Deck 11: Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood

Question 1

Which of the following accompanies the loss of baby teeth in some cultures?

A) the development of preoperational thought
B) additional responsibilities imposed by adults
C) an increase in time spent supervised by adults
D) a move into dormitories away from the family

Answer 1

B

Question 2

All of the following factors can slow down physical growth in middle childhood EXCEPT:

A) poor nutrition.
B) major illness.
C) mild illness.
D) adequate health care.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What is body mass index (BMI)?

A) the percentage of childhood obesity in this country
B) the percentage of childhood obesity in the world
C) the ratio of weight to height
D) the ratio of muscle to fat cells

Answer 3

C

Question 4

When nutrition is the same, the height of children:

A) is the same regardless of ethnic origin.
B) is determined by sociocultural factors.
C) depends, in part, on genetic background.
D) is greater for Asian children than for African-American children.

Question 5

Nori and Maria are cousins who are 10 years old. Although Nori's parents are originally from Guatemala, she has been raised in the United States. Her cousin Maria has been raised in Guatemala. Based on Bogin's study with Mayan families, what is likely to be the physical growth of the girls?

A) Nori is taller than Maria.
B) Maria is taller than Nori.
C) There is no height difference between Nori and Maria.
D) Maria is heavier than Nori.

Question 6

The fact that some monozygotic twins are not a similar size is support for the basic concept that:

A) genes determine a person's size.
B) the environment determines a person's size.
C) genes and the environment interact to determine a person's size.
D) height is not a heritable trait.

Question 7

Childhood obesity:

A) has tripled since 1980.
B) affects 50 percent of children between the ages of 6 to 11 years old.
C) is related to increased popularity among peers.
D) affects 1 percent of children between the ages of 6 to 11 years old.

Question 8

A study of the physical development of children from North Korea who fled to South Korea found that due to the food shortages in North Korea when they lived there, by the time they were 14, girls were approximately ____________ inches shorter than their South Korean female peers and boys were ____________ inches shorter than their South Korean male peers.

A) 1; 2
B) 3; 6
C) 4; 4
D) 4; 3

Question 9

Children grow from ____________ inches to ____________ inches during middle childhood.

A) 39; 45
B) 42; 60
C) 39; 60
D) 45; 60

Question 10

The Ifaluk of Micronesia expect children around age 6 to:

A) begin formal schooling.
B) begin living away from their mothers.
C) develop social intelligence.
D) behave in a more reasonable and logical manner.

Question 11

Obese children are more likely to:

A) have lots of friends.
B) be withdrawn.
C) have high self-esteem.
D) have fewer health problems.

Question 12

Adults expect children to behave more maturely around age 6 or 7 because they:

A) can perform tasks only with the help of their parents.
B) can formulate goals.
C) abandon their goals quickly.
D) can think abstractly.

Question 13

"Let's Move!", a national campaign to battle childhood obesity, was created by First Lady:

A) Nancy Reagan.
B) Hillary Clinton.
C) Laura Bush.
D) Michelle Obama.

Question 14

The event that signals a transition to more independence for the Ngoni of Malawi is the:

A) onset of walking.
B) loss of milk teeth.
C) beginning of puberty.
D) appearance of first words.

Question 15

A difference in the way the boys of the Ngoni of Malawi are treated compared with Ngoni girls is that around ages 6-7 boys are:

A) held accountable for rude behavior.
B) expected to begin learning adult skills.
C) supposed to stop playing childish games.
D) expected to move into dormitories away from their mothers.

Question 16

The Ngoni of Malawi expect boys around age 6 to:

A) begin formal schooling.
B) begin living away from their mothers.
C) develop social intelligence.
D) behave in a more reasonable and logical manner.

Question 17

Which trend in physical growth occurs during middle childhood?

A) There is an increase in fat tissue.
B) There is a decrease in muscle tissue.
C) There is a decrease in fat tissue.
D) There is no change in muscle tissue.

Question 18

A strong correlation between the adult weight of adoptees and that of their biological parents indicates weight:

A) is determined entirely by genetics.
B) is determined entirely by the environment.
C) is heavily influenced by genes.
D) can be influenced only by diet and exercise.

Question 19

What do researchers currently believe is the BEST way to diagnose obesity accurately?

A) measuring children's weight each year
B) measuring children's weight each week
C) measuring children's body mass index (BMI)
D) There is no way to diagnose obesity in young children.

Question 20

A child typically loses her first tooth at about what age?

A) 2
B) 4
C) 6
D) 8

Question 21

During middle childhood, boys are generally better than girls at:

A) running.
B) hopping.
C) drawing.
D) skipping.

Question 22

In a study examining the link between differences in brain development to differences in intelligence, Shaw et. al. (2006) discovered that children of superior intelligence have:

A) bigger brains.
B) a thicker cortex throughout childhood.
C) a thinner cortex throughout childhood.
D) cortexes that thin and thicken at a rapid rate throughout childhood.

Question 23

The prefrontal cortex aids all of the following EXCEPT:

A) controlling one's thoughts.
B) regulating one's feelings.
C) controlling one's behaviors.
D) regulating one's emotions.

Question 24

Motor skills such as kicking and throwing:

A) develop with time for everybody.
B) require practice to develop.
C) develop more quickly for girls.
D) deteriorate in middle childhood.

Question 25

Concrete operational thinking allows children to mentally:

A) combine, separate, order, and transform objects and actions.
B) form conceptual categories.
C) represent events from the past.
D) direct action toward abstract concepts.

Question 26

All of the following are characteristic of the thought processes of middle childhood, according to Piaget, EXCEPT:

A) thinking that includes consideration of alternatives.
B) the ability to manipulate abstract ideas and symbols.
C) the ability to mentally retrace steps when problem solving.
D) the understanding that transformations in appearance do not change the basic properties of number, mass, and volume.

Question 27

Zach is in Little League and is considered a good player. One of the most popular players on the team, Zach is more likely to be:

A) a girl.
B) a boy.
C) either a girl or a boy.
D) big.

Question 28

The relationship between significant brain changes and the increasing competencies of a child in the middle childhood years can be described as:

A) a direct causal link from brain changes to changes in behavior.
B) correlational.
C) a direct causal link from behavior changes to changes in the brain.
D) nonexistent.

Question 29

What causes the difference in motor abilities of boys and girls?

A) the physical differences between boys and girls
B) differences in encouragement, rewards for participation in sporting activities, and physical differences between the sexes
C) biological-maturation of the sexes
D) canalization

Question 30

Boys are more likely to be faster at running and better at throwing and catching than girls because:

A) of genetic factors.
B) boys are slightly larger.
C) of cultural expectations.
D) boys have less muscle mass.

Question 31

During middle childhood, girls are generally better than boys at:

A) jumping.
B) catching.
C) skipping.
D) throwing.

Question 32

Samantha is 7 years old and has excellent reasoning skills and impulse control. Which brain area is responsible for these abilities?

A) basal ganglia
B) frontal lobes
C) limbic system
D) amygdala

Question 33

The _____ coordinates planning and goal setting.

A) brain stem
B) cerebellum
C) hypothalamus
D) frontal lobes of the cortex

Question 34

There appear to be three important periods in which there is an increased risk for developing obesity that continues to adulthood. These periods are:

A) prenatal, neonatal, and adolescence.
B) prenatal, adiposity rebound period, and adolescence.
C) neonatal, middle childhood, and adolescence.
D) neonatal, adiposity rebound period, and middle childhood.

Question 35

What is an operation, according to Piaget?

A) a qualitatively new form of remembering
B) an abstract manipulation of formal thought
C) a way of increasing one's own knowledge base
D) an internalized mental action coordinated with others

Question 36

The limbic system includes all of these brain structures EXCEPT:

A) amygdala.
B) hippocampus.
C) brain stem.
D) basal ganglia.

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT associated with the frontal lobes of the cortex?

A) memory
B) decision making
C) reasoning
D) emotions

Question 38

John is highly involved in sports. He is more likely than those who are not involved in sports to have:

A) low self-esteem.
B) depression.
C) a sense of school belonging.
D) more negative friends.

Question 39

When the frontal lobes of a person are damaged, the person is:

A) easily distracted and unable to maintain goals.
B) unable to engage in self-reflection.
C) unable to correctly solve Piagetian conservation tasks.
D) found to have more theta wave activity in her brain.

Question 40

In a study that used a bicycling simulator, participants who were 10-years-old, 12-years-old, and adults rode their bikes through a virtual town and crossed 12 intersections. Researchers found that over the course of riding through 12 intersections:

A) both children and adults chose to cross the street through increasingly smaller gaps between cars.
B) only adults chose to cross the street through increasingly smaller gaps between cars.
C) the 12-year-olds improved the most on the task.
D) the 10-year-olds improved the least on the task.

Question 41

In middle childhood, children begin to form cognitive representations of what needs to be done to achieve a specific goal. This process is known as:

A) selective attention.
B) planning.
C) metacognition.
D) elaboration.

Question 42

When children are able to explain what they are thinking about as they solve a puzzle task, they are demonstrating what cognitive skill?

A) metacognition
B) attention
C) planning
D) metamemory

Question 43

Concrete operations are reflected in:

A) increased aggressive behaviors.
B) the appearance of symbolic play.
C) the ability to form groups of similar objects.
D) the ability to consider how others see oneself.

Question 44

The mental operation called compensation refers to the realization that:

A) a change solely in outward appearance does not change the substances involved.
B) changes in one aspect of a problem are compared with and compensated for by changes in another aspect.
C) one operation can be negated by the effects of another.
D) a child jumps higher so others won't notice that he is shorter.

Question 45

John says there is the same number of pennies in two rows spread out equally. An experimenter spreads the top row of pennies out, increasing the distance between each penny. John then says there are more pennies in the top row. According to Piaget, John is exhibiting:

A) conservation of number.
B) failure to conserve number.
C) reversibility.
D) compensation.

Question 46

Identity refers to understanding that:

A) properties of an object change when the object looks different.
B) one mental operation can be reversed by the effects of another.
C) changes in one aspect of a problem are compensated for by changes in another.
D) changes limited to outside appearance do not change the amounts involved.

Question 47

In a series of studies using the Tower of Hanoi, researchers found that:

A) 3-year-olds could keep the rules in mind.
B) 6-year-olds could not keep the rules in mind at all.
C) 6-year-olds could form subgoals that would take them part of the way to the solution but could not think the problem all the way through.
D) practicing and training did not help children do better in the game.

Question 48

Garry pours a glass of milk for his daughter, Simone. Simone wants more, so Garry pours the milk from a short, fat glass into a tall, thin one. Simone is not amused and asks for more milk. Obviously, Simone:

A) is able to reason abstractly.
B) has reached, at least, the preoperational stage.
C) has reached, at least, the formal operational stage.
D) has reached, at least, the concrete operational stage.

Question 49

Conservation refers to understanding that:

A) some properties of an object stay the same even though it may look different.
B) one mental operation can be reversed by the effects of another.
C) changes in one aspect of a problem are compensated for by changes in another.
D) changes limited to outside appearance do not change the amounts involved.

Question 50

According to Piaget's observations, most children in the transitional stage for developing conservation of volume:

A) usually traverse this stage at age 2.
B) usually traverse this stage at age 8.
C) are still unaware that they need to consider both the height and the width of the container.
D) know that height and width are important but have difficulty keeping both in mind simultaneously.

Question 51

When Stan correctly solves Piaget's conservation task and explains "If you pour it back, you'll see that it's the same," he is demonstrating an understanding of:

A) identity.
B) compensation.
C) reversibility.
D) decentration.

Question 52

Reversibility refers to understanding that:

A) some properties of an object stay the same even though it may look different.
B) one mental operation can be negated by the effects of another.
C) changes in one aspect of a problem are compensated for by changes in another.
D) changes in outside appearance do not change the amounts involved.

Question 53

When 3-year-olds attempting to master-conservation-of-volume task are asked if there is more liquid in the taller beaker, they:

A) focus on a single attribute.
B) try to coordinate height and width.
C) answer "yes" only because they cannot express what they really mean.
D) decenter if shown that the liquid will be the same when poured back into the original container.

Question 54

Jamie collects coins and has been able to organize them by country and metal. What aspect of concrete operations is Jamie exhibiting?

A) conservation
B) classification
C) planning
D) metacognition

Question 55

When Brenda correctly solves Piaget's conservation task and explains "They were equal to start with and you haven't added anything or taken in away, so they're the same," she is demonstrating an understanding of:

A) identity.
B) compensation.
C) reversibility.
D) decentration.

Question 56

What is the conservation of number?

A) the ability to count the number of items in two or more rows
B) the ability to assign number words to written number symbols and objects
C) the ability to recognize that the last number counted is the total number of items
D) the ability to recognize one-to-one correspondence between two sets of objects in spite of spatial rearrangements

Question 57

As part of a conservation-of-number task, Abigail counts the same number of items in each of two rows but says that the experimenter's longer row has more. When asked why, her MOST likely response is:

A) "I can move them back."
B) "The number is the same."
C) "They are still the same cards."
D) "This row goes all the way here."

Question 58

When children were told accuracy and not speed was important in solving a maze task, 4- to 6-year-olds ___________ and 7- to 10-year-olds ____________.

A) planned their entire set of moves before they started; planned as well
B) did not perform differently than when they were told speed did matter; did this as well
C) planned their entire set of moves before they started; did not perform differently than when they were told speed did matter
D) did not perform differently than when they were told speed did matter; planned their entire set of moves before they started

Question 59

What is metacognition?

A) knowledge about the process of memory.
B) the ability to think about one's own thoughts.
C) a hypothesis that explains cognitive development during middle childhood.
D) the combination of the following cognitive skills: attention, memory, and planning.

Question 60

When does conservation of volume first appear?

A) 3 to 4 years
B) 5 to 6 years
C) 7 to 8 years
D) 9 to 10 years

Question 61

Memory changes in middle childhood are brought about by all of the following EXCEPT:

A) an increase in the child's knowledge base.
B) an increase in the speed and capacity of working memory.
C) increases in intelligence.
D) the acquisition of strategies for remembering.

Question 62

The shorter Chinese words for the digits may be the reason that Chinese 4- to 6-year-olds outperformed 4- to 6-year-olds from the United States. This provides evidence for which view of expanded memory capacity in middle childhood?

A) a physically larger frontal lobe
B) greater efficiency in information processing capabilities
C) an increase in ability to hold information in working memory
D) an increase in knowledge about things children try to remember

Question 63

Eric wants to remember the words on his spelling list, so he says the words and their correct spelling over and over. He is using what strategy to help him remember?

A) rehearsal
B) memory organization
C) free recall
D) elaboration

Question 64

Makayla age 6, knows a lot about baseball. When she is asked to recall a random list of baseball terms, she remembers more of the terms than an 18-year-old who is unfamiliar with baseball. Makayla remembers more because of her better:

A) memory span.
B) memory capacity.
C) knowledge base.
D) strategic knowledge.

Question 65

Information-processing theorists:

A) agree with Piaget about his description of children's behavior during middle childhood but disagree with his explanation of their behavior.
B) disagree with Piaget about his description of their children's behavior during middle childhood but agree with his explanation of behavior.
C) disagree with Piaget about both his description and explanation of children's behavior during middle childhood.
D) agree with Piaget about both his description and explanation of children's behavior during middle childhood, but use modern technologies, such as EEG scans, to confirm these patterns.

Question 66

Claire wants to remember the list of items her best friend wants for her birthday, so she will know what to buy her friend at the toy store. By clustering the items into categories such as "Barbie stuff," "books," and "art supplies," Claire is using what strategy to help her remember?

A) rehearsal
B) memory organization
C) free recall
D) elaboration

Question 67

Memory strategies are:

A) deliberate actions engaged in to enhance remembering.
B) a hallmark of the formal operational stage of thinking.
C) not used until age 6.
D) more important for recall memory than for organization.

Question 68

Concrete operations are called "concrete" because:

A) they are not reversible.
B) they are "hard" to perform.
C) they are performed on real objects.
D) to perform them, children must suppress visual imagery.

Question 69

Cross-cultural research comparing digit span performance of U.S. children to Chinese children between 4 and 6 years of age showed that:

A) neither group of children was capable of digit span tasks.
B) the U.S. children were superior in digit span performance.
C) the Chinese children were superior in digit span performance.
D) the children from both countries were comparable in their performance.

Question 70

Michael is asked to describe how a gumball machine works. After hearing an expert's account of how a gumball machine actually works, Michael is more likely to increase his rating of how much he initially knew about how the machine works. Michael is MOST likely to be in:

A) kindergarten.
B) second grade.
C) fourth grade.
D) sixth grade.

Question 71

Memory strategies:

A) are rarely seen until adolescence.
B) lead to better memory performance.
C) are too complex for use by preschool age children.
D) are unplanned activities that occur spontaneously in middle childhood.

Question 72

Chris is trying to remember the names of the bones of the body for her anatomy class by mentally chunking the bones into groups by their locations in the body. Chris is using what mental strategy?

A) elaboration
B) rehearsal
C) organizational
D) free recall

Question 73

Chi compared the memories of 10-year-old chess buffs with college-age chess novices and found that:

A) the college students were more accurate in all areas.
B) the college students used spatially oriented memory strategies.
C) performance for chess arrangements was the same for both groups.
D) the 10-year-olds were more accurate at remembering chess arrangements.

Question 74

German researchers extended Chi's studies with chess experts and found that when expert and novice chess players were asked to remember the random placement of chess pieces:

A) expert players did as well as novices when participants were asked to remember the placement of chess pieces in meaningful patterns that might occur during a chess game.
B) expert players did worse than novices when participants were asked to remember the placement of chess pieces in meaningful patterns that might occur during a chess game.
C) novice players did worse than experts when participants were asked to remember the placement of chess pieces in meaningful patterns that might occur during a chess game.
D) novice players did better than experts when participants were asked to remember the placement of chess pieces in meaningful patterns that might occur during a chess game.

Question 75

Memory span is the:

A) number of randomly presented items children can repeat immediately after the items are presented.
B) space between items that a child is trying to repeat after they are presented.
C) pause time as a child attempts to recall a list of items.
D) length of a passage a child is trying to repeat after it is presented.

Question 76

Psychologists' use of the term rehearsal refers to:

A) the ability to follow complex directions.
B) the role-playing games preschoolers play.
C) self-repetition of material to be remembered.
D) the way preschoolers repeatedly perform the same actions.

Question 77

When asked to draw a portrait of themselves with a third eye, 9-year-olds tended to:

A) place the third eye close to the other two.
B) place the third eye in a location that permitted an entirely different view.
C) place the third eye far from the other two.
D) be diverse in their answers.

Question 78

Young children have a short memory span because:

A) the items they want to remember go immediately into working memory, slowing down their ability to recall the items.
B) they take longer to scan the items they want to recall.
C) the items they want to remember skip over their short-term memory into their long-term memory; therefore, it takes them longer to recall the items.
D) it takes them longer to say a list of numbers, so memory for early items is likely to decay.

Question 79

The store of information that children can draw on to relate new memories to is their:

A) memory span.
B) knowledge base.
C) memory capacity.
D) strategic knowledge.

Question 80

The number of randomly presented items children can repeat immediately after the items are presented is:

A) about four.
B) their knowledge base.
C) their memory span.
D) a good test of conservation ability.