Question 1

Which of the following best describes a child, in Piagetian terms, who is centred?

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget, being centered means the child focuses on one noticeable aspect of a cognitive problem to the exclusion of other important aspects. This is best described by option C. Option A describes egocentrism, option B describes animism, and option D describes the lack of conservation.

Question 2

You just came back from a class in which the topic was egocentrism in the preoperational stage. You have a 4-year-old and thought that you would see if what you learned was accurate. You are sitting directly across from her and ask her to look at the front and back cover of her favourite book. After she did this, you asked her to describe 'the part of the book I am looking at.' What does she tell you?

Accepted Answer

Children in the preoperational stage, typically ages 2-7, are egocentric, meaning they have difficulty seeing things from perspectives other than their own. Therefore, the child is likely to describe what she sees, not what you see.

Question 3

Preoperational children lack the ability to comprehend that objects can be simultaneously part of more than one group. Piaget referred to this as a lack of a capacity for ____.

Accepted Answer

Piaget referred to the inability to understand that objects can belong to more than one category as a lack of the capacity for classification. The other options may be related to cognitive abilities, but they do not accurately capture the specific concept that Piaget was describing.

Question 4

Having received a new bike for his birthday, Grant tells his mother that the bike needs to come inside the house at night because it might get lonely in the garage by itself. Grant's rationale for why his bike needs to come inside the house is best explained by Piaget's concept of ____.

Accepted Answer

Grant's belief that his bike may feel lonely is an example of animism, which is the belief that inanimate objects have feelings and intentions similar to humans.

Question 5

____ is when preoperational children fail to understand that objects can be simultaneously part of more than one 'class' or group.

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is called classification, where preoperational children struggle to understand that objects can belong to multiple categories at the same time. Egocentrism refers to the child's inability to take someone else's perspective, while conservation and reversibility are related to concrete operational thinking, which occurs after preoperational thinking.

Question 6

What is the task that Piaget and Inhelder devised to demonstrate egocentrism during the preoperational stage?

Accepted Answer

Piaget and Inhelder's task to demonstrate egocentrism during the preoperational stage is the Three Mountains task. In this task, children are asked to choose a picture from different angles that matches what a doll sitting at a different angle would see. Children in the preoperational stage tend to choose the picture that matches their own perspective, demonstrating their inability to take others' perspectives into account.

Question 7

Animism is ____.

Accepted Answer

Animism is the belief that inanimate objects, natural phenomena, and sometimes abstract concepts possess souls, consciousness, and personality traits. It is the attribution of human thoughts and feelings to non-human entities.

Question 8

What is the term that describes the tendency to attribute human thoughts and feelings to inanimate objects and forces?

Accepted Answer

Animism is the term that describes the tendency to attribute human thoughts and feelings to inanimate objects and forces. This belief is often seen in early cultures and religions, where natural phenomena are personified and given human qualities.

Question 9

The child who is experiencing egocentrism and completing the three mountains task will describe ____ perspective.

Accepted Answer

Egocentrism is characterized by a child's inability to take someone else's point of view, and so they will describe the scene and the mountains from their own perspective. They may struggle to understand that someone else might see the mountains differently.

Question 10

You are visiting your sister and she has a 4-year-old daughter. You have not been around young children very much, except for your niece, and you are fascinated with her. You notice that while she plays, she acts like her dolls are real. What type of thinking is your niece demonstrating?

Accepted Answer

Animism is the belief in which inanimate objects, such as dolls or stuffed animals, are alive and have thoughts and feelings. This type of thinking is common in young children, especially around the age of 4.

Question 11

Which of the following best describes a child who lacks classification?

Accepted Answer

A child who lacks classification has difficulty understanding that objects can be simultaneously part of more than one class or group. This is because classification involves the ability to understand the relationship between objects and how they can be sorted into categories based on shared characteristics.

Question 12

What is one of the criticisms that other cognitive theorists and researchers have regarding Piaget's theory of cognitive development during the preoperational stage? They believe that development is actually much more ____.

Accepted Answer

Piaget's theory has been criticized for suggesting that development occurs in discrete stages. Critics argue that cognitive development is more continuous and less tied to specific stages than Piaget proposed.

Question 13

Emma is having a tea party with her stuffed animals and dolls, and pretends that they love the tea and cookies she prepared. Emma's belief that her stuffed animals and dolls are alive and hold human qualities is an example of ____.

Accepted Answer

Emma's belief that her stuffed animals and dolls are alive and possess human qualities is an example of animism, which is the attribution of lifelike qualities to inanimate objects or natural phenomena.

Question 14

The child who lacks egocentrism when completing the three mountains task will describe ____ perspective.

Accepted Answer

In the three mountains task, the child is shown a model of three mountains and asked to choose which of several photographs depicts what the mountains look like from a particular angle. The correct answer requires the child to take into account the viewpoint of a doll placed at a certain location relative to the mountains. A child who lacks egocentrism in this task will be able to take the perspective of the doll into account and describe what the doll can see from its position, rather than simply describing their own view. Therefore, the child's perspective is not their own, but rather that of the doll's.

Question 15

_____ is the inability to distinguish between your own perspective and another person's perspective.

Accepted Answer

Egocentrism refers to the inability to understand that others may have different perspectives and beliefs than oneself. It is a common cognitive limitation seen in young children.

Question 16

What is the term that is used to describe young children's thinking in which they are mentally able to change an object's characteristics back to its original form?

Accepted Answer

Reversibility refers to the ability of young children to mentally reverse changes made to objects and return them to their original form. This concept is a key component of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Children who have not yet developed this ability may struggle with understanding that a ball of clay can be squished into a flat pancake shape and then returned to a ball shape again.

Question 17

What is the term that is used to describe young children's thinking in which they often focus on one noticeable aspect of a cognitive problem to the exclusion of other important aspects?

Accepted Answer

The term that is used to describe young children's thinking in which they often focus on one noticeable aspect of a cognitive problem to the exclusion of other important aspects is centration. This is a characteristic of Piaget's preoperational stage of cognitive development.

Question 18

What is the term that is used to describe when individuals are unable to distinguish between their own perspective and another person's perspective?

Accepted Answer

Egocentrism refers to the tendency for young children to only be able to see things from their own perspective and not be able to take the perspective of another person into account.

Question 19

What is one of the criticisms that other cognitive theorists and researchers have regarding Piaget's theory of cognitive development during the preoperational stage?

Accepted Answer

Piaget has been criticized for underestimating the cognitive abilities of children, particularly in the preoperational stage. Research has shown that children can perform tasks requiring logical thinking and understanding at earlier ages than Piaget suggested.

Question 20

Which of the following statements best captures why a child may fail the conservation task?

Accepted Answer

The conservation task involves understanding that the amount of a substance remains the same even if its appearance changes. Children who fail the task may not yet have developed this understanding. Choice A refers to the ability to mentally reverse actions, which is important for other tasks but not specifically for the conservation task. Choice C refers to a different task, the false belief task, and Choice D refers to the phenomenon of animism, which is irrelevant to the conservation task.

Quiz 6: Early Childhood