Question 1

A young child thinks a tall 20-year-old man is older than a short 40-year-old man. This is an example of _____.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of focus on appearance, as the child is solely basing their perception of age on physical characteristics, such as height or size, rather than actual age or experience. Egocentrism refers to a child's inability to see things from another's point of view, static thinking refers to the belief that things always stay the same, and symbolic thinking refers to the ability to use symbols to represent objects or ideas.

Question 2

A child is shown two identical tall containers, both half-filled with water. The contents of one container are then poured into a short, wide container. If the child states that both containers still have the same amount, then the child understands the concept of _____.

Accepted Answer

Conservation refers to the understanding that the amount of a substance remains the same even if its shape or arrangement changes. In this case, if the child understands conservation, they will recognize that the amount of water in the tall container is the same as the amount in the short container, despite the difference in shape.

Question 3

Evelyn dropped ketchup on her pants during lunch. Although her teacher was able to remove the stain completely, Evelyn cries hysterically, saying that she wants to go home because her outfit is ruined. Her behavior demonstrates the characteristic of preoperational thought known as _____.

Accepted Answer

Irreversibility is the inability to understand that a transformation can be reversed. In this case, Evelyn cannot understand that the stain can be removed and that her outfit is not ruined.

Question 4

When children assume that the world is unchanging, they are engaging in _____.

Accepted Answer

Static reasoning refers to the belief that the world is unchanging and things that have been a certain way will always be that way. This type of thinking is common in young children and can lead them to be surprised, confused, or upset when they encounter changes in their environment or routine. Magical thinking refers to the belief that thoughts or actions can cause events to occur, while centration refers to the tendency to focus on one aspect of a situation and ignore others. A focus on appearance refers to the belief that what something looks like is its most important characteristic.

Question 5

Four-year-old Mac is sitting at the lunch counter next to his sister Tori. They are having hot dogs for lunch. When his Mom cuts his hot dog into five pieces and Tori's into six pieces, Mac protests, "Tori has more than me!" Which ability does Mac not yet demonstrate?

Accepted Answer

Mac's protest shows that he does not yet understand conservation, which is the ability to understand that changing the appearance of something (like cutting a hot dog into pieces) does not change its amount or quantity. He is focusing only on the visual appearance of the hot dogs and not on the actual number of pieces they each have. This means that he is likely to also struggle with other conservation tasks, such as understanding that pouring water from a short, wide glass into a tall, thin glass does not change the amount of water.

Question 6

According to Vygotsky, guided participation requires that a child _____.

Accepted Answer

Guided participation involves a child interacting with a more knowledgeable mentor to accomplish a task, with the mentor providing guidance, support, and feedback as needed. It is not about discovering a solution on one's own or being taught by other children. While instructions may be given more than once, it is important that the mentor is actively involved in facilitating the child's learning. Thus, choice A is the best answer.

Question 7

Irreversibility refers to the preoperational child's tendency to _____.

Accepted Answer

Irreversibility refers to the belief that what has been done cannot be undone, which is a common cognitive limitation of preoperational children. They may, for example, believe that cutting a piece of paper in half and then taping it back together results in more paper than when they started.

Question 8

After her haircut was complete, Tania began crying inconsolably. "You turned me into a boy!" she cried. Which obstacle to logic was Tania demonstrating?

Accepted Answer

Tania's focus on her appearance is causing her to ignore the fact that her gender is not determined by her hairstyle.

Question 9

Sydney helps her 2-year-old daughter to make hot chocolate. She helps the child to measure teaspoons of cocoa into a cup, add water, stir the contents, and then use the microwave. Sydney is providing _____.

Accepted Answer

Sydney is providing scaffolding, which refers to providing support and guidance to a child as they learn a new skill or task.

Question 10

A child's inability to understand that undoing a sequence of events will bring about the original situation is called _____.

Accepted Answer

Irreversibility is the term used to describe a child's inability to understand that undoing a sequence of events will bring about the original situation. This is a characteristic of the preoperational stage of cognitive development in children, which occurs roughly between the ages of 2 and 7 years old. Concrete operations, conservation, and symbolic thought are all other characteristics of later stages of cognitive development.

Question 11

Skills that the child can accomplish with assistance but can't yet perform independently are part of _____.

Accepted Answer

The description matches the concept of the zone of proximal development, which refers to the range of skills that a child can perform with guidance from a more experienced person but cannot perform on their own. Private speech is a separate concept that refers to a child's use of self-directed speech for cognitive and emotional regulation, while the gap between heredity and learning is a theoretical construct that tries to estimate the relative contribution of nature and nurture to a child's development. Distal development is not a common term in developmental psychology, and it is unclear what it would refer to without more context.

Question 12

Daryl has a ball of Silly Putty. His 6-year-old son, Mason, watches as Daryl flattens the Silly Putty into a thin "pancake." When Daryl asks Mason if there is now more Silly Putty, Mason replies "Yes" because he has _____.

Accepted Answer

Mason's response demonstrates a lack of understanding of the conservation concept, which means that a child does not understand that the quantity of a substance does not change when its appearance changes. In this case, flattening the Silly Putty into a "pancake" changes its appearance, but not its quantity. Mason's response suggests that he believes the flattened Silly Putty contains more material because it looks bigger. This is a common misconception that children typically overcome as they develop their understanding of conservation.

Question 13

A child who is unable to read a picture book independently accomplishes the task with the help of an adult. This assistance will be effective only if the _____.

Accepted Answer

The concept of zone of proximal development (ZPD) suggests that a child can achieve a certain level of a skill with the help of an adult or someone who is more experienced. The key is to offer assistance within the child's ZPD, which is the range of skills that the child cannot perform independently but can accomplish with guidance. Therefore, the assistance will be effective only if the skill is within the child's zone of proximal development.

Question 14

Seeing his third-grade teacher in the grocery store shocks Armand because he is used to seeing her only in school. This is likely due to Armand's _____.

Accepted Answer

Static reasoning is when a child believes that the world is unchanging and that things are always as they are. Armand is surprised to see his teacher outside of school because he has not yet developed the understanding that people can exist in different contexts.

Question 15

According to Vygotsky, a teacher who carefully plans each child's participation in the learning process within the zone of proximal development uses _____.

Accepted Answer

Vygotsky introduced the concept of scaffolding, which involves a teacher or more knowledgeable peer providing support or guidance to a student in order to help them achieve a task or goal within their zone of proximal development. This support is gradually removed as the student gains mastery and independence.

Question 16

The characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child thinks that nothing changes is called _____.

Accepted Answer

Static reasoning is the belief that nothing changes. Animism is the belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities, conservation is the understanding that certain properties (such as quantity or volume) remain the same despite changes in appearance, and centration is the tendency to focus on a single, salient aspect of an object and disregard other important aspects.

Question 17

Researchers now believe that Piaget _____ cognition in infancy and _____ cognition in early childhood.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Researchers now believe that Piaget _____ cognition...

Question 18

According to Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development, _____.

Accepted Answer

Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development suggests that children can master some tasks with the help of others. It refers to the range of tasks that a child cannot yet perform independently but can do with the guidance and assistance of more skilled individuals. This suggests that learning can occur through collaboration and social interaction.

Question 19

Tyrell's father takes him to the barber for his first real haircut. At first, Tyrell is excited, but when the barber makes the first cut, he becomes very upset and tells his father to make the barber stop. Despite his father's efforts to assure him that his hair will grow back, Tyrell is exhibiting the characteristic known as _____.

Accepted Answer

Irreversibility is the inability to understand that actions can be reversed, such as understanding that hair will grow back after being cut. Tyrell's upset reaction indicates he doesn't grasp that the haircut is not permanent.

Question 20

Each time Juan puts a puzzle together, his father gives him a little less help. Which theorist would be MOST pleased with Juan's father?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Each time Juan puts a puzzle together,...

Quiz 11: Adulthood: Emerging Adulthood