Question 1

A concrete operational thinker and a formal operational thinker are given the following logical statements: (1)If you drop a 20-pound bowling ball on your foot, it will tickle. (2)You drop a 20-pound bowling ball on your foot. What reaction would you expect?

Accepted Answer

B

Question 2

Which describes one of the major criticisms of Piaget's theory concerning formal operational thought?

Accepted Answer

One of the major criticisms of Piaget's theory concerning formal operational thought is that adolescents do not appear as cognitively competent as Piaget thought. Recent research has shown that adolescents are capable of advanced reasoning skills at a younger age than Piaget suggested, which challenges his theory of cognitive development.

Question 3

The main limitation of concrete operational thinking is that such thought is limited to

Accepted Answer

Concrete operational thinking is limited to tangible, real-life examples. It has difficulty dealing with abstract ideas and hypothetical situations. Emotional issues and long-term memories are not necessarily limited by concrete operational thinking.

Question 4

Which phrase reflects a basic ability available only to a formal operational thinker?

Accepted Answer

"Hypothetically speaking..." reflects a basic ability available only to a formal operational thinker, as it requires the individual to think beyond concrete realities and consider hypothetical or abstract situations. The other phrases may be used by individuals at different levels of cognitive development.

Question 5

Though Mabel is unable to think in abstract terms, she is beginning to understand that because 3 + 5 = 8, 8 - 5 must equal 3. Mabel has begun to exhibit Piaget's ____ stage of thinking.

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget's theory, children in the concrete operational stage (ages 7-12) begin to think logically about concrete events and understand conservation. They are also able to use deductive reasoning and understand mathematical concepts such as the transitive property demonstrated in Mabel's understanding of 3+5=8 and 8-5=3.

Question 6

If you are reading this test question for the first time, it is

Accepted Answer

When you are reading something for the first time and actively processing the information, it is stored in your working memory. Working memory is where information is temporarily held and manipulated, allowing for immediate use and understanding.

Question 7

Larry notices that his son Tate is having a great time playing near the kitchen sink. When Larry asks Tate what he is doing, Tate responds, "It is fun to look at two different-size glasses, imagine water pouring back and forth between them, and knowing that the amount of water stays the same even though the glass shapes differ." Piaget would describe Tate's comments as indicating that he has acquired

Accepted Answer

Tate's comments indicate that he has acquired a mental operation, specifically conservation. Conservation is the understanding that changing the appearance of an object (in this case, the shape of the glass) does not change its basic properties (in this case, the amount of water it holds). This is a hallmark of concrete operational thinking, which typically emerges between 7 and 12 years of age, according to Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Animism, egocentrism, and irreversibility are all characteristics of earlier stages in Piaget's theory.

Question 8

How could Erbert use combinational reasoning to determine how many different types of sandwiches could be made from eight available condiments?

Accepted Answer

Combinational reasoning involves determining the number of combinations possible from a given set of items. Mapping out all the possible combinations on a sheet of paper allows for a systematic approach to counting the different types of sandwiches that can be made.

Question 9

When 80-year-old Marques is asked about his life, he is able to vividly recall his high school graduation party that occurred 60 years ago. Where was this information stored just before it was recalled by Marques?

Accepted Answer

The information about Marques' high school graduation party that occurred 60 years ago is stored in his long-term memory, which is the stage of memory where information is stored for a prolonged period of time.

Question 10

Who is most likely to be a formal operational thinker?

Accepted Answer

Formal operational thinking involves the ability to use abstract reasoning and combinatorial reasoning, which involves the manipulation of symbols to create and evaluate all possible combinations of a situation or problem. Sherri, who can use combinatorial reasoning, is the most likely to be a formal operational thinker out of the four options given.

Question 11

Angelica and her younger brother Houston are both given three fountain pens, each containing clear ink, and are informed that some combination of ink will yield a color. Because Angelica is a formal operational thinker and Houston is a concrete operational thinker, how will their behavior likely differ?

Accepted Answer

Angelica's formal operational thinking means she is able to think more abstractly and come up with a systematic approach to solve the problem. Houston's concrete operational thinking means he may struggle with abstract reasoning and may not consider using all three pens.

Question 12

As a Piagetian, Faye would believe that a concrete operational child's ability to reverse thought is due to their acquisition of

Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that mental operations, such as the ability to mentally reverse actions, were a key factor in a child's cognitive development during the concrete operational stage. Language, self-efficacy, and convergent thinking do not have as direct a connection to this stage of development.

Question 13

A formal operational thinker and a concrete operational thinker are both presented with three beakers containing red liquid and are told that some combination of the liquids will produce a green liquid. How would the manner in which the formal thinker solves the problem most likely differ from that of the concrete thinker?

Accepted Answer

Formal operational thinkers are more systematic in their problem-solving approach. They would likely start by considering all possible combinations of the liquids before eliminating those that would not produce a green liquid. On the other hand, concrete operational thinkers may be more likely to rely on trial-and-error and may not employ a systematic approach.

Question 14

Who would be most likely to emphasize the important role that changes in memory efficiency plays in cognitive development?

Accepted Answer

Latka, as an information-processing theorist, would likely focus on the role of memory efficiency in cognitive development as this is a key concept within their theoretical framework.

Question 15

Text author Robert Kail won tickets to the Indianapolis 500 auto race by listing all the possible words that could be created from the words "SAFERACE." This is an example of

Accepted Answer

The ability to list all the possible words from the given letters involves combinatorial reasoning, which is the process of counting and calculating all possible outcomes in a systematic way. Option B (animism) is incorrect as it refers to the attribution of human qualities to non-human objects, Option C (functional fixedness) refers to the inability to see an object's potential uses due to being fixated on its traditional or expected use, and Option D (object permanence) refers to the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible.

Question 16

Dee used to think that everyone else liked the same people she did and hated the same people she did. She now realizes that different people have different opinions toward others. Piaget would suggest that Dee has recently become a ____ thinker.

Accepted Answer

The concrete operational stage is marked by the realization that other people may have different opinions, thoughts, and feelings than oneself. This recognition of different perspectives develops during middle childhood, which is the age range when Dee is likely to be experiencing this realization. The preoperational stage is characterized by egocentrism, or a perspective wherein one's own experiences and beliefs are believed to be shared by everyone. The sensorimotor stage is the stage of early infancy focused on sensory and motor development. The formal operational stage, which involves the ability to reason hypothetically and think in abstract terms, begins in adolescence.

Question 17

Tara is a normally-developing eight-year-old. According to Piaget, over the next few years, Tara's egocentrism will likely

Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that children gradually become less egocentric as they develop, but it is a gradual process that takes time. Therefore, Tara's egocentrism is likely to wane gradually over the next few years.

Question 18

What is one of the more questionable aspects of Piaget's theory?

Accepted Answer

Piaget's theory has been criticized for not taking into account the individual differences in children's cognitive development. It assumes that all children go through the same stages in the same order and at the same age, which is not always the case in reality. Therefore, the theory does not account for variability in performance.

Question 19

Which most accurately describes long-term memory?

Accepted Answer

Long-term memory is permanent and has an unlimited capacity to store information. While the ability to recall information from long-term memory may fade over time, the information itself is still retained in the brain.

Question 20

Working memory is best described as being

Accepted Answer

Working memory is a temporary storage system that is limited in capacity, typically able to hold around 7 items for a brief period of time. It is responsible for holding onto information in the short term as we perform mental tasks such as problem solving and decision making.

Quiz 6: Off to School: Cognitive and Physical Development in Middle Childhood

A concrete operational thinker and a formal operational thinker are given the following logical statements: (1) If you drop a 20-pound bowling ball on your foot, it will tickle. (2) You drop a 20-pound bowling ball on your foot. What reaction would you expect?