Deck 1: Historical and Theoretical Viewpoints

Question 1

"The major value of play is that it reduces the various forms of anxiety that are found in preschool children". This statement most closely represents the view of play expressed by

A) Herbert Spencer.
B) Jean Piaget.
C) Sigmund Freud.
D) Daniel Berlyne.
E) Greta Fein.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

During the Renaissance (1300-1600 A.D.), European children were seen as
A) God's most important creations.

A) more important than adults.
B) the hope of their parents' salvation.
B) similar to fools.
C) innocent and pure.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

When Vygotsky suggested that development takes place within a "zone of proximal development", he meant that

A) a child's problem solving depends on the social context within which it occurs.
B) children never seem to work up to their actual ability levels.
C) development occurs in clearly-defined stages.
D) children accomplish more when working alone than when working in groups.
E) teachers should set aside quiet places in their classrooms so that children will not be disturbed when working.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following is generally not accepted as a characteristic of play?

A) It is a pleasurable activity.
B) It is freely chosen by the child.
C) It is spontaneous.
D) It has no value as an educational experience.
E) It is non-literal.

Question 5

Which of the following statements best represents Jean Piaget's beliefs about children's play?

A) Play isn't the same as intellectual development but it encourages development.
B) Adults should make sure that every childhood activity promotes intellectual development.
C) Play is the same thing as intellectual development.
D) American children are given too much time to play instead of working to develop their intellects.
E) Play should be allowed primarily as a reward for working on intellectual tasks.

Question 6

According to the surplus energy theory of Herbert Spencer, the value of play is that it allows children to

A) practice skills necessary for adulthood.
B) discharge pent-up energy.
C) renew their energy.
D) achieve an optimal level of arousal.
E) all of the above

Question 7

Unlike play, work is always

A) extrinsically motivated.
B) pleasurable.
C) unpleasant.
D) imposed on us by other people.
E) non-literal.

Question 8

Which of the following beliefs was expressed by the British philosopher John Locke (1632-1704)?

A) Children should never be allowed to do what they want.
B) Children should be beaten regularly.
C) Children tend instinctively to do the right thing.
D) Nature provides a child with an innate plan for development.
E) Children are not worthy of adult interest or concern.

Question 9

Beginning in the 20^th century play theorists began to focus on play's ________ benefits.

A) biological
B) psychological
C) historical
D) physical
E) medical

Question 10

Why were British visitors to the American colonies surprised by American parent-child relationships?

A) They thought Americans treated children too harshly.
B) They saw American parents as rigid and overly controlling.
C) They thought Americans were too intimate with their children.
D) They were shocked by the fact that American children had to work at such a young age.
E) They thought American fathers lacked sensitivity to children.

Question 11

American Behaviorists such as John Watson viewed play as a(n)

A) useless waste of time.
B) means of bringing about social reform.
C) example of operant conditioning.
D) form of behavior disorder.
E) necessary evil.

Question 12

Lev Vygotsky believed that infant development is largely influenced by ________, while development after the age of two is largely influenced by __________.

A) experience: heredity.
B) biology; the environmental context.
C) conditioning: social learning.
D) parents: peers.
E) mothers; fathers.

Question 13

Play was discouraged in the lives of Puritan children because

A) it distracted them from study and vocational training.
B) it was seen as the work of the devil.
C) the Puritans hated all forms of playfulness.
D) play was thought to encourage sexual expression.
E) children were never allowed to socialize with one another.

Question 14

Classic theories of play, which appeared during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, emphasized the __________ value of the activity.

A) biological
B) intellectual
C) historical
D) emotional
E) therapeutic

Question 15

The philosophy of Naturalism, according to which God makes all things good and human beings corrupt them, was expressed by

A) Heroard.
B) Locke.
C) Plato.
D) Rousseau.
E) King Louis XIV.

Question 16

For a thousand years before the birth of Christ, children in the Mediterranean world were thought of as incapable of directing their own affairs, but they were never ____________, as they often are today.

A) expected to work
B) romanticized
C) allowed to play
D) given toys
E) supervised by adults

Question 17

The French attitude toward children's play has always been to

A) condemn it as sinful.
B) ignore it.
C) encourage it in children as well as adults.
D) punish it severely.
E) accept it casually.

Question 18

Children in ancient Greece were

A) allowed and even encouraged to play.
B) discouraged from playing.
C) required to play at least two hours a day.
D) punished for playing.

Question 19

According to the NAEYC's principles of "developmentally appropriate practice",
A) play is valuable, but work is more important to a child's overall development.

A) teachers should use highly structured lesson plans.
B) children should be allowed to direct their own play activities.
C) there is no place for work in the educational curriculum.
D) most child-initiated learning occurs without teacher guidance or input.

Question 20

When a child takes new material from the outside world and fits it into his or her intellectual structures, this process is referred to by Jean Piaget as

A) accommodation.
B) assimilation.
C) a game of construction.
D) arousal modulation.

Question 21

According to psychoanalytic theorists, most notably Sigmund Freud and Anna Freud, the most significant value of play is that it allows children to reduce__________.

Question 22

The philosopher whose views on the nature of children would be the most widely accepted in England and in the American colonies was _________.

Question 23

The American theorist who had the greatest influence on the work of Lev Vygotsky was the Behaviorist John B. Watson.

Question 24

According to _____________theory, each person's development reflects the evolutionary pro?gression of the entire human species.

Question 25

Lev Vygotsky referred to the distance between the child's actual performance when working alone and potential ability in a different social context as the _______________________.

Question 26

Unlike the English, the French always maintained an appreciation of childhood and an appreciation for children's play.

Question 27

Erik Erikson believed that the major value of play was to build children's self-esteem rather than to reduce children's anxiety.

Question 28

Maria Montessori supported the use of spontaneous and imaginative play in her curriculum.

Question 29

In the ___________century children began to be seen as worthy of attention and having developmental needs and problems that were different from those of adults.

Question 30

"Childhood has its own way of seeing, thinking, and feeling, and nothing is more foolish than to try to substitute ours for them." This statement comes from the writings of ________________.

Question 31

The Puritans were harsh people who treated their children with sternness and had little use for play of any sort.

Question 32

The educator ___________developed the first kindergarten and introduced play into the early childhood education curriculum.

Question 33

Maria Montessori was the first person to suggest that the mind of a child is a blank slate at birth.

Question 34

The major difference between play and work is that play is enjoyable but work is not.

Question 35

The toy making industry did not appear until the early part of the twentieth century.

Question 36

Children come into the world not as empty organisms but as original human beings equipped by nature with an innate plan for their development. This opinion was held by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Question 37

According to the cognitive-developmental theorist_____________, play is the dominance of assimilation over accommodation.

Question 38

Negative attitudes about children, and about the need for them to have special activities, began to surface in Europe during the period known as the ___________.

Question 39

Lev Vygotsky was critical of theorists such as Freud and Piaget because he said they paid too little attention to the social and cultural influences on development.

Question 40

According to ___________theories, a child's development cannot be fully understood without referring to the social-cultural and historical setting in which it occurs.

Question 41

Illustrating your answer with reference to specific theories, describe the general characteristics of the so-called classic theories of play and discuss how these differed from contemporary theories. What are the criticisms of the classic theories of play?

Question 42

The Puritan view of play has often been misunderstood. Discuss the common misconceptions about Puritan attitudes toward play, and indicate what the Puritans actually believed and why they did so.

Question 43

Describe the basic assumptions of Vygotsky's contextual theory of play, illustrating each point you make with a specific behavioral example. Why is the context of play such an important factor to consider?

Question 44

What did John Locke mean when he said that the mind of a newborn infant is a "blank slate"? What are the implications of this belief about the role of society in a child's upbringing?

Question 45

What is the relationship between play and learning in Jean Piaget's cognitive theory of play? How are they similar? How are they different from one another?

Question 46

Explain the basic ideas of Rousseau's philosophy of Naturalism. What did Rousseau mean when he said that the only education a child should receive during the first twelve years of life should be negative education?

Question 47

Describe the five essential characteristics of children's play, in each case illustrating whether work might or might not be described in similar terms.