Question 1

Your little sister picks up objects, feels every part of them, and then puts them in her mouth. What stage of Jean Piaget's model of cognitive development does this behavior suggest she is in?

Accepted Answer

The behavior of picking up objects, feeling every part of them, and putting them in the mouth is characteristic of the sensorimotor stage, which is typically seen in infants from birth to age 2. During this stage, infants explore the environment through their senses and actions, and gradually develop object permanence and the understanding that objects have properties that are independent of their own actions.

Question 2

Three-year-old Bip talks constantly about the "man in the moon" and she was quite certain that the moon was "following" her. Bip's behavior is a demonstration of __________

Accepted Answer

Bip's belief in the "man in the moon" and the moon following her is an example of animistic thinking, which is the attribution of human-like qualities or characteristics to inanimate objects or things in nature. This is a common cognitive tendency among young children who are still developing their understanding of the world around them. Centration is the tendency to focus on one aspect of a situation while ignoring others, deferred imitation is the ability to imitate actions or behaviors that were observed at an earlier time, and habituation is the gradual decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure. None of these concepts are relevant to Bip's behavior.

Question 3

According to Piaget, the stage of cognitive development between 2 and 6 years of age is the __________ stage.

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget's theory of cognitive development, the stage between 2 and 6 years of age is the preoperational stage. During this stage, children develop symbolic thinking and the use of language, but tend to have difficulty with logical reasoning and understanding other people's perspectives. The sensorimotor stage occurs from birth to 2 years of age, the concrete operational stage occurs from 7 to 12 years of age, and the formal operational stage occurs from 12 years of age and onward.

Question 4

In which of Piaget's stages does the child develop conservation?

Accepted Answer

Conservation is developed in the concrete operations stage, which occurs between the ages of 7 and 11. In this stage, children understand that objects retain their physical properties even when their appearance changes, such as when water is poured into a thinner or wider glass.

Question 5

Children in the concrete operations stage are limited by their inability to apply__________

Accepted Answer

Children in the concrete operations stage (typically ages 7 to 11) are indeed limited by their inability to apply abstract thought to problem solving. At this stage, according to Piaget's theory of cognitive development, children can think logically about concrete events and understand the concept of conservation, but they struggle with abstract and hypothetical concepts.

Question 6

Which of Jean Piaget's stages of cognitive development is characterized by abstract and hypothetical thinking?

Accepted Answer

The stage of formal operations, which occurs from age 12 and older, is characterized by abstract and hypothetical thinking. At this stage, individuals have the ability to think about abstract concepts and reason logically about hypothetical situations. This is a more advanced stage compared to the concrete operational stage, in which thinking is more concrete and limited to tangible experiences. The sensorimotor and preoperational stages occur earlier in development and do not involve abstract thinking in this way.

Question 7

Jovan has come to realize that water can be turned to ice, and then again turned back into water. This realization demonstrates __________, which suggests that Jovan is in the __________ stage.

Accepted Answer

The understanding that water can be turned to ice and then back to water shows the concept of reversibility. This concept is a hallmark of the concrete operational stage, which occurs around ages 7-12. In this stage, children can mentally reverse operations and understand principles such as conservation and cause-and-effect.

Question 8

According to Piaget, __________ represents the beginning of the child's symbolic thought.

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget, object permanence is the ability to understand that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched. This represents the beginning of the child's symbolic thought because it allows the child to mentally represent an object in their mind even when it is not present in their immediate environment. Egocentric thinking refers to the child's inability to see things from another person's perspective and is a characteristic of the preoperational stage. Accommodation and assimilation refer to the processes by which individuals adapt and modify their schemas in response to new information.

Question 9

__________ in children is observed when they believe that everyone sees what they see, thinks what they think, and feels what they feel.

Accepted Answer

Egocentrism is the belief that one's perspective, thoughts, and feelings are the same as everyone else's. Children with egocentrism have difficulty understanding that others may have different perspectives or feelings than their own.

Question 10

What term is used to describe a child's inability to see the world through anyone else's eyes except his or her own?

Accepted Answer

This term is known as egocentrism. It is a characteristic of early childhood development where a child has difficulty understanding that others can have different perspectives, beliefs, and emotions than their own. This concept was introduced by psychologist Jean Piaget in his theory of cognitive development.

Question 11

Your little brother has a big ball of clay. While he watches, you roll the ball of clay into a long snake-like shape. He begins to cry because he thinks he has less clay now. Which of Piaget's stages is your brother likely to be in?

Accepted Answer

In the preoperational stage, children between the ages of 2 and 7 have difficulty understanding certain concepts, such as conservation (understanding that an object remains the same even if its appearance changes). Your brother likely thinks he has less clay now because the shape has changed, indicating that he is in this stage.

Question 12

The milestone infants achieve during the sensorimotor stage is __________

Accepted Answer

The milestone infants achieve during the sensorimotor stage is object permanence, which is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. Habituation refers to a decrease in response to a repeated stimulus, and is not necessarily a milestone. Concrete operations and preoperational thought are stages that occur later in development, not during the sensorimotor stage.

Question 13

During the __________ stage of development children begin to be able to attend to two or more dimensions of a stimulus at the same time.

Accepted Answer

The ability to attend to two or more dimensions of a stimulus at the same time is a key feature of the concrete operations stage. In this stage, which typically occurs between the ages of 7 and 12, children become capable of conservation (understanding that the quantity of a substance remains the same even when its appearance changes) and are able to think logically about concrete objects and events.

Question 14

Sam and his siblings are modeling clay. He is the only child at the table who realizes that rolling a ball of clay into a thin line does not alter the amount of clay, and has been accused several times by his younger siblings of stealing their clay. Unlike the other children, Sam is in the __________ stage of development.

Accepted Answer

Sam's understanding that rolling a ball of clay into a line does not change the amount of clay demonstrates conservation, which is a key concept in the concrete operations stage of cognitive development. In the preoperational stage, children are unable to understand conservation and may be easily fooled by changes in appearance, such as rolling a ball into a thin line. The sensorimotor stage occurs in infancy and focuses on learning through sensory experiences and motor actions. "Linear" is not a recognized stage of developmental psychology.

Question 15

According to Piaget, the ability to understand that simply changing the appearance of an object does not change the object's nature is known as __________

Accepted Answer

Conservation refers to the understanding that even though the appearance of an object or substance changes, its quantity or amount remains the same. This concept is acquired during the concrete operational stage of cognitive development, which typically occurs between the ages of 7 and 11. Object permanence refers to the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched. Centration refers to the tendency of young children to focus on one salient aspect of a situation or object, ignoring other important features. Reversibility refers to the ability to mentally reverse an action, which is also a concept acquired during the concrete operational stage.

Question 16

According to Piaget, "out of sight out of mind" would apply to children in the __________ stage of development.

Accepted Answer

Piaget's sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years) is marked by children's understanding of the world through their senses and actions on objects. During this stage, they develop object permanence (the realization that objects continue to exist even when not in sight), but they may still struggle with the concept of "out of sight, out of mind."

Question 17

Which of the following is a limitation on the cognitive life of children in Piaget's preoperational stage?

Accepted Answer

Centration is a limitation on the cognitive life of children in Piaget's preoperational stage. This means that children in this stage tend to focus on only one aspect of an object or situation at a time and can have difficulty understanding multiple perspectives or simultaneous attributes. This can lead to errors in problem-solving and reasoning. Abstract concepts, object permanence, and hypothetical thinking are all cognitive skills that develop later in Piaget's cognitive stages.

Question 18

Four-year-old Kendra cannot understand that a "skinny" glass and a "fat" glass can hold the same amount of juice. She immediately grabs what she perceives as the glass containing more juice and leaves the other one for her little brother. Kendra is in the __________ stage of development and has not yet mastered the concept of __________

Accepted Answer

Kendra is in the preoperational stage of development and has not yet mastered the concept of conservation, which is the understanding that even if the appearance of an object changes, its fundamental properties remain the same. In this case, she cannot understand that the difference in the width of the glasses does not affect the amount of juice they can hold.

Question 19

In Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development between 6 and 11 years of age, in which an individual becomes capable of logical thought processes but is not yet capable of abstract thinking, is the __________ stage.

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget's theory of cognitive development, the stage between 6 and 11 years of age is the concrete operations stage. During this stage, individuals become capable of logical thought processes, but they are not yet capable of abstract thinking. This stage is characterized by the ability to think logically about concrete events and manipulate concrete objects in their heads. They also begin to understand the concept of conservation and can apply logical operations to solve problems. Therefore, option A is the best choice.

Question 20

Young infants cannot appreciate the carnival game in which a pea seems to disappear from under a walnut because they have not yet developed a sense of __________

Accepted Answer

Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. Infants who have not yet developed object permanence would not understand that the pea has simply been hidden under the walnut and would be confused by its disappearance. Conservation refers to the understanding that the amount of a substance remains the same despite changes in its shape or arrangement, which is not relevant to this scenario. Centration refers to focusing on one aspect of a situation and ignoring others, and egocentrism refers to the belief that other people see things the same way as oneself, which are also not applicable in this situation.

Quiz 8: Child Development