Question 1

According to Piaget, adolescents and adults acquire more knowledge as they grow older, but their fundamental way of thinking remains unchanged.

Accepted Answer

Piaget's theory suggests that cognitive development progresses through stages, with the final stage, formal operational, beginning in adolescence. In this stage, individuals develop the ability to think abstractly and logically, which remains consistent into adulthood.

Question 2

One of the weaknesses of Piaget's theory is that it overestimates cognitive competence in infants and young children and underestimates cognitive competence in adolescents.

Accepted Answer

Piaget's theory has been criticized for underestimating the cognitive competence of infants and young children, suggesting they are more capable than Piaget proposed, and not specifically for underestimating adolescents' cognitive abilities.

Question 3

Sensory memory holds information the longest of the three types of memory.

Accepted Answer

Sensory memory holds information for a very short duration, typically less than a second. It is followed by short-term memory and then long-term memory, which can hold information for much longer periods of time.

Question 4

A weakness of Piaget's theory is that it undervalues the influence of the sociocultural environment on cognitive development.

Accepted Answer

Piaget's theory focuses mainly on innate processes of maturation and organization of cognitive structures, while downplaying the role that cultural and social interactions play in shaping cognitive development. This limitation has been challenged by theories such as Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, which emphasizes the importance of social and cultural context in cognitive development.

Question 5

Scaffolding refers to the difference between the level of performance a child can achieve when working independently and the higher level of performance that is possible when working under the guidance of more skilled adults or peers.

Accepted Answer

The concept described is actually the "Zone of Proximal Development" (ZPD), not scaffolding. Scaffolding refers to the support given to a child that is tailored to their needs to help them achieve a task within their ZPD.

Question 6

When a skill has been mastered, individual steps are no longer stored in working memory, which means that more capacity is available for other activities.

Accepted Answer

When a skill is mastered, it becomes automated and does not require conscious effort or working memory to perform. This frees up more capacity in working memory for other tasks.

Question 7

When Victoria and her father solve puzzles together, they share an understanding of the goals of their activity and of their roles in solving the puzzles. Their relationship illustrates the concept of guided participation.

Accepted Answer

The answer of When Victoria and her father solve puzzles...

Question 8

Educational applications of Piaget's theory include facilitating, rather than directing children's learning, sensitivity to children's readiness to learn, and emphasis on discovery learning.

Accepted Answer

Piaget's theory emphasized the importance of facilitating children's own learning rather than directing it, taking into account their current developmental stage and readiness to learn, and promoting discovery-based learning rather than direct instruction. These principles can inform educational practices and curriculum development.

Question 9

Vygotsky viewed inner speech as an intermediate step toward self-regulation of cognitive skills.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Vygotsky viewed inner speech as an intermediate...

Question 10

According to the sociocultural perspective, children are products of their culture.

Accepted Answer

The sociocultural perspective emphasizes the role of culture in shaping development and believes that children's behaviors, beliefs, and values are influenced by their cultural context. Therefore, children are seen as products of their culture, which includes the norms, beliefs, customs, and values shared by the community in which they live.

Question 11

One of Piaget's greatest contributions to teaching was constructivism, the view that children are active participants in their own development.

Accepted Answer

Piaget's constructivism theory views children as active participants in their own development, where they construct their own knowledge and understanding through interactions with their environment. This concept has greatly influenced modern teaching practices, with a focus on hands-on, experiential learning that allows students to actively engage in their own learning process.

Question 12

Cross-cultural studies have shown that scaffolding occurs only in industrialized nations.

Accepted Answer

This statement is false. Cross-cultural studies have actually shown that scaffolding occurs in a variety of cultures and is not limited to industrialized nations. Scaffolding is a universal phenomenon that has been observed in diverse cultures and contexts, including indigenous communities and traditional societies.

Question 13

According to information-processing, as children grow, they develop better strategies, increased capacity of working memory, and more effective executive function.

Accepted Answer

According to information-processing theory, as children grow, they gradually develop better strategies for processing and organizing information, greater working memory capacity, and more effective executive function, which allow them to solve problems and think more critically.

Question 14

According to Vygotsky, children's cognitive development progresses more rapidly when they walk hand in hand with an expert partner.

Accepted Answer

Vygotsky's sociocultural theory emphasizes the importance of social interaction and the role of more knowledgeable others or expert partners in promoting children's cognitive development, suggesting that children's development is enhanced when they receive support and guidance from skilled and knowledgeable individuals such as parents, teachers, or peers.

Question 15

Scaffolding matches the amount of assistance to the learner's needs.

Accepted Answer

Scaffolding is a teaching strategy that involves giving support and guidance to learners in a way that matches their current level of understanding and ability. This means that the amount of assistance provided is adjusted to meet the individual needs of each learner, making the learning process more effective and efficient.

Question 16

Inhibitory processes prevent relevant information from entering working memory.

Accepted Answer

Inhibitory processes help to filter out irrelevant information, allowing relevant information to enter and be maintained in working memory.

Question 17

Formal operational thinkers can envision alternate realities and examine their consequences. They can create hypotheses and test them.

Accepted Answer

Formal operational thinkers have the cognitive ability to think abstractly and hypothetically, allowing them to create and test hypotheses and examine alternate realities and their consequences.

Question 18

Concrete operational thinking is identical to adult thinking in that children are able to think abstractly and hypothetically for the first time.

Accepted Answer

Concrete operational thinking is a stage of cognitive development (around ages 7-12) in which children become more logical and able to reason; however, they still struggle with abstract and hypothetical thinking. Adult thinking involves much more advanced levels of abstract and hypothetical reasoning.

Question 19

According to Piaget, cognitive growth can be particularly rapid if children are encouraged to look at the inconsistencies and errors in their own thinking.

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget's theory of cognitive development, children actively construct their own understanding of the world through a process of assimilation and accommodation. If children are encouraged to look at the inconsistencies and errors in their own thinking, they are more likely to experience cognitive dissonance, which can lead to rapid cognitive growth and development. Piaget referred to this process as equilibration. Therefore, the statement is true.

Question 20

Long-term memory is like a computer's hard drive, a fairly permanent storehouse of programs and data.

Accepted Answer

Long-term memory is often compared to a computer's hard drive, as it is a relatively permanent storage of information that can be retrieved later.

Quiz 6: Theories of Cognitive Development