Question 1

Theorists hypothesize that _____ enables young children to rapidly master the complicated systems of grammatical rules that are present in all human languages.

Accepted Answer

The language acquisition device, proposed by Noam Chomsky, is a theoretical innate mechanism that enables young children to acquire language rapidly and effortlessly. It is believed to contain a set of grammatical rules common to all human languages, allowing children to understand the underlying structure of language and use this knowledge to acquire language. Object permanence, deferred imitation, and symbolic representation are not directly related to the acquisition of grammatical rules in language.

Question 2

The view that BEST represents information-processing theories is of the child as

Accepted Answer

Information-processing theories view the child as a computational system that takes in information, processes it, and produces output in the form of behavior. This view focuses on the cognitive processes involved in learning and development, such as attention, memory, and problem-solving skills.

Question 3

Ned's general knowledge about cars and trucks is an example of information stored in _____ memory.

Accepted Answer

Ned's general knowledge about cars and trucks is something that he has accumulated over time through previous experiences, making it more likely to be stored in his long-term memory.

Question 4

Which statement is NOT true regarding Piaget's theory of cognitive development?

Accepted Answer

Piaget's theory focuses on the role of cognitive maturation and individual exploration in cognitive development, and underestimates the social and cultural factors that contribute to cognitive growth.

Question 5

Working memory is limited in

Accepted Answer

Working memory has limitations both in terms of how much information it can hold at one time (capacity) and how long it can hold that information (duration). Research suggests that the capacity of working memory is typically around 7 plus or minus 2 items, and the duration of working memory can range from a few seconds to several minutes, depending on the complexity and nature of the information.

Question 6

When trying to remember something, individuals often focus only on the information that is most relevant to their current goal. They likely ignore and do not focus on other information. What is this strategy called?

Accepted Answer

This strategy is called selective attention, where individuals choose to focus only on relevant information and ignore irrelevant information.

Question 7

Task analysis refers to

Accepted Answer

Task analysis is the process of breaking down a complex task into smaller, more manageable steps. It involves identifying an individual's goals, the information in the environment, and the processing strategies needed to complete the task. It is often used in educational and occupational settings to help individuals learn new skills and perform tasks more efficiently. While A and B may be related to certain aspects of task analysis, they do not fully capture the breadth of the concept.

Question 8

The process by which people translate incoming information into a form that fits concepts they already understand is called

Accepted Answer

The process described in the question, where people use their existing concepts to make sense of new information, is called assimilation. Equilibration, adaptation, and accommodation are all related to the process of learning and adapting to new information, but they do not specifically refer to this process of fitting new information into existing concepts.

Question 9

This theoretical perspective views children as having some innate knowledge in domains of special evolutionary importance and domain-specific learning mechanisms for rapidly and effortlessly acquiring additional information in those domains.

Accepted Answer

Core-knowledge theory posits that children possess innate knowledge in specific domains, such as language, biology, and physics, which help them acquire new information rapidly and effortlessly in those domains. This perspective is different from Piaget's theory, which emphasizes the importance of cognitive development through various stages, and information-processing theory, which views children as active processors of information through various cognitive processes. Dynamic-systems theory emphasizes the complex interactions of various factors in development.

Question 10

Which item is NOT one of the four core-knowledge systems proposed by Spelke?

Accepted Answer

Spelke proposed four core-knowledge systems that are universal to human cognition: 1) inanimate objects and their mechanical interactions, 2) the minds of people and other animals capable of goal-directed actions, 3) spatial layouts and geometric relations, and 4) number and arithmetic. Letters and language formation are not included in Spelke's proposed core-knowledge systems.

Question 11

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of view is referred to as object

Accepted Answer

Object permanence refers to the developmentally basic understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible or otherwise detectable by the senses.

Question 12

Professor Stott is conducting an experiment where he shows a child two clay "sausages" that are identical in size and shape. He then allows the child to watch as he rolls one of the clay sausages into a longer, thinner sausage. Professor Stott then asks the child whether the two clay sausages still contain the same amount of clay. This experiment was designed to examine

Accepted Answer

This experiment was designed to examine the concept of conservation, which refers to the understanding that even though the appearance of an object may change, its fundamental properties remain the same. In this case, the amount of clay remains the same even though one sausage appears longer and thinner. Object permanence refers to the understanding that objects exist even when they are not physically present, egocentrism refers to the tendency to view the world from one's own perspective, and symbolic representations refer to the ability to use one object to represent another.

Question 13

Which theory places the LEAST emphasis on children's own efforts to understand the world?

Accepted Answer

The sociocultural theory, developed by Lev Vygotsky, places a strong emphasis on the role of social interaction and culture in cognitive development, rather than focusing on children's individual efforts to understand the world. It suggests that learning is fundamentally a social process.

Question 14

Which statement about intersubjectivity is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

Sociocultural theorists such as Vygotsky believe that intersubjectivity, or the ability to share meaning with others, is the foundation of cognitive development. While the skills involved in intersubjectivity may develop over time, infants from birth are capable of engaging in some level of intersubjectivity. Scaffolding is not an example of intersubjectivity itself, but rather a process that can facilitate the development of intersubjectivity.

Question 15

Piaget's theory suggests that to help their students learn, teachers should

Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that children learn through actively interacting with their environment and constructing their own understanding of the world. Therefore, teachers should provide an environment that can be actively experienced by children to facilitate their learning.

Question 16

Which aspect(s) of working memory change(s) with age from childhood to adolescence?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which aspect(s) of working memory change(s) with...

Question 17

Private speech is conceived of by Vygotsky as a(n)

Accepted Answer

Private speech is a cultural tool that helps children internalize parents' statements.

Question 18

Several times during Carmen's first week of school, she mistakenly opened the closet door when she meant to open the door to the bathroom. The BEST explanation for Carmen's mistake is that Carmen

Accepted Answer

Carmen's mistake suggests that she had not yet encoded the location of the bathroom door in her memory, as she was unable to retrieve the information necessary to choose the appropriate door.

Question 19

Accommodation refers to the process by which children

Accepted Answer

Accommodation is the process of modifying an existing schema to fit new information. It involves adapting current knowledge structures in response to new experiences, rather than simply translating incoming information into a pre-existing schema (which is assimilation). While balancing assimilation and accommodation is important for creating a stable understanding, accommodation specifically refers to the modification of existing schemas.

Question 20

According to core-knowledge theorists, children do NOT form naïve theories of

Accepted Answer

Core-knowledge theorists argue that children are born with innate cognitive mechanisms that allow them to form naïve theories about the world, including physics, psychology, and biology. However, there is no evidence to suggest that children have an innate understanding of botany, so option D is the correct choice.

Quiz 4: Theories of Cognitive Development