Question 1

In front of Chris,Tasha pours the same amount of water into both a short,fat glass and a tall,thin glass.She then asks Chris which glass has more water.If Chris is 10 years old,he is most likely to answer

Accepted Answer

At age 10, Chris should have developed the concept of conservation, which means he understands that even if the appearance of an object changes, its amount or quantity remains the same. Therefore, he should understand that even though the glasses look different, they both have the same amount of water.

Question 2

Jonah learned to eat cereal by picking up a few pieces at a time and putting his fingers and the cereal pieces into his mouth.While eating yogurt,Jonah realizes that this method does not work,so he instead learns that yogurt is eaten with a spoon.Jonah's learning to eat yogurt with a spoon-NOT his fingers-shows

Accepted Answer

Accommodation is the process of adjusting one's existing mental schemas to make sense of new information, which is exactly what Jonah did when he realized his existing schema for eating with his fingers did not work with yogurt and adapted his behavior to use a spoon instead. Assimilation refers to the process of incorporating new information into existing schemas, but this is not what happened in Jonah's case as his existing schema did not fit the new information. Theory of mind and centration refer to different concepts and are not relevant to Jonah's situation.

Question 3

Nadia knows that a substance's quantity does not change,even when its form does.Based on this,Nadia is most likely

Accepted Answer

Nadia's understanding of conservation, the concept that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape or form, typically develops around age 7-11, aligning with Piaget's concrete operational stage. At nine years old, she would likely have this understanding.

Question 4

Mary and Eric are outside playing one day when Eric looks up and asks,"What's that big bright ball in the sky?" Mary replies that it is the sun.That night,Eric looks out his bedroom window and sees a big,bright ball in the sky."Look,Mary,it's the sun!" he exclaims.This example shows that Eric has used _______ for his new knowledge.

Accepted Answer

Eric has used assimilation for his new knowledge, as he is applying his existing understanding of the sun to a new, similar object (the moon) without changing his existing schema.

Question 5

Five-year-old Simone is shown two evenly spaced rows of five nickels.When asked which row has "more," Simone responds that the rows are the same.Next,one of the rows of nickels is squished close together.When asked which has "more," Simone responds the row that is still spaced out has more.In this example,Simone has displayed

Accepted Answer

Simone has displayed centration, which is the tendency to focus on one aspect of a situation while ignoring others. In this case, she focuses on the spacing of the nickels rather than the number of nickels.

Question 6

Damien likes to put all sorts of things,like bugs,dirt,and shoelaces,in his mouth.He also likes his toy train; however,he seems to lose interest in playing with the train whenever his brother hides it.Damien is most likely in the _______ stage of development.

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget's theory of cognitive development, the sensorimotor stage occurs from birth to around 2 years of age. During this stage, children engage in sensory and motor exploration, using their senses and movements to learn about the world around them. This is characterized by putting things in their mouth and other oral exploration behaviors. Additionally, the fact that Damien loses interest in his toy train when it is hidden by his brother suggests that he has not yet developed object permanence, which is a hallmark of the sensorimotor stage. B would be incorrect because preoperational children already have object permanence, and A and D would be incorrect because these stages occur later in development.

Question 7

Your best friend had a baby two weeks ago.She is excited because the baby smiled at birth,and she believes that the smiling indicated attachment.You know the truth is that

Accepted Answer

While newborns may show facial expressions that appear to be smiles, they are not yet capable of social smiling. Social smiling typically occurs around 4 to 6 weeks of age and is a sign of attachment and social interaction. Therefore, it is unlikely that the baby's smile at birth was an indication of attachment.

Question 8

Darryl thinks that playing peek-a-boo is hilarious! He does not know where his mom goes during the game,but it excites him when he sees her face again.Darryl is most likely in Piaget's _______ stage of development.

Accepted Answer

The fact that Darryl doesn't understand object permanence (the concept that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen) indicates that he is in Piaget's sensorimotor stage, which lasts from birth to 2 years old.

Question 9

When Kate's grandma leans over the crib with a toy in her hand,8-month-old Kate grasps it and pulls on it.When Kate's mom hangs a set of animals across the crib,Kate reaches up,grabs them,and pulls them down.Kate seems to be working on _______ for grasping and pulling.

Accepted Answer

Kate's actions suggest that she is engaging in a schema for grasping and pulling objects. Schemas are mental frameworks that we use to organize and interpret information about the world around us. As Kate gains more experience with grasping and pulling objects, she is likely refining and expanding her existing schema for these actions.

Question 10

Kaya is crying because her teddy bear fell off the kitchen table and bumped its nose.She pretends to be "Mommy" and goes to the cupboard for a Band-Aid to put on the bear's hurt nose.Because Kaya's thinking is intuitive and not logical,she is most likely in the _______ stage of cognitive development.

Accepted Answer

Kaya's behavior indicates that she is in the preoperational stage of cognitive development. This is characterized by intuitive thinking, egocentrism, and the inability to understand conservation or reversibility. Kaya's belief that her teddy bear needs a Band-Aid to make it feel better is an example of egocentrism, as she is projecting her own understanding of how to feel better onto her teddy bear.

Question 11

Peggy's parents are amazed at how much their daughter has changed.Over the past year,she became interested in doing chemistry experiments.Peggy predicts what will happen when she combines two chemicals together and then observes the results to see whether her hypothesis was correct.Peggy is most likely in the _______ stage of cognitive development.

Accepted Answer

Peggy's ability to make predictions, test them, and use logic to evaluate the outcomes demonstrates the formal operational stage of cognitive development, which typically begins around age 12.

Question 12

Gretchen is excited when her son Brian demonstrates that he has developed theory of mind and will now be able to

Accepted Answer

Theory of mind refers to the ability to understand that other people have their own intentions, beliefs, and desires that guide their behavior. Therefore, when Gretchen's son Brian demonstrates theory of mind, he will be able to understand that his mom has intentions that guide her actions. Option A is incorrect because theory of mind is about understanding other people's mental states, not one's own. Option B is partially correct, but it is not the most significant aspect of theory of mind. Option C is incorrect because theory of mind actually leads to less egocentric behavior, as it allows individuals to understand that other people have different experiences and perspectives.

Question 13

Andre is writing an introductory psychology essay on Piaget's theory of cognitive development.He should criticize the original theory for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

Criticizing Piaget's theory for stating that infants do not learn about the world through their senses would be inaccurate as Piaget actually believed that infants begin to construct knowledge of the world around them by using their senses. The other options are all valid criticisms of Piaget's theory - the stages can be inflexible and predetermined (A), some abilities may emerge earlier than Piaget suggested (B), and children often display characteristics of multiple stages simultaneously rather than just one (D).

Question 14

While he is in the waiting room at the doctor's office,Arthur tries to classify infants' attachment based on their behavior.He is certain that the baby girl is securely attached because she

Accepted Answer

According to Bowlby's attachment theory, a baby who is securely attached will explore its environment and toys while periodically checking in with its caregiver. This behavior indicates that the baby feels comfortable and safe in the presence of the caregiver, but is also confident enough to explore its surroundings. The other options are less indicative of secure attachment: B suggests clinginess, C suggests anxiety or fear, and D suggests indifference or avoidance.

Question 15

Simon is learning about the alphabet.He learns the letter O because it is round.If Simon sees the letter C and thinks it's the letter O because it is round,_______ has occurred.If he sees the letter C and thinks it must be a different letter because it is NOT completely round,_______ has occurred.

Accepted Answer

The concepts being described here are assimilation (D) and accommodation (D). Simon is assimilating the letter C into his understanding of the letter O due to its round shape, but when he realizes that it is not exactly the same, he must accommodate his understanding to differentiate between the two letters. This is an example of the process of adapting one's understanding through assimilation and accommodation. The other options, object permanence and conservation, do not apply to this scenario.

Question 16

Nora took her young son Alfred to the zoo,where he pointed to a zebra and said,"Look,Mommy,a horse!" Nora replied,"That's not a horse; that's a zebra.See,it has black and white stripes." Alfred then replied,"Wow! Look at the striped zebra!" In this situation,Henry's development of a zebra schema required

Accepted Answer

Alfred initially assimilated the zebra to his existing schema for horses. However, once Nora corrected him, he accommodated his schema by incorporating the new information about zebras having black and white stripes, which led to his new understanding and the development of a zebra schema.

Question 17

Sally is playing outside with her brother Micah one day and wants to push him down when he takes her swing.Sally does not push Micah,however,because she predicts that she will be punished with no television privileges after dinner if she does.Sally is most likely in the _______ stage of development.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Sally is playing outside with her brother...

Question 18

When trying to explain Piaget's theory of development to his roommate,Martin correctly states that development

Accepted Answer

Piaget's theory posits that development occurs in stages, each marked by qualitatively different cognitive abilities.

Question 19

Joey needs to use his fingers to add and subtract.Joey can sort blocks based on both their shape and color at the same time.Based on this information,you know that Joey is most likely in the _______ stage of development.

Accepted Answer

Joey's ability to use his fingers for addition and subtraction suggests he has developed a basic understanding of numbers and math operations, which is a hallmark of the concrete operational stage. Furthermore, his ability to sort blocks based on shape and color simultaneously shows that he has achieved cognitive flexibility, another characteristic of the concrete operational stage. The preoperational stage, on the other hand, is marked by egocentric thinking and the inability to conserve and mentally transform objects. The formal operational stage is characterized by abstract reasoning and hypothetical thinking, which typically emerges in adolescence or later.

Question 20

A child is playing at the beach.She pours an equal amount of sand into both a short,fat container and a tall,thin container.When asked which container holds more sand,the child points to the tall,thin container.This response suggests that she is most likely in the ______ stage of cognitive development.

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget's theory of cognitive development, children in the preoperational stage (ages 2-7) are not able to understand conservation (that the amount of a substance remains the same even if the shape or container changes). They rely on perceptual cues, such as the height of the container, to judge quantity. This is demonstrated in the child's belief that the tall,thin container holds more sand, despite them having the same amount as the short,fat container.

Quiz 4: Development Across the Life Span