Question 1

According to Piaget, which of the following is characteristic of a child in the preoperational stage?

Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that children in the preoperational stage (ages 2-7) are still developing logical reasoning skills, and tend to rely on intuition and perception rather than logic. They are also known for their increased curiosity and questioning, leading to the tendency to ask many questions. Therefore, the correct answer is D.

Question 2

During Piaget's intuitive thought substage, a child's reasoning is fairly:

Accepted Answer

During Piaget's intuitive thought substage, which occurs in the preoperational stage (ages 4-7), a child's reasoning is considered primitive because it is based on intuition rather than logical processes.

Question 3

A child who understands that the amount of clay does not differ when it is stretched into a long strip or rolled into a large ball has grasped the concept of:

Accepted Answer

The concept of conservation refers to the realization that an object or substance stays the same in quantity, even if its appearance changes. In this scenario, the amount of clay is conserved, whether it is stretched into a long strip or rolled into a ball. The child has grasped this concept. The other options, horizontal decalage, animism, and formal operations, are not related to the scenario described.

Question 4

Janie is exhausting her father with a barrage of "why" questions.She is trying to figure out why things are the way they are.Janie is in Piaget's:

Accepted Answer

Janie is demonstrating the characteristics of the intuitive thought substage in Piaget's theory. This is when children between the ages of 4 to 7 begin to ask many "why" questions in order to understand the world around them.

Question 5

According to Piaget, adolescents differ from younger children in that younger children cannot:

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget, adolescents differ from younger children in that younger children cannot systematically and mentally test hypotheses. Younger children are not able to reason abstractly like adolescents, who can manipulate ideas and outcomes in their minds without relying on concrete objects.

Question 6

The concrete operational stage lasts from ages:

Accepted Answer

The concrete operational stage, according to Piaget's theory of cognitive development, typically lasts from ages 7 to 11.

Question 7

The formal operational stage appears between ages:

Accepted Answer

The formal operational stage, characterized by abstract and hypothetical thinking, typically begins around age 11 and continues through adolescence and into adulthood.

Question 8

Brenda sorts buttons by shape, size, type, or color.Classification is a characteristic of which Piagetian stage?

Accepted Answer

Classification is a characteristic of the concrete operational stage in Piaget's theory of cognitive development. In this stage, children become capable of organizing objects into categories based on common characteristics like shape, size, type, or color, as Brenda does with her buttons.

Question 9

Julio understands that he is older than his brother and younger than his sister.This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Julio understands that he is older than...

Question 10

"What if the sun were to explode?" asks Alene."But it never has," replies Janis."But what if it DID?" insists Alene.In this example, Alene is exhibiting __________ thought, whereas Janis is showing __________ thought.

Accepted Answer

Alene is engaging in abstract thought by considering a hypothetical scenario, while Janis is engaging in concrete thought by focusing on the reality that the sun has never exploded.

Question 11

Nathan and Sara are eating granola bars.Sara breaks her bar in half.Nathan gets upset because Sara has two granola bars.Nathan has not developed the concept of:

Accepted Answer

Nathan has not developed the concept of conservation, which is the ability to understand that physical quantities remain the same even when they are rearranged in a different shape or arrangement. In this case, Nathan sees that Sara now has two granola bars, even though the total amount of granola remains the same.

Question 12

In explaining the ability to conserve, Piaget focuses on _____.

Accepted Answer

Piaget focuses on centration, which is the tendency for young children to focus on only one aspect of a situation and ignore others, leading to a lack of conservation.

Question 13

A reversible mental action on a real object is a:

Accepted Answer

A reversible mental action on a real object is a characteristic of concrete operational thinking, which is the ability to understand conservation, reversibility, and classification of objects based on their attributes. The other options (A, C, and D) do not accurately describe this cognitive process.

Question 14

A teacher asks his class to line up according to height.Todd knows that he must be taller than the person he stands in front of and shorter than the person he stands behind.He also recognizes that everyone in front of him is taller than everyone behind him.This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Transitivity refers to the ability to understand relationships between objects or individuals based on their relative positions to one another. In this example, Todd is able to comprehend that the tallest student in the line is in front of him, and the shortest student is behind him. Todd also understands that he must be taller than the person standing directly behind him, and shorter than the person standing in front of him. This demonstrates his understanding of the transitive property of relationships.

Question 15

Cassidy understands that her mother is also her grandparents' daughter, her cousin's aunt, and her uncle's sister.This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

This is an example of classification, where Cassidy is able to understand and categorize her mother's relationships within the family structure.

Question 16

Which of the following characterizes the concrete operational stage?

Accepted Answer

The concrete operational stage, according to Piaget's theory, occurs from ages 7 to 11 and is characterized by the ability to use logic in concrete situations. However, this logic is still based on concrete, visible examples rather than abstract concepts. Therefore, D is the best choice as it accurately reflects this aspect of the concrete operational stage.

Question 17

Focusing attention on one characteristic of an object or concept to the exclusion of all others is:

Accepted Answer

Centration is the act of focusing on one aspect or feature of an object or concept, while disregarding other relevant features or characteristics. This is seen in young children who may focus solely on the height of a glass, and not on the width or volume of the contents. Egocentric thought refers to a lack of awareness of other people's perspectives or emotions. Animism is the attribution of intentionality or consciousness to inanimate objects. Conservation is the understanding that changing the shape or arrangement of objects does not change their quantity, mass, or volume.

Question 18

indicate as an important factor in a child's performance on conservation tasks?

Accepted Answer

Attention is an important factor in a child's performance on conservation tasks because it allows the child to focus on the relevant aspects of the task and to ignore irrelevant information.

Question 19

The belief in the permanence of certain attributes of objects or situations despite superficial changes is called:

Accepted Answer

The description given in the question matches the concept of conservation, which is a key concept in Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Children develop this ability to understand that the amount of something can remain the same even if its appearance changes.

Question 20

Marni thinks about how the world could be if everyone took more personal responsibility for the environment.Marni is in which of Piaget's stages?

Accepted Answer

Marni is demonstrating abstract thinking and considering hypothetical situations, which is the hallmark of the formal operational stage.

Quiz 6: Cognitive Developmental Approaches