Question 1

Some neo-Piagetian theorists combine Piaget's stage approach with the ________ emphasis on task-specific changes.

Accepted Answer

Neo-Piagetian theorists combine Piaget's stage approach with the information-processing emphasis on task-specific changes. In this approach, information processing is seen as a key mechanism for cognitive development, and it is believed that changes in information processing abilities can be used to explain cognitive development beyond Piaget's stages.

Question 2

By age 3½, ___________ questions make up about half of children's questions.

Accepted Answer

The answer of By age 3½, ___________ questions make up...

Question 3

Which of the following is true about children's questions?

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that as children grow older, they ask more questions that go beyond merely seeking information and instead aim to understand the function, activity, state, and theory of mind. For example, preschoolers may ask why a bird can fly or why their friend is sad.

Question 4

According to research, preschoolers' poor performance on appearance versus reality tasks occurs because they

Accepted Answer

Preschoolers often struggle with the language used in appearance versus reality tasks, which can lead to poor performance.

Question 5

When shown a LEGO structure made to look like a crayon, 3-year-old Astrid said that the object "really and truly" was a crayon. Astrid is having trouble with

Accepted Answer

Astrid is having difficulty with the appearance-reality distinction because she is unable to differentiate between the physical appearance of the LEGO structure and the concept it represents (a crayon).

Question 6

After putting on a Halloween mask and looking at their reflection in a mirror, young preschoolers often are wary. This is because they have a fragile understanding of

Accepted Answer

Young preschoolers have a limited understanding of the appearance-reality distinction, which means they have difficulty understanding that an object can look different from how it actually is. Wearing a Halloween mask and seeing their reflection in the mirror can confuse them as they see the mask's appearance but recognize themselves underneath.

Question 7

In Ms. Allison's Piagetian kindergarten classroom, teachers introduce activities that build on children's current thinking, challenging their incorrect ways of viewing the work. But they do not try to speed up development by imposing new skills before children indicate that they are interested and ready. This kindergarten emphasizes the Piagetian principle of

Accepted Answer

Ms. Allison's Piagetian kindergarten classroom emphasizes the Piagetian principle of sensitivity to children's readiness to learn, as they do not try to speed up development by imposing new skills before children indicate that they are interested and ready. This shows that the classroom takes into consideration individual differences and the belief that learning happens at the child's individual pace.

Question 8

When young children converse with adults, they ask

Accepted Answer

Young children are naturally curious and tend to ask a lot of questions, often more than one per minute, as they try to understand the world around them.

Question 9

A wealth of recent research suggests that Piaget ________ preschoolers' cognitive capabilities.

Accepted Answer

Recent research indicates that while Piaget's theories on preschoolers' cognitive capabilities had some inaccuracies, they also contained valuable insights, suggesting he was partly right and partly wrong.

Question 10

Most 3- and 4-year-olds

Accepted Answer

Most 3- and 4-year-olds often believe in the supernatural powers of enchanted creatures due to their developing understanding of reality and fantasy.

Question 11

Which of the following is most likely to be among a child's first categories?

Accepted Answer

"Birds" is the most general and broadest category that encompasses all types of feathered creatures, making it easier for a child to learn and categorize. The other options are more specific and may require more knowledge or exposure.

Question 12

Follow-up research indicates that by the second half of the first year, children have formed a variety of global categories, such as animals and vehicles. These findings challenge Piaget's assumption that

Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that preschoolers' thinking was wholly governed by appearances, but follow-up research indicates that by the second half of the first year, children have formed a variety of global categories, such as animals and vehicles. This challenges Piaget's assumption.

Question 13

Follow-up research on preoperational thought indicates that preschoolers can successfully solve a conservation-of-number task when the task

Accepted Answer

Preschoolers can handle simpler tasks better, so reducing the number of items makes it easier for them to understand and solve the conservation-of-number task.

Question 14

Which of the following children is the most likely to express disbelief in the Tooth Fairy?

Accepted Answer

In Jewish culture, there is no tradition of the Tooth Fairy, so Jacob is unlikely to believe in it.

Question 15

Three-year-old Audrey is presented with a picture-matching problem, "Play dough is to cut-up play dough as a loaf of bread is to . . . ?" Which answer is Audrey is most likely to select?

Accepted Answer

Three-year-old Audrey is in the preoperational stage of cognitive development according to Piaget's theory. At this stage, children can understand simple, concrete analogies but struggle with abstract reasoning. Therefore, Audrey may not be able to understand the relation between play dough and cut-up play dough, but she can match a loaf of bread with a cut-up loaf of bread. Choice A (a cut-up apple) and choice B (a biscuit) are not the correct matches for a loaf of bread. Choice C (bread crumbs) may not make sense to her at this age, as she may not understand the concept of crumbs from bread.

Question 16

Evidence that logical operations develop gradually and that preschoolers can be trained to perform well on Piagetian tasks pose a serious challenge to Piaget's

Accepted Answer

Piaget's stage concept proposes that children progress through a fixed sequence of cognitive stages, and that they cannot skip stages, but evidence of gradual development challenges this idea.

Answer: B 
 Piaget's theory emphasizes that children actively construct knowledge, but evidence of training suggests that knowledge acquisition can be a more passive process.

Answer: D 
 Piaget's concept of egocentrism proposes that young children struggle to understand the perspectives of others, and evidence of training suggests that children can overcome this limitation at an earlier age than Piaget proposed. The answer is not C because individual differences in cognitive development were not directly challenged by evidence of gradual development or training.

Question 17

Which of the following is true about parents' answers to their children's questions?

Accepted Answer

parents adjust the complexity of their answers to fit their children's maturity. Research has shown that parents typically tailor their answers to fit their child's level of understanding and provide more informative responses as their child grows older. Additionally, parents often include additional relevant knowledge when answering their children's questions. While younger children may receive more "mechanism" explanations, older children are often given "prior cause" explanations.

Question 18

Four-year-old Matthew is shown a robot. Matthew is most likely to say that the robot cannot

Accepted Answer

Young children like Matthew often understand that robots cannot grow because growth is a biological process associated with living organisms, which robots are not.

Question 19

Preschoolers' ability to reason about transformations is evident on

Accepted Answer

Tasks that require reasoning by analogy involve understanding the similarities between two situations and applying that understanding to solve a problem. This requires the ability to reason about transformations, as the child must understand how one situation can be transformed into another. The other tasks listed (conservation tasks, class inclusion problems, hierarchical classification tasks) do not necessarily require reasoning about transformations.

Question 20

In Dino's preschool classroom, teachers evaluate each child's educational progress in relation to his or her previous development, rather than on the basis of normative standards, or average performance of same-age peers. This preschool emphasizes the Piagetian principle of

Accepted Answer

The preschool's evaluation approach of comparing each child's progress to his or her own previous development rather than to normative standards demonstrates an acceptance of individual differences, which aligns with the Piagetian principle of recognizing and accommodating for individual differences in cognitive development.

Quiz 9: Cognitive Development in Early Childhood