Deck 5: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

Question 1

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

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

Answer 1

slightly smaller

Question 2

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.

Answer 2

The overall size of the brain does not increase dramatically from ages 3 to 15.

Question 3

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

Answer 3

Prefrontal cortex

Question 4

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 decelerations of growth in

Question 5

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 6

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 7

In terms of height and weight during the preschool years,____ have more fatty tissues.

A)boys
B)girls
C)neither
D)both

Question 8

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 9

_____ 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 10

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 11

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 12

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

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

Question 13

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 14

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 15

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

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

Question 16

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

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

Question 17

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.

Question 18

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 19

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 20

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 21

Jaron is an overweight 5-year-old.By age 14,we can expect that Jaron

A)will be anorexic.
B)will be obese.
C)will be intellectually disabled.
D)will be popular amongst his peers.

Question 22

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 23

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 24

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 25

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 26

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 27

Children living in low-income families are more likely to:

A)be exposed to tobacco smoke than children in middle-income families.
B)be placed in gifted programs than children in middle-income families.
C)engage in more rigorous exercise than children in middle-income families.
D)engage in more prosocial behaviors than children in middle-income families.

Question 28

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 29

In terms of nutrition,what a child eats affects all of the following EXCEPT:

A)Skeletal growth
B)Peer relations
C)Body shape
D)Susceptibility to disease

Question 30

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 31

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 32

Which of the following is NOT one of the categories established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to describe weight problems?

A)Obesity
B)Overweight
C)Extremely overweight
D)Risk for being overweight

Question 33

A new study revealed that overweight 5-year-olds were _____ times more likely to be obese at age 14 years of age than their 5-year-old counterparts who were normal weight.

A)two
B)three
C)four
D)five

Question 34

The most recent research on exercise during the preschool years confirmed that exercise:

A)retards physical development.
B)delays psychosocial development.
C)reduces body fat in obese children.
D)reduces self-esteem in overweight children.

Question 35

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 36

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 37

Which of the following is NOT an outcome for children who are exposed to tobacco smoke in the home?

A)Increase in wheezing and asthma
B)Increase in sleeping problems
C)Increased likelihood of smoking in adolescence
D)Increase in respiratory and cardiovascular functioning.

Question 38

According to recent research,there has been an approximately _____ drop in the rates of obesity in preschool children ages 2 to 5.

A)15 percent
B)43 percent
C)55 percent
D)75 percent

Question 39

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 40

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

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

Question 41

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 42

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 43

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 44

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 45

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 46

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 47

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 48

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 49

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 50

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 51

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 52

Mentally adding and subtracting numbers are examples of:

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

Question 53

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 54

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 55

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 56

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

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

Question 57

While talking with his grandmother on the phone,5-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 58

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 59

"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 60

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 61

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 62

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 63

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 64

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 65

According to recent research,all of the following are factors that positively influence the effectiveness of the zone of proximal development in children's learning and development EXCEPT:

A)Better emotional regulation
B)Secure attachment
C)Child compliance
D)Maternal depression

Question 66

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

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

Question 67

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

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

Question 68

Vygotsky believed that children construct knowledge through:

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

Question 69

When 4-year-old Jared plays,he often talks to himself.This form of self-talk is used for self-regulation.Developmentalists call this:

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

Question 70

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 71

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 72

According to your text,scaffolding techniques that heightened engagement,encouraged direct exploration,and facilitated "sense making" improved 4- to 5-year-olds':

A)acquisition of geometric knowledge.
B)physical development.
C)chance of obtaining a rating of rejected by their peers.
D)acquisition of favorable peer ratings.

Question 73

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 74

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 75

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 76

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 77

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 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

Vygotsky believed that children construct knowledge through:

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

Question 80

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.