Deck 6: Cognitive Development: Piagets Theory and Vygotskys Sociocultural Viewpoint

Question 1

____ is the process by which children combine existing schemes into more complex intellectual schemes.

A)Organization
B)Conservation
C)Formal operation
D)Assimilation

Answer 1

Organization

Question 2

In Piaget's theory, balance between the child's thoughts and the environment is called

A)tertiary circular reaction.
B)phylogenetic scaffolding.
C)pompous constructivism.
D)cognitive equilibrium.

Answer 2

cognitive equilibrium.

Question 3

Piaget's clinical method for research resembles

A)a literature review.
B)the correlational method.
C)experimentation.
D)interviewing.

Answer 3

interviewing.

Question 4

In Piaget's cognitive developmental theory, the basic goal of intelligence is to

A)adapt to the environment.
B)enable the child to get ahead in school.
C)encourage scaffolding by relevant nearby adults.
D)discourage accommodation while encouraging assimilation.

Question 5

In Piaget's cognitive theory, a ____ is a mental model that represents, organizes, or interprets experience for the child.

A)concrete operation
B)centration
C)scaffold
D)scheme

Question 6

____ refers to the activity of knowing and acquiring knowledge.

A)Horizontal decalage
B)Organization
C)Scaffolding
D)Cognition

Question 7

A slogan of Piaget's theory of intelligence would be,

A)"Build your vocabulary!"
B)"Look for a scaffold!"
C)"Impress others!"
D)"Adapt!"

Question 8

During Piaget's process of "equilibration," the child

A)makes mental adjustments in response to new experiences.
B)avoids scaffolding while seeking independent action.
C)rejects the possibility of hypothetical "what ifs."
D)places phylogenetic development and ontogenetic development in contrasted opposition.

Question 9

A slogan of Piaget's organization principle would be,

A)"Respond to parental assistance!"
B)"Consider hypothetical possibilities!"
C)"Combine the simple into the complex!"
D)"Observe how others have solved similar problems!"

Question 10

In Piaget's cognitive theory, intelligence is like a(n)

A)random unpredictable series of thunderstorms.
B)counselor who helps a new arrival adjust to camp life.
C)teacher who explains everything with animal metaphors.
D)innate genetic disease that occurs at a programmed age.

Question 11

Which of these is NOT a main type of cognition?

A)Learning
B)Telepathy
C)Perceiving
D)Remembering

Question 12

Theorist Jean Piaget's academic background was focused in these two subjects:

A)statistics and experimental design.
B)animal husbandry and crop science.
C)epistemology and zoology.
D)chemistry and astronomy.

Question 13

According to Piaget, the constructivism of the child's thinking means that

A)the child builds understanding via active discovery.
B)assimilation speeds learning, while accommodation retards learning.
C)passive experience builds up knowledge quickly.
D)circular reactions are round movement sequences.

Question 14

Dino, age 10, is a "dinosaur expert." At a dinosaur museum, all of the most recent information matches what Dino already knows. Dino experiences

A)transitivity of mental seriation.
B)a secondary circular reaction.
C)cognitive equilibrium.
D)an A-not-B error.

Question 15

Genetic epistemology, Piaget's academic specialty, could be defined as the study of the

A)child's social relations with others such as peers.
B)inheritance of mental deficiency/disability.
C)inheritance of behavioral habits.
D)development of knowledge.

Question 16

Professor Pompous talks to children about how they solve puzzles. The course of questioning is modified, depending on the child's earlier answers. Pompous's approach resembles Piaget's ____ method.

A)representational insight
B)proximally decentrated
C)epistemological
D)clinical

Question 17

____ refers to children's changes in mental abilities over their lifetime.

A)Longitudinal decalage
B)Neo-nativistic centration
C)Phylogenetic development
D)Cognitive development

Question 18

To pass an object, an infant combines one hand's "opening scheme" with the other hand's "grasping" scheme. This illustrates Piaget's principle of

A)animism.
B)organization.
C)identity training.
D)avoiding the A-not-B error.

Question 19

A puppy explores and taps a rubber ball, and learns about the ball's properties via discovery. The puppy exemplifies Piaget's principle of

A)constructivism.
B)horizontal decalage.
C)representational insight.
D)invariant developmental sequence.

Question 20

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that is concerned with the

A)origins of knowledge.
B)rules of logical thinking.
C)moral principles of proper conduct.
D)relationship of religious belief and behavior.

Question 21

A slogan for Piaget's assimilation principle would be,

A)"Conform to your peers' thoughts!"
B)"Apply your past habits!"
C)"Be flexible and modify!"
D)"Think with animism!"

Question 22

Four-year-old Britney mistakes her neighbor's new pet rabbit for a kitten. Britney's error illustrates the Piagetian process of

A)animism.
B)assimilation.
C)accommodation.
D)tertiary circular reaction.

Question 23

Five-year-old Charley didn't think that dogs could talk until he saw a talking dog on TV. The change in Charley's understanding about dogs illustrates the Piagetian principle called

A)phylogenetic development.
B)animistic magic.
C)accommodation.
D)assimilation.

Question 24

Janelle sees a man (who is not her father) and calls out, "Daddy!" Janelle's reaction demonstrates the process that Piaget referred to as

A)egocentrism.
B)assimilation.
C)accommodation.
D)organization.

Question 25

A chef says, "The recipe for goo-rolls is specific. You must do all 15 steps in the exact stated order." This recipe illustrates the principle of

A)invariant sequence.
B)symbolic and behavioral schemes.
C)transitivity.
D)egocentrism.

Question 26

Beanpole plays basketball. During the past month, his arm has grown an inch, and he overshoots. His error reflects ____ of the shooting scheme.

A)hypothetico-deductive reasoning
B)deferred imitation
C)assimilation
D)accommodation

Question 27

ASSIMILATION is to ACCOMMODATION as ____ is to ____.

A)CASH :: CREDIT
B)INDIVIDUAL :: GROUP
C)STABILITY :: CHANGE
D)INCREMENTAL :: STAGES

Question 28

Piaget's four developmental stages

A)differ qualitatively from each other.
B)are voluntarily chosen by the child's parents.
C)are experienced in different sequences by children.
D)can be skipped in instances where the child is a precocious early achiever.

Question 29

Beanpole plays basketball. After Beanpole's arm has grown an inch and he overshoots, he shows ____ on later shots by reducing the intensity of the arm movement.

A)neo-nativism
B)assimilation
C)accommodation
D)microgenetic transitivity

Question 30

Piaget asserted that cultural and environmental influences on the child's development affected

A)the developmental rate and also the stage sequence.
B)the developmental rate but not the stage sequence.
C)the stage sequence but not the developmental rate.
D)neither the stage sequence nor the developmental rate.

Question 31

Piaget's principle of the invariant developmental sequence means that

A)animals of closely related species (e.g., apes/monkeys) have identical developmental stages.
B)every child goes through the stages in the same order.
C)if well nourished, children will develop at the same rate.
D)smart children can sometimes skip one of the stages.

Question 32

Piaget's sensorimotor stage includes the period of

A)infancy.
B)early childhood.
C)middle childhood.
D)adolescence.

Question 33

An overseas tourist comments on everything new by mentioning its similarities to familiar places back home. This resembles Piagetian

A)assimilation.
B)accommodation.
C)conservation.
D)primary circular reaction.

Question 34

Four-year-old Laura finds a bottle of vitamins. They look just like Easter candies, so she eats them all. Laura's error illustrates Piagetian

A)assimilation.
B)accommodation.
C)mental seriation.
D)horizontal decalage.

Question 35

In Piaget's cognitive theory, adaptation is the outcome of which processes?

A)Dilation and contraction
B)Centration and decentration
C)Accommodation and assimilation
D)Horizontal decalage and vertical decalage

Question 36

"Adaptation" has many varied meanings, but to Piaget, it meant

A)minimizing parent/child conflicts through discussion.
B)habituating to the environment's stabilities.
C)making adjustments in response to the environment's demands.
D)modifying the organism's genotype.

Question 37

Which of these is NOT among Piaget's four cognitive developmental stages?

A)Formal operations stage
B)Preoperational stage
C)Proximal zone stage
D)Sensorimotor stage

Question 38

An expatriate living overseas says, "No matter where we live, we are flexible and try to go native, adjusting our habits to match those of the locals." Her family is strong on ____ of their behavioral schemata

A)reflex activation
B)microgenetic development
C)assimilation
D)accommodation

Question 39

After seeing her "silly putty" bounce up to the ceiling on her first throw, Celia adjusts on the second throw to reduce the force. Celia's adjustment illustrates

A)accommodation.
B)assimilation.
C)a zone of proximal development.
D)a representational insight.

Question 40

In space, astronauts must become experts at ____ because behavioral schemata that work on Earth must be adjusted for space's weightlessness.

A)reversibility
B)accommodation
C)assimilation
D)animism

Question 41

Multiple actions are first planned and done together during which substage of Piaget's sensorimotor stage?

A)Reflex activity
B)Primary circular reactions
C)Coordination of secondary reactions
D)Symbolic problem-solving

Question 42

The main difference between primary and secondary circular reactions is

A)whether the action is toward the infant or an object.
B)the geometric accuracy of the circle pattern.
C)the relative sizes of the circles produced.
D)the speeds of the repetitive motions.

Question 43

The child's understanding that objects still exist even when out of sight is called

A)constructivistic substantiation.
B)existential persistence.
C)tertiary scaffolding.
D)object permanence.

Question 44

In the area of problem-solving, the final period of the sensorimotor stage is marked by the child's ability to

A)reach a solution to a problem internally by using symbolic mental combinations.
B)repeat behaviors that result in interesting consequences.
C)engage in trial-and-error behaviors to explore the properties of objects.
D)show reversibility of thought operations.

Question 45

What is "circular" about a Piagetian circular reaction?

A)The path of the eye movements resembles a circle.
B)The path of a limb's movements resembles a circle.
C)"Circular" means that the action is repetitious.
D)The action helps attract circular stimuli to the senses.

Question 46

"Inner experimentation" becomes possible during Piaget's ____ substage of the sensorimotor stage.

A)secondary circular reactions
B)coordination of secondary schemes
C)tertiary circular reactions
D)symbolic problem-solving

Question 47

Among four- to eight-month-old infants, secondary circular reactions will most often be directed toward

A)the infant's memories of prenatal life in the womb.
B)an imagined caregiver who is absent.
C)external objects such as toys.
D)the infant's own body.

Question 48

According to Piaget's theory, infants coordinate the information they gather through their senses with their motor behavior during the ____ stage of cognitive development.

A)concrete operations
B)sensorimotor stage
C)formal operations
D)fetal

Question 49

Secondary circular reactions are

A)unique motions done without a target.
B)unique motions directed toward the infant's own body.
C)repetitive motions directed toward the infant's body.
D)repetitive motions directed toward external objects.

Question 50

PRIMARY CIRCULAR REACTION is to SECONDARY CIRCULAR REACTION as ____ is to ____.

A)HORIZONTAL :: VERTICAL
B)APPEARANCE :: REALITY
C)RANDOM :: PURPOSIVE
D)SELF :: OTHER

Question 51

Which of these is an example of a Piagetian primary circular reaction?

A)A baby pokes her own elbow repeatedly.
B)A toddler draws a circle on paper with a crayon.
C)A baby points her hand at a mobile above her crib.
D)A woman kisses her boyfriend in a circular pattern on his cheek.

Question 52

Cuddles is a beagle who bites her toy rubber cat repeatedly to hear the "meow" sound it makes. This illustrates the Piagetian principle called

A)predatory sensorimotor practice.
B)secondary circular reaction.
C)tertiary circular reaction.
D)feline prey symbolism.

Question 53

Lolly is three months old, and she loves to suck her big toe, which she does repeatedly. This exemplifies

A)an abstract rectangular reaction.
B)a decentered targeted behavior.
C)a tertiary circular reaction.
D)a primary circular reaction.

Question 54

Research has uncovered that the child's capacity for deferred imitation develops ____ average age specified by Piaget.

A)later than the
B)by the same
C)earlier than the
D)earlier in boys but later in girls than the

Question 55

Mental imagery and thinking about ways of solving problems are prominent features of the ____ substage of sensorimotor intelligence.

A)tertiary circular reactions
B)symbolic problem-solving
C)reflex activity
D)coordination of secondary schemes

Question 56

Which of the following aspects of cognitive development were NOT part of Chapter 6's discussion of sensorimotor development?

A)Growth of the object concept
B)Problem-solving skills
C)Self-awareness
D)Imitation

Question 57

Piaget judged whether infants understood object permanence on the basis of whether

A)they responded affirmatively during interviews.
B)a parent indicated that the ability was present.
C)they stared longer at impossible scenes than at possible scenes.
D)they searched for hidden or missing objects.

Question 58

A primary circular reaction is a(n)

A)cognition of disgust when English is heard in France.
B)imagined movement that is not actually performed.
C)repetitive movement toward one's own body, such as thumb sucking.
D)persistent search to find a missing object.

Question 59

The neonate's main sensorimotor activity is

A)exercising its innate reflexes.
B)doing primary circular reactions.
C)doing secondary circular reactions.
D)responding to classical conditioning.

Question 60

The infant's curiosity becomes especially evident during Piaget's ____ substage of the sensorimotor stage, as infants begin to actively experiment with objects.

A)reflex activity
B)primary circular reactions
C)coordination of secondary schemes
D)tertiary circular reactions

Question 61

The child's understanding that something can stand for something else is called

A)assimilated protoformalism.
B)reflexive mental seriation.
C)representational insight.
D)intuitive decentration.

Question 62

Another term for the preconceptual child's symbolic play is ____ play.

A)hypothetico-deductive
B)transitivity
C)decentration
D)pretend

Question 63

The general approach of neo-nativist cognitive research has been to

A)demonstrate advanced abilities in very young infants.
B)statistically reexamine Piaget's data for errors.
C)search for similar parallels in the development of babies and in young animals.
D)apply clever techniques for infants' verbal interviews.

Question 64

At a carnival shooting gallery, a moving target travels diagonally behind a barrier. If the shooter understands "invisible displacement," where will the target's reappearance be anticipated?

A)Where the target went behind the barrier
B)At any random location along the edges of the barrier
C)At the other side of the barrier, consistent with the target's trajectory
D)In the center of the barrier

Question 65

"Theory" theories, which portray the infant as testing hypotheses about the world,

A)are nurture-oriented, emphasizing experiential learning.
B)are nature-oriented, with neonativistic innate knowledge.
C)are constructivistic, like Piaget's theory.
D)combine elements of neo-nativism and constructivism.

Question 66

The ____ stage is the second of Piaget's four stages, encompassing the preschool years.

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

Question 67

Regarding the relationship between cognition and language, Piaget asserted that

A)cognition and language are unrelated mental skills.
B)language development promotes cognitive advancement.
C)cognitive development promotes language advancement.
D)cognition and language are mutually supportive.

Question 68

A slogan of neo-nativism would be,

A)"Abilities arise from experiential learning."
B)"The newborn arrives with much knowledge."
C)"Development is totally flexible."
D)"Knowledge is constructed from early reflexes."

Question 69

A simpler term that means roughly the same thing as "representational insight" would be

A)practicing to be better.
B)using an entity to stand for something else.
C)thinking mostly about yourself.
D)guessing about what is "out there."

Question 70

Wynn found that young infants stare longer at "impossible" outcomes than at possible ones. She concluded that the infants

A)are confused about what is possible and what is not.
B)become annoyed when adults control what they see.
C)know nothing at birth, but learn quickly within weeks.
D)understand about object permanence.

Question 71

Smarty's ball has rolled under the sofa, and he immediately starts to hunt for it. Smarty's behavior illustrates

A)that one must know decentering in order to conserve.
B)the boundaries of his zone of proximal development.
C)that he is in Piaget's formal operations stage
D)the Piagetian principle of object permanence.

Question 72

A child who makes the "A-not-B error" with hidden/lost objects will

A)search at the place where the object was last seen.
B)fail to do any search for the missing object.
C)start to search, then promptly quit.
D)search for a hidden object where she previously found it even after she saw it get moved to a new location.

Question 73

As the child gradually masters object permanence during the first two years, which behavior represents the most advanced understanding?

A)Passively waiting for the object to reappear
B)Anticipating invisible displacements
C)Doing an A-not-B search
D)Not searching at all

Question 74

The slogan that the infant is a "little scientist testing hypotheses about the world" is based on

A)Vygotsky's sociocultural theory.
B)Piaget's cognitive theory.
C)the neo-nativist theory.
D)"theory" theories.

Question 75

Carrie is an infant in Piaget's sensorimotor stage. Her parents will know that her object concept is fully mature when Carrie searches for objects

A)that are only partly concealed.
B)that she sees being totally covered.
C)in the locations where they were last seen.
D)that were invisibly moved from where she last saw them.

Question 76

The game of ____ helps infants acquire the cognitive understanding of object permanence.

A)patty cake
B)peekaboo
C)Simon says
D)tag

Question 77

Which of these LEAST exemplifies symbol use?

A)Mental imagery
B)Habituation
C)Language
D)Pretend play

Question 78

Snow White loses a small doll but does not search for the toy. Snow White's actions suggest that she has not yet acquired

A)object permanence.
B)representational insight.
C)compassionate conservatism.
D)context-independent learning.

Question 79

Suppose that a naval submarine were lost. If rescuers made the A-not-B error, where would they search?

A)At the home port from where the sub launched
B)At the high-seas location where the sub last submerged
C)At the spot where the sub is expected to emerge after a given amount of time
D)In Davy Jones's locker, where souls of lost sailors congregate

Question 80

The viewpoint that claims many cognitive skills are innate is called

A)neo-nativism.
B)para-piagetianism.
C)trans-environmentalism.
D)parental intuitionism.