Question 1

Recent studies on children's theory of mind suggest that

Accepted Answer

Recent studies suggest that most 3-year-olds have a rudimentary theory of mind and can distinguish between a boy who has a cookie and a boy who is thinking about a cookie, understanding which boy can touch, share and eat the cookie. This contradicts Piaget's conclusion that young children cannot distinguish between thoughts and reality. However, the understanding that other people can have false beliefs does not develop until middle childhood, so option D is incorrect. Option A and C are not supported by recent studies on children's theory of mind.

Question 2

A disorder in which children lack a theory of mind is

Accepted Answer

Children with autism often do not develop a theory of mind, which is the ability to understand and attribute mental states (such as beliefs, desires, and intentions) to oneself and others.

Question 3

Callie does not realize that she needs to turn the book so that her father can see it.She can see it just fine.This is an example of

Accepted Answer

This scenario is an example of egocentrism, which is a preoperational stage of cognitive development where children have difficulty taking on perspectives other than their own. Callie is unable to understand that her father cannot see the book from her perspective and needs it to be turned so that he can see it properly.

Question 4

Piaget tested children's egocentrism by using the _____ task.

Accepted Answer

The three-mountains task was used by Piaget to test children's egocentrism. In this task, children were shown a model with three mountains and asked to describe the views from different perspectives. Piaget found that children younger than 7 or 8 years old were unable to take the perspective of others and described all three mountains as they saw them, indicating egocentrism.

Question 5

Timothy does not understand that transforming the shape of a liquid (by pouring it from one container into another)does not change the amount of liquid.This represents which limitation in preoperational thought?

Accepted Answer

This scenario represents the limitation of conservation, which is the inability to understand that quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance or arrangement. Timothy does not understand that pouring the liquid from one container to another does not change the amount of liquid.

Question 6

According to Piaget,children do not develop an understanding of their own mental processes until they are _____ years old,though more recent research sets the average age lower.

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget, children do not develop an understanding of their own mental processes until they are around 6 years old. However, more recent research suggests that children may begin to develop this understanding at an earlier age, possibly as early as 2 years old.

Question 7

_____ is the ability to understand that others have mental states,and the ability to judge others' feelings and intentions.

Accepted Answer

Social cognition is the ability to understand that others have their own thoughts, feelings, and perspectives, and it involves the ability to infer and judge others' mental states and intentions.

Question 8

Compared to children who have no imaginary companions,children who do have imaginary companions

Accepted Answer

Studies have found that children with imaginary companions tend to have more advanced language skills and are more verbally expressive than children who do not have imaginary companions. This is because they are constantly engaging in conversation with their imaginary companion, which helps to develop their language skills. There is no evidence to suggest that children with imaginary companions have fewer friends or do not like playing with real friends. In fact, having an imaginary companion can actually help children develop their social skills and learn to navigate relationships with others.

Question 9

Information-processing theorists refer to the process of putting information into memory as

Accepted Answer

Encoding refers to the process of transforming information into a form that can be stored in memory. Retrieval refers to the process of accessing information that has been previously stored in memory, while storage refers to the retention of information over time. Recognition refers to the ability to identify previously encountered information, such as recognizing a familiar face or name.

Question 10

Emma,age 3,runs into the room to show her parents a picture she has drawn.While holding the paper with the drawing facing her,she says,"See my picture?" Her parents,able to see only the back of the paper,ask to see the drawing.Emma just holds the paper closer to them without turning it around.Emma's behavior demonstrates

Accepted Answer

Emma's behavior demonstrates egocentrism, which is the belief that one's viewpoint is the only correct and relevant viewpoint. She assumes that her parents can see the picture from her viewpoint without realizing that she needs to turn it around for them to see it.

Question 11

Ivan watches his mother take some clay from a small box.She rolls the clay into a long,thin shape.Ivan says,"But,Mommy,now the clay will not fit back in the box!" Ivan's statement illustrates

Accepted Answer

Ivan's statement illustrates irreversibility, which is the inability of young children to understand that some operations can be reversed. In this case, Ivan only sees the clay in its current form and does not realize that it can be reshaped and put back into the box.

Question 12

Which of the following statements regarding theory of mind is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

While environmental experiences can certainly play a role in the development of theory of mind, research has also shown that there may be a genetic component to this ability. Therefore, saying that theory of mind is mostly influenced by environmental experiences is false.

Question 13

Around the ages of 9 to 11 months,children develop the concept of more or less and bigger and smaller.This concept is called

Accepted Answer

The concept of more or less and bigger and smaller is related to ordinality, which is the understanding that objects can be ordered in a series based on quantity or size. Conservation refers to the understanding that an object's properties remain the same even when its appearance changes. Centration refers to a child's focus on only one aspect of a situation and ignoring other important factors. Transduction refers to the tendency of young children to mentally connect two unrelated events that happen to occur together.

Question 14

Andrew is listening to some music through headphones,and no one else can hear it.When his mother walks into the room he says,"Mommy,do you like this song?" Andrew's question indicates _____ thinking.

Accepted Answer

Andrew's question indicates egocentric thinking because he assumes that his mother can hear the music he is listening to through his headphones, even though no one else can.

Question 15

According to Piaget,children first understand the distinction between appearance (what seems to be)and reality (what is)at about the age of _____ years.

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget, children begin to understand the distinction between appearance and reality around the ages of 5 to 6 years, as they transition from the preoperational stage to the concrete operational stage of cognitive development.

Question 16

When information is needed,David searches his mind looking for the answer and then writes it down.David's search is referred to as

Accepted Answer

Retrieval refers to the process of accessing stored information from memory, which is exactly what David is doing when he searches his mind for the answer. Storage refers to the process of holding information in memory, encoding refers to the process of getting information into memory, and recognition refers to the process of identifying previously encountered information.

Question 17

Sheena knows what her mother will think when she comes into the room and sees the mess that she and her friends have made.Sheena's awareness of her mental processes and those of other people is called _____.

Accepted Answer

Sheena's ability to think about her mother's thoughts and beliefs reflects her theory of mind, which refers to the understanding that other people have their own thoughts, beliefs, and perspectives that may differ from one's own. Egocentrism and decentering refer to concepts in Piaget's theory of cognitive development, which are not directly relevant to the scenario presented. Conservation refers to the understanding that certain physical properties, such as volume or number, remain the same even when the appearance of objects changes.

Question 18

Young children are unable to see things from another's point of view.Piaget calls this limitation

Accepted Answer

Piaget referred to this limitation as egocentrism, where a child is only able to see the world from their own perspective and has difficulty understanding the perspective of others. Transductive reasoning refers to the tendency to make connections between events that are not actually related, decentration refers to the ability to focus on multiple aspects of a situation, and irreversibility refers to the inability to mentally reverse a sequence of events.

Question 19

At preschool,Ms.Thomas often feels as though she has spent the morning with twice the number of students that she actually has.It seems that everyone has invited their imaginary friend to spend the morning.Which of the following statements regarding imaginary companions is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

Research has actually found that girls are more likely to have imaginary companions than boys.

Question 20

Ms.Wang is working with her first-grade students on a math problem.She asks them who has more crayons: Jamie who has five crayons or Juan who has seven.Ms.Wang assumes that her students have acquired _____.

Accepted Answer

Ordinality refers to the ability to understand relative quantities and comparisons, such as who has more crayons.

Quiz 10: Cognitive Development in Early Childhood