Question 1

Piaget called the second substage in preoperational thought _____ because of the absence of the use of _____ in children in that stage.

Accepted Answer

Piaget referred to the second substage in preoperational thought as the "intuitive" substage due to the absence of rational thinking in children at this stage.

Question 2

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.

Accepted Answer

Betty's ability to use scribbles to represent objects and people indicates she is in the symbolic function substage of Piaget's preoperational stage, where children begin to use symbols to represent objects that are not present.

Question 3

"My computer doesn't like me-it keeps eating my pictures," says three-year-old Kimberly. This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Animism is the belief that inanimate objects have feelings, thoughts, and mental characteristics, which is what Kimberly is demonstrating by attributing the action of "eating" her pictures to her computer.

Question 4

While at the playground Troy said, "The sun came out because it likes me!" The belief that the sun could do that is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Animism is the belief that inanimate objects, like the sun, have human-like qualities or intentions.

Question 5

The substage of preoperational thought in which children begin to use primitive reasoning and want to know the answers to all sorts of questions is the _____ substage.

Accepted Answer

The intuitive thought substage is characterized by primitive reasoning and a desire to know the answers to all sorts of questions.

Question 6

The inability to distinguish between one's own perspective and someone else's perspective is known as:

Accepted Answer

This is a characteristic of the preoperational stage of cognitive development, when children struggle to understand that others have different thoughts, feelings, and perspectives than their own.

Question 7

Patricia, age six, loves to decorate books by drawing pictures and putting in words to describe them. She has started to analyze and try to understand things. However, she is egocentric and holds what her parents describe as "magical beliefs." Patricia is in Piaget's _____ stage of development.

Accepted Answer

Patricia is in the preoperational stage, which occurs from ages 2 to 7. This stage is characterized by egocentrism, magical thinking, and the development of language and imagination, which aligns with Patricia's behavior.

Question 8

Miguel is playing with buttons from his mother's sewing box. He is pretending they are little cars having a race. This behavior shows Miguel is in the _____ substage of preoperational thinking.

Accepted Answer

Miguel's behavior of pretending buttons are cars indicates he is using symbolic function, where children use symbols to represent objects that are not present. This is characteristic of the symbolic function substage of preoperational thinking.

Question 9

Tabitha is getting ready for a family trip by getting her clothes and toys together. She suddenly gets concerned and tells her mother that she will need a bigger bag. The fact that she can think this through without actually trying to pack the bag shows she is capable of using:

Accepted Answer

Tabitha's ability to think through the problem of needing a bigger bag without physically trying to pack it demonstrates her use of operations, which involves logical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Question 10

Piaget's preoperational stage is so named because he believed that children at this age:

Accepted Answer

Piaget's preoperational stage is characterized by children's inability to perform reversible mental operations, which are a key feature of the subsequent concrete operational stage.

Question 11

Ethan, age four, 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:

Accepted Answer

Ethan's reasoning is an example of intuitive thought, where children in the preoperational stage of cognitive development use primitive reasoning and have a limited understanding of cause and effect.

Question 12

In the _____ stage, children begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings.

Accepted Answer

The preoperational stage, according to Piaget's theory of cognitive development, is when children start to use language and mental imagery to understand and represent the world.

Question 13

According to Piaget, in the _____ stage, the young child's cognitive world is dominated by egocentrism and magical beliefs.

Accepted Answer

The preoperational stage, according to Piaget, is characterized by egocentrism and magical thinking, typically occurring between ages 2 and 7.

Question 14

Alayna wasn't paying attention and backed into the refrigerator. She immediately turned around, patted the refrigerator door, and said "I'm sorry." This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Animism is the belief that inanimate objects have feelings, thoughts, and qualities of living things, which is why Alayna apologized to the refrigerator.

Question 15

The second substage of preoperational thought, occurring between approximately four and seven years of age, is characterized by the use of:

Accepted Answer

The answer of The second substage of preoperational thought, occurring...

Question 16

During the _____ substage, children begin to use language more effectively and engage in pretend play.

Accepted Answer

The symbolic function substage is part of Piaget's preoperational stage, where children start using language and engage in pretend play, representing objects and events with symbols.

Question 17

Himari, age five, asked her mother, "How does the oven make the cakes pop up?" and later asked, "How does the refrigerator make ice cream?" Himari's constant stream of questions signals she is in the _____ substage.

Accepted Answer

Himari's questions indicate she is in the intuitive thought substage, where children begin to ask many questions as they seek to understand the world around them.

Question 18

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?

Accepted Answer

Ruth's ability to use colors and shapes to represent a boat, ocean, sunset, and whales demonstrates symbolic function, where children use symbols to represent objects or events.

Question 19

When dropped off at her day care, Ariel promptly says to her teacher, "Grandma's cookies were good, weren't they?" Her teacher, who doesn't know Ariel's family, responded, "I'm sure they were good." Ariel then gets frustrated and says, "Grandma's cookies were really good!" The frustration Ariel feels is rooted in her:

Accepted Answer

Ariel's frustration is due to egocentrism, which is a characteristic of young children where they assume others share their perspectives and knowledge. Ariel expects her teacher to know about her experience with her grandma's cookies.

Question 20

While walking with his grandmother, five-year-old Danny suddenly exclaims, "Oh, look at that pretty bird!" There are many trees and bushes, and she isn't sure where he's pointing. Danny gets frustrated and shouts, "Out there, out there! Right there, Grandma!" His frustration is a result of his:

Accepted Answer

Danny's frustration is due to egocentrism, a characteristic of young children where they assume others see the world from their perspective and have difficulty understanding that others may not see what they see.

Quiz 5: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

Piaget called the second substage in preoperational thought _ because of the absence of the use of _ in children in that stage.