Deck 5: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

Question 1

Which of the following are nerve fibers that carry signals away from the cell body?

A) Neurotransmitters
B) Synapses
C) Dendrites
D) Axons

Answer 1

Axons

Question 2

When looking at the heights and weights of preschool children around the world, we know that there are:

A) congenital differences.
B) ethnic differences among them.
C) no visible differences.
D) cases of hyperthyroidism.

Answer 2

ethnic differences among them.

Question 3

When 4- and 5-year olds scramble over jungle gyms and race their friends, they are demonstrating their:

A) cognitive skills.
B) fine harboring skills.
C) gross motor skills.
D) reflective skills.

Answer 3

gross motor skills.

Question 4

Which of the following plays a key role in planning and organizing new actions and maintaining attention to tasks?

A) Amygdala
B) Hippocampus
C) Prefrontal cortex
D) Cerebellum

Question 5

Which of the following statements about brain development and early childhood is true?

A) The development that occurs inside the brain ends at the onset of adolescence.
B) By the time a child is 3 years of age, the brain is 25 percent of its adult size.
C) The overall size of the brain does not increase dramatically from ages 3 to 15.
D) The brain of a 5-year-old is 60 percent the size of an adult brain.

Question 6

_____ is a process in which nerve cells are covered and insulated with a layer of fat cells.

A) Centration
B) Myelination
C) Tropism
D) Neurogenesis

Question 7

Scientists have found that there are _____ the brains of children between the ages of 3 and 15.

A) dramatic changes in local patterns within
B) phenomenal increases in the overall size of
C) insignificant anatomical changes in
D) marked deceleration of growth in

Question 8

Gross motor skills are to fine motor skills as _____ is to _____.

A) jumping; writing
B) running; swimming
C) laughing; shouting
D) hopping; walking

Question 9

Debra is very active. She loves to tumble and show off. She is always trying out what her parents consider to be hair-raising stunts. She also loves races and believes she can run faster than her parents. This type of activity level and confidence is most characteristic of:

A) 1-year-olds.
B) 2-year-olds.
C) 3-year-olds.
D) 5-year-olds.

Question 10

One of the major changes in brain development between the ages of 3 and 15 involves an increase in the speed and efficiency of information traveling through the nervous system. This change is brought about by _____.

A) centration
B) myelination
C) tropism
D) neurogenesis

Question 11

During early childhood, on average, girls are _____ than boys.

A) much lighter
B) more fair
C) slightly smaller
D) considerably taller

Question 12

Toby is 3 years old. His parents are concerned because he is always running and jumping around. He cannot seem to sit still. Even when watching his favorite movie on TV, he fidgets and wiggles. It is especially frustrating to his parents when Toby does not sit still through dinner. Which of the following should Toby's parents do?

A) Have him tested for attention deficit disorder
B) Start him on a behavior modification program
C) Provide structured, cognitively challenging activities for Toby to develop his attention span
D) Be assured that his behavior is normal for his age

Question 13

Who among the following 5-year olds is MOST likely to be the tallest?

A) Timothy, White boy, urban, middle-socioeconomic-status, and later-born
B) Tina, White girl, urban, middle-socioeconomic-status, and firstborn
C) Tyrone, African American boy, urban, middle-socioeconomic-status, and firstborn
D) Tucker, African American boy, rural, lower-socioeconomic-status, and later-born

Question 14

Her pediatrician has just told Sandra that her 4-year-old son, Manuel, has gained 6 pounds in the last year. Sandra should:

A) be alarmed, because this is too much weight gain.
B) be concerned, because this is too little weight gain.
C) be positive and change Manuel's diet.
D) be content that this is normal for Manuel's age.

Question 15

Fred and Wayne are 4-year-olds and friends. When they are together, they often wrestle, run, race, push, and shove each other. Although their level of activity often aggravates their parents, we know that these activities will:

A) help the boys develop gross motor skills.
B) stop when their brains become better myelinated.
C) be temporary as they will not be friends for long.
D) help the boys overcome narcolepsy.

Question 16

What have been found to be the two most important contributors to height differences among children worldwide?

A) Nationality and culture
B) Education and exercise
C) Prenatal care and emotional challenges
D) Ethnic origin and nutrition

Question 17

The Reggio Emilia approach is a(n):

A) nutrition program for young children.
B) educational program for young children.
C) program for training kindergarten and elementary school teachers.
D) parenting education program.

Question 18

Three-year old Ashley is putting a jigsaw puzzle together, and, as is typical of her age, she:

A) places the pieces awkwardly.
B) is focused and excels at the task.
C) cannot identify the correct sections.
D) is precise in joining the bits.

Question 19

Researchers have found that in children from 3 to 6 years of age, the most rapid growth takes place in the _____ lobe areas of the brain.

A) temporal
B) parietal
C) frontal
D) occipital

Question 20

By the end of early childhood, girls have more _____ tissue than boys.

A) fatty
B) muscle
C) epithelial
D) nervous

Question 21

Which of the following statements about childhood obesity is true?

A) Children who are overweight at age 3 are also at risk of being overweight at age 12.
B) There is no indication that overweight young children will become overweight adults.
C) Obesity is not linked to type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes in children.
D) In 2005, the United States had the highest rate of child obesity in the world.

Question 22

Deaths in young children due to HIV/AIDS especially occur in countries:

A) in the northern hemisphere.
B) with high rates of poverty and low levels of education.
C) where other common children's health problems like malnutrition do not exist.
D) where the society is affluent.

Question 23

Mentally adding and subtracting numbers are examples of _____.

A) hypotheses
B) symbolic functions
C) operations
D) reflex actions

Question 24

Children exposed to tobacco smoke in the home are more likely to develop _____ than are children in homes where no one smokes.

A) tuberculosis
B) emphysema and hacking cough
C) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
D) wheezing and asthma

Question 25

Gina, 6, has a BMI in the 95th percentile. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she would be classified as:

A) obese.
B) overweight.
C) at risk for being overweight.
D) not at risk for being overweight.

Question 26

Which of the following statements regarding parental smoking is true?

A) Children are at risk for health problems when they live in homes in which a parent smokes.
B) Most children and adolescents in the United States are exposed to tobacco smoke in the home.
C) Children exposed to tobacco smoke in the home are no more likely to develop asthma than children in nonsmoking homes.
D) Parental smoking is the leading cause for death in young children in the United States.

Question 27

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person with a BMI at the 90th percentile is:

A) obese.
B) overweight.
C) at risk of being overweight.
D) underweight.

Question 28

According to Piaget, in the _____ stage, the young child's cognitive world is dominated by egocentrism and magical beliefs.

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

Question 29

Guidelines recommend that preschool children engage in _____ of physical activity per day.

A) half an hour
B) two hours
C) one hour
D) four hours

Question 30

The leading cause of death in young children in the United States is:

A) heart disease.
B) malnutrition.
C) motor vehicle accidents.
D) domestic violence.

Question 31

Which of the following should be minimized in order to improve the eating behavior of children?

A) Competing activities
B) A predictable schedule
C) Eating healthy food yourself
D) Making mealtimes pleasant occasions

Question 32

The second Piagetian stage of development is the preoperational stage, which lasts from approximately _____ years of age.

A) 1 to 3
B) 2 to 7
C) 4 to 10
D) 5 to 12

Question 33

In the _____ stage, children begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings.

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

Question 34

Which of the following can be modified to create conditions that enhance the child's safety and reduce the likelihood of injury?

A) Decrease home/school partnerships
B) Reduce playground hazards
C) Reduce pool fencing
D) Reduce frequent parent protective behaviors

Question 35

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only children and adolescents at or above the _____ percentile are classified as obese.

A) 97th
B) 95th
C) 90th
D) 88th

Question 36

Which of the following determines the categories for obesity, overweight, and at risk for being overweight?

A) Weight
B) Average calories consumed daily
C) Waist-to-hips ratio
D) Body mass index

Question 37

Which of the following can raise cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease?

A) Omega-3 fatty acid
B) Unsaturated fat
C) Saturated and trans fat
D) Protein

Question 38

Many of the deaths of young children around the world could be prevented by a reduction in:

A) nutrition.
B) sanitation.
C) poverty.
D) education.

Question 39

Which of the following is a factor in increasing the physical activity of preschool children?

A) Family members watching sports on TV together
B) Parents' perception that it is safe for their children to play outside
C) Participating in sedentary outdoor play
D) Incorporation of an "observe and learn" activity curriculum

Question 40

Four-year old Nathan is good at stacking his playing blocks to make tall structures. However, he still knocks them over occasionally. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason for this?

A) His gross motor skills are deficient.
B) He tries to place each block perfectly on top of the other, upsetting those already stacked.
C) His coordination skills are not developing normally for his age.
D) He is showing signs of dyslexia.

Question 41

Ethan, age 4, reasons that every time he sees a lightning bolt in the sky, angels are turning on their flashlights. Ethan's primitive reasoning about lightning is characteristic of:

A) symbolic function.
B) intuitive thought.
C) egocentrism.
D) centration.

Question 42

Juan and his little sister, Anne, are each given a large cookie. Their mother breaks Anne's cookie into four pieces to help her eat it more easily. Juan immediately begins to cry and says that it is not fair for his sister to get so many cookies when he only has one. Juan is showing a lack of:

A) constancy.
B) conservation.
C) intuition.
D) symbolic function.

Question 43

Which of the following best describes the relation between centration and conservation?

A) Conservation requires centration.
B) Centration is due to lack of conservation.
C) Centration is reflected in lack of conservation.
D) Conservation is independent of centration.

Question 44

"My computer doesn't like me-it keeps eating my pictures," says 3-year old Kimberly. This is an example of:

A) animism.
B) intuitive thinking.
C) conservation.
D) egocentrism.

Question 45

Piaget's preoperational stage is so named because he believed that children at this age:

A) do not yet perform reversible mental actions.
B) cannot yet form stable concepts.
C) are unable to reason.
D) cannot operate electronic devices like TVs.

Question 46

During the _____ substage children begin to use language more effectively and engage in pretend play.

A) formal operational
B) intuitive thought
C) symbolic function
D) concrete operational

Question 47

Three-year-old Betty's favorite pastime is scribbling designs. She says the drawings represent her parents, cat, bicycle, and home. This indicates that Betty is in the _____ substage of Piaget's preoperational stage.

A) symbolic function
B) intuitive thought
C) operational
D) sensorimotor

Question 48

Zone of proximal development (ZPD) is Vygotsky's term for:

A) a young adult's cognitive development achieved through interaction with children.
B) the variety of work that a child can do with ease at a particular stage of cognitive development.
C) how the environment and a child's genetically programmed learning ability interact during a critical period.
D) the range of tasks difficult for a child to master alone but that can be learned with help from adults.

Question 49

In Piaget's theory, failing the conservation-of-liquid task demonstrates:

A) that the child is at the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development.
B) that the child is unable to think fluidly.
C) centration.
D) rational thought.

Question 50

A young child might be heard saying, "That tree pushed the leaf off and it fell down." The child's belief that the tree is capable of action is referred to as _____.

A) egocentrism
B) conservation
C) animism
D) kineticism

Question 51

The inability to distinguish between one's own perspective and someone else's perspective is known as _____.

A) animism
B) empathy
C) egocentrism
D) symbolism

Question 52

Patricia, 6, loves to decorate books by drawing pictures and putting in words to describe them. Her ideas are more balanced now. She has started to analyze and understand things. However, she is egocentric and holds what her parents describe as "magical beliefs." Patricia is in Piaget's _____ stage of development.

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

Question 53

Piaget called the second substage in preoperational thought "intuitive" because of the absence of the use of _____ in children in that stage.

A) symbolic function
B) primitive reasoning
C) centration
D) rational thinking

Question 54

Which of the following is a second substage of preoperational thought?

A) Formal operational
B) Intuitive thought
C) Concrete operational
D) Symbolic function

Question 55

Three-and-a-half-year-old Ruth draws a picture with lavender, purple, and blue colors intermixed with green, yellow, and brown. "It's a boat on the ocean at sunset, with whales jumping all around it!" she explains to her teacher. Which of the following does this explain?

A) Animism
B) Conservation
C) Intuitive thought
D) Symbolic function

Question 56

The second substage of preoperational thought, occurring between approximately 4 and 7 years of age, is characterized by the use of:

A) reversible mental actions.
B) egocentric views.
C) primitive reasoning.
D) symbolic thought.

Question 57

In general, conservation involves the ability to understand that changes in physical arrangement:

A) do not change an object's basic properties.
B) affect an object's inherent features.
C) determine the total volume needed for a given task.
D) must be considered before the characteristics of an object can be determined.

Question 58

While talking with his grandmother on the phone, five-year old Danny suddenly exclaims, "Oh, look at that pretty bird!" When his grandmother asks him to describe the bird, Danny says, "Out there, out there! Right there, Grandma!" He finally gets frustrated and hangs up. This is an example of:

A) animism.
B) egocentrism.
C) intuitive thought.
D) symbolic function.

Question 59

According to Rochel Gelman, _____ is especially important in explaining conservation.

A) the age of the child
B) heredity
C) attention
D) intuition

Question 60

In the _____ substage, children use scribble designs to represent people, houses, cars, clouds, and so on.

A) formal operational
B) intuitive thought
C) concrete operational
D) symbolic function

Question 61

Michelle, 4, talks to herself frequently, especially when she is trying to solve a difficult problem. Lev Vygotsky would say that Michelle is:

A) engaging in egocentric and immature thinking.
B) likely to be socially competent.
C) functioning at the upper limit of her zone of proximal development (ZPD).
D) engaging in scaffolding.

Question 62

Which of the following educational strategies would Vygotsky say should be incorporated into the classroom?

A) Making each child responsible for his/her work, without relying on peers or teachers for support
B) Formal, standardized tests to assess children's learning
C) Discouraging distractions like self-talk or private talk
D) Offering just enough assistance to the child to accomplish the task

Question 63

Amy, age 3, walks by her grandmother's collection of glass animals and says, "Those are a 'no-no'; don't touch." It would appear that Amy is using _____ to regulate her own behavior.

A) mindstream
B) intuitive reasoning
C) private speech
D) symbolic function

Question 64

Over the past week, Walter has been trying to learn to tie his shoelaces. Initially, his mother was holding his hands and working his fingers through the process, but now that Walter's gotten better at it, she only guides him verbally. Which of the following is this an example of?

A) How heredity shapes cognitive development
B) Intuitive reasoning
C) Scaffolding
D) Conservation

Question 65

Which of the following is true of Lev Vygotsky's educational applications?

A) IQ should be assessed to test a child's learning capabilities.
B) A child should learn on his/her own to realize his capabilities.
C) A child's use of private speech reflects immaturity and egocentrism.
D) Teaching should begin toward the upper limit of a child's zone of proximal development.

Question 66

Vygotsky believed that children construct knowledge through:

A) self-discovery.
B) social interaction.
C) reorganization of existing knowledge.
D) transforming previous knowledge.

Question 67

Which of the following describes what Lev Vygotsky believed about the development of thought and language?

A) Thought and language are merged early in development and later separate.
B) Thought depends on language, so they are merged throughout development.
C) Thought and language develop independently at first and merge later in development.
D) Thought and language are two separate functions that remain independent throughout development.

Question 68

Which of the following did Vygotsky call the "buds" or "flowers" of development?

A) Tasks a child can accomplish independently
B) Intuitive thinking and rational thinking
C) A child's cognitive skills in the process of maturing
D) A child's gross motor skills that are fully developed

Question 69

When four-year-old Jared plays, he often talks to himself. This form is self-talk is used for self-regulation. Developmentalists call this:

A) mindstream.
B) self-articulation.
C) lisping.
D) private speech.

Question 70

A toddler is likely to learn something in the zone of proximal development (ZPD) if:

A) the toddler has mastered all the skills necessary.
B) parents or teachers do not interfere.
C) the task is more difficult than the child can do alone.
D) the toddler uses no help from a parent or teacher.

Question 71

Which of the following refers to teachers' adjustment of their level of support and guidance to the level of skill of the student?

A) Accommodation
B) Regulation
C) Scaffolding
D) Assimilation

Question 72

After a while self-talk becomes second nature to children, and they can act without verbalizing, thus creating a form of _____ which becomes their thoughts.

A) mindstream
B) inner speech
C) lisping
D) private speech

Question 73

Which of the following scenarios best represents Lev Vygotsky's view of mental and behavioral development?

A) A teacher assigns challenging tasks that students must complete on their own.
B) An instructor helps students with laboratory work, showing them how to do things the students cannot yet do.
C) A teacher waits patiently for students to come up with good answers and assesses their learning capabilities.
D) An instructor systematically offers standardized tests to students to evaluate their mental abilities on varying subjects.

Question 74

Vygotsky believed that children construct knowledge through:

A) self-discovery.
B) social interaction.
C) reorganization of existing knowledge.
D) transforming previous knowledge.

Question 75

In the development of language and thought:

A) internal speech precedes private speech.
B) internal and external speech develop simultaneously.
C) external speech precedes internal speech.
D) external speech develops after internal speech.

Question 76

When adults are working with young children, they often provide a lot of hints, assistance, instructions, and other support to help the children succeed. As the children demonstrate they can do more for themselves, the adults begin to withdraw these supports. This shows the adults' involvement in the children's:

A) zone of proximal development.
B) development of conservational abilities.
C) enhancement of intuitive reasoning.
D) process of centration.

Question 77

Vygotsky argued that _____ represents an early transition toward becoming more socially communicative.

A) mindstream
B) inner speech
C) lisping
D) private speech

Question 78

Sharon, 3, can solve 4-piece jigsaw puzzles on her own, but needs her parents' help to solve 6-piece jigsaw puzzles. Which of the following represents the upper limit of Sharon's zone of proximal development (ZPD) for solving such puzzles?

A) Sharon moving on to 10-piece puzzles
B) Sharon solving a 6-piece puzzle on her own
C) Sharon helping her 2-year old brother with 4-piece puzzles
D) Sharon mastering 4-piece puzzles

Question 79

Kevin is just learning to walk. He can take a few steps by himself if he uses both hands to hold on to a piece of furniture for support, but he can walk out into the middle of the room only if one of his parents holds his hands. Which of the following represents the lower limit of Kevin's zone of proximal development (ZPD) for walking?

A) Kevin learning to run after he has mastered walking by himself
B) Kevin going back to crawling when he becomes frustrated trying to walk by himself
C) Kevin walking alone by holding onto a piece of furniture with his hands
D) Kevin learning to walk by having his parents hold one of his hands

Question 80

"Tools of the Mind" is a program that is grounded in _____ theory of cognitive development.

A) Vygotsky's
B) Erikson's
C) Sternberg's
D) Piaget's