Question 1

Mia likes to kick soccer balls. She has developed a mental structure for kicking that may be applied to different situations. This mental structure for kicking would best be described as
A) ​a scheme.
B) ​a fuzzy cognition.
C) ​an intonation.
D) ​an expressive style.

Accepted Answer

Mia's mental structure for kicking that can be applied to different situations is best described as a scheme. Schemes are mental structures that organize knowledge and guide behaviors in different situations.

Question 2

According to Jean Piaget, children demonstrate ____ when new information that they encounter is incorporated into their existing schemes.
A) ​accommodation
B) ​conservation
C) ​assimilation
D) ​animism

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget, assimilation occurs when new information is incorporated into existing cognitive structures (schemes) that children have developed. This process allows them to interpret new experiences according to what they already know. Accommodation, on the other hand, refers to the process of modifying existing schemas or creating new ones in response to new information that cannot be assimilated. Conservation refers to the ability to understand that changes in the appearance of objects do not change their essential properties. Animism is the belief that inanimate objects have feelings and intentions.

Question 3

What is the correct order of the four stages of cognitive development, according to Piaget?
A) ​sensorimotor period, formal operational period, preoperational period, concrete operational period
B) ​sensorimotor period, preoperational period, concrete operational period, formal operational period
C) ​preoperational period, sensorimotor period, formal operational period, concrete operational period
D) ​formal operational period, concrete operational period, preoperational period, sensorimotor period

Accepted Answer

Piaget's stages of cognitive development are: sensorimotor period (birth to 2 years), preoperational period (2 to 7 years), concrete operational period (7 to 11 years), and formal operational period (11 years and up). The correct order is thus B: sensorimotor period, preoperational period, concrete operational period, formal operational period.

Question 4

Laurentis is a three-month-old child who enjoys sucking on his thumb. According to Piaget, he probably first developed this enjoyment as a result of a(n)
A) equilibration.
B) ​assimilation.
C) ​choice.
D) ​reflex.

Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that newborns have reflexes, such as sucking, that provide the basis for the development of more complex behaviors. Laurentis' enjoyment of sucking on his thumb is likely due to this innate reflex.

Question 5

Piaget believed that children are like little
A) ​blank slates, who come into the world with no existing cognitive skills.
B) ​artists, constructing their own beautiful canvases.
C) ​performers, constantly vying for attention.
D) ​scientists, creating theories about how the world works.

Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that children are like scientists, creating theories about how the world works. He believed that children actively construct their understanding of the world through a process of assimilation and accommodation. This process involves forming mental representations (schemas) based on their experiences and adjusting those schemas when faced with new information or experiences. Therefore, Piaget thought that children are constantly testing and refining their theories about the world, much like scientists would.

Question 6

The approximate ages of Piaget's sensorimotor period of cognitive development is
A) ​birth to 2 years.
B) ​2 years to 7 years.
C) ​7 years to 11 years.
D) ​11 years through adulthood.

Accepted Answer

Piaget's sensorimotor period of cognitive development is generally believed to occur from birth to 2 years of age. This stage is characterized by infants using their senses and motor abilities to explore and learn about their environment, as well as developing object permanence and the ability to mentally represent objects.

Question 7

____ are psychological structures that organize information and regulate behaviors.
A) ​Assimilations
B) ​Accommodations
C) ​Scripts
D) ​Schemes

Accepted Answer

Schemes are cognitive structures that represent a person's knowledge or expectations about objects, events, and actions in their environment. They help individuals organize and interpret incoming information and regulate their behaviors based on their previous experiences and understanding of the world. The other options, assimilations and accommodations, are processes in which individuals modify or adjust their existing schemes to incorporate new information, while scripts refer to mental representations of typical sequences of events in specific situations.

Question 8

Millie is only 14 months of age, but has already started using some basic word like "mama," "dada," and "kitty." When her parents take her to the zoo, she points to the goats who are being fed by other children, and yells, "KITTY!" The fact that she is lumping a new animal into her existing schema of a kitty demonstrates
A) ​irreversibility.
B) ​assimilation.
C) ​accommodation.
D) ​egocentrism.

Accepted Answer

Millie's use of the word "kitty" to refer to goats (which are not cats) shows that she is assimilating this new information into her existing schema for cats.

Question 9

When assimilations are out of balance with accommodations, Piaget stated that a child is likely to engage in
A) ​egocentrism.
B) ​homeostasis.
C) ​equilibration.
D) ​calibration.

Accepted Answer

Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that when assimilations (the process of incorporating new information into existing cognitive schemas) are out of balance with accommodations (the process of altering existing schemas or creating new ones in response to new information), a child engages in equilibration. Equilibration is the process of achieving cognitive balance between assimilation and accommodation.

Question 10

Young Matthew is playing with his mother. She has his favorite stuffed animal, and she suddenly hides it under his blanket. Instead of looking for it under the blanket, Matthew starts to cry a little, since he thinks his toy is gone. Matthew's tears suggest that he has not yet developed
A) ​conservation.
B) ​reversibility.
C) ​transitory properties.
D) ​object permanence.

Accepted Answer

Matthew's tears suggest that he has not yet developed object permanence, which is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible or present. In this situation, he assumes that his toy is gone when it is simply hidden. Conservation is the understanding that the amount or quantity of an object stays the same despite changes in appearance, such as pouring the same amount of water into a short, wide glass as into a tall, skinny glass. Reversibility is the ability to understand that a process can be reversed, such as understanding that if you pour water from one glass into another, you can pour it back to the original glass. Transitory properties refer to the understanding that objects have temporary properties that can change, such as a pencil being green on one end and red on the other.

Question 11

The defining characteristic of centration is ____ thought.
A) ​abstract
B) ​narrowly focused
C) ​accommodative
D) ​overextended

Accepted Answer

Centration involves being narrowly focused on one aspect of a situation and ignoring other important aspects. This type of thought is characterized by a failure to consider multiple perspectives or possibilities.

Question 12

Within Piaget's theory of cognitive development, children demonstrate ____ when they adjust their existing cognitive schemes around new information or experiences that are inconsistent with those schemes.
A) ​assimilation
B) ​reversing
C) ​accommodation
D) ​egocentrism

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget's theory, accommodation occurs when children adjust their existing cognitive schemes around new information or experiences that are inconsistent with those schemes. Assimilation involves incorporating new information into an existing cognitive scheme, while reversing and egocentrism are not directly related to this concept.

Question 13

A common law of physics, noted by Sir Isaac Newton, states that "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." If you were to apply that principle to Piaget's theory of cognitive development in children, actions being in balance with each other would describe the process of
A) equilibration.
B) ​assimilation.
C) ​accommodation.
D) ​schematization.

Accepted Answer

Piaget's theory of cognitive development posits that children constantly strive to maintain a balance or equilibrium between their existing mental schemas and new information they encounter. When there is a discrepancy between the two, the child experiences cognitive conflict, which spurs them to modify their schemas in a process known as equilibration. Equilibration is similar to the law of physics because it involves balancing opposing forces to reach a stable state.

Question 14

Isaac and Larry, two young brothers, are sitting at the breakfast table when their father gives them both a glass of chocolate milk. Isaac's glass is taller but thinner than Larry's glass, which is shorter but wider. Larry gets upset and complains that "Isaac got more milk!" The fact that Larry is only focusing on one feature of his milk glass demonstrates the Piagetian concept of
A) ​accommodation.
B) ​egocentrism.
C) ​reversion.
D) ​centration.

Accepted Answer

Larry's focus on the height of the glass (i.e., only one feature) demonstrates centration, which is the tendency to focus on one salient aspect of a situation and ignore others.

Question 15

An extension of intentional behavior, wherein a child will start 'experimenting' with different actions and repeating them when they produce pleasant outcomes, usually appears at approximately
A) ​4 months.
B) ​8 months.
C) ​12 months.
D) ​18 months.

Accepted Answer

At approximately 12 months, children begin to experiment with different actions and repeat them when they produce pleasant outcomes, as part of their cognitive development.

Question 16

The preoperational concept of ____ suggests that children in this stage believe that others see the world exactly as they do; that is, that their perspective is the only perspective there is.
A) ​animism
B) ​centration
C) ​egocentrism
D) ​object permanence

Accepted Answer

Egocentrism is a key feature of the preoperational stage, where children have difficulty understanding that others can have different perspectives and beliefs. They often assume that everyone sees things the way they do. Animism refers to the belief that inanimate objects have human-like qualities, while centration refers to the tendency to focus on only one aspect of a situation and ignore others. Object permanence is the understanding that objects still exist even when they are out of sight.

Question 17

Piaget believed that by about 18 months of age, the average child began to have the ability to use and understand symbols. How did he feel this was demonstrated?
A) ​by the emerging use of language and gestures for communication
B) by the successful resolution of the Oedipus conflict
C) ​by demonstrating a significant reduction in both egocentrism and equilibration
D) ​by moving from crawling to walking independently

Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that the emerging use of language and gestures for communication was evidence of a child's ability to use and understand symbols. This is demonstrated by a child's ability to associate words with objects and actions, as well as their ability to use gestures to convey meaning.

Question 18

Piagetians believe that an average child would first demonstrate the onset of intentional behavior when he or she is approximately
A) ​18 hours old.
B) ​8 weeks old.
C) ​8 months old.
D) ​18 months old.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Piagetians believe that an average child would...

Question 19

While sitting with her parents in a restaurant waiting for service, four-year-old Elana watches as the waitress walks by without taking their order. "Mommy," she whines to her mother, "why isn't she talking to us when I'm so hungry?" Elana's belief that the waitress must know how hungry she is demonstrates the Piagetian concept of
A) ​equilibration.
B) ​egocentrism.
C) ​centration.
D) ​object permanence.

Accepted Answer

Elana's belief that the waitress should know how hungry she is because she is hungry herself demonstrates egocentrism, which is the Piagetian concept that describes a child's inability to understand that others have different perspectives or beliefs. Elana assumes that the waitress has the same perspective as hers and thus should understand her needs. Equilibration refers to the process of balancing existing information and experiences with new ones. Centration refers to a child's tendency to focus on only one aspect of a situation, ignoring other important aspects. Object permanence refers to a child's understanding that an object continues to exist even if it is not visible. None of these concepts apply to Elana's behavior in this scenario.

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT one of the features of a child who is in the preoperational period of cognitive development?
A) ​lacking object permanence
B) ​egocentrism
C) ​centration
D) ​appearance-based reality

Accepted Answer

Lacking object permanence is a feature of the sensorimotor period, not the preoperational period.

Quiz 4: The Emergence of Thought and Language: Cognitive Development in Infancy and Early Childhood.

Mia likes to kick soccer balls. She has developed a mental structure for kicking that may be applied to different situations. This mental structure for kicking would best be described as

According to Jean Piaget, children demonstrate ____ when new information that they encounter is incorporated into their existing schemes.

What is the correct order of the four stages of cognitive development, according to Piaget?

Laurentis is a three-month-old child who enjoys sucking on his thumb. According to Piaget, he probably first developed this enjoyment as a result of a(n)

Piaget believed that children are like little

The approximate ages of Piaget's sensorimotor period of cognitive development is

____ are psychological structures that organize information and regulate behaviors.

When assimilations are out of balance with accommodations, Piaget stated that a child is likely to engage in

Young Matthew is playing with his mother. She has his favorite stuffed animal, and she suddenly hides it under his blanket. Instead of looking for it under the blanket, Matthew starts to cry a little, since he thinks his toy is gone. Matthew's tears suggest that he has not yet developed

The defining characteristic of centration is ____ thought.

Within Piaget's theory of cognitive development, children demonstrate ____ when they adjust their existing cognitive schemes around new information or experiences that are inconsistent with those schemes.

A common law of physics, noted by Sir Isaac Newton, states that "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." If you were to apply that principle to Piaget's theory of cognitive development in children, actions being in balance with each other would describe the process of

An extension of intentional behavior, wherein a child will start 'experimenting' with different actions and repeating them when they produce pleasant outcomes, usually appears at approximately

The preoperational concept of ____ suggests that children in this stage believe that others see the world exactly as they do; that is, that their perspective is the only perspective there is.

Piaget believed that by about 18 months of age, the average child began to have the ability to use and understand symbols. How did he feel this was demonstrated?

Piagetians believe that an average child would first demonstrate the onset of intentional behavior when he or she is approximately

Which of the following is NOT one of the features of a child who is in the preoperational period of cognitive development?