Question 1

Which statement best summarizes the research findings regarding the behavioural outcome of children who engage in a great deal of pretend play during the preschool years?

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that children who engage in a lot of pretend play during preschool years tend to perform better on tests of Piagetian cognitive development, as pretend play is linked to cognitive skills such as problem-solving and understanding different perspectives.

Question 2

Eight-month-old infants tend to search for an object in its original hiding place even after watching the object being moved to a new location.Which statement best summarizes the current research data as to why this occurs?

Accepted Answer

This behavior is due to the infant's inability to inhibit previously practiced motor responses. At this age, infants have developed object permanence (understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen), but they struggle with inhibitory control, which is the ability to control their impulses and actions. This leads them to reach for the location where they first found the object, despite having seen it moved.

Question 3

DeLoache found that the age at which children were able to successfully perform her scale-model task was dependent on which of the following experimental conditions?

Accepted Answer

The answer of DeLoache found that the age at which...

Question 4

How did Robbie Case view Piaget's concept of assimilation?

Accepted Answer

Robbie Case viewed Piaget's concept of assimilation as a process involving consolidation and automatization, where existing cognitive structures are used to deal with new information or situations, leading to more efficient and automatic processing over time.

Question 5

Yves is 8 months old.According to Piaget, which period of development is Yves in?

Accepted Answer

Yves, being 8 months old, is in the sensorimotor stage according to Piaget's stages of cognitive development. This stage typically lasts from birth to about 2 years of age, where infants learn about the world through their senses and motor activities.

Question 6

Martina is a preschooler and her mother wonders whether she has psychological problems because she talks to herself constantly.Because you are taking a course in developmental psychology, she asks you if she should be concerned by Martina's behaviour.Based your knowledge from this course, how would you explain Martina's behaviour to her mother?

Accepted Answer

Talking to oneself, or private speech, is a normal part of cognitive development in preschoolers and is associated with cognitive competence.

Question 7

According to Piaget, what does egocentric speech indicate about the child?

Accepted Answer

Egocentric speech, according to Piaget, reflects the cognitive immaturity and egocentrism typical of preschoolers and early-grade-school children, indicating their focus on their own perspective and a limited ability to consider others' viewpoints.

Question 8

Which Piagetian principle is a young child demonstrating when he or she understands that changing the shape of an object does not necessarily change its mass?

Accepted Answer

Conservation is the Piagetian principle that refers to the understanding that certain properties of objects (such as mass, volume, and number) remain the same despite changes in the form or arrangement of the objects. This principle is demonstrated when a child understands that changing the shape of an object does not change its mass.

Question 9

Which conclusion regarding preschool thought has been supported by recent research evidence?

Accepted Answer

Recent research has shown that preschool children are more cognitively capable than Jean Piaget initially theorized. They demonstrate abilities in logical thinking, understanding of cause and effect, and even early forms of abstract thinking earlier than Piaget suggested.

Question 10

Rahim and his mother are making spaghetti.She shows him how much water to put into the pot, but then realizes that it is too full and so she gets a larger pot and helps Rahim to pour the water from one pot to the other.As Rahim is doing so, his mother carefully explains that they still have the same water but by using the larger pot, the water will not boil over the sides when the spaghetti is added.What form of training is his mother using?

Accepted Answer

Rahim's mother is demonstrating the concept of identity by showing that the amount of water remains the same even when transferred to a different container. This teaches that changing the container does not change the quantity of water.

Question 11

Researchers found that children between 3 and 5 years of age delight in "deceiving" a second player in a treasure-search game by destroying evidence of the location of the treasure or laying down false trails.Do these results support Piaget's claim?

Accepted Answer

Piaget argued that preoperational children (ages 2-7) are egocentric and struggle with perspective taking, meaning they have difficulty understanding the viewpoint of others. The ability to deceive by misleading another player indicates an understanding of the other's perspective, which contradicts Piaget's claim about the capabilities of children in this age group.

Question 12

Which of the following is a way that Piaget has contributed to the field of human development?

Accepted Answer

Piaget's contribution to the field of human development is significant for making it developmental by focusing on how children's thinking differs from adults, rather than applying adult models to children. This approach emphasized stages of cognitive development, highlighting the qualitative changes in thinking that occur as children grow.

Question 13

Juan lifts the cover of a box to retrieve the toy his father has just placed there.According to Piaget, what inborn intellectual process allowed Juan to engage in visually directed reaching?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Juan lifts the cover of a box...

Question 14

Which statement best summarizes Meltzoff's research on deferred imitation?

Accepted Answer

Meltzoff's research indicates that deferred imitation, the ability to replicate actions after a delay, is present to some degree in infants as early as 9 to 14 months.

Question 15

Four-year-old Laura finds a bottle of vitamins.They look just like her Easter candies, so she eats them all.How would Piaget explain Laura's error?

Accepted Answer

Laura's error can be explained by assimilation, which is a concept introduced by Piaget. Assimilation occurs when a person incorporates new experiences into existing cognitive schemas without changing them. In this case, Laura assimilated the appearance of the vitamins into her existing schema for candies because they looked similar, leading her to eat them without recognizing the crucial difference.

Question 16

Constructing mental images is a prominent feature of which aspect of sensorimotor intelligence?

Accepted Answer

Symbolic problem solving involves the ability to mentally represent objects and actions in the mind, which is closely related to constructing mental images. This ability marks a significant cognitive development stage, allowing individuals to solve problems through internal representations rather than solely through direct interaction with the environment.

Question 17

According to Vygotsky, what does the use of private speech mean for a child's cognitive development?

Accepted Answer

Private speech, according to Vygotsky, is a tool for thinking and problem-solving. It's not a sign of egocentrism or an indicator of being either gifted or delayed; rather, it's a normal part of cognitive development where children talk to themselves to guide their actions and thoughts.

Question 18

Which of the following best accounts for why children who engage in play with more skilled partners become more proficient?

Accepted Answer

Availability of guided participation allows children to engage in activities slightly beyond their current abilities with the support of a more skilled partner, facilitating learning and skill development.

Question 19

How do neo-Piagetian models of cognitive development differ from Piaget's original theory?

Accepted Answer

Neo-Piagetian models differ from Piaget's original theory by incorporating age-related changes in working memory and executive control processes, which are not emphasized in Piaget's stage-based theory.

Question 20

What do researchers mean when they describe play as a "serious business"?

Accepted Answer

Play episodes are among the most complex interactions in which preschool children engage.

Quiz 8: Cognitive Development: Piagets Theory, Cases Neo-Piagetian Theory, and Vygotskys Sociocultural Viewpoint