Question 1

Identical twins typically begin walking on nearly the same day. This best illustrates the importance of _______ to motor skills.

Accepted Answer

Maturation refers to the biological and genetic processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience or other environmental factors. The fact that identical twins begin walking on nearly the same day suggests that their motor skills are primarily influenced by maturation. Responsive parenting (A) involves providing children with appropriate environmental support and encouragement to facilitate developmental processes, but is unlikely to explain the timing of motor milestone achievement in identical twins specifically. Accommodation (C) refers to the process of adjusting existing schemas to fit new information and experiences, which is not directly relevant to motor skills. Habituation (D) refers to the decreasing responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated exposure, which is also not relevant to the development of motor skills.

Question 2

When tethered to a mobile, infants learned the association between

Accepted Answer

Infants learned the association between kicking and the mobile's movement when tethered to a mobile. This is because kicking would cause the mobile to move and the infant would learn this association. There is no evidence or logic to support the other choices as possibilities.

Question 3

Adjusting current schemas to make sense of new information is called

Accepted Answer

Adjusting current schemas to make sense of new information is called accommodation.

Question 4

The recommended position for putting babies to sleep is

Accepted Answer

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends placing infants on their backs for sleep to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Question 5

Dr. Hermitt believes that children whose parents are not responsive to their needs during the first two months of life will never develop basic trust. Obviously, Dr. Hermitt believes that this developmental stage is a

Accepted Answer

Dr. Hermitt's belief that the first two months of life are crucial for developing basic trust suggests that this is a critical period, a specific time during development when certain experiences are necessary for proper development. The other options are not applicable to this belief.

Question 6

The processes of assimilation and accommodation were most clearly highlighted by

Accepted Answer

Piaget's cognitive development theory emphasizes the processes of assimilation (the incorporation of new information into existing cognitive structures) and accommodation (the modification of existing cognitive structures to fit new information). These processes are central to Piaget's theory of how children learn and develop cognitively.

Question 7

The awareness that things continue to exist even when they are not perceived is known as

Accepted Answer

Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible or detected by the senses. Conservation refers to the understanding that certain properties of an object remain the same even when its appearance or arrangement is altered. Assimilation is the process of incorporating new information into existing knowledge structures, while habituation is the decreasing responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated exposure.

Question 8

Piaget suggested that cognitive development involved an individual's construction of

Accepted Answer

Piaget believed that children construct their own understanding of the world through building and modifying schemas, which are mental representations of knowledge. A is incorrect because a social clock refers to the culturally preferred timing of events such as marriage and parenthood. C is incorrect because a rite of passage refers to a ceremony or event that marks a significant transition in one's life, such as a graduation or initiation. D is incorrect because critical periods refer to specific time frames during development where certain skills or abilities must be acquired for optimal development, such as language acquisition in early childhood.

Question 9

We refer to all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating as

Accepted Answer

Cognition encompasses all mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating. Maturation refers to biological development, accommodation refers to a specific type of learning, and habituation refers to a decrease in response to repeated stimuli.

Question 10

It is difficult to successfully train many children to walk before they are 10 months old. This best illustrates the importance of

Accepted Answer

The mention of the age of 10 months suggests that the ability to walk is dependent on physical development, which is a product of maturation. Assimilation and accommodation are cognitive processes related to adapting to new information, while imprinting is a form of early learning typically observed in animals.

Question 11

Three-year-old Zara calls all four-legged animals "kitties." Her tendency to fit all four-legged animals into her existing conception of a kitten illustrates the process of

Accepted Answer

This scenario is an example of assimilation, which is the process by which a child fits new information into an existing schema or cognitive framework. In this case, Zara is fitting all animals with four legs into her existing schema of "kitties."

Question 12

Piaget claimed that children understand the world primarily by observing the effects of their own actions on other people, objects, and events during the ________ stage.

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget's theory, during the sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2), children develop an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with physical, motor actions. They primarily learn through exploration and experimentation with objects, and by observing the effects of their actions on the world around them.

Question 13

The concept of maturation is most relevant to understanding the absence of

Accepted Answer

Maturation refers to the biological growth and development that enables children to acquire various skills and abilities over time. Bladder control is one such ability that is dependent on the maturation of the muscular and neurological systems responsible for it. Therefore, the absence of bladder control among 2-year-olds can be best understood in terms of their ongoing maturation process. A, C, and D are also important developmental processes, but they are less directly related to maturation.

Question 14

When people recognize the inaccuracy of ethnic stereotypes and revise their beliefs, they are demonstrating the process of

Accepted Answer

The process of revising one's beliefs about ethnic stereotypes involves accommodating one's existing schemas to fit new information that contradicts the stereotype. This is consistent with the cognitive process of accommodation, which involves modifying existing schemas or creating new ones to integrate new information. Maturation refers to the natural process of aging and development, while assimilation involves adopting new cultural norms and values. Imprinting refers to the process in which young animals form attachments to their caregivers shortly after birth.

Question 15

Piaget is best known for his interest in the process of ________ development.

Accepted Answer

Piaget's work focused on the cognitive development of children and how they acquire knowledge and understanding of the world around them, rather than social, emotional or physical development.

Question 16

Remembering things one can no longer perceive is most clearly an indication of

Accepted Answer

Objects permanence refers to the understanding that an object still exists even if it cannot be seen or heard. Remembering things that are no longer perceivable indicates that the individual has developed this cognitive ability.

Question 17

The relative lack of neural interconnections in the hippocampus and frontal lobes at the time of birth is most likely to contribute to

Accepted Answer

Infantile amnesia is a phenomenon where adults cannot remember events from their first few years of life. It is believed to be due to the underdevelopment of neural connections in the hippocampus and frontal lobes at the time of birth, which are important for encoding and retrieving memories.

Question 18

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information is called a(n)

Accepted Answer

A schema is a mental framework or concept that helps organize and make sense of information. It allows individuals to quickly make judgments and predictions based on prior experiences and expectations. This is a widely recognized concept in cognitive psychology.

Question 19

Poor memory for early life experiences results from a baby's relative lack of

Accepted Answer

Poor memory for early life experiences is due to the incomplete myelination of the hippocampus, a part of the brain crucial for long-term memory storage. This is a result of the baby's still-developing brain, and thus can be attributed to maturation rather than any of the other options listed.

Question 20

According to Piaget, assimilation involves

Accepted Answer

Piaget defined assimilation as the process of interpreting new experiences in terms of one's current understanding or schema. This means that individuals take in new information and make it fit into their existing mental framework.

Quiz 4: Developing Through the Life Span