Question 1

The mutual understanding that people share during communication is known as

Accepted Answer

Intersubjectivity refers to the mutual understanding that people share during communication. It involves the ability to share subjective experiences and communicate about them to achieve a common understanding. This understanding is necessary for effective communication and social interaction. Choice A is incorrect because understanding intention is only a part of intersubjectivity. Choice B is incorrect because a sense of self is an individual's perception of their identity and does not involve mutual understanding. Choice C is incorrect because joint attention refers to the ability to focus on an object or event together, but it does not necessarily lead to mutual understanding.

Question 2

Which scenario is an example of sociodramatic play?

Accepted Answer

Sociodramatic play involves children pretending to be a part of a social situation or scenario, such as playing school or pretending to be a family. Alvaro playing school with his brother fits this definition. Fiona holding a play phone, Sander dressed up for Halloween, and Beatrice putting a plate on her head are examples of imaginative play but not specifically sociodramatic play.

Question 3

Differences between the counting abilities of preschoolers in China and the United States appear to indicate that

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that language can affect the rate of development of the ability to count, and differences in counting abilities between Chinese and American preschoolers are attributed to differences in language structure and number naming systems.

Question 4

Monique regularly fails at false-belief problems. This means that she likely does NOT understand

Accepted Answer

Monique's difficulty with false-belief problems suggests that she does not understand that others can hold an incorrect belief when they themselves know the truth. This is the essence of false-belief problems, where individuals have to understand that other people may hold beliefs that are not in line with reality. This concept does not relate to the other choices listed.

Question 5

Which pair would Iris, a 6-month-old infant, be MOST likely to place in the same category?

Accepted Answer

At 6 months, infants categorize objects based on perceptual features such as shape, color, and texture. Towels and rugs are more similar in these aspects compared to the other pairs, making it more likely for Iris to categorize them together.

Question 6

Which statement about the development of children's ability to categorize objects based on appearance is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

Twelve-month-olds often focus on specific parts of an object when categorizing, rather than considering the object as a whole.

Question 7

Which list places children's understandings in a typical developmental progression?

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is A because it places children's understandings in a typical developmental progression. Children first learn to distinguish between living and nonliving things, then they learn to distinguish between people and animals, and finally they learn that plants are living.

Question 8

When 12-month-olds saw an experimenter look at and demonstrate an interest in one of two toy stuffed kittens, they

Accepted Answer

12-month-olds have developed enough social understanding to expect consistency in others' actions and preferences. When the experimenter showed interest in one kitten but then held the other, it contradicted the infants' expectation based on the demonstrated preference, leading to surprise.

Question 9

Which statement supports the claim that children are born with a "theory of mind module"?

Accepted Answer

Certain areas of the brain associated with theory of mind, such as the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex, are often found to be atypically developed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This supports the idea of a specialized brain module for understanding others' mental states.

Question 10

Harry, a 3-year-old, is shown a raisin box and then is shown that the box contains pennies. If asked what he had thought the box contained before being shown its true contents, Harry will MOST likely say he had thought it contained

Accepted Answer

At the age of 3, children are typically in the preoperational stage of cognitive development, according to Jean Piaget. They have not yet mastered the concept of conservation and struggle with taking the perspective of others, a limitation known as egocentrism. Therefore, Harry is likely to project his current state of knowledge backward and claim he thought the box contained pennies all along, not understanding that his belief could have been different before being shown the box's contents.

Question 11

Children at the age of _____ can count but have no idea whether 3 is bigger than 5 or 5 is bigger than 3.

Accepted Answer

At the age of 2 years, children can often count to some extent but do not yet understand the concept of one number being larger or smaller than another. This understanding typically develops later as their cognitive abilities grow.

Question 12

The study that examined kindergartners' ability to point to various locations in their classroom while imagining a walk from their seat to the teacher's chair demonstrated that kindergarten children

Accepted Answer

The study demonstrated that kindergarten children have mental representations of space that are improved with self-generated motion, indicating that they can imagine spatial arrangements while walking or moving. This suggests that their ability to imagine spatial arrangements is not limited or lacking, but rather can be enhanced through self-generated motion.

Question 13

_____ appears to be a major factor in infants' development of a sense of space independent of their own location.

Accepted Answer

Self-locomotion, or the ability to move themselves around, allows infants to explore their environment and develop a sense of space that is not tied to their own location. Infants who are carried around complex rooms or given direct instruction from adults may still be limited in their spatial understanding if they cannot move themselves. The ability to sit up may provide some additional understanding of one's own orientation in space, but it does not necessarily promote an understanding of space as independent of oneself.

Question 14

Which concept is NOT at the center of naïve psychology?

Accepted Answer

Naïve psychology is concerned with understanding the mental states and processes that underlie human behavior, including beliefs, desires, and intentions. Appearances, on the other hand, are not a central focus of naïve psychology.

Question 15

A category that is organized by set-subset relations is known as a

Accepted Answer

A category that is organized by set-subset relations is known as a category hierarchy. This suggests a level of organization in which more general categories are located at the top, and more specific or subordinate categories are located at the bottom. Choice A, B, and C are all different types of categories, but do not specifically refer to the organization of categories by set-subset relations.

Question 16

The understanding that objects can be counted left to right, right to left, or in any other order represents

Accepted Answer

The ability to count objects in any order, without it affecting the final count, is known as order irrelevance. This skill is an important precursor to understanding cardinality, which involves recognizing that the last number counted represents the quantity of the set. Stable order refers to counting objects in a fixed, consistent sequence (e.g. always starting with the same object or always counting left to right). One-one correspondence refers to matching one object to one number word when counting.

Question 17

A form of pretense in which an object is used as something other than itself is known as

Accepted Answer

The term "object substitution" is used to describe the use of an object as something other than itself, often in a pretend or make-believe context. For example, a child might use a block as a pretend telephone. The other answer choices are related to different aspects of cognitive development and understanding, but they do not specifically refer to this type of pretense.

Question 18

Lack of visual experience during _____ limits subsequent spatial development.

Accepted Answer

Visual experience during early infancy is critical for the development of spatial awareness and perception. Infants who experience a lack of visual stimulation may struggle with spatial tasks later in life.

Question 19

On which statement would nativists and empiricists NOT agree?

Accepted Answer

Nativists would argue that certain spatial abilities are innate and do not require cultural tools or language to develop, while empiricists would argue that all cognitive development is shaped by experience and cultural tools. Therefore, the statement that language and other cultural tools shape spatial development would not be agreed upon by both nativists and empiricists.

Question 20

The study that compared the spatial skills of aboriginal children growing up in the Australian desert with those of their White peers growing up in Australian cities demonstrated that

Accepted Answer

The study highlighted that the importance of spatial abilities in the aboriginal culture, where navigating vast and featureless terrains is essential for survival, led to aboriginal children developing superior spatial skills compared to their urban counterparts. This suggests that cultural practices and necessities can shape cognitive abilities.

Quiz 7: Conceptual Development