers become sure that others are observing and thinking about them, they start to feel special and unique. This feature of adolescent thought is called

A) propositional reasoning.
B) the imaginary audience.
C) the personal fable.
D) rule assessment.

Question 33

According to Kuhn, young children faced with the sports ball problem

A) are skilled at coordinating theory with evidence but fail to apply strategies consistently.
B) use logical rules to examine the relationship between multiple variables.
C) often reason much like adolescents and young adults.
D) often ignore conflicting evidence or distort it in ways consistent with their own theories.

Question 34

Since Sheila has become a teenager, she tends to be idealistic, more critical of her parents, and generally indecisive. Which of the following statements regarding Sheila is true?

A) She is showing signs of a possible learning disability.
B) She is displaying characteristics of adolescence that will probably benefit her in the long run.
C) She probably has severe psychological problems and bends easily to peer pressure.
D) She probably has a history of attachment insecurity with one or both parents.

Question 35

Mr. Conwell's son is expressing an exaggerated sense of personal uniqueness. What would be the best way for Mr. Conwell to handle this situation?

A) acknowledge his son's unique qualities, but also look for moments to point out that he, too, felt similarly as a teenager
B) be sensitive but firm in telling his son that he is not really unique at all; that human beings are all much more similar than different
C) cater to his son's sense of self until about the age of 18 when his son should be ready to hear a more balanced perspective
D) completely ignore his son's sense of self; most adolescents resolve these issues on their own

Question 36

Cristina feels that she is a fairly objective person, but she also knows there are times when her opinions are completely biased and fail to take into account factual evidence. In all likelihood, Cristina

A) has difficulty solving abstract problems.
B) tends to be more fair-minded rather than self-serving.
C) is generally disliked by her peers for being selfish.
D) is still a concrete thinker.

Question 37

A high-school science teacher, Mr. Reidy, wants to increase his students' skills at coordinating theory with evidence. He wonders if he should provide them with traditional scientific tasks, or allow them to engage in informal reasoning. What should you tell him?

A) Scientific reasoning is influenced by years of schooling that can involve either of the two methods.
B) Neither of the methods has been proven effective for increasing scientific reasoning.
C) Traditional scientific tasks are the only problems that improve scientific reasoning.
D) Informal reasoning tasks are the only problems that improve scientific reasoning.

Question 38

Gina has a bruise on her leg. She turned down an invitation to a swim party, explaining, "I can't possibly wear a swim suit with this ugly bruise. Everyone will notice how ugly I look!" Gina's response reveals that her thinking is characterized by

A) paranoia.
B) argumentativeness.
C) the imaginary audience.
D) the personal fable.

Question 39

Research indicates that when solving novel problems (for example, causal-experimental) in various task domains, adolescents

A) master component skills in no particular order.
B) fail to formulate and test the appropriate hypotheses.
C) construct a general model that can be applied to many instances of a given type of problem.
D) formulate appropriate hypotheses but have difficulty applying effective strategies.

Question 40

After getting rejected for a date, Kelsey's father attempts to comfort him. Kelsey responds, "Leave me alone, Dad! You'll never understand what I'm going through!" This common adolescent distortion is known as

A) logical necessity.
B) hypothetico-deductive reasoning.
C) the imaginary audience.
D) the personal fable.

Question 41

Young people with ___________ and ___________ scores tend to take more sexual risks, more often use drugs, and commit more delinquent acts than their agemates.

A) low personal-fable; high sensation-seeking
B) high personal fable; high sensation-seeking
C) high self-esteem; low sensation-seeking
D) low self-esteem; high idealism

Question 42

The personal fable may help young people cope with the challenges of adolescence by

A) discouraging reckless behavior.
B) decreasing the importance of the imaginary audience.
C) focusing attention on the opinions of others.
D) enabling them to view themselves as influential and capable.

Question 43

Fabian and his sister Felicity regularly play computer games that require rapid mental rotation of visual images. You would expect

A) both children to show decreased spatial abilities in school.
B) both children to show enhanced scores on spatial tasks.
C) Felicity to show enhanced spatial scores, and Fabian's scores to be unaffected.
D) Fabian to show enhanced spatial scores, and Felicity's scores to be unaffected.

Question 44

Who is most likely to be referred for remedial reading instruction?

A) Rachel, who is 6 years old
B) Betsy, who is 8 years old
C) Eric, who is 10 years old
D) Allison, who is 12 years old

Question 45

Sixteen-year-old Solomon seems unable to make any decisions, from what outfit to wear to which classes he wants to take next year. His mother should

A) just make the decisions for him until he snaps out of this phase.
B) model good decision-making skills, but refrain from making decisions for him.
C) know that this phase will eventually pass, and that she should just wait patiently until it does.
D) provide him with more opportunities to make decisions.

Question 46

Which of the following is consistent with current research on gender differences in intellectual performance?

A) In early childhood, boys are slightly ahead in verbal ability.
B) By early childhood, girls do better at abstract mathematical problem solving.
C) By adolescence, girls are far ahead in verbal ability.
D) Girls score higher on tests of verbal ability throughout the school years.

Question 47

Females may show an advantage in verbal skills because

A) the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex develops earlier in girls than in boys.
B) they rely on sensory brain regions to process spoken and written words.
C) they tend to work harder in school than boys.
D) they are more likely to attend college than boys.

Question 48

When do boys start to outperform girls in mathematics?

A) from preschool age
B) by the age of 7 or 8
C) by early adolescence
D) by late adolescence

Question 49

Elizabeth has developed an idea of what the "perfect family" should look and act like and constantly criticizes her siblings and parents when they do not measure up. Elizabeth's parents should

A) ignore her comments and hope she outgrows this behavior as she matures.
B) use authoritarian child-rearing techniques and punish her after every critical remark.
C) develop a hierarchy of negative consequences that should be implemented immediately after each critical remark.
D) respond patiently to her remarks, but point out the positive features of each family member to help her see that all people are blends of virtues and imperfections.

Question 50

Sex differences on ________ tasks are weak or nonexistent.

A) spatial visualization
B) mental rotation
C) spatial perception
D) visual orientation

Question 51

Research indicates that boys and girls who regularly engage in activities like ________ do better on spatial tasks.

A) playing board games
B) diving
C) riding a bicycle
D) building models

Question 52

Some researchers hypothesize that prenatal exposure to ________ enhances right hemispheric functioning, giving males an advantage in spatial abilities.

A) estrogens
B) endorphins
C) androgens
D) adrenaline

Question 53

When making decisions, adolescents are likely to emphasize _____________ over _______________

A) short-term goals; long-term goals.
B) logic; irrationality.
C) metaevaluation.
D) source monitoring.

Question 54

Teenagers struggle to make plans and decisions because they

A) think more rationally than adults.
B) are better at making abstract judgments than real-world decisions.
C) have not yet mastered abstract thought.
D) have difficulty inhibiting emotions and impulses.

Question 55

Adolescents' planning and decision making are

A) easy for tasks of daily life, but are undeveloped for schoolwork.
B) much improved for schoolwork, but are still difficult in daily life.
C) very effective in both schoolwork and daily life.
D) poorly developed in both schoolwork and daily life.

Question 56

Boys' superiority over girls in mathematics

A) is steadily increasing in industrialized nations.
B) has remained steady over the last 30 years.
C) has greatly diminished.
D) is actually a myth.

Question 57

Adolescent idealism often leads young people to become

A) more cooperative at home.
B) more critical of parents and siblings.
C) better students at school.
D) more realistic in their evaluations of others.

Question 58

The personal fable contributes to

A) risk taking.
B) disengagement from others.
C) poor schoolwork.
D) peer conformity.

Question 59

When dealing with the personal fable, adolescents are concerned about the opinions of others because

A) others' evaluations have real consequences in terms of self-esteem, peer acceptance, and social support.
B) such opinions help them transition smoothly from adolescence to adulthood.
C) they lack the ability to think independently and are unable to develop opinions of their own.
D) they do not trust their own opinions or judgments.

Question 60

When making decisions, adolescents often depend on

A) logical and rational thinking.
B) cognitive self-regulation.
C) intuitive judgments.
D) evaluations from strangers.

Question 61

Gains in language development during adolescence are largely due to

A) biological maturation.
B) reading adult literary works.
C) improved capacity for reflective thought and abstraction.
D) adult instruction.

Question 62

Research shows that in adolescence, the ability to understand proverbs is positively related to

A) peer acceptance.
B) spatial skills.
C) reading proficiency.
D) interest in political issues.

Question 63

Sixteen-year-old Alyssa speaks differently to her boss at work, her parents at home, and her friends at school. Alyssa demonstrates an improved mastery of

A) vocabulary.
B) grammar.
C) pragmatics.
D) pronunciation.

Question 64

Which of the following adolescents are at greatest risk for academic and emotional difficulties after a school transition? Those who

A) move from a large elementary school to a small junior high school.
B) were good students in elementary school.
C) attend a single-sex school.
D) have to cope with added life strains, such as family disruption or poverty.

Question 65

An effective way to ease the strain of school transition in adolescence is to

A) assign students to classes with several familiar peers or a constant group of new peers.
B) make sure that academic expectations in junior high are tougher than in elementary school.
C) reduce students' need to conform by encouraging anonymity.
D) reduce the number of extracurricular activities available in high school.

Question 66

Crystal, age 16, is allowed to work at her part-time job for no more than 15 hours a week, and she tends to make decisions jointly with her parents. Which of the following statements about Crystal is most likely to be true?

A) Crystal will likely grow up to have a poor work ethic as an adult.
B) Crystal will likely grow up to be a permissive parent.
C) Crystal is likely to do very well in her academic work.
D) Crystal is likely to lack motivation in doing her school work.

Question 67

In elementary school,

A) girls more often blame math errors on lack of ability than boys.
B) both boys and girls view math as a "female domain."
C) girls believe they do not have to work as hard as boys in math.
D) boys regard math as less useful for their future lives than girls.

Question 68

Compared to their elementary school teachers, students say junior high teachers

A) care less about them.
B) are more friendly.
C) care more about them.
D) grade more fairly.

Question 69

Teenage slang is an example of adolescents'

A) mastery of language style.
B) poor use of grammar.
C) egocentrism.
D) capacity for second-language learning.

Question 70

One way to enhance girls' math skills is to

A) focus more on their verbal processing skills.
B) focus less on spatial skills and more on computational skills.
C) teach them how to apply effective spatial strategies.
D) wait until secondary school, when higher order skills are being utilized, to intervene.

Question 71

School transitions typically lead to environmental changes that fit poorly with adolescents' developmental needs, including

A) disruption of close relationships with teachers at a time when adolescents need adult support.
B) an emphasis on sophisticated academic collaboration during a period of heightened self-focusing.
C) increased expectation for independent decision making.
D) lowered academic demands as students are sorted into academic and nonacademic tracks.

Question 72

Research on school transitions shows that ________ declines for both genders after each school change.

A) self-esteem
B) grade-point average
C) loneliness
D) dating

Question 73

In general, research shows that the earlier the school transition, the

A) more powerful its impact, especially for boys.
B) more powerful its impact, especially for girls.
C) less its impact, especially for boys.
D) less its impact, especially for girls.

Question 74

Which of the following is a critical factor in eliminating gender differences in math and science?

A) finding a way to reduce genetic differences between the genders
B) creating all-girl science classes so that they will not be compared to boys
C) decreasing the amount of emphasis for boys to excel at math and science
D) promoting girls' interest and confidence in math and science

Question 75

With regard to computer use, Angelique is more likely to ________, while Brendan is more likely to ________.

A) write computer programs; use e-mail
B) use instant messaging; use graphics software
C) analyze data; gather information for homework assignments
D) use e-mail; use instant messaging

Question 76

During adolescence, vocabulary growth involves the addition of many

A) abstract words.
B) compound words.
C) action words.
D) modifiers.

Question 77

Compared to school-age children, adolescents are better at

A) defining concrete words.
B) understanding figurative language.
C) turn taking in conversations.
D) applying the basic rules of grammar.

Question 78

Joshua recently switched from elementary school to middle school. He feels less academically competent and his liking for school has declined. Which of the following best explains the cause of his feelings?

A) He comes from a high-SES background.
B) The class sizes are bigger, and the school work is more challenging.
C) Middle school teachers tend to be less caring and supportive than elementary school teachers.
D) Boys, more so than girls, tend to struggle with school transitions.

Question 79

Students who had academic difficulties in addition to mental health problems during junior high ___________ after the transition to high school.

A) showed grade improvements
B) showed increased out-of-school problem behaviors
C) experienced an increase in self-esteem
D) had fewer mental health problems

Question 80

Teenagers who perceive their school learning environments to be ________ have more successful school transitions.

A) more rigid and strict than their middle school environments
B) competitive
C) easy and unstructured
D) sensitive and flexible