Question 1

Jeannie observed rocks sinking in water and said, "I already knew that. All rocks sink." Then she saw a piece of pumice floating on water and was told that pumice is rock. Several days later, she was asked again if rocks sink in water. She replied, "Well, most do." In Piaget's terms, what process did Jeannie use to draw this conclusion?

Accepted Answer

Jeannie used accommodation to adjust her understanding of rocks sinking in water after encountering new information about pumice. She modified her previous belief that "all rocks sink" to "most do," showing that she integrated new information and adapted her existing schema.

Question 2

A preoperational child's belief that a tall, narrow glass contains more liquid than a short, wide glass is probably due to difficulties in

Accepted Answer

The child is likely struggling with decentration, or the ability to consider multiple aspects of a situation at the same time. In this case, the child may only focus on the height or narrowness of the glass, rather than also considering its width and volume. This can lead to a perception that the taller, narrower glass contains more liquid. Egocentrism, serration, and object permanence are not directly related to this particular perception.

Question 3

Janie was having some difficulty deciding how to organize her defense for the debate competition. She prepared several hypothetical arguments that her opponents might raise, and how she might reply. What cognitive stage of Piaget's theory does this account best illustrate?

Accepted Answer

Janie's ability to consider hypothetical scenarios and plan responses demonstrates the ability to think abstractly and reason logically, which are the hallmarks of formal operational thought in Piaget's theory.

Question 4

Sierra walked into class late and felt quite embarrassed. To make matters worse, she was having a bad hair day and felt like all eyes were on her, judging her, and rejecting her. Sierra's thinking can be described as

Accepted Answer

Sierra's thinking reflects adolescent egocentrism, which is characterized by an intense self-focus and belief that others are highly aware of and critical of one's behavior and appearance. She feels embarrassed and judged, but in reality, others may not even have noticed or cared about her lateness or bad hair day.

Question 5

Corinne has mastered this type of problem: "If the white house is bigger than the blue house, and the blue house is bigger than the red house, is the white house bigger or smaller than the red house?" What stage of Piaget's cognitive theory does this situation best illustrate?

Accepted Answer

This situation best illustrates concrete operations, as it involves the ability to mentally manipulate concrete objects and understand logical relationships between them. This type of thinking typically emerges in children around age 7-12, according to Piaget's cognitive theory.

Question 6

Michelle covers her own eyes, because she thinks her parents will not see her when they are playing a game of peek-a-boo. What stage of Piaget's cognitive theory does this account best illustrate?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Michelle covers her own eyes, because she...

Question 7

David has just purchased a car and is intensely interested in it. When the car has engine trouble, he is able systematically to locate the problem. What cognitive stage of Piaget's theory does this situation best illustrate?

Accepted Answer

The answer of David has just purchased a car and...

Question 8

Which one of the following statements best reflects Piaget's position on the question of speeding up cognitive development?

Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that cognitive development cannot be sped up and it is inefficient and useless to try to accelerate it. Piaget's theory suggests that cognitive development follows a universal and sequential pattern, and cannot be rushed or accelerated.

Question 9

In Piaget's theory, an understanding of object permanence is acquired during what period of development?

Accepted Answer

Piaget's theory suggests that the understanding of object permanence is acquired during the sensorimotor period of development (birth to 2 years). This is when infants come to understand that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen or heard.

Question 10

What is the hallmark of Piaget's stage of formal operations?

Accepted Answer

The hallmark of Piaget's stage of formal operations is hypothetico-deductive reasoning, which refers to the ability to develop and test hypotheses and to systematically manipulate variables in order to find a solution to a problem.

Question 11

According to Piaget, the process of searching for a balance between cognitive schemes and environmental information is called

Accepted Answer

Piaget referred to the process of searching for a balance between cognitive schemes and environmental information as equilibration. This is because the aim of cognitive development, according to Piaget, is to achieve a state of cognitive balance or equilibrium, where existing cognitive structures (schemas) fit with new information and experiences. Equilibration involves constantly adapting and modifying these schemas in response to new information and experiences, in order to achieve a state of cognitive balance.

Question 12

In the sensorimotor stage of development, a child begins to develop

Accepted Answer

In the sensorimotor stage, which lasts from birth to about 2 years old, infants begin to develop the ability to perform goal-directed actions, such as reaching for an object they desire. This is a key developmental milestone in the progression toward higher levels of cognition. Mental operations and semiotic functions develop in later stages of Piaget's cognitive development theory, while preoperational thought is characteristic of the next stage of development after sensorimotor.

Question 13

Billy refuses to drink his orange juice from the 1/2 full glass that his mother gives to him. He wants her to pour the juice into his favourite cup and watches his mother fill it to the brim. Billy likes his cup better because he gets more juice in it. With what cognitive concept in Piaget's theory is Billy having trouble?

Accepted Answer

Billy is having trouble with the cognitive concept of conservation, as he does not understand that the amount of juice in the glass remains the same even when it is poured into a different container. He is focused solely on the physical appearance of the juice in his cup, rather than the amount.

Question 14

A teacher pours juice from a larger glass into two tiny glasses, and the child beams, happy now that he has "more juice." What cognitive stage (Piaget's theory) does the account best illustrate?

Accepted Answer

The account describes the child's belief that splitting the juice into two smaller glasses results in more juice, which is a classic example of preoperational thought. Children at this stage tend to struggle with conservation, the understanding that the amount of a substance stays the same even if its appearance or arrangement changes. This is because they are still developing the mental operations necessary to manipulate and reason about physical objects and quantities.

Question 15

Nathan is shown two balls of clay that he identifies as equal in quantity. When one of the balls is then rolled into a sausage, Nathan says that piece (i.e., sausage) now has more clay. In what stage of development is he likely to be?

Accepted Answer

Nathan's belief that the sausage of clay has more clay than the ball demonstrates the preoperational stage of development. In this stage, children struggle to understand logical principles, conservation, and the idea that physical appearance does not necessarily correspond to quantity.

Question 16

best conveys a child's thinking What of the following sayings best conveys a child's thinking before the notion of object permanence is acquired?

Accepted Answer

The saying "Out of sight, out of mind" best conveys a child's thinking before the acquisition of the concept of object permanence. Children prior to this stage believe that objects cease to exist when they are out of their sight.

Question 17

When we try a particular strategy and it does not work, the discomfort we experience is called

Accepted Answer

The discomfort we experience when a strategy does not work is called disequilibrium. It occurs because our current ways of thinking and solving problems are not effective and we must shift to a new strategy to restore balance or equilibrium. Choices A, B, and D do not accurately describe the experience of discomfort when a strategy fails.

Question 18

After stringing beads from a large necklace onto a smaller empty string, a child states that there are now more beads on the small string than there were on the larger string. What cognitive concept (Piaget's theory) does this behaviour best illustrate?

Accepted Answer

This behaviour best illustrates the lack of understanding of conservation, which is the concept that the amount of a substance remains the same even when its shape or container changes. The child may have assimilated the beads onto the smaller string but did not conserve the total amount of beads from the larger string. Accommodation is the process of adjusting existing schemas to incorporate new information, and equilibration refers to the balance between assimilation and accommodation. However, neither of these concepts accurately describes the behaviour exhibited by the child in this scenario.

Question 19

According to Piaget, people pass through the four stages of cognitive development

Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that people pass through the stages of cognitive development in a specific order, meaning that they follow the same sequence. However, he did not believe that everyone reached the same levels of competence or progressed at the same rates, as individual differences such as intelligence and experience can play a role.

Question 20

Which one of the following is the clearest example of Piaget's concept of assimilation?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which one of the following is the...

Quiz 2: Cognitive Development