Deck 6: Cognitive Developmental Approaches

Question 1

While strolling through the zoo with his mother,5-year-old Tim sees a penguin for the first time.He stares at the animal for a while and then tells his mother,"See the wings and beak,that's just some kind of bird." From a Piagetian perspective,Tim's behavior is best explained by

A) accommodation.
B) biodynamics.
C) assimilation.
D) equilibrium.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Piaget argued that movement from one stage of thought to the next was triggered by

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

Answer 2

D

Question 3

All of the following concepts except ________________ can be attributed to Piaget and his work on cognitive development.

A) imprinting
B) object permanence
C) conservation
D) centration

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Frank is thoroughly confused when his father refers to his Aunt Susan as his sister Sue because according to Frank's logic,a person cannot be both a sister and an aunt.Piaget would refer to Frank's confusion as involving

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

Question 5

What is the correct developmental sequence of Piaget's stages of cognitive development?

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

Question 6

Piaget is associated with which of the following theories?

A) social-learning theory
B) cognitive-developmental theory
C) psychoanalytic theory
D) observational theory

Question 7

What is Piaget's first stage of cognitive development?

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

Question 8

If William is a preoperational-stage thinker and Mary is a concrete-operational thinker,which term would a Piagetian use to characterize the difference between William and Mary's intellectual skills?

A) primary
B) secondary
C) quantitative
D) qualitative

Question 9

Twelve-year-old Jill traveled with her parents to a third-world country to volunteer at a mission.When she returned to her home in the United States,she had altered many of her ideas about what she valued.What Piagetian process was at work?

A) assimilation
B) accommodation
C) internalization
D) equilibration

Question 10

The famous Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget used ______________________ for detailed cognitive observations leading to his research.

A) children from a university laboratory setting
B) children whom he interviewed carefully before accepting them into his research
C) his own three children
D) children who were a part of his friend's research in France

Question 11

According to Piaget,we adapt in what two ways?

A) thinking and organizing
B) differentiating and classifying
C) assimilation and accommodation
D) equilibration and disequilibriation

Question 12

A scheme is best thought of as a

A) behavior.
B) symbolic image.
C) simple organized pattern of knowledge.
D) process of adjusting to new information.

Question 13

Four-year-old Tom learns to lift his stuffed cat up by the tail.After one painful attempt,Tom realizes that you cannot use this behavior on a live cat.In Piagetian terms,Tom's new knowledge involves

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

Question 14

If all you knew about Art was that he was having his first birthday,you would most likely predict that he ________________________ the sensorimotor stage of development.

A) has not yet entered
B) just entered
C) is halfway through
D) is no longer in

Question 15

________________________ is a mechanism to explain how children shift from one stage of thought to the next.Once children have solved the cognitive conflict and reached a balance it is attained.

A) Disequilibrium
B) Submission
C) Accommodation
D) Equilibration

Question 16

Elizabeth,a 7-month-old infant,responds to holding her first orange by rolling it around on the floor just like she does with her blue rubber ball.This demonstrates what Piagetian process?

A) organization
B) equilibration
C) assimilation
D) accommodation

Question 17

_______________________ are actions or mental representations that organize knowledge.

A) Cognitions
B) Schemes
C) Social impacts
D) Organizations

Question 18

Five-year-old Marge watches other children playing in a sandlot.At first she only understands swinging at the ball with a bat.Then she learns about running,catching,and pitching.Eventually,Marge develops a functional cognitive system called "playing baseball." According to Piaget,Marge has achieved __________ of baseball information.

A) disequilibrium
B) organization
C) object permanence
D) a secondary circular reaction

Question 19

The main task during the sensorimotor stage involves

A) using language.
B) suppressing motor reflexes.
C) learning to coordinate sensations,responses,actions,and the nonsymbolic aspects of the period.
D) acquiring the processes of assimilation and accommodation.

Question 20

Assimilation is to accommodation as

A) genetic is to environmental.
B) Piaget is to Freud.
C) cognitive is to social.
D) incorporating is to adjusting.

Question 21

Piaget's sensorimotor substage of simple reflexes occurs

A) in the first month after birth.
B) between 1 and 4 months of age.
C) between 4 and 8 months of age.
D) between 8 and 12 months of age.

Question 22

Intentionality is achieved in the sensorimotor substage of

A) secondary circular reactions.
B) first habits and primary circular reactions.
C) coordination of secondary circular reactions.
D) tertiary circular reactions,novelty,and curiosity.

Question 23

How is object permanence studied?

A) by looking for symbolic activity
B) by watching infants' reactions when an attractive object disappears
C) by watching to see if infants become bored
D) All of these.

Question 24

In the fourth sensorimotor substage,coordination of secondary circular reactions,actions are more outwardly directed.In what age range would you expect the baby to be?

A) 4 to 6 months
B) 6 to 10 months
C) 8 to 12 months
D) 12 to 18 months

Question 25

In the ____________________________ substage of sensorimotor development infants become intrigued by the many properties of objects and by the many things that they can make happen to objects.

A) object permanence
B) coordination of secondary circular reactions
C) secondary circular reactions
D) tertiary circular reactions,novelty,and curiosity

Question 26

When an infant understands that objects and events continue to exist even when they cannot be seen,heard,or touched,the infant has achieved

A) equilibration.
B) deferred imitation.
C) circular reactions.
D) object permanence.

Question 27

Six-month-old Claude kicks his crib really hard,causing the mobile above his head to shake.Fascinated by this reaction,he continues to kick his crib.Which substage of sensorimotor thought is Claude in?

A) secondary circular reactions
B) coordination of secondary circular reactions
C) tertiary circular reactions,novelty,and curiosity
D) first habits

Question 28

Coordination of secondary circular reactions is to tertiary circular reactions as

A) a habit is to a schema.
B) pleasure is to pain.
C) intentionality is to novelty.
D) sensorimotor is to preoperational.

Question 29

Which item does not belong?

A) first intentionality
B) sensorimotor stage
C) internalization of schemes
D) primitive symbolic utilization

Question 30

According to Piaget,an infant's first schemes consist of

A) reflexes.
B) symbols.
C) habits.
D) circular reactions.

Question 31

What is the first substage of sensorimotor thought?

A) simple reflexes
B) tertiary circular reactions
C) first habits and primary circular reactions
D) secondary circular reactions

Question 32

As 4-month-old Nina's father picks her up,Nina begins to make sucking noises even though there is no breast or bottle present.From a Piagetian perspective,this is best explained as

A) symbolic functioning.
B) a reflex.
C) curiosity.
D) a habit.

Question 33

What sensorimotor substage occurs between 4 and 8 months of age?

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

Question 34

If an infant in the coordination of secondary circular reactions substage of sensorimotor development manipulates a stick in order to bring a desired toy within reach or knocks over one block to reach and play with another one,this would be an example of

A) object permanence.
B) intentionality.
C) coordination.
D) None of these.

Question 35

When do simple reflexes occur in Piaget's four stages?

A) at the beginning of the concrete-operational stage
B) at the beginning of the sensorimotor stage
C) at the end of the preoperational stage
D) at the end of the formal-operational stage

Question 36

In which sensorimotor substage does infants' mental functioning shift from a purely sensorimotor to symbolic and develop the ability to use primitive symbols?

A) tertiary circular reactions
B) secondary circular reactions
C) coordination of secondary circular reactions
D) internalization of schemes

Question 37

During an average day,6-month-old Mercedes' parents unwittingly subject her to tasks that challenge her object permanence abilities.Which would be the best example of this task?

A) Her father tries to get her to imitate a sound that he is making.
B) Her mother accidentally drops a towel over a ball while Mercedes is playing with it.
C) Her father gives her a doll that she has never seen before.
D) Her mother tries to get her to begin to take formula from a bottle versus milk from a breast.

Question 38

When being fed peas,3-month-old Teddy experiences unexpected pleasure when he accidentally spits them out of his mouth.Which subsequent reaction would demonstrate a primary circular reaction?

A) refusing to eat any more peas
B) spitting out the next mouthful of peas
C) laughing at his father who is feeding him
D) suppressing the spitting response and keeping the rest of his meal in his mouth

Question 39

Piaget's sensorimotor substage of internalization of schemes occurs between ________ months of age.

A) 1 and 4
B) 4 and 8
C) 12 and 18
D) 18 and 24

Question 40

Three-week-old Katherine has been breast-fed,but is now introduced to the bottle.She responds by modifying her sucking to adequately receive her milk.This illustrates what substage of sensorimotor thought?

A) simple reflexes
B) tertiary circular reactions
C) first habits and primary circular reactions
D) secondary circular reactions

Question 41

Researchers have studied Piaget's theory and found that

A) his work was exceptional with no errors.
B) infants see objects as bounded,unitary,solid,and separate from their background,earlier than what Piaget first thought.
C) a child can not distinguish between letters of the alphabet.
D) during the search for the object,the infant looks in the old hiding place rather than the new one.

Question 42

The A-not-B Error is best described as an object permanence concept where

A) a child cannot distinguish between letters of the alphabet.
B) during the search for the object,the infant looks in the old hiding place rather than the new one.
C) during the search for the object,the infant will place the object in a new place.
D) None of these.

Question 43

The symbolic function substage and the intuitive thought substage are substages of ________ thought.

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

Question 44

The preoperational stage extends from approximately

A) age 1 to age 3.
B) age 2 to age 4.
C) age 2 to age 7.
D) age 7 to age 11.

Question 45

The inability to distinguish between one's own perspective and someone else's perspective is called

A) animism.
B) egocentrism.
C) centration.
D) irreversibility.

Question 46

Internalized sets of actions that allow children to do mentally what before they had done physically are called

A) schemas.
B) operations.
C) concepts.
D) symbols.

Question 47

Bob is a Piagetian studying the cognitive development of children.His utilization of a "three mountains task" would indicate that he is interested in

A) depth perception.
B) animism.
C) horizontal décalage.
D) egocentrism.

Question 48

Four-month-old Kiley is watching a puppet show with both a Mickey Mouse and a Minnie Mouse puppet.When the curtain closes and reopens with only the Mickey Mouse puppet,Kiley looks longer waiting for Minnie Mouse.This behavior demonstrates the concept of

A) assimilation.
B) accommodation.
C) research through connection.
D) core knowledge approach.

Question 49

Two-year-old Ryan has just begun to "pretend" by imagining things that aren't real.The best assessment of this ability is that Ryan

A) lacks object permanence.
B) possesses one of the key skills of a preoperational thinker.
C) appears to lack the ability to form a scheme.
D) is extremely gifted,since the ability to pretend does not typically emerge until 5 years of age.

Question 50

__________________________ is a method used by researchers in which infants see an event happen as it normally would.Then the event is changed in a way that violates what the infant expects to see.When infants look longer at the event that violates their expectations it indicates they are surprised by it.

A) Violation of expectations
B) Violation of organization
C) Removal of consequences
D) Removal of internalization

Question 51

When Mark's grandmother calls on the telephone to wish him a happy birthday,she asks him,"How old are you today?" Instead of saying anything,Mark holds up four fingers.His behavior is best explained as

A) intuitive.
B) egocentric.
C) excessive conservation.
D) a lack of object permanence.

Question 52

Courtney can count and knows that if she has an apple in each hand,she has two apples.If,however,you ask her to think about having an apple in each hand and then tell you how many apples she has,she cannot solve the problem.Courtney

A) is highly egocentric.
B) cannot perform operations.
C) is in the primary circular reaction sensorimotor substage.
D) is in the secondary circular reaction sensorimotor substage.

Question 53

The preschooler is in what Piagetian stage of cognitive development?

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

Question 54

Which of 3-year-old Sarah's activities provides the best example of the symbolic function substage of preoperational thought?

A) She takes a crayon,scribbles a big blob on a piece of paper,and says,"That's you,Mommy!"
B) She says,"When Mommy leaves my room,I know that she's still in the house!"
C) She actively searches for her favorite toy,even though it is partially covered by a blanket.
D) She is making cookies and says,"Those two cookies have the same amount of dough,even though one is thicker than the other."

Question 55

Three-year-old Elizabeth scribbles a drawing and says,"The red sun is holding the cloud's hand." Elizabeth is in the

A) symbolic function substage of preoperational thought.
B) intuitive thought substage of preoperational thought.
C) coordination of secondary circular reactions sensorimotor substage.
D) internalization of schemes sensorimotor substage.

Question 56

Infants born with the domain-specific innate knowledge system of space,numbers,and language would be a description of

A) research through connection.
B) core knowledge approach.
C) assimilation.
D) accommodation.

Question 57

When 18-month-old Kayla was at her day-care center,she understood that her father would be picking her up at the end of the day.Kayla's understanding that her father continues to exist even when he cannot directly be seen or heard demonstrates

A) egocentrism.
B) imaginary audience.
C) object permanence.
D) the zone of proximal development.

Question 58

Three-year-old twins Gannon and Cole frequently engage in pretend play.This exemplifies

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

Question 59

An infant's perceptual and thought processes

A) occur exactly when Piaget proposed.
B) are acquired around 1 year of age.
C) are innate or acquired shortly after birth.
D) are highly dependent on parenting styles.

Question 60

What are the limitations of preoperational thought?

A) egocentrism
B) animism
C) Both egocentrism and animism are limitations.
D) None of these.

Question 61

While playing hide-and-seek with her brother,2-year-old Tammy hid her face behind a pillow,although she remained in plain view.This illustrates what limitation of preoperational thought?

A) animism
B) centration
C) egocentrism
D) irreversibility

Question 62

_____________________ is part of the _________________ stage indicated by focusing,or centering,attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others.

A) Decentration; sensorimotor
B) Animism; preoperational
C) Centrism; preoperational
D) Irreversibility; sensorimotor

Question 63

The focusing of attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others is called

A) animism.
B) centration.
C) egocentrism.
D) irreversibility.

Question 64

Which of the following is not a characteristic of preoperational thought?

A) intuitive reasoning
B) egocentrism
C) symbolic thought
D) conservation skills

Question 65

What type of reasoning characterizes the concrete-operational thinker?

A) logical
B) intuitive
C) abstract
D) hypothetical

Question 66

George is presented with two identical beakers,and then watches as the experimenter pours liquid from one beaker into a third beaker,which is taller and thinner than the first two.This is a test to see if George has achieved

A) conservation.
B) seriation.
C) classification.
D) object permanence.

Question 67

Three-year-old Mary says,"The door made me mad; it pushed my thumb." She is demonstrating

A) animism.
B) centration.
C) egocentrism.
D) irreversibility.

Question 68

The acquisition of reversibility is a cornerstone of which stage of Piagetian development?

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

Question 69

Who is best identified as being in the intuitive stage of development?

A) Dan,who can remember a list of five shopping items
B) Sue,who keeps annoying her parents by asking,"How come...?"
C) Keith,who hit his sister,yet is only worried about what is going to happen to him
D) Missy,whose imaginary friend helps her deal with traumatic events

Question 70

Conservation and classification are accomplishments of what Piagetian stage of cognitive development?

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

Question 71

Four-year-old Christopher begins to use primitive reasoning and wants to know the answers to all sorts of questions.He is in what substage of preoperational thought?

A) intuitive thought
B) symbolic function
C) internalization of schemes
D) coordination of secondary circular reactions

Question 72

According to Piaget,passing what test is a sign that children are at the concrete-operational stage?

A) the three mountains task
B) the conservation of liquid task
C) the seriation task
D) the symbolic function task

Question 73

Two sticks are aligned in front of the child.The child agrees that they are the same length.The experimenter moves one stick to the right,then asks the child if they are equal in length.This is a task for conservation of

A) matter.
B) area.
C) volume.
D) length.

Question 74

While playing with some candy,3-year-old Ruth places five chocolate pieces in one row and another five pieces in an identical row.She then accidentally pushes the end piece of candy in row one away from the rest.After staring at this new "longer" row,she decides to eat it because,"it now has more candy." Ruth's thinking is explained as the result of the inability to conserve

A) area.
B) length.
C) number.
D) volume.

Question 75

When 6-year-old Megan spills a glass of pop,she looks down and realizes that the seemingly huge amount of liquid would actually fit back into her small glass.Megan's conclusion provides an excellent example of

A) reversibility.
B) sensorimotor logic.
C) classification.
D) hypothetical.

Question 76

When asked to discuss weather,4-year-old Willard says,"Rain happens whenever clouds get sad and cry." This statement provides an example of

A) animism.
B) egocentrism.
C) centration.
D) object permanence.

Question 77

Whose entire conversational interaction with an adult would likely consist of the question "Why?"

A) a 2- or 3-year-old
B) a 4- or 5-year-old
C) a 7- or 8-year-old
D) a 9-year-old

Question 78

All but which one of the following relates to Piaget's intuitive thought stage?

A) Tommy,who is 9 years old and is starting to develop his own ideas about the world
B) Mary,who is 4 years old,has simple ideas,and is not very good at thinking things out
C) Joan,who is 5 years old and has difficulty understanding events she knows are taking place but which she cannot see
D) Rao,who is 6 years old and fantasizes ideas that have little resemblance to reality

Question 79

Which of the following illustrates the Piagetian concept of horizontal décalage?

A) A child attains object permanence.
B) A child acquires the ability to conserve number before being able to conserve volume.
C) A child is able to mentally reverse actions.
D) A child is able to engage in symbolic function.

Question 80

In Piaget's three mountains task,a preoperational child is asked to select from a series of photos the one photo that most accurately reflects the view the doll is seeing.Children in the preoperational stage are most likely to pick

A) the doll's view.
B) their view from where they are sitting.
C) the view from the mountains.
D) the view opposite from where the child is sitting.