Deck 4: Theories of Cognitive Development

Question 1

Piaget believed that the BEST way for children to learn is through:

A) rewards and punishments.
B) modelling peers and adults.
C) explicit instruction from adults.
D) experimenting with the world on their own.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Reflexes are the primary manner of interacting with the world for children of what age?

A) newborn
B) 6 months
C) 9 months
D) 12 months

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The process by which children integrate new information into concepts they already understand is referred to as:

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

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which theory focuses on the theme of the active child?

A) information-processing
B) sociocultural
C) dynamic-systems
D) all of these theories

Question 5

Which theory of cognitive development is the broadest in terms of age range and content?

A) information-processing
B) sociocultural
C) Piagetian
D) dynamic-systems

Question 6

Which theory does NOT address the question of how change occurs?

A) Piagetian
B) information-processing
C) sociocultural
D) dynamic-systems

Question 7

Which list BEST represents the phases of Piaget's equilibration process?

A) equilibrium, disequilibrium, assimilation
B) disequilibrium, adaptation, accommodation
C) adaptation, assimilation, equilibrium
D) equilibrium, disequilibrium, equilibrium

Question 8

Piaget believed that children of different ages think in _____ ways.

A) quantitatively different
B) quantitatively similar
C) qualitatively different
D) qualitatively similar

Question 9

Bonnie is a preschooler whose father works outside the home and whose mother stays home with her. On learning that her friend's mother works outside the home, Bonnie is confused because she believes that only fathers work outside the home. Piaget would say that Bonnie is in a state of:

A) chaos.
B) maladjustment.
C) disequilibrium.
D) dissimilation.

Question 10

Which statement does NOT describe a characteristic of Piaget's stages?

A) The transitions from one stage to another are instantaneous.
B) Children proceed through the stages in a fixed order.
C) The type of thinking typical of a particular stage pervades thinking across diverse content areas.
D) The type of thinking typical of a particular stage is qualitatively different from the type of thinking typical of the previous stage.

Question 11

Accommodation refers to the process by which children:

A) create a stable understanding.
B) incorporate new information into their current understanding.
C) adjust their understanding in response to new information.
D) balance assimilation and adaptation.

Question 12

The process by which children balance assimilation and accommodation to create stable understanding is referred to as:

A) equilibration.
B) adaptation.
C) alteration.
D) calibration.

Question 13

The view that BEST represents Piaget's theory of development is of the child as:

A) social being.
B) scientist.
C) computational system.
D) product of evolution.

Question 14

When Delia's father places a rattle in her hand, Delia often brings the rattle to her mouth to suck on it. According to Piaget's theory, Delia likely developed this skill at approximately what age?

A) newborn
B) 3 months
C) 6 months
D) 10 months

Question 15

This is the tendency to reach for a hidden object where it was last found, rather than in the new location where it was last hidden.

A) object permanence
B) deferred imitation
C) A-not-B error
D) symbolic representation

Question 16

Which statement is NOT a reason why developmental psychologists find theories of child development useful?

A) Theories raise fundamental questions about human nature.
B) Theories provide definitive answers to key questions about child development.
C) Theories motivate new research.
D) Theories provide frameworks for understanding important phenomena.

Question 17

Which factor is NOT a central property of Piaget's theory?

A) qualitative change
B) broad applicability
C) brief transitions
D) variant sequence

Question 18

Which term does NOT identify one of Piaget's stages?

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

Question 19

Which list represents Piaget's stages in the CORRECT chronological order?

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

Question 20

According to Piaget, the accomplishment that characterizes the first few months of life is infants' ability to:

A) search for hidden objects.
B) react to the world with reflexes.
C) repeat others' actions long after they have occurred.
D) integrate reflexes into more complex behaviours.

Question 21

At approximately what age did Piaget believe an individual is first able to form enduring mental representations?

A) 6 months
B) 12 months
C) 18 months
D) 24 months

Question 22

Egocentrism is characteristic of Piaget's _____ stage.

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

Question 23

Amy and her father are playing with a squeaky toy. Amy's father is squeezing the toy in front of Amy. Amy is very excited and reaches for the toy. Amy's father, however, quickly hides the toy behind his back. At this point, Amy turns away from her father and begins to look at the ladybug design on her dress. Amy is probably approximately what age?

A) 1 month
B) 6 months
C) 10 months
D) 15 months

Question 24

Rami, a 13-month-old, and his mother are playing with a musical toy. Rami's mother shows Rami the toy and then hides it under a blanket. Rami has fun finding the toy under the blanket and then giving it back to his mother. After several rounds of this game, Rami's mother hides the toy behind a pillow instead of under the blanket. Rami will be MOST likely to:

A) behave as if the toy has vanished.
B) search for the toy under the blanket.
C) search for the toy behind the pillow.
D) search for the toy behind his mother's back.

Question 25

According to Piaget, which behaviour develops FIRST?

A) deferred imitation
B) resolution of the A-not-B error
C) mental representation of objects not currently being perceived
D) infant "scientific experiments"

Question 26

Piaget believed that infants develop the concept of object permanence at approximately _____ months.

A) 5
B) 8
C) 12
D) 16

Question 27

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of view is referred to as object:

A) existence.
B) permanence.
C) recollection.
D) stability.

Question 28

Miguel is sitting in his high chair at breakfast time. As if to drive his parents crazy, Miguel picks up each and every piece of food, from mushy peaches to crunchy Cheerios, and drops it onto the floor. Sometimes he drops just one piece, and sometimes he drops multiple pieces simultaneously, as though he wants to see whether there is a difference in the result. As he drops each piece, he carefully watches as it hits the floor. According to Piaget, Miguel is MOST likely to be at what age?

A) 6 months
B) 10 months
C) 16 months
D) 26 months

Question 29

Which list places infants' skills in the order in which Piaget suggested they are acquired?

A) integrate reflexes into more complex behaviours; modify reflexes to make them more adaptive; repeat actions on the environment that bring interesting results; search for hidden objects
B) integrate reflexes into more complex behaviours; search for hidden objects; modify reflexes to make them more adaptive; repeat actions on the environment that bring interesting results
C) modify reflexes to make them more adaptive; repeat actions on the environment that bring interesting results; integrate reflexes into more complex behaviours; search for hidden objects
D) modify reflexes to make them more adaptive; integrate reflexes into more complex behaviours; repeat actions on the environment that bring interesting results; search for hidden objects

Question 30

The experiment in which Piaget asks what a doll would see if it were sitting in a chair across the table from the child was designed to examine:

A) centration.
B) egocentrism.
C) symbolic representations.
D) conservation.

Question 31

Deferred imitation is an indication that a child has developed:

A) enduring mental representations.
B) symbolic representation.
C) egocentrism.
D) conservation.

Question 32

Which statement is an example of a symbolic representation?

A) Jared puts a bowl on his head and tells his father he has on a firefighter's helmet.
B) Alicia tells her mother she wants to be a doctor when she grows up.
C) Lucas watches his grandmother remove the top from a container and then tries to take it off himself the following day.
D) Tricia sees her father's shoes and is able to think of her father, even though he is out of view.

Question 33

According to Piaget, infants of what age begin to show interest in toys, animals, and people beyond their own bodies?

A) 12 months
B) 3 months
C) 6 months
D) 10 months

Question 34

Devon has just begun to use objects to stand for other objects. For instance, his current favourite game is to pretend to play guitar on a toy golf club. Devon is probably in Piaget's _____ stage.

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

Question 35

According to Piagetian theory, young infants' goals are _____, and older infants' goals are more _____.

A) concrete; abstract
B) abstract; concrete
C) realistic; unrealistic
D) unrealistic; realistic

Question 36

Kevin and his mother are playing with a squeaky toy. Kevin's mother squeezes the toy in front of him and then hides it under a blanket. Kevin has fun finding the toy under the blanket and then giving it back to his mother. After several rounds of this game, Kevin's mother hides the toy behind a pillow instead of under the blanket. Rather than looking behind the pillow, however, Kevin lifts the blanket to look for the toy. What age is Kevin MOST likely to be?

A) 7 months
B) 9 months
C) 13 months
D) 15 months

Question 37

While Sumana is sitting in a high chair at a restaurant with her family, she throws her cracker off the tray and watches as it falls to the ground. Then she throws her spoon off the tray and watches as it falls. Next, she throws her peas and her drink off the tray before her family realizes what is happening. What age is Sumana MOST likely to be?

A) 8 months
B) 11 months
C) 15 months
D) 21 months

Question 38

Kevin and his mother are playing with a squeaky toy. Kevin's mother squeezes the toy in front of him and then hides it under a blanket. Kevin has fun finding the toy under the blanket and then giving it back to his mother. After several rounds of this game, Kevin's mother hides the toy behind a pillow instead of under the blanket. Rather than looking behind the pillow, however, Kevin lifts the blanket to look for the toy. Which statement is TRUE?

A) Kevin does not know the toy still exists.
B) Kevin is making the A-not-B error.
C) Kevin is approximately 6 months old.
D) All of these statements are true.

Question 39

Jenny watches her big brother climb from the couch to the coffee table, a behaviour she has never attempted herself. The next day, Jenny climbs up on the couch and then over to the coffee table. Jenny's behaviour is referred to as:

A) postobservation modelling.
B) replication.
C) deferred imitation.
D) symbolic representation.

Question 40

According to Piaget, infants are able to _____ before they are able to _____.

A) repeat actions on the environment that bring interesting results; integrate reflexes into more complex behaviours
B) search for hidden objects; repeat others' actions long after they have occurred
C) repeat others' actions long after they have occurred; repeat actions on the environment that bring interesting results
D) search for hidden objects; integrate reflexes into more complex behaviours

Question 41

Children first come to reason logically about features of the world in Piaget's _____ stage.

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

Question 42

The pendulum problem described in the text is used to examine children's:

A) systematic thinking.
B) egocentrism.
C) symbolic representations.
D) conservation.

Question 43

According to Piaget, which factor does NOT contribute to young children's problems with conservation of liquid tasks?

A) focus on static state rather than transformation
B) centration
C) egocentrism
D) formal operational thought

Question 44

Jacob and his mother are driving home from school. Jacob, who is sitting in the back seat behind his mother, is telling a story about his foot getting hurt. Of course, his mother, who is driving, cannot see his foot, but Jacob keeps pointing to his foot, saying, "Mommy, see where I have my boo-boo?" Jacob is suffering from:

A) egocentrism.
B) poor symbolic representations.
C) centration.
D) a lack of conservation.

Question 45

Children make the transition from Piaget's preoperational to concrete operational stage at around _____ years old.

A) 2
B) 5
C) 7
D) 12

Question 46

Dr. Brown conducts a study in which participants are presented with the pendulum problem described in the text and are asked to determine which factor or factors influence the amount of time it takes the pendulum to swing through a complete arc: the length of the string, the heaviness of the weight, the height from which the weight is dropped, or some combination of these factors. Which comparison is MOST likely to be made by an individual in Piaget's formal operational stage?

A) heavy weight on short string versus light weight on long string, both dropped from the same height
B) heavy weight on long string versus light weight on short string, both dropped from the same height
C) light weight on short string dropped from high position versus light weight on short string dropped from lower position
D) light weight on long string dropped from high position versus light weight on short string dropped from lower position

Question 47

Austin is presented with the pendulum problem described in the text. He begins his experiments with the belief that the heaviness of the weight is the most important factor, tests his belief with unsystematic experiments, and concludes that his belief is accurate even though no clear conclusion could be drawn. Austin is in Piaget's _____ stage.

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

Question 48

An experimenter shows a child two clay "sausages" that are identical in size and shape and then allows the child to watch as she rolls one of the clay sausages into a longer, thinner sausage. The experimenter then asks the child whether the two clay sausages still contain the same amount of clay. This experiment was designed to examine:

A) object permanence.
B) egocentrism.
C) symbolic representations.
D) conservation.

Question 49

The term conservation concept refers to the idea that:

A) all nature is of vital importance and thus worth preserving.
B) perceptions of the world differ depending on point of view.
C) a particular object can be used to stand for another object.
D) merely changing the appearance of objects does not change their key properties.

Question 50

Which statement provides an example of centration?

A) Andrew thinks a big empty box is heavier than a small box full of rocks.
B) Fiona gives her newborn brother her favourite doll when he is crying.
C) Bradley yells to his father from another room, "See, Daddy, I did it."
D) Michelle pretends to have a sword fight using a stick as a sword.

Question 51

Jacob and his mother are driving home from school. Jacob, who is sitting in the back seat behind his mother, is telling a story about his foot getting hurt. Of course, his mother, who is driving, cannot see his foot, but Jacob keeps pointing to his foot, saying, "Mommy, see where I have my boo-boo?" According to Piaget's stages, Jacob would MOST likely be under the age of:

A) 3 years.
B) 4 years.
C) 6 years.
D) 8 years.

Question 52

Which adjective is NOT characteristic of formal operational thought?

A) systematic
B) abstract
C) advanced
D) one-dimensional

Question 53

Children first come to think abstractly and reason hypothetically in Piaget's _____ stage.

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

Question 54

Centration refers to:

A) perceiving the world solely from one's own point of view.
B) using one object to stand for another.
C) focusing on a single salient feature of an object to the exclusion of other features.
D) having difficulty taking other people's perspectives.

Question 55

Which statement is NOT true regarding Piaget's theory of cognitive development?

A) Piaget's theory is vague about the mechanisms that give rise to children's thinking and that produce cognitive growth.
B) Piaget's theory overestimates the contribution of the social world to cognitive development.
C) Infants and young children are more cognitively competent than Piaget recognized.
D) Piaget's theory depicts children's thinking as being more consistent than it is.

Question 56

Children in Piaget's _____ stage can solve conservation problems correctly.

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

Question 57

An experimenter shows a child two clay "sausages" that are identical in size and shape and then allows the child to watch as she rolls one of the clay sausages into a longer, thinner sausage. The experimenter then asks the child whether the two clay sausages still contain the same amount of clay. A child in Piaget's preoperational stage would be MOST likely to say:

A) "Yes, they have the same amount of clay."
B) "No, the longer sausage has more clay than the shorter sausage."
C) "No, the shorter sausage has more clay than the longer sausage."
D) "Wait, I don't understand. How did you make that sausage bigger?"

Question 58

According to Piaget's theory, a person in the _____ stage is able to conduct a systematic scientific experiment.

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

Question 59

Robert's mother pours a cup of milk for him and then realizes that the cup has a small crack in the rim. Not wanting her son to cut his lip, she pours the milk into another cup. The second cup happens to be shorter and wider than the first cup. Robert is not upset because he knows that the amount of milk has remained the same. Robert is at LEAST _____ years old.

A) 3
B) 5
C) 7
D) 9

Question 60

According to Piaget's theory, _____ should be able to think abstractly about all the factors involved in "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

A) all older children, adolescents, and adults
B) no older children but all adolescents and adults
C) some adolescents and adults
D) None of the answers is correct.

Question 61

According to information-processing theories, cognitive development does NOT occur as children go through the process of:

A) acquiring new strategies.
B) coming to utilize innate understandings of crucial concepts.
C) expanding the amount they can process at one time.
D) becoming increasingly efficient at executing basic mental activities.

Question 62

Task analysis refers to:

A) a researcher's determination of the level of difficulty of a task presented to children.
B) the method by which computers break down commands into their smallest parts.
C) identification of an individual's goals, information in the environment, and processing strategies.
D) all of these.

Question 63

_____ theory concentrates on precisely detailing the processes involved in children's thinking.

A) Dynamic-systems
B) Information-processing
C) Piagetian
D) Sociocultural

Question 64

Which statement is TRUE according to information-processing theories?

A) Cognitive development occurs through a series of sudden changes.
B) Children of different ages think in qualitatively different ways.
C) Significant cognitive changes occur during brief transition periods between stages.
D) Changes are constantly occurring.

Question 65

Which aspect(s) of working memory change(s) with age from childhood to adolescence?

A) speed and structure of subsystems
B) capacity
C) speed and capacity
D) speed, capacity, and structure of subsystems

Question 66

Which aspect of Piaget's theory is LEAST likely to be considered an asset by current cognitive developmentalists?

A) integrated depiction of cognitive development from birth through adolescence
B) observations of age-related changes in children's behaviour
C) tasks for testing children's abilities at different ages
D) the exact ages at which children are able to complete cognitive tasks

Question 67

Which problem-solving sequence is typical according to information-processing theories?

A) goal, obstacle, strategy
B) obstacle, strategy, goal
C) memory, goal, strategy
D) goal, strategy, memory

Question 68

Piaget's theory suggests that in order to help their students learn, teachers should:

A) ensure that children's existing knowledge does not interfere with learning new concepts.
B) make learning a cooperative activity.
C) provide an environment that can be actively experienced by children.
D) do task analysis to determine children's specific difficulties.

Question 69

Children's general knowledge about vehicles is an example of information stored in _____ memory.

A) working
B) long-term
C) sensory
D) short-term

Question 70

Which topics are included in information-processing theories?

A) assimilation and accommodation
B) object permanence and conservation
C) guided participation and social scaffolding
D) rules and strategies

Question 71

Leslie is reading a sentence about cars. Which item is NOT likely to be in her working memory?

A) the visual appearance of the letters c-a-r-s
B) her general knowledge about cars
C) the sound of the word cars
D) that 90% of drivers sign behind the wheel.

Question 72

The attempt to overcome obstacles and attain goals is referred to as:

A) problem solving.
B) working memory.
C) encoding.
D) task analysis.

Question 73

Monica's grandmother wants to teach her granddaughter a new concept. Piaget's theory would suggest that Monica's grandmother should:

A) try to teach the concept as early as possible and then find a way for Monica to learn the concept by actively experiencing it.
B) wait to teach the concept until Monica's way of thinking is appropriate and then find a way for Monica to learn the concept by actively experiencing it.
C) try to teach the concept as early as possible and carefully explain all the relevant aspects of the concept to Monica.
D) wait to teach the concept until Monica's way of thinking is appropriate and carefully explain all the relevant aspects of the concept to Monica.

Question 74

Working memory involves:

A) attending to and processing information.
B) retaining information.
C) inhibiting counterproductive actions.
D) all of these.

Question 75

The entirety of an individual's knowledge makes up his/her:

A) long-term memory.
B) working memory.
C) executive functions.
D) information-processing core.

Question 76

The view that BEST represents information-processing theories is of the child as:

A) social being.
B) scientist.
C) computational system.
D) product of evolution.

Question 77

Strategies and processes are part of _____ theory.

A) dynamic-systems
B) sociocultural
C) Piagetian
D) information-processing

Question 78

Information-processing theories place particular emphasis on:

A) what changes occur.
B) when change occurs.
C) how change occurs.
D) for whom change occurs.

Question 79

What was demonstrated by Levin and her colleagues in their study in which children walked in a circular motion while holding onto a 7-foot metal bar on a pivot?

A) Lecturing to children is not an effective strategy to get them to learn difficult concepts.
B) Some concepts are too abstract for young children to comprehend.
C) Children can learn concepts beyond what is considered age-appropriate by actively experiencing the concepts.
D) Children are not able to conserve length until age 8 years.

Question 80

Working memory is limited in:

A) both the length of time it can retain information and in its capacity.
B) neither the length of time it can retain information nor in its capacity.
C) the length of time it can retain information but not in its capacity.
D) its capacity but not in the length of time it can retain information.