Question 1

Children growing up in nomadic societies develop ____ earlier and ____ later than children growing up in Western cultures,signifying the relevance of social and environmental factors.

Accepted Answer

Children in nomadic societies often develop spatial abilities earlier due to the demands of navigating and understanding their constantly changing environments. Conversely, they may acquire an understanding of the conservation of numbers later, as this concept is often emphasized in formal education settings typical of Western cultures, which they may not experience.

Question 2

The most serious criticism of Piaget's theory is that cognitive development does not occur in the ____ that Piaget proposed,but rather ____.

Accepted Answer

The most serious criticism of Piaget's theory is that it suggests cognitive development occurs in qualitatively distinct stages, whereas critics argue that development is more gradual and continuous.

Question 3

Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development remained relatively unknown in the West until ____.

Accepted Answer

Vygotsky's work was largely inaccessible to the Western world until it was translated into English, which began in earnest in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This delay was due to a combination of political and academic factors, including the Cold War and the dominance of other theories of cognitive development, such as those proposed by Piaget.

Question 4

In Piaget's theory,accommodation is the process of ____.

Accepted Answer

Accommodation in Piaget's theory refers to the process of altering one's existing schemas or ways of thinking in response to new information or experiences. This is different from assimilation, where new information is incorporated into existing schemas without changing them.

Question 5

In which of Piaget's stages do children begin to engage in make-believe play?

Accepted Answer

During the Preoperational stage, which spans from approximately 2 to 7 years of age, children begin to engage in symbolic play and make-believe. This stage is characterized by the development of language and imagination, but thinking is still intuitive and egocentric.

Question 6

The cognitive range between what a child can do on her or his own and what the child can do with the help of adults,defines Vygotsky's ____.

Accepted Answer

Vygotsky's zone of proximal development describes the difference between what a child can achieve independently and what a child can achieve with guidance and encouragement from a skilled partner.

Question 7

You gently ask your four-year-old niece to move so that you can see the TV.She responds with surprise because she assumes that if she can see the TV,so can you.She is demonstrating Piaget's concept of ____.

Accepted Answer

This behavior is an example of egocentrism, a concept from Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Egocentrism refers to the inability of children in the preoperational stage (approximately ages 2-7) to see any perspective other than their own. In this case, the niece assumes that if she can see the TV, everyone else can too, demonstrating a lack of understanding that other people have different perspectives.

Question 8

Which of the following principles of conservation tends to be understood last by children?

Accepted Answer

Conservation of area tends to be understood last by children because it requires a more abstract level of thinking to understand that the area remains the same even when the shape changes, which is a more complex concept compared to the conservation of number, liquid, or mass.

Question 9

The ability to orient ourselves in our environment is called ____.

Accepted Answer

The ability to orient ourselves in our environment is referred to as spatial ability. This involves understanding and remembering the relative locations of objects in the environment, which is crucial for navigation and movement through space.

Question 10

You pour some soda for 4-year-old May into a short,wide glass.You pour the same amount into a tall,narrow glass for Leslie.May is upset because she thinks you've given Leslie more soda.May does not yet understand the principle of ____.

Accepted Answer

May does not yet understand the principle of conservation, which is the understanding that quantity does not change with the shape or appearance of objects. This is a concept typically grasped during the concrete operational stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget.

Question 11

Children in Piaget's preoperational stage have difficulty with ____.

Accepted Answer

Children in Piaget's preoperational stage (ages 2 to 7) struggle with conservation tasks because they cannot yet understand that an object's properties remain the same despite changes in the object's appearance.

Question 12

The only four-legged creatures that Amy has seen so far in her life have been cats.She sees a dog for the first time and assumes that it is also a cat.Amy has just engaged in the process of ____.

Accepted Answer

Amy has engaged in assimilation, which involves incorporating new experiences into her existing frameworks or schemas. Since all four-legged creatures she has known are cats, she categorizes the dog as a cat, fitting it into her existing schema for four-legged animals.

Question 13

In the formal operational stage,an individual begins to be able to ____.

Accepted Answer

In the formal operational stage, which is part of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development and typically begins around age 12, individuals develop the ability to think abstractly, reason logically, and make predictions about hypothetical situations. This stage marks the development of advanced cognitive processes beyond concrete operations, allowing for complex problem-solving and hypothetical thinking.

Question 14

Piaget's influence on cognitive developmental theory is unmatched.However,it is now thought that children are ____ cognitively advanced and adults are ____ cognitively sophisticated than outlined by Piaget.

Accepted Answer

Piaget underestimated children's cognitive abilities and overestimated the cognitive sophistication of adults, leading to the conclusion that children are more cognitively advanced and adults are less cognitively sophisticated than he proposed.

Question 15

Object permanence is a major accomplishment occurring during Piaget's ____.

Accepted Answer

Object permanence is a major accomplishment during the sensorimotor stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development, which occurs from birth to about 2 years of age. It is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched.

Question 16

Children develop an understanding of the principle of conservation during the ____.

Accepted Answer

Children develop an understanding of the principle of conservation during the concrete operational stage, typically between ages 7 and 11, when they start understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape or appearance.

Question 17

Eight-month-old Orlando uncovers and plays with the ball his father just hid under his blanket,showing that he knows the ball continues to exist even though he can't see it.Orlando has just demonstrated an understanding of ____.

Accepted Answer

Orlando has demonstrated an understanding of object permanence, which is the awareness that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible. This is a key developmental milestone in cognitive development according to Jean Piaget's theory.

Question 18

Piaget's famous three-mountains problem demonstrated ____ in children.

Accepted Answer

Piaget's three-mountains problem was designed to demonstrate preoperational egocentrism, showing that children in the preoperational stage struggle to understand perspectives different from their own.

Question 19

You might have noticed that while playing alone,children sometimes quietly repeat things that their parents might have told them earlier.Vygotsky called this phenomenon ____.

Accepted Answer

Vygotsky referred to the phenomenon where children talk to themselves for self-guidance and self-regulation as "private speech." This is considered an important part of the cognitive development process, helping children think through actions and decisions.

Question 20

According to developmental psychologists,when children develop ____,they can predict how other people will behave in specific situations.

Accepted Answer

A theory of mind allows individuals to attribute mental states—beliefs, intents, desires, emotions, knowledge, etc.—to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that are different from one's own. This capability is crucial for predicting how others will behave in specific situations.

Quiz 3: Human Development

Children growing up in nomadic societies develop earlier and later than children growing up in Western cultures,signifying the relevance of social and environmental factors.

The most serious criticism of Piaget's theory is that cognitive development does not occur in the that Piaget proposed,but rather .