Question 1

Imagine you are a teacher at a junior high school.Below are four behaviors you might exhibit in your classroom.Considering the textbook's discussion of modeling, choose the behavior your students are least likely to imitate.

Accepted Answer

A) You show them how to make a tasty fruit drink for a hot day. 
B) You show them how to fill out their class schedule form for next year. 
C) You show them how to estimate the price of an outfit they might want to buy. 
D) You show them how much you enjoy reading professional education journals.

Question 2

Social cognitive theory can best be characterized as being concerned with learning:

Accepted Answer

A) Communication skills 
B) Socially appropriate behaviors 
C) Through observations of others 
D) From a sociological rather than psychological perspective

Question 3

Which one of the following best illustrates collective self-efficacy in teachers?

Accepted Answer

A) The teachers at West Middle School confer weekly about students who they believe are at risk for academic failure, and they are confident that, by working together, they can help these students be successful at school. 
B) The teachers at South Elementary School have coordinated what they do at each grade level so that at any particular grade, students master the knowledge and skills they will need in the following grade. 
C) The English teachers at East High School have agreed on how they will teach the required freshman English class.That way, students will have a similar classroom experience no matter which teacher they have for the course. 
D) A third-grade teacher and a fourth-grade teacher at North Elementary School have combined their two classes into one large class.Sometimes they team-teach the entire group.At other times they divide the class into two smaller groups, one of which is ready for more advanced work than the other.

Question 4

Three of the following students are showing signs of self-regulated learning.Which student does not show any evidence of self-regulated learning?

Accepted Answer

A) As Adam studies his German vocabulary words, he occasionally stops to check himself to see which words he needs to study further. 
B) Blake knows that for purposes of college admission, his performance in math class is more important than his performance in drama class, so he works harder in the first class than in the second. 
C) Craig beams with pleasure when his teacher praises his English essay, because her opinion of his work is very important to him. 
D) Drew thinks to himself, "I really don't understand this section on quadratic equations.Tomorrow I'll ask my teacher if she can help me make sense of it."

Question 5

Three of the following teacher statements are likely to enhance students' self-efficacy for mastering mathematics.Which one will not necessarily do so?

Accepted Answer

A) "Look at how easily you can multiply and divide with fractions now.Remember how much trouble you had with fractions last fall? You've come a long way since then!" 
B) "The right kind of instruction can make all the difference in the world.I'm determined to find out how each of you can best learn mathematical concepts." 
C) You seem to be having trouble computing the area of a triangle.I think I know what the trouble is.Here, let me show you what you need to do differently." 
D) "Most of my students last year didn't do well simply because they weren't motivated and didn't want to work hard."

Question 6

During a vocabulary lesson, a teacher talks aloud about how she herself tries to remember the meanings of new vocabulary words.For example, she says, "One of our words this week is herald, which means 'to announce or give notice of.' How might I remember that? Oh, I know! I can think of the Boston Herald, a newspaper that my parents subscribed to when I was young.A newspaper announces what's happening in the world, so it makes sense that it's called the Herald." The teacher's statement is a good example of:

Accepted Answer

A) Cognitive modeling 
B) Collective self-efficacy 
C) Vicarious reinforcement 
D) Self-monitoring

Question 7

Which one of the following examples is most likely to be the result of one or more students being trained in peer mediation?

Accepted Answer

A) At the request of his teacher, Saul makes a check mark on an index card every time Robert speaks out in class without permission.At the end of each hour, Saul tells Robert how many check marks he has made. 
B) Melinda and Forrest work together on their math homework, thinking carefully about how to do each problem and then taking it one step at a time. 
C) When he sees two of his classmates arguing at lunch, Abbott joins them and encourages each of them to view the conflict from the other's perspective. 
D) LaVonda and Sally take turns reading excerpts from their textbook; they occasionally stop to reflect on how the new information relates to what they have previously learned.

Question 8

Three of the following are aspects of self-regulated behavior as social cognitive theorists define the term.Which one is not necessarily an aspect of self-regulated behavior?

Accepted Answer

A) Reading an assigned textbook chapter 
B) Keeping angry feelings in check 
C) Deciding whether one's own behavior is within an acceptable range 
D) Reinforcing oneself for successful performance

Question 9

Two boys are fighting on school grounds during recess.Fighting is against school rules, and the boys know this.Even so, a teacher who sees them lets them continue to fight rather than punishing them for doing so.Judging from what social cognitive theorists say regarding what happens when expected punishments don't occur, we can predict that these boys will be:

Accepted Answer

A) Less likely to fight in the future 
B) More likely to fight in the future 
C) Likely to feel guilty unless they stop fighting 
D) Likely to imitate more appropriate social behaviors in the future

Question 10

Maria is what social cognitive theorists would describe as a self-regulating person when it comes to her moral behavior.Given this information, which one of the following descriptions best describes Maria's moral behavior?

Accepted Answer

A) She works for social incentives; for example, she contributes to charity if she thinks that other people will like her better for doing so. 
B) She behaves in morally appropriate ways only when she thinks other people are watching her. 
C) She has an internal set of standards regarding right and wrong behavior, and she feels guilty when she violates those standards. 
D) She has an internal set of standards regarding right and wrong, but those standards seldom influence the way she actually behaves.

Question 11

Three of the following experiences should promote higher self-efficacy about the task in question.Which one probably won't?

Accepted Answer

A) Andrea discovers that she does well on her weekly spelling tests only when she wears her lucky necklace. 
B) On the first day of geometry, Bob's teacher tells the class, "The things in your textbook may look difficult to you now, but with a little effort and practice you'll have the basics down pat by December." 
C) Carmella does better in her Spanish class than she expected to. 
D) Dick's friend tells him, "You shouldn't have any problem in American Literature.I'm no smarter than you are, and I got an A."

Question 12

Three of the following alternatives depict situations in which a teacher is facilitating the retention component of modeling.Which one does not depict such a situation?

Accepted Answer

A) As he writes a capital J on the board, Mr.Anson tells his kindergartners, "To write a capital J, you make a fishhook with a line across the top." 
B) Mr.Byers suggests, "Let's play some background music while I show you how to use the dipstick to measure your oil level." 
C) Mr.Caruso says, "There are several critical steps involved in throwing a pot on the potter's wheel.Repeat these steps to yourself as you work so you don't forget them." 
D) As he demonstrates how to throw a baseball correctly, Mr.Duffy says, "Now repeat these words as you throw the ball: back, up, thrust, release."

Question 13

If we consider the concept of reciprocal causation, we must conclude that the quality of students' classroom experiences is influenced:

Accepted Answer

A) Primarily by what teachers do in the classroom 
B) Primarily by how students think about classroom material 
C) Both by classroom events and by what students themselves do 
D) Largely by things that have happened to students in the past

Question 14

Which one of the following alternatives illustrates a difference in effortful control?

Accepted Answer

A) Meghan is good at keeping her impulses in check, whereas Jessie is apt to lash out at the slightest provocation. 
B) Robert is always kind and considerate of others, whereas William typically thinks only of his own needs. 
C) Lucia is often cheerful and outgoing, whereas Julie is more likely to be quiet and reserved. 
D) Donald spends most weekends playing sports and in other ways being physically active, whereas Jasper is more likely to be found reading a good book.

Question 15

Your students will undoubtedly know a great many things and will not be able to show you everything they know.According to social cognitive theorists, your students will be most likely to show you:

Accepted Answer

A) Things they are especially excited about 
B) Things they learned recently rather than a long time ago 
C) Things they think they will be reinforced for demonstrating 
D) Things they have learned at a concrete rather than abstract level

Question 16

Which one of the following is the best example of a symbolic model?

Accepted Answer

A) The school principal 
B) An older brother or sister 
C) A detective on a television show 
D) The police officer who lives next door

Question 17

Which one of the following statements best reflects the concept of collective self- efficacy?

Accepted Answer

A) Over time, students develop a general sense of self-efficacy that influences their performance in a wide variety of content domains. 
B) As students get older, their self-confidence about performing certain tasks becomes fairly stable and so is less influenced by any single success or failure experience. 
C) Students may have greater confidence about accomplishing a task when they work with others rather than alone. 
D) Some students have greater self-confidence when they have technological resources spreadsheet software, access to the Internet, etc.)to help them in their efforts.

Question 18

Which one of the following is an example of vicarious punishment?

Accepted Answer

A) Alice notices that her friend Ellen gets extra attention from the teacher when she acts helpless.Alice begins to act helpless as well. 
B) Bill knows that he will get a higher grade if he turns in a research paper that is typed rather than handwritten, but he turns in a handwritten paper anyway. 
C) Connie sees her friend Maria scolded for chewing gum in class.She quickly takes her own gum out of her mouth. 
D) David sees how Justin gets good grades when he works hard on his mathematics homework, but David doesn't want to work that hard.

Question 19

From the perspective of social cognitive theory, why might inner-city African American students learn more from an African American model who grew up in a ghetto than from a model of a different race or background?

Accepted Answer

A) Because the African American model is more likely to behave in a gender- appropriate manner 
B) Because the students are more likely to perceive the African American model as being competent 
C) Because the students are more likely to realize that the African American model has prestige 
D) Because the students will view the African American model's behavior as being applicable to their own situation

Question 20

Only one of the following definitely illustrates high self-efficacy.Which one is the best example of self-efficacy?

Accepted Answer

A) Amy recently got a score of 120 on an intelligence test. 
B) Bryn swims the fastest butterfly on the swim team. 
C) Carmen enjoys being with her friends. 
D) Danielle knows she is a good singer.

Exam 10: Social Cognitive Views of Learning