Question 1

The defining characteristic of centration is ____ thought.

Accepted Answer

Centration refers to the cognitive tendency to focus on one aspect of a situation and neglect other relevant aspects. It is a form of narrowly focused thought. Choices A, C, and D are not related to the concept of centration.

Question 2

According to Piaget, which normally developing child would most likely have just begun to engage in preoperational thinking?

Accepted Answer

Piaget's theory suggests that preoperational thinking begins around 2 years of age, which would be the 24-month-old. A 12-month-old would still be in the sensorimotor stage, while a 36-month-old would be in the midst of preoperational thinking, and a 48-month-old would be nearing the end of that stage and moving into concrete operations.

Question 3

One criticism of Piaget's theory is that it

Accepted Answer

Critics argue that Piaget underestimated the cognitive abilities of infants, particularly in the preoperational stage, and overestimated the abilities of adolescents. Recent research has shown that infants and young children are capable of more advanced cognitive processes than Piaget originally believed. Conversely, some argue that Piaget's theory does not adequately account for the individual differences in cognitive development seen in adolescents.

Question 4

Preoperational thinker Naledi is looking out of the window on the third floor of an apartment building. Her mother then asks her, 'What do you think someone on the street looking up would see?' Given the egocentric nature of her thought, Naledi's most likely response would be

Accepted Answer

Preoperational thinkers, such as Naledi, struggle with taking on another person's perspective and understanding that others may see things differently than they do. However, Naledi's response options do not reflect her egocentric thinking in regards to her own perspective but rather reflect her lack of knowledge or understanding. Therefore, the most likely response is B) "the same thing I see", as she is not yet able to imagine someone else's point of view.

Question 5

In a children's television show, the furniture, house, and appliances can talk and move, and have their own personalities. The fact that many young children view such objects as being 'alive' is consistent with the Piagetian concept of

Accepted Answer

The belief that inanimate objects have a lifelike consciousness is known as animism, which is a Piagetian concept commonly observed in young children's thinking. Therefore, the fact that young children view furniture and appliances as being 'alive' is consistent with the Piagetian concept of animism.

Question 6

Research with 'possible' and 'impossible' events has led to the conclusion that infants

Accepted Answer

Research with 'possible' and 'impossible' events has shown that infants as young as 3.5 months appear to have some understanding of object permanence, which is earlier than what was predicted by Piaget's theory of cognitive development. This suggests that infants develop object permanence at a younger age than was previously thought.

Question 7

The conservation of liquid task directly assesses a child's level of

Accepted Answer

The conservation of liquid task assesses a child's level of centration, meaning their ability to focus on one aspect of a situation while ignoring others. It does not directly assess intelligence, habituation, or animism.

Question 8

The theory that human infants are born with a rudimentary knowledge of the world and they use their experience to expand this knowledge underlies the ____ hypothesis.

Accepted Answer

The core knowledge hypothesis suggests that infants are born with certain foundational knowledge about the world that guides their subsequent learning and development. This stands in contrast to the blank slate hypothesis, which posits that infants have no innate knowledge and instead learn everything from scratch through their experiences.

Question 9

Which child does Piaget's theory have the most difficulty explaining?

Accepted Answer

Daisy has mastered the conservation task but fails the three-mountain task, which Piaget's theory has difficulty explaining.

Question 10

Which is a legitimate criticism of Piaget's theory?

Accepted Answer

Piaget's theory did not adequately account for the role of sociocultural factors, including the influence of cultural practices, values, and beliefs on cognitive development. He focused primarily on universal stages of cognitive development, rather than considering how cultural context might shape development differently in different places and times.

Question 11

Piaget used the three-mountain problem to assess a child's level of

Accepted Answer

The three-mountain problem was used by Piaget to assess a child's level of egocentrism. This involved showing a child a model of three mountains and asking them to describe what they saw from different angles. A child who is egocentric will only describe what they can see from their own viewpoint, rather than considering what others might see from a different angle.

Question 12

Michael, who is a preoperational thinker, watches as a movie character appears to turn from a nice teenager into a werewolf. What is Michael's most likely reaction?

Accepted Answer

Michael, as a preoperational thinker (ages 2-7), is not yet able to understand the concept of conservation (the understanding that appearance does not always match reality). Therefore, he is likely to believe that the teenager has actually turned into a werewolf, which could result in terror or fear.

Question 13

When asked to describe why storm clouds travel so slowly in the sky, Sadie gives several interesting answers. Which of her answers provides the best example of animism?

Accepted Answer

Animism is the belief that non-human entities, such as animals or natural phenomena, have a spirit or consciousness. Sadie's answer that the storm clouds have no legs and therefore have to crawl demonstrates animism by attributing a human-like characteristic to a non-human object.

Question 14

Miriam is visiting her dad's office on a take-your-child-to-work day. Just after they arrive, an executive bursts into the room and screams at Miriam's father about a poorly written report he submitted. All the time that he is being berated, Miriam's dad keeps smiling. Once the executive has left, Miriam turns to her dad and says, 'You really must like it when your boss shouts at you.' Miriam's lack of understanding that one's internal state may not match an external state is best explained by the concept of

Accepted Answer

The answer of Miriam is visiting her dad's office on...

Question 15

Which is not a Piagetian-based implication for teaching?

Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that children learn best through actively constructing their own understanding of the world, rather than being passive recipients of information and answers from teachers. Therefore, providing answers to learners goes against the Piagetian-based implication for teaching.

Question 16

Four-week-old Mpho appears to understand that when you push a cup over the edge of a table, the cup will fall to the ground. Such an understanding would provide support for the concept of

Accepted Answer

Naive physics is the understanding of basic principles of physics that is present in infants and young children, such as the understanding that objects will fall if pushed off a surface. This understanding is not based on formal education, but rather on observations and experiences in the environment. Therefore, Mpho's ability to understand that a cup will fall when pushed off a table indicates that he has a basic understanding of naive physics.

Question 17

When Dikeledi bumps into a table, she says to it, 'You bumped into me because you're mean.' Dikeledi is exhibiting

Accepted Answer

Dikeledi is exhibiting animism, which is the belief that inanimate objects have feelings, intentions, and agency, similar to humans or animals. This is commonly displayed by young children in their early years of development.

Question 18

Tendai's mother has just poured two glasses of orange juice, one for Tendai and one for his sister. After they are poured, Tendai becomes very upset that he got less juice than his sister. Their mother points out that while Tendai's glass is shorter, it is also wider, and thus both children have the same amount. Tendai continues to protest, arguing that his juice is shorter, so he has less juice. Piaget would explain Tendai's behaviour as being the result of

Accepted Answer

Piaget described centration as the tendency of young children to focus on one aspect of a situation and ignore others. In this scenario, Tendai is centrating on the height of the juice in his glass and ignoring the fact that his glass is wider, which means he has the same amount of juice as his sister. This is a common cognitive limitation in young children, according to Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

Question 19

Which best exemplifies the core knowledge hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

The core knowledge hypothesis suggests that infants are born with innate abilities, such as the ability to distinguish between different quantities like three objects versus two objects. This best exemplifies choice A, where three-week-old Gugu appears to understand this concept without being taught.

Question 20

During load shedding, Ayanda does not want to finish eating her vanilla ice cream because, as she puts it, 'When the lights went out, the ice cream turned black, and I don't like black ice cream!' Ayanda is in the ____ stage of development.

Accepted Answer

Ayanda's statement about the ice cream turning black shows that she is not yet capable of understanding the concept of object permanence, which is a key feature of the concrete-operational stage. This suggests that Ayanda is in the preoperational stage, which is characterized by a limited ability to understand the world from other people's perspectives and to think logically about abstract concepts.

Quiz 4: The Emergence of Thought and Language: Cognitive Development in Infancy and Early Childhood