Question 1

According to dynamic-systems theories, which aspect is a constant across the process of development?

Accepted Answer

A)  change 
B)  learning mechanisms 
C)  memory capacity 
D)  learning through scaffolding

Question 2

The concept of social scaffolding is MOST similar to the concept of

Accepted Answer

A)  joint attention. 
B)  guided participation. 
C)  intersubjectivity. 
D)  private speech.

Question 3

According to dynamic-systems theories, development is NOT

Accepted Answer

A)  a process of organizing and integrating. 
B)  determined by evolution. 
C)  characterized as a steady progression. 
D)  determined by cultural experiences.

Question 4

Who would be MOST likely to engage in private speech?

Accepted Answer

A)  5-year-old Mike, who is working on a task he has done many times before 
B)  3-year-old Natalia, who is working on a challenging task 
C)  6-year-old Elijah, who is working on a challenging task 
D)  12-year-old Theresa, who is working on a task she has done many times before

Question 5

Vygotsky's theory is a type of _____ theory.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 7

Jacob and his mother are driving home from school. Jacob, who is sitting in the backseat 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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 8

Domain-specific understanding does NOT allow children to

Accepted Answer

A)  distinguish between living and nonliving things. 
B)  understand the variability in the thinking of others. 
C)  anticipate that inanimate objects they encounter for the first time will remain stationary unless an external force is applied to them. 
D)  anticipate that animals they encounter for the first time might move on their own.

Question 9

The view that BEST represents sociocultural theories is of the child as

Accepted Answer

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

Question 10

Psychologists working within the dynamic-systems approach would NOT be interested in

Accepted Answer

A)  memory. 
B)  social interaction. 
C)  action. 
D)  scaffolding.

Question 11

Which statement is an example of a symbolic representation?

Accepted Answer

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 12

Esther Thelen, Linda Smith, and colleagues concluded that the A-not-B task was influenced by motor activities and attention. Which theoretical perspective influenced this conclusion?

Accepted Answer

A)  dynamic-systems 
B)  overlapping waves 
C)  sociocultural 
D)  information-processing

Question 13

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?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 14

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 15

Which characteristic is NOT shared by children's rudimentary theories and those of formal scientific theories?

Accepted Answer

A)  They identify fundamental units for dividing relevant objects and events into a few basic categories. 
B)  They explain many phenomena in terms of a few fundamental principles. 
C)  They explain events in terms of unobservable causes. 
D)  There are no shared characteristics between children's rudimentary theories and formal scientific theories.

Question 16

Piaget viewed the child as a

Accepted Answer

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

Question 17

Sociocultural theories posit that the values of a culture do NOT influence _____ in its members.

Accepted Answer

A)  memories 
B)  thoughts 
C)  skills 
D)  encoding

Question 18

Private speech is conceived of by Vygotsky as a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)  error that young children make. 
B)  example of something that adults explicitly teach children. 
C)  cultural tool. 
D)  step toward internalizing parents' statements.

Question 19

When trying to remember something, individuals often focus only on the information that is most relevant to their current goal. They likely ignore and do not focus on other information. What is this strategy called?

Accepted Answer

A)  selective attention 
B)  planning 
C)  analogical problem solving 
D)  rehearsal

Question 20

Myelination and increased connectivity among brain regions contribute to which development with age?

Accepted Answer

A)  faster processing 
B)  more frequent rehearsal 
C)  better encoding 
D)  more selective attention

Exam 4: Theories of Cognitive Development