Deck 5: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

Question 1

What have been found to be the two most important contributors to height differences among children worldwide?

A)nutrition and exercise
B)ethnic origin and social class
C)prenatal care and emotional difficulties
D)ethnic origin and nutrition

Answer 1

ethnic origin and nutrition

Question 2

The prefrontal cortex is involved in tasks of:

A)spatial abilities.
B)motor coordination.
C)maintaining attention to tasks.
D)verbal skills.

Answer 2

maintaining attention to tasks.

Question 3

Jungle gyms,slides,and climbing equipment should be available to help young children develop:

A)handedness.
B)fine motor skills.
C)gross motor skills.
D)attention and concentration skills.

Answer 3

gross motor skills.

Question 4

Between ages 3 and 6 years,which part of the brain grows the fastest?

A)the putamen
B)the parietal lobe
C)the prefrontal cortex
D)the corpus callosum

Question 5

Myelination in the brain serves to:

A)nourish the nerve cells so that they function more efficiently.
B)increase the number of cells connected in a given neural network.
C)help nerve cells communicate with a larger number of other cells.
D)increase the speed of information traveling through the nerve cells.

Question 6

Which child will find the task of arranging objects in a precise pattern on a table most challenging?

A)a 3-year-old
B)a 4-year-old
C)a 5-year-old
D)a 6-year-old

Question 7

Her pediatrician has just told Karly that her 4-year-old son,Manuel,has gained 6 pounds in the last year.Karly should:

A)be alarmed,because this is too much weight gain.
B)be alarmed,because this is too little weight gain.
C)be alarmed,because this is normal weight gain only for females.
D)understand that this is normal.

Question 8

All of the following children are likely to be shorter than their peers,EXCEPT:

A)firstborn children.
B)lower-socioeconomic children.
C)later-born children.
D)children who live in rural settings.

Question 9

Brendan is 3 years old.His parents are concerned because he is always running and jumping on things.He cannot seem to sit still.Even when watching his favorite movie on TV,he still fidgets,bounces,and wiggles around.It is especially frustrating when Brendan will not sit still through dinner.Given what we know about child development,we would advise Brendan's parents to:

A)have Brendan tested for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
B)start Brendan on a behavior modification program to substitute productive behaviors for the running and jumping.
C)provide structured,cognitively challenging activities for Brendan to build his attention span.
D)be patient and recognize that Brendan is developing as a normal 3-year-old.

Question 10

During early childhood,on average girls are ________ than boys.

A)much larger
B)much smaller
C)slightly larger
D)slightly smaller

Question 11

Reggio Emilia is a city in northern Italy;it gives its name to a philosophy and approach to a(n):

A)method of providing health care to children of poor families.
B)early childhood education program design.
C)program for training teachers of young children.
D)parenting education method.

Question 12

Myelination occurs in the brain when:

A)children develop more nerve cells.
B)nerve cells grow more nerve endings.
C)nerve cells become insulated with a layer of fat.
D)nerve cells become connected to each other in a more complicated network.

Question 13

By the end of early childhood,boys have _______,whereas girls have _______.

A)more muscle;more fat.
B)more fat;more muscle.
C)more strength;more endurance.
D)a larger weight gain;a larger height gain.

Question 14

Gross motor skills are to fine motor skills as ________ is to _______.

A)jumping;running
B)running;jumping
C)hopping;writing
D)writing;hopping

Question 15

Hallie is very active.She loves to tumble and show off.She is not afraid of doing what her parents consider to be hair-raising stunts.She also loves to run and believes she is faster than her parents.This type of activity level and confidence is most characteristic of the:

A)2-year-old.
B)3-year-old.
C)4-year-old.
D)5-year-old.

Question 16

Myelination is important in development because:

A)most of the growth of the brain is a result of myelination.
B)new nerve cells cannot form until the older ones are myelinated.
C)the pituitary does not function until the brain is almost completely myelinated.
D)certain abilities cannot be completely carried out until the associated part of the brain is myelinated.

Question 17

When looking at the heights and weights of preschool children,we know that:

A)there are ethnic differences.
B)there are no ethnic differences.
C)there are ethnic differences in average weight but not average height.
D)environmental factors are more important than genetic factors.

Question 18

Sanjay and Ryan are 4-year-old friends.When they are together,they often wrestle,run,race,push,and shove each other.Although their level of activity often aggravates their parents,we know that this activity will:

A)help the boys develop gross motor skills.
B)stop when their brains become better myelinated.
C)be temporary,because it is not normal for children this age.
D)help the boys develop the fine motor skills they will need in kindergarten.

Question 19

Three-year-olds scribble all over the page,but 4-year-olds can make more precise drawings that adults can understand.This is because 4-year-olds have more highly developed:

A)artistic ability.
B)fine motor skills.
C)gross motor skills.
D)sense of what others appreciate.

Question 20

Which of the following is the best descriptor of how children's brains grow during early childhood?

A)an even and continuous process
B)rapid distinct spurts of growth
C)virtually no growth at all
D)the highest level of growth of any developmental period

Question 21

Jean Piaget claimed that children between the ages of 2 and 7 years are in a stage called preoperational thought,so named because he believed that:

A)children at this age do not yet use mental operations in their thought.
B)children's ability to think with concepts is not yet operational at this age.
C)children's ability to use symbols in thinking is not yet operational at this age.
D)children at this age do not yet understand the basic concept of object permanence.

Question 22

An overwhelming worldwide health concern in the last decade has been death as a result of:

A)acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
B)malnourishment.
C)rubella.
D)malaria.

Question 23

According to the textbook,many deaths of young children around the world could be prevented by:

A)reducing poverty and improving nutrition,sanitation,education,and health services.
B)providing immunizations for every common infectious disease.
C)wider distribution of antidiarrheal medicines and oral rehydration kits.
D)taking every child's BMI into account when providing proper levels of nutrition.

Question 24

"My computer doesn't like me-it keeps eating my pictures," says Sarah.This is an example of:

A)animism.
B)centration.
C)operations.
D)egocentrism.

Question 25

The stage of preoperational thought lasts from age ________ years until age ________ years.

A)1;3
B)2;7
C)4;9
D)5;12

Question 26

Although Bethanne is only 2 years old,she already has symptoms of asthma.What should her parents do?

A)quit smoking
B)increase her vitamin C intake
C)reduce her exposure to lead-based paint
D)make sure she is properly immunized

Question 27

A child is categorized as obese if his or her BMI is above the ___ percentile for their age group.

A)80^th
B)85^th
C)92^nd
D)97^th

Question 28

If a mother wants to reduce the risk that her child will develop asthma,wheezing,and sleeping problems,she should:

A)eat nutritiously while pregnant.
B)stop smoking.
C)be younger than 35 years when she becomes pregnant.
D)feed them a low-fat diet.

Question 29

What changes were made to the Women,Infants,and Children program in 2009?

A)The program was adjusted to provide healthier foods to recipients.
B)The program was adjusted to allow families with higher incomes to receive services.
C)The program was adjusted so that only families of "minority races or ethnicities" would be included.
D)The program was adjusted to allow for travel expenses to work to be reimbursed by the government.

Question 30

The leading cause of death in young children in the United States is:

A)heart disease.
B)malnutrition.
C)accidents.
D)poison.

Question 31

A young child might be heard saying,"That tree pushed the leaf off and it fell down." The child's belief that the tree is capable of action is referred to as:

A)egocentrism.
B)conservation.
C)animism.
D)kineticism.

Question 32

Four-year-old Della is taken to her pediatrician for a checkup by her mother.He notes that her body mass index is in the 95^th percentile for her age group.Which of the following labels might the pediatrician use to refer to Della's size?

A)overweight
B)at risk for being overweight
C)obese
D)morbidly obese

Question 33

Animism and egocentrism represent limitations in the preoperational child's thinking in that they indicate an inability to:

A)think symbolically.
B)center attention on one characteristic.
C)distinguish among different perspectives.
D)reflect on the rationale underlying thought.

Question 34

The drawings that 3-year-old Sally creates tend to be rather inventive and include scribbled designs that represent people,houses,cars,dogs,and so on.Which Piagetian stage/substage of cognitive development is Sally in?

A)symbolic function substage
B)intuitive thought substage
C)operational stage
D)sensorimotor stage

Question 35

Which of the following programs was instituted to provide for healthy foods,health care,and nutritional education for low-income families?

A)TVA
B)IDEA
C)IDP
D)WIC

Question 36

According to research by Nader and others (2006),___ percent of children who were at risk of being overweight at the age of 3 were still at the same risk or were overweight at the age of 12.

A)46
B)55
C)68
D)80

Question 37

Guidelines offered by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (2002)suggest that preschool children should engage in ________ of physical activity per day.

A)30 minutes
B)1 hour
C)2 hours
D)3 hours

Question 38

Lavonda is running her own family child care service,and she is concerned that several of the children seem to be overweight.What would be the best approach for Lavonda to use in helping the children with their weight?

A)Help the children begin and stay on diets that cut their calorie intake.
B)Emphasize activities and not meals,and have regular mealtimes that focus on sensible foods.
C)Eliminate snacks and teach the children to eat all of their regular meals,so that they will not want junk food later.
D)Offer well-balanced meals,and then use only fun snack foods and desserts as a reward when the children are behaving.

Question 39

In talking with Grandma on the phone,little Marcelo suddenly exclaims,"Oh,look at that pretty red bird!" When his grandmother asks him to describe the bird,Marcelo says,"Out there,out there! Right there,Grandma!" He finally gets frustrated and hangs up.This is an example of:

A)animism.
B)egocentrism.
C)intuitive thought.
D)symbolic function.

Question 40

Five-year-old Marta draws a picture with pretty lavender,purple,and blue colors intermixed with green,yellow,and brown."It's a boat on the ocean at sunset,with whales jumping all around it!" she explains to her teacher.Marta is showing clear evidence of:

A)animism.
B)conservation.
C)intuitive thought.
D)symbolic function.

Question 41

Intuitive thought is to _______ as symbolic function is to ______.

A)creativity;reason
B)egocentrism;centration
C)reasoning;creativity
D)reasoning;mental representation

Question 42

A toddler is likely to learn something in the zone of proximal development (ZPD)if:

A)the toddler has mastered all the skills necessary.
B)parents or teachers do not interfere.
C)the task is more difficult than the child can do alone.
D)the toddler needs little or no help from a parent or teacher.

Question 43

As children move through the zone of proximal development (ZPD),they:

A)give the responsibility of the task they are learning to the adult who is helping them.
B)take the responsibility of the task they are learning from the adult who is helping them.
C)share the responsibility of the task they are learning equally with the adult who is helping them.
D)at first accept the responsibility of the task they are learning but then reluctantly reject it.

Question 44

For Jean Piaget,failing a conservation task indicates that the child is:

A)engaging in logical thinking.
B)unable to think symbolically.
C)demonstrating centration.
D)considering combinations of features in thinking.

Question 45

Which of the following best describes the relation between centration and conservation?

A)Conservation requires centration.
B)Centration is caused by a lack of conservation.
C)Lack of conservation is reflected in centration.
D)Conservation is independent of centration.

Question 46

In explaining the ability to conserve,Rochel Gelman focuses on ______,whereas Jean Piaget focused on ______.

A)attention;centration.
B)centration;attention.
C)intuitive thought;symbolic thought.
D)symbolic thought;intuitive thought.

Question 47

Children cannot conserve because they cannot yet:

A)center.
B)reverse.
C)think abstractly.
D)classify.

Question 48

Howie and his little sister,Stephie,are each given one large cookie.The mother breaks Stephie's cookie into four pieces to help her eat it more easily.Howie immediately begins to cry and says that it isn't fair for Stephie to get so many cookies when he only has one.Howie is showing a lack of:

A)centration.
B)conservation.
C)intuitive thought.
D)symbolic function.

Question 49

Centration inhibits the ability to categorize items because it prevents one from:

A)focusing only on one feature.
B)considering combinations of features.
C)taking a perspective that is different from one's own.
D)distinguishing between animate and inanimate objects.

Question 50

When teachers adjust their level of support and guidance to the level of skill of the student,it is called:

A)modeling.
B)assimilating.
C)scaffolding.
D)zone of proximal development (ZPD).

Question 51

In general,conservation involves the ability to understand that changes in physical arrangement:

A)are irrelevant for the total amount.
B)significantly affect the total amount.
C)determine the total amount needed for a given task.
D)must be considered before the total amount can be determined.

Question 52

The belief in the permanence of certain attributes of objects or situations in spite of superficial changes is called:

A)appropriation.
B)initiation.
C)affiliation.
D)conservation.

Question 53

Lev Vygotsky differs from Jean Piaget in how he stresses the relative importance of _______ for cognitive development.

A)biology
B)language
C)social interaction
D)the environment

Question 54

Which scenario best represents Lev Vygotsky's view of mental and behavioral development?

A)A teacher assigns challenging tasks that students then try to complete on their own.
B)An instructor helps students do laboratory work,showing them how to do things the students cannot yet do.
C)A teacher waits patiently for students to come up with good answers and then reinforces them with praise and affection.
D)An instructor systematically tests students to find out which mental abilities they do have and which they do not have.

Question 55

According to Lev Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD),learning is:

A)achieved by discovering which answers will lead to rewards.
B)achieved by assimilating new understandings to accommodate the demands of the world.
C)affected by how the environment and genetically programmed learning ability interact during a critical period.
D)a social activity between a less knowledgeable child,and another adult or child who is more knowledgeable.

Question 56

Which of the following describes what Lev Vygotsky believed about the development of thought and language?

A)Thought and language are merged early in development and later separate.
B)Thought depends on language,so they are merged throughout all of development.
C)Thought and language develop independently at first and merge later in development.
D)Thought and language are two separate functions that remain independent throughout development.

Question 57

Lev Vygotsky believed that children who frequently use private speech are:

A)more socially competent.
B)no different than children who do not.
C)less socially competent.
D)precocious in their cognitive development.

Question 58

Brendan is just learning to walk.He can take a few steps by himself if he uses both hands to hold on to a piece of furniture for support,but he can walk out into the middle of the room only if one of his parents holds his hands.Which of the following represents the lower limit of Brendan's zone of proximal development (ZPD)for walking?

A)Brendan learning to run after he has mastered walking
B)Brendan going back to crawling when he becomes frustrated by trying to walk
C)Brendan walking alone by holding on to a piece of furniture with one hand
D)Brendan learning to walk by having his parents follow along behind to support him when he loses his balance

Question 59

When adults are working with young children,they often provide a lot of hints,assistance,instruction,and other support to help the children succeed.As the children demonstrate they can do more for themselves,the adults begin to withdraw these supports.This shows the adults' involvement in the children's:

A)zone of proximal development (ZPD).
B)ability to use operations in their thinking.
C)level of intuitive reasoning.
D)level of attentional functioning and memory capacity.

Question 60

Latoya talks to herself frequently,especially when she is trying to solve a difficult problem.Lev Vygotsky would say that Latoya is:

A)engaging in egocentric and immature thinking.
B)using private speech to organize and regulate her thinking.
C)functioning at the upper limit of her zone of proximal development (ZPD).
D)using the institutional level of thinking to learn about her cultural conventions.

Question 61

Which type of classrooms has been found in research to enhance advanced writing skills,and improve self-regulatory and cognitive control skills in at-risk preschool children?

A)Child-Centered Classrooms
B)Montessori classrooms
C)Tools of the Mind classrooms
D)Developmentally Appropriate Classrooms

Question 62

Which of the following is TRUE of Lev Vygotsky's educational applications?

A)IQ should be assessed to test a child's learning.
B)Skilled teachers should be sought to help a child learn.
C)The child's use of private speech should not be encouraged.
D)Practical teaching should begin toward the upper limit of the zone of proximal development (ZPD).

Question 63

A police officer visits Laura's and Brett's class to discuss safety rules.To attract the children's attention,the officer brings colorful balloons and lots of jars of bubbles for the children to blow.Later,Laura tells her parents all about the balloons and bubbles but cannot remember any of the safety rules the officer presented.Laura obviously paid more attention to what was:

A)salient.
B)relevant.
C)habituated.
D)dishabituated.

Question 64

Six-year-old Tracy was a witness to a robbery and has been asked to testify at trial.The defense will argue that her testimony is invalid because:

A)at her age,she has inaccurate long-term memories.
B)her memories are highly susceptible to suggestion.
C)she is more likely to embellish her memories.
D)she will not be able to recall details of an event that happened so long ago.

Question 65

The ___________ classroom,conceived of by Bodrova and Leong in 2007,emphasizes many of the principles of Vygotsky's theory of how to most effectively teach children.

A)Montessori
B)Tools of the Mind
C)Developmental Appropriate Teaching
D)Child-Centered

Question 66

The memories of young children:

A)are developmentally programmed.
B)cannot be influenced by other people.
C)can be compromised by suggestions.
D)are correctly described by all of these.

Question 67

At what age will children generally learn to adapt their style of language use to the listener?

A)2 to 3 years of age
B)3 to 4 years of age
C)4 to 5 years of age
D)5 to 6 years of age

Question 68

Shantal is taking a test where she hears a random list of numbers such as "7...4 ...9 ...3." When the list is finished,Shantal is asked to repeat the whole list back in the right order.Shantal is having her ________ tested.

A)attention span
B)habituation span
C)long-term memory span
D)short-term memory span

Question 69

In short-term memory,individuals retain information for:

A)15 to 30 seconds.
B)1 to 2 minutes.
C)2 to 3 weeks.
D)1 to 2 months.

Question 70

Which of the following has been shown to be related to the development of advanced emergent literacy skills in children?

A)the education level of the mother
B)the education level of the father
C)the ethnicity of the family
D)the religion of the family

Question 71

What is morphology?

A)the units of meaning involved in word formation
B)the meaningfulness of phrases
C)the understanding of two-word utterances
D)the rules of conversation

Question 72

Which of the following age groups of children is the most susceptible to the possibility that a suggestion will distort their memories?

A)infants
B)preschoolers
C)middle children
D)pre-adolescent children

Question 73

Researchers believe that after the age of 6 or 7 years,children become more reflective and less impulsive in their thinking,because they learn to pay less attention to what is _______ and more attention to what is ______.

A)relevant;salient
B)salient;relevant
C)dishabituated;habituated
D)habituated;dishabituated

Question 74

Pointing to a tree,young Ramal says,"Bird flied away." Ramal's interesting but inaccurate use of the "-ed" word ending shows that he is trying to learn ________ rules of language.

A)syntactical
B)semantic
C)pragmatic
D)morphological

Question 75

_________ refers to the rules that apply to forming correct words or sentences in a language.

A)Semantics
B)Morphology
C)Syntax
D)Phonemics

Question 76

_________ refers to the appropriate use of language in different contexts.

A)Semantics
B)Morphology
C)Pragmatics
D)Phonemics

Question 77

At what age do children have a solid understanding of false beliefs?

A)1-2 years
B)2-3 years
C)3-4 years
D)4-5 years

Question 78

While trying to explain to his son the rules of football,Jason says,"You see,if our team gets the ball in the endzone,it is a touchdown!" Jason's son looks at him quizzically,and says,"What is that,Daddy?" Because his son does not know the meaning of the word "touchdown," Jason has made a goof in the area of:

A)phonemics
B)pragmatics
C)proxemics
D)semantics

Question 79

Mauricio has been having difficulties in his preschool classroom,and his teacher notes on his report card that she has noticed deficits in the areas of planning and inhibition.What is the term that might encapsulate these mental skills?

A)operations
B)mentation
C)metacognition
D)executive function

Question 80

The theory of _______ refers to the idea that children can begin thinking about their own thought processes.

A)cognition
B)mind
C)mentation
D)metacognition