Deck 5: Cognitive Growth: Piaget and Vygotsky

Question 1

Which term did Piaget use to describe changes in existing ways of thinking that occur in response to encounters with new stimuli or events?

A)accommodation
B)schema reversal
C)formal operations
D)assimilation

Answer 1

accommodation

Question 2

What did Jean Piaget call the process by which repetition of a chance motor event helps a baby start building cognitive schema?

A)first habits
B)simple reflexes
C)circular reaction
D)restructuring

Answer 2

circular reaction

Question 3

A baby who examines her stuffed elephant first from the top,then from the side,then from the bottom,then from the top again,is demonstrating __________.

A)secondary circular reactions
B)goal-directed behavior
C)object permanence
D)primary circular reactions

Answer 3

secondary circular reactions

Question 4

What did Piaget call mental structures that formed the basic building blocks of how children understand the world?

A)assimilations
B)accommodations
C)schema
D)memories

Question 5

Eight-month-old Wilhelm makes minor changes in his schema each time his environment provides him with a new experience.What does this process represent?

A)accommodation
B)reflexive responding
C)assimilation
D)secondary circular reactions

Question 6

What is the correct sequence of developmental stages that Jean Piaget claimed all infants pass through?

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

Question 7

Barrabas watches as his mother leaves the room,but he does not cry because he understands that his mother still exists even though he cannot see her.This is an example of which reaction concept?

A)Sensorimotor substage 2: First habits and primary circular reactions
B)Sensorimotor substage 1: Simple reflexes
C)Sensorimotor substage 3: Secondary circular reactions
D)Sensorimotor substage 4: Object permanence

Question 8

Jimmy's mother places a new rattle in his crib.Instantly,Jimmy picks up the rattle,tries to mouth the rattle,and notices that when it shakes,it makes noise.Jimmy immediately tries shaking the rattle different ways to see how the sound changes,and he seems to enjoy this activity.What would Jean Piaget say this is an example of?

A)Substage 2: First habits and primary circular reactions
B)Substage 1: Simple reflexes
C)Substage 3: Secondary circular reactions
D)Substage 4: Coordination of secondary circular reactions

Question 9

Piaget's "first habits and primary circular reactions stage" occurs during which age range?

A)1 to 4 months
B)1 to 6 months
C)1 to 8 months
D)4 to 8 months

Question 10

Dionne is playing in her playpen and reaches to pull back a blanket that is partially covering the teddy bear she wants.What would Jean Piaget say this is an example of?

A)secondary circular reactions
B)first habits and primary circular reactions
C)coordination of secondary circular reactions
D)tertiary circular reactions

Question 11

What did Jean Piaget think appears during Substage 4 of the sensorimotor period,and enables an infant to realize that people and objects exist even when they cannot be seen?

A)retribution
B)object permanence
C)assimilation
D)goal-directed behavior

Question 12

Three-year-old Alex and his mother visited the zoo.While they were there,Alex's mother took him to see the otter exhibit.When he saw an otter swimming,he pointed and said,"A furry fish." In the context of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development,what is Alex demonstrating?

A)schema substitution
B)accommodation
C)object permanence
D)assimilation

Question 13

What is the term for Piaget's initial major stage of cognitive development,which can be divided further into six substages?

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

Question 14

What kind of reactions would be categorized as schema reflecting an infant's repetition of interesting or enjoyable actions that focus on the infant's own body?

A)primary circular reactions
B)circular reactions
C)secondary circular reactions
D)tertiary circular reactions

Question 15

Which term did Jean Piaget use to explain the process by which people understand an experience in terms of their current stage of cognitive development?

A)schematic restructuring
B)assimilation
C)accommodation
D)operational engagement

Question 16

Rikki normally breastfeeds her baby Chloe;however,during the workday Rikki's mother watches Chloe,and the baby must be fed with a bottle.Rikki has noticed that Chloe's approach to the bottle is somewhat different than Chloe's approach to her breast.What would Piaget say this is an example of?

A)coordination of secondary circular reactions of the sensorimotor stage
B)simple reflexes of the sensorimotor stage
C)mental representations of the beginning of thought
D)first habits and primary circular reactions of the sensorimotor stage

Question 17

Two-year-old Alex and his mother visited the zoo.While they were there,Alex's mother took him to see the otter exhibit.When he saw an otter swimming rapidly,he pointed and said,"A fish." In the context of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development,what is Alex demonstrating?

A)cognitive substitution
B)accommodation
C)object permanence
D)assimilation

Question 18

Piaget believed that the exact timing of a stage reflected an interaction between which two aspects of an infant's experience?

A)level of physical maturation and the social environment in which the child is raised
B)level of physical maturation and the genetic predisposition of the child
C)level of cognitive development and the experiences that are provided by the child's genotype
D)level of physical maturation and cognitive development of the child

Question 19

Which behavior demonstrates the characteristics of Piaget's coordination of secondary circular reactions substage of the sensorimotor period?

A)an infant's independence from her or his parent
B)an infant's basic reflexes
C)an infant's lack of object permanence
D)an infant's skill in anticipating future circumstances

Question 20

What is the major difference between primary circular reactions and secondary circular reactions in Piaget's sensorimotor stage?

A)An infant must first demonstrate the primary circular reactions before demonstrating the secondary circular reactions.
B)Primary circular reactions are based upon enjoyment activities,whereas secondary circular reactions are not.
C)Primary circular reactions bring about a desirable consequence,whereas secondary circular reactions do not.
D)Primary circular reactions involve activities where the infant is focused on its own body,whereas secondary circular reactions involve activities where the infant's actions relate to the outside world.

Question 21

How did Piaget explain why preschool-age children in the preoperational stage make errors on tasks requiring conservation?

A)Preschool-age children's neural-visual network is not fully matured.
B)Preschool-age children have not lived long enough to accrue enough experience spotting the differences between quantities.
C)Preschool-age children's tendency toward centration prevents them from focusing on other relevant features of a situation.
D)Preschool-age children have not developed numerical understanding;therefore,different amounts are meaningless.

Question 22

In the later years of the preoperational stage,children show an understanding that certain things stay the same,regardless of changes in shape,size,and appearance.What is this realization called?

A)identity
B)functionality
C)intuitive thought
D)summarization

Question 23

Which term did Jean Piaget use to refer to the understanding that quantity is unrelated to the arrangement and physical appearance of objects?

A)assimilation
B)conservation
C)centration
D)actuation

Question 24

Which Piagetian term refers to the period of cognitive development that occurs between ages 7 and 12,and is characterized by the active and appropriate use of logic?

A)concrete operational stage
B)decentering stage
C)abstract operational stage
D)preoperational stage

Question 25

Madelaine is working to teach her 4-year-old daughter Eliza how to count.She places ten pennies in one row with very little space between the pennies,and eight pennies in another row with more space between the pennies.Then Madelaine asks Eliza which row has more pennies.Eliza chooses the second row,even though she knows that ten is more than eight.What is Eliza's response an example of?

A)symbolic functioning
B)concrete operations
C)formal operational functioning
D)centration

Question 26

The "beginnings of thought" substage of Piaget's sensorimotor period occurs during which age range?

A)8 to 14 months
B)12 to 14 months
C)12 to 18 months
D)18 to 24 months

Question 27

Three-year-old Wendy is playing hide-and-seek with some older children.However,instead of running to find a hiding place away from the other children,Wendy simply covers her eyes and stands in place.Wendy is demonstrating which Piagetian concept?

A)intuitive thought
B)egocentrism
C)centration
D)conservation

Question 28

In 4-year-old Amanda's preschool class,the group discussion focused on airplanes.After that,Amanda considered herself an expert on airplanes and believed she knew everything there was to know about the subject,even though she was unable to provide a reasonable explanation about why she thought she knew so much.Amanda is demonstrating which Piagetian concept?

A)actuation
B)intuitive thought
C)egocentric thought
D)centration

Question 29

Seven-year-old Marvin and four-year-old Edgar are sitting at the table as their mother pours milk into their glasses.Both glasses are the same size and shape.However,Marvin's mother notices a chip on the lip of his glass,and decides that it is safer if she pours that milk into another glass.The new glass is shorter and much wider,and when she pours the milk into the new glass Edgar laughs and says that now he has more milk than Marvin.However,Marvin is not upset because he knows that he still got the same amount of milk.Which Piagetian principle is Marvin demonstrating?

A)formal operations
B)decentering
C)the preoperational stage
D)the abstract operational stage

Question 30

The tertiary circular reactions stage,substage 5 of Piaget's sensorimotor period,occurs during which age range?

A)6 to 8 months
B)8 to 12 months
C)12 to 14 months
D)12 to 18 months

Question 31

Which term refers to a child's capacity to take multiple aspects of a situation into account?

A)concrete operational
B)abstract operational
C)preoperational
D)decentering

Question 32

Reggie watched as his son Maurice dropped a toy elf repeatedly.Maurice varied the position from which he dropped the elf,and carefully looked each time to see where it fell.What is Maurice's behavior an example of?

A)Substage 2: First habits and primary circular reactions.
B)Substage 3: Secondary circular reactions.
C)Substage 4: Coordination of circular reactions.
D)Substage 5: Tertiary circular reactions.

Question 33

Children in the preoperational stage of development fall into which age range?

A)1 to 2 years
B)2 to 7 years
C)5 to 7 years
D)7 to 9 years

Question 34

Jean Piaget believed that a child's preschool years fit entirely in a single stage of cognitive development.What is this stage called?

A)operational
B)preoperational
C)concrete
D)postoperational

Question 35

According to Piaget,what is a central aspect of the preoperational stage?

A)the ability to use symbolic functions
B)organized,formal,logical mental processes
C)increased memory for object placements
D)increased fine motor skill development

Question 36

Which term describes the process of concentrating on one limited aspect of a stimulus and ignoring other aspects?

A)symbolic functioning
B)language acquisition
C)centration
D)concrete operations

Question 37

According to Piaget,what is the major accomplishment of the "beginnings of thought" substage of the sensorimotor period?

A)Children understand that a person or object continues to exist even if it cannot be seen.
B)Children are able to show purposeful acts with deliberate variety.
C)Children employ goal-directed behavior.
D)Children exhibit the capacity for mental representation.

Question 38

If a 4½-year-old child is asked to draw a person who is first standing upright and then has fallen down,the child is likely to draw the figure in the vertical position,and then the figure lying in the horizontal position with no other intermediate pictures to demonstrate the person falling.This child would be showing a lack of understanding of what Piagetian concept?

A)egocentric thought
B)intuitive thought
C)conservation
D)transformation

Question 39

What does concrete operational thought fundamentally involve?

A)applying reasoning to solve problems
B)applying intuition to solve problems
C)applying logical operations to solve problems
D)applying abstract knowledge to solve problems

Question 40

Thinking that does not take into account other viewpoints is also referred to by which term?

A)conservation
B)centrated thinking
C)intuitive thought
D)egocentric thought

Question 41

What kind of thinking acknowledges that adult predicaments must sometimes be resolved in relativistic terms?

A)dialectical thinking
B)moralistic thinking
C)postformal thought
D)logical thinking

Question 42

According to Vygotsky,if a child receives assistance with a task,she or he may improve substantially more than another child who does not receive help.What term did Vygotsky use to describe the assistance or structuring provided by others?

A)successive approximations
B)scaffolding
C)scripting
D)mentoring

Question 43

Which criticism has been applied to Piaget's stage theory of cognitive development?

A)Development proceeds in a more continuous,gradual fashion than a stage model would propose.
B)The preoperational stage should really be divided into seven substages.
C)Piaget didn't propose enough stages to account for cognitive development in infancy.
D)Stages aren't distinct enough to capture the sudden jumps in qualitative reasoning that children go through.

Question 44

Which developmental psychologist argued that cognitive development is a result of social interactions in which children learn through guided participation and working with mentors to solve problems?

A)K)Warner Schaie
B)Jean Piaget
C)Gisela Labouvie-Vief
D)Lev Vygotsky

Question 45

According to Vygotsky,what is the level at which a child cannot fully perform a task independently,but can do so with the assistance of someone more competent?

A)post-formal reasoning
B)script enactment
C)zone of proximal development
D)scaffold construction

Question 46

What did developmental psychologist K.Warner Schaie call the first stage of cognitive development,encompassing all of childhood and adolescence?

A)achieving stage
B)responsible stage
C)acquisitive stage
D)executive stage

Question 47

Which criticism has been applied to Piaget's stage theory of cognitive development?

A)Piaget overestimated the ages at which children could master various cognitive tasks.
B)The preoperational stage should really be divided into seven substages.
C)Piaget focused on a culturally limited set of observations when making claims for universal processes.
D)The sensorimotor period is longer than Piaget predicted,stretching well into middle childhood.

Question 48

According to developmental psychologist K.Warner Schaie,the stage in which the major concerns of middle-aged adults relate to their personal situations is also known as what?

A)achieving stage
B)acquisitive stage
C)executive stage
D)responsible stage

Question 49

Which criticism has been applied to Piaget's stage theory of cognitive development?

A)Stages aren't distinct enough to capture the sudden jumps in qualitative reasoning that children go through.
B)Piaget proposed too many stages of cognitive development in adolescence.
C)The preoperational stage should really be divided into three substages.
D)Piaget underestimated the ages at which children could master various cognitive tasks.

Question 50

Using K.Warner Schaie's stages of adult development,which issue would a senior citizen most likely be focused on and interested in?

A)educational legislation to secure a minimum wage for primary school teachers
B)legislation to balance the federal budget
C)legislation to enact universal health care benefits
D)legislation to enact stricter environmental regulations for protection of forests and wetlands

Question 51

According to K.Warner Schaie,what is the stage in which people in middle adulthood may become involved in organizations where they have a larger purpose in society?

A)responsible stage
B)reintegrative stage
C)executive stage
D)achieving stage

Question 52

How did Jean Piaget describe the developmental stage during which people acquire the ability to think abstractly?

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

Question 53

According to K.Warner Schaie,what is the main cognitive developmental task of young adulthood?

A)responsibility
B)acquisition
C)achievement
D)reintegration

Question 54

How does postformal thought fundamentally differ from Piaget's notion of formal operations?

A)Postformal thought is a developmental period that precedes formal operations.
B)Postformal thought is based on culturally shared definitions of "truth" and "wisdom."
C)Postformal thought acknowledges that sometimes there are no clearly right or wrong solutions to a problem.
D)Postformal reasoning leads to a single identifiable solution.

Question 55

According to developmental psychologist K.Warner Schaie,the point reached by young adults in which intelligence is applied to specific situations involving the attainment of long-term goals regarding careers,family,and societal contributions is identified as which stage?

A)achieving stage
B)acquisitive stage
C)reintegrative stage
D)responsible stage

Question 56

How do the theories of cognitive development proposed by Gisela Labouvie-Vief and Jean Piaget compare?

A)Labouvie-Vief argued for complete cognitive development at the formal operations stage,whereas Piaget believed a period of postformal thought was necessary.
B)Labouvie-Vief proposed a stage of postformal thought,whereas Piaget thought cognitive development was complete at the stage of formal operations.
C)Both Labouvie-Vief and Piaget concluded that postformal thought represented the completion of cognitive development.
D)Labouvie-Vief emphasized the importance of concrete operational thought,whereas Piaget emphasized the importance of postformal thought.

Question 57

According to the theories of Gisela Labouvie-Vief,the complexity of society requires specialization of thought.Therefore,thought is not necessarily based on only logic but also requires which of the following?

A)practical experience
B)intellectual superiority
C)genetic superiority
D)physical fitness

Question 58

According to Piaget,what do adolescents rely on during the formal operational stage of cognitive development that helps them reason differently than children in the concrete operations stage?

A)an enlarged prefrontal cortex
B)genetic abilities
C)propositional thought
D)trial and error experience from previous years

Question 59

Which term did Lev Vygotsky use to describe the physical items that a child uses to learn,as well as the intellectual and conceptual framework that the child uses to learn?

A)memory aids
B)definition aids
C)cultural tools
D)learning aids

Question 60

According to K.Warner Schaie,what is the main cognitive developmental task of people in late adulthood?

A)assuming responsibility for one's shortcomings
B)acquiring wisdom
C)gaining a sense of achievement
D)reintegration of personal interests

Question 61

Critics of Piaget note that his theory of cognitive development overlooks the __________ systems that are present from early infancy.

A)intuitive and sequencing
B)motor and permanence
C)sensory and perceptual
D)memory and conservation

Question 62

Vygotsky viewed children as __________ who learn cognitive strategies and other skills from adults and peer mentors.

A)blank slates
B)junior scientists
C)assimilators
D)apprentices

Question 63

Vygotsky's theory that children's comprehension of the world flows from their __________ is increasingly well-supported by research.

A)continual advance in motor skills
B)mental representations and schemes
C)interactions with adults and peers
D)concrete operational thinking

Question 64

Scaffolding involves helping children to __________ appropriately.

A)think about and frame a task
B)read passages and answer questions
C)review and correct their work
D)work with peers in cooperative groups

Question 65

Vygotsky believed that societal expectations about __________ play a role in how children come to understand the world.

A)intelligence
B)gender
C)temperament
D)personality

Question 66

According to Piaget,__________ is the process by which people understand an experience in terms of their current stage of cognitive development and way of thinking.

A)accommodation
B)tolerance
C)assimilation
D)self-awareness

Question 67

Research suggests Piaget may have erred in asserting that preschoolers have little understanding of __________.

A)the alphabet
B)numbers
C)object permanence
D)transformation

Question 68

Schaie's final stage of cognitive development,the __________ stage,occurs in late adulthood as people focus on tasks that have personal meaning.

A)responsible
B)achieving
C)reintegrative
D)acquisitive

Question 69

Piaget believed the major achievement of the final substage in the sensorimotor stage is __________.

A)symbolic thought
B)centration
C)object permanence
D)conservation

Question 70

What are the primary criticisms of Vygotsky's sociocultural approach to cognitive development?

Question 71

Perry found that as college students were exposed to new ideas and viewpoints,they came to understand that it is possible to hold __________ on an issue.

A)acquisitive perspectives
B)responsible positions
C)multiple perspectives
D)informal positions

Question 72

Describe criticisms of Piaget's view of cognitive development during the adolescent years and beyond.

Question 73

According to Vygotsky,the level at which a child can almost but not fully perform a task independently (but can do so with assistance)is the child's __________.

A)preoperative stage
B)zone of cognitive engagement
C)transformative stage
D)zone of proximal development

Question 74

Give an example how recent research refutes some of Piaget's understanding of preschool children's abilities.

Question 75

Discuss the main criticisms of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

Question 76

One hallmark of the preoperational stage is __________,thinking that does not take into account the viewpoints of others.

A)concrete thought
B)egocentric thought
C)symbolic thought
D)intuitive thought

Question 77

Understanding that because 3 + 5 equals 8,5 + 3 also equals 8 is an example of the concept of __________,a characteristic of concrete operational thought.

A)intuition
B)transferability
C)reversibility
D)abstraction

Question 78

The four stages of cognitive development,according to Piaget,are __________.

A)sensorimotor,secondary circular,intuitive thought,and formal operational
B)primary,assimilation,concrete operational,and egocentric thought
C)simple reflex,preoperational,symbolic functional,and intuitive thought
D)sensorimotor,preoperational,concrete operational,and formal operational

Question 79

Explain K.Warner Schaie's perspective on stages of development and discuss how it differs from Jean Piaget's approach.

Question 80

__________ thinking is a view of the world where something is either right or wrong with no shades of grey.

A)Dualistic
B)Counterintuitive
C)Symbolic
D)Egocentric