Developmental Ch. 7

46. The ability to use images or words to stand for objects or experiences is called a. object permanence. b. symbolic capacity. c. reversibility. d. horizontal décalage.

b. symbolic capacity.

162. Piaget used the term _____ to describe the process by which we interpret new experiences in terms of existing schemas

assimilation

10. Which of the following is the best description of a schema? a. An organized way of thinking or acting that allows us to interpret our experiences b. A standard way of solving a problem in the fewest possible steps c. Changing our experiences in order to adapt to our environment d. Interpreting new experiences by using previously stored information

a. An organized way of thinking or acting that allows us to interpret our experiences

119. Which famous statement best illustrates the concept of relativistic thinking? a. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. b. Truth is absolute. c. What goes up must come down. d. All men are created equal.

a. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

113. Elkind suggested that adolescent egocentrism is due to increased a. self-consciousness. b. self-esteem. c. self-efficacy. d. self-confidence

a. self-consciousness

68. Oscar, a college student, is checking seven-year-old Meyer to see what cognitive skills he has. He asks him to do some basic conservation tasks. Meyer has correctly responded that there is still the same amount of clay, whether it is in a round ball or rolled out into a hotdog-type shape. When Oscar asks why, Meyer demonstrates how the hotdog-type shaped piece of clay can be rolled back into a ball. This shows that Meyer has a good grasp of a. assimilation. b. transformational thought. c. equilibrium. d. primary circular reactions.

b. transformational thought.

48. Piaget stated that the preoperational stage of development normally begins around a. 2 months of age. b. 12 months of age. c. 2 years of age. d. 12 years of age.

c. 2 years of age

87. During which stage of development would a person first be able to understand that her dad is a parent, an uncle, and someone's son (i.e., understand class inclusion)? a. Formal operations b. Sensorimotor c. Concrete operations d. Preoperational

c. Concrete operations

5. What 1960s event brought Piaget's theory into the mainstream of American science? a. The end of the Cold War b. Woodstock, which opened up the society to the acceptance of alternative ways of thinking c. Flavell's summary of Piaget's work that was published in English d. Piaget's death, which focused attention on his life's work

c. Flavell's summary of Piaget's work that was published in English

11. Which of the following is an example of a behavioral schema? a. Using a block to represent a car b. Asking about grandma even when she's not present c. Grasping a block or a bottle of milk d. Calling the dog by the cat's name

c. Grasping a block or a bottle of milk

91. A researcher asked students of different ages "What would the world be like if humans had tails?" According to Piaget's theory, which one of the following answers would be most likely from an adolescent in the formal operational stage? a. People don't have tails, so this is a useless exercise. b. I guess they could swing from trees just like the monkeys I saw at the zoo. c. People would be able to hold tails and pass notes under the table while still keeping both hands on the table. d. I wouldn't like having a tail all the time.

c. People would be able to hold tails and pass notes under the table while still keeping both hands on the table.

124. Which item would NOT typically be on a list of the characteristics of postformal thought? a. Understanding that knowledge is relative b. Accepting that the world is full of contradictions c. Rejecting input from others as it will taint the truth d. Integrating contradictions in some larger understanding

c. Rejecting input from others as it will taint the truth

65. Billy always walks to kindergarten. His mom always picks him up at school after kindergarten on her way home from work. One day, mom asks Billy to walk home from kindergarten by himself. Billy insists he does not know how to walk home from kindergarten—he only knows how to walk to kindergarten. Which cognitive operation does Billy apparently lack? a. Centration b. Equilibration c. Reversibility d. Transformation

c. Reversibility

92. A researcher asked students of different ages, "What would the world be like if there was no gravity?" According to Piaget's theory, which one of the following answers would most likely be heard from an adolescent in the formal operational stage? a. There is gravity, so this is a useless exercise. b. Things would fall. c. We would have to redesign classrooms with desks on the ceiling. d. I wouldn't like it if there was no gravity

c. We would have to redesign classrooms with desks on the ceiling.

172. A person who had just begun to exhibit hypotheticaldeductive reasoning would have just entered Piaget's _____ operations stage of development

formal

166. Perceptual _____ involves focusing on the most obvious features of a situation or object.

salience

165. Searching in a place where an object was last found rather than its new hiding place is called the _____ error.

A not B

161. The flexible question-and-answer technique used by Piaget was known as the _____ method.

clinical

171. Most 10yearolds would be in Piaget's _____ operations stage of development

concrete

164. The final substage of the sensorimotor stage of development is referred to as involving _____ of secondary schemes.

coordination

120. An absolutist believes that truth a. lies in the nature of reality, and that there is only one truth. b. is relative to the experiences of the thinker . c. does not exist. d. is stranger than fiction.

a. lies in the nature of reality, and that there is only one truth.

90. Concerning mental actions, concrete operations are to formal operations as a. objects are to ideas. b. knowing is to doing. c. imagined is to real. d. centration is to decentration.

a. objects are to ideas.

156. Researchers have proposed the existence of a stage of thinking more advanced than any proposed by Piaget. This stage of thinking is referred to as preformal thought. a. True b. False

b. False

157. Piaget emphasized the importance of cultural factors in cognitive development. a. True b. False

b. False

159. Vygotsky referred to the gap between what a learner can accomplish independently and what he or she can accomplish with guidance as the synapse. a. True b. False

b. False

71. The inability to take a point of view other than one's own is referred to as a. animism. b. egocentrism. c. object permanence. d. static thought.

b. egocentrism

73. Belle is excited when she receives a telephone call from her grandmother on her birthday. When Belle's grandmother asks Belle how old she is, Belle holds up three fingers in front of the phone. Belle's belief that because she can see her fingers, so can her grandmother, reflects the Piagetian concept of a. centration. b. egocentrism. c. animism. d. formal thought.

b. egocentrism

72. When her mommy is sick in bed, Jenna brings her a pacifier and a rattle, thinking these will help mommy feel better since they always make Jenna feel better. Jenna's behavior best demonstrates a. centration. b. egocentrism. c. animism. d. formal thought.

b. egocentrism.

69. Static thought involves a fixation on the a. process of transformation. b. end state. c. process of egocentrism. d. beginning state.

b. end state.

24. According to Piaget, when our internal thoughts are consistent with the evidence we are receiving from the world, we are experiencing a. plasticity. b. equilibration. c. cognitive dissonance. d. fixation.

b. equilibration.

136. Learning through active involvement in culturally relevant activities with the aid of knowledgeable individuals is referred to as a. the personal fable. b. guided participation. c. transformational thought. d. class inclusion.

b. guided participation.

97. Which cognitive skill would a formal operations thinker possess that a concrete operational thinker would lack? a. Hypothetical-deductive reasoning b. Seriation c. Transformational thought d. Class inclusion

a. Hypothetical-deductive reasoning

143. Assimilation is the process of modifying existing schemas to better fit new experience. a. True b. False

b. False

144. A tertiary circular reaction involves repetition of interesting acts on objects in an infant's external environment. a. True b. False

b. False

145. The final substage of the sensorimotor period is called the secondary circular reaction period. a. True b. False

b. False

148. According to Piaget, centration is the ability to focus on multiple aspects of a task at the same time. a. True b. False

b. False

31. The main theme of Vygotsky's theory is that cognitive growth is a. a product of the child's social interactions within a cultural and historical context. b. uninfluenced by language acquisition. c. universal, with all children developing at the same rate and in the same sequence. d. exclusively shaped by genetic factors.

a product of the child's social interactions within a cultural and historical context.

36. Which is the most advanced substage of the sensorimotor stage? a. Beginning of thought b. Secondary circular reaction c. Coordination of secondary schemes d. Tertiary circular reaction

a. Beginning of thought

126. What is a legitimate question concerning the lack of success of older adults on Piagetian tasks? a. Could it be due to a lack of motivation to solve tasks that are so rarely encountered in real life? b. Could it be due to the over emphasis on IQ testing common to Piagetian tasks? c. Could it be due to slower reaction times commonly found in older study participants? d. Could it be due to the fact that normal hearing is required to solve all of Piaget's tasks?

a. Could it be due to a lack of motivation to solve tasks that are so rarely encountered in real life?

39. Which infant behavior best demonstrates object permanence? a. Crying and reaching for a favorite toy you were playing with after it has been put inside a toy box b. Repeatedly swiping at a mobile hanging over the crib c. Crying when someone grabs a toy out of your hand d. Trying to grab a toy that you can see, but is just out of reach

a. Crying and reaching for a favorite toy you were playing with after it has been put inside a toy box

134. Which of the following is an example of Vygotsky's zone of proximal development? a. Figuring out the answer to your math homework after your sister gives you a hint b. Getting a better grade on the math test than you usually get c. Using trial and error to eliminate incorrect answers to a problem d. Thinking about a purely abstract problem like how many digits there are in infinity

a. Figuring out the answer to your math homework after your sister gives you a hint

94. What is the first step in hypothetical-deductive reasoning? a. Generate all possible hypotheses. b. Get a concrete example. c. Consider what others in your position would do. d. Engage in guided participation.

a. Generate all possible hypotheses.

52. Four-year-old Lenny has invented an imaginary companion, an invisible octopus named Squiggy. How would a Piagetian most likely react to Lenny's behavior? a. He might suspect that Lenny is cognitively and socially advanced. b. He would see it as a sign of possible mental illness. c. He would suggest that Lenny cannot decenter from an object. d. He would state that it is impossible for a child that young to create any imaginary companions.

a. He might suspect that Lenny is cognitively and socially advanced.

130. Which is a common challenge to Piaget's theory? a. It failed to distinguish between competence and performance. b. It overestimated young minds. c. It placed too much emphasis on explaining development rather than describing development. d. It overemphasized the role of social influence on cognitive development.

a. It failed to distinguish between competence and performance.

125. Which of the following statements is true regarding cognitive capacities during later adulthood? a. Older adults do not perform as well as younger adults on formal operational tasks. b. Older adults perform better than younger adults on novel tasks. c. Older adults perform better on laboratory tasks than on applied, everyday tasks. d. Older adults perform just as well as younger adults on concrete-operational and formal operational tasks.

a. Older adults do not perform as well as younger adults on formal operational tasks.

50. Which childhood activity best illustrates symbolic capacity? a. Pretending to be a superhero b. Riding a two-wheeled bicycle c. Kicking a soccer ball d. Playing with an electric train

a. Pretending to be a superhero

26. From first to last, what is the correct order of Piaget's stages of cognitive development? a. Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, formal operations b. Preoperational, sensorimotor, formal operations, concrete operations c. Sensorimotor, concrete operations, preoperational, formal operations d. Preoperational, concrete operations, formal operations, sensorimotor

a. Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, formal operations

142. Cognition is the activity of knowing and the processes through which knowledge is acquired and problems are solved. a. True b. False

a. True

146. Having imaginary companions in childhood is associated with advanced social development. a. True b. False

a. True

147. Irreversibility and the inability to conserve are common characteristics of a person in the preoperational stage of development. a. True b. False

a. True

149. An individual engaging in static thought is focused on the end state of the problem. a. True b. False

a. True

152. Seriation is the ability to arrange items along some quantifiable dimension. a. True b. False

a. True

153. When using hypothetical-deductive reasoning, you begin by generating all possible hypotheses. a. True b. False

a. True

154. A person who can decontextualize is able to separate prior knowledge from the demands of a current task. a. True b. False

a. True

155. The tendency to think that your thoughts and feelings are unique underlies the personal fable. a. True b. False

a. True

158. Vygotsky stressed the critical role that sociocultural context plays in cognitive development. a. True b. False

a. True

160. Vygotsky saw private speech in toddlers as a sign of cognitive maturity. a. True b. False

a. True

47. Which of the following demonstrates the child has developed symbolic capacity? a. a child who uses a cooking pan as a hat b. a child who has names for favorite stuffed animals c. a child who is comforted by thumb-sucking d. a child who waves hello and goodbye

a. a child who uses a cooking pan as a hat

22. Mabel always thought of herself as being incapable when it came to fixing things. She easily developed the habit of asking her husband, Abel, to do even the simplest "fix-it" tasks, such as changing a light bulb. Then one day Mabel got a flat tire on a country road. She managed to struggle through the process of changing the tire all on her own. From then on, she felt much more capable, and started to fix more things around the house. This best illustrates a. accommodation. b. assimilation. c. disequilibrium. d. fixation

a. accommodation.

8. According to Piaget, intelligence is the ability to a. adapt to one's environment. b. respond to reinforcement. c. process information. d. score well on IQ tests.

a. adapt to one's environment.

15. According to Piaget, adaptation is best defined as a. adjusting to the demands of the environment. b. reducing schemas. c. the ability to think about abstract concepts. d. the maturation of the mind.

a. adjusting to the demands of the environment.

105. Phillip is moping around because his steady girlfriend, Janet, is going on a date with another boy she's interested in. His dad comes up to him and says, "I know just how you feel, son..." Phillip cuts him off, shouting, "You don't know how I feel. No one knows how I feel! Just leave me alone!" Philip's response demonstrates a phenomenon known as a. adolescent egocentrism. b. object permanence. c. preoperational thinking. d. A not B error

a. adolescent egocentrism.

3. Piaget's intrigue concerning _____ initially spurred his interest in cognitive development. a. age-related mistakes in children's responses b. the relationship between humans and primates c. sex differences in the ability to problem-solve d. brain lateralization research

a. age-related mistakes in children's responses

129. Piaget's theory incorrectly overemphasized a. broad stages of development. b. sex differences. c. that knowledge is best thought of as anything but all or nothing. d. racial differences.

a. broad stages of development.

62. Sarah Lee is helping her dad, Jefferson, bake cookies. First, Sarah divides the dough into two equal round piles. Then, as she goes to roll her dough, she trips, flattens her pile, and begins to cry. Her dad asks her if she's hurt, whereupon Sarah tells her dad that she isn't hurt but she's sad because now he has a tall pile with more dough than her. Sarah Lee's response demonstrates a. centration. b. conservation. c. relativistic thinking. d. seriation.

a. centration.

76. Jack is taking a class on Piaget, and as part of an assignment, he is "testing" someyoungsters on various Piagetian tasks. He gives four-year-old Meg a bag of white and striped marbles. They discuss the fact that marbles are made of glass. Meg counts the marbles—7 whites and 18 stripes. Jack asks, "Are there more striped marbles or more glass marbles?" Meg answers, "There are more striped marbles." This demonstrates Meg's difficulty with a. class inclusion. b. conservation. c. identity. d. transformations.

a. class inclusion.

60. Molly's mommy is mad, and Molly doesn't believe it when mommy says, "I'm angry, but I still love you!" Molly thinks that mommy can't be mad and still love her at the same time. Piaget might suggest that Molly's thought process demonstrates Molly's inability to engage in a. decentration. b. conservation. c. irreversibility. d. centration.

a. decentration.

59. The Piagetian concept of "decentration" refers to the inability to a. focus on more than one dimension of a problem at one time. b. mentally reverse simple operations. c. understand that the amount of something remains the same regardless of a change in shape or position. d. take another person's point of view.

a. focus on more than one dimension of a problem at one time.

138. When Vygotsky referred to the concept of scaffolding, he was speaking about a. guided assistance that a skilled individual provides to a less skilled individual. b. the "intellectual ladder of success" that children are innately drive to climb. c. the importance of allowing children to "learn on their own" without adult interference. d. the structures of the mind that hold together lower levels of thought and higher levels of thought

a. guided assistance that a skilled individual provides to a less skilled individual.

108. Sally has just gotten her hair trimmed, and even though it doesn't look very different than before, she is sure everyone in homeroom will notice a big change and be focusing on her hair all day. This is an example of a. imaginary audience. b. personal fable. c. hypothetical-deductive reasoning. d. relativistic thinking.

a. imaginary audience.

132. Gustav was born and raised in a small fishing village in Sweden. Vygotsky would argue that this experience will a. impact both how he thinks and what he thinks about. b. impact how he thinks but not what he thinks about. c. impact what he thinks about but not how he thinks. d. have no impact on this cognitive development.

a. impact both how he thinks and what he thinks about.

14. Adam has a schema for saying, "Hi." He has a second schema for holding out his hand. He has another schema for making eye contact. With time, Adam is able to combine the simple schemas into a complex structure of a greeting (i.e., simultaneously making eye contact, saying "Hi," and holding out his hand to be shaken). According to Piaget, Adam is demonstrating a. organization. b. hypothetical-deductive reasoning. c. reversibility. d. class inclusion

a. organization.

53. Focusing on the most obvious features of an object or situation is referred to as a. perceptual salience. b. horizontal décalage. c. decentration. d. transitivity.

a. perceptual salience.

140. Four-year-old Jackie often mutters to herself as she builds things with her blocks. Her utterances (e.g., "the blue one goes first") seem to be a running dialogue of her actions that are guiding her behavior. Vygotsky referred to this activity as _____ speech. a. private b. social c. egocentric d. telegraphic

a. private

29. The key characteristic of a primary circular reaction is that they are a. repeated actions related to one's own body that originally happened by chance. b. a onetime event related to one's own body that originally happened by chance. c. repeated actions related to one's own body that originally happened by choice. d. a onetime event related to one's own body that originally happened by choice.

a. repeated actions related to one's own body that originally happened by chance.

64. While watching a pizza being cut into 10 pieces, eight-year-old Domino suddenly realizes that the 10 pieces of pizza are actually the same amount as the original one pizza. This realization best reflects the process of a. reversibility. b. A not B error. c. seriation. d. static thought.

a. reversibility.

85. Transitivity is best defined as a. the necessary relations among elements in a series. b. understanding one's own mental limitations. c. private, mental speech. d. the ability to convert an object into a mental image.

a. the necessary relations among elements in a series.

Accommodation is best defined as a. the process of modifying existing schema to better fit a new schema. b. knowing an object continues to exist even after it has left your sensory range. c. thinking that everyone else possesses the same experiences as you. d. using scientific logic to solve all problems.

a. the process of modifying existing schema to better fit a new schema.

98. Formal operational thinking differs from Piaget's other stages in that a formal thinker gains the ability to a. think systematically about abstract concepts. b. mentally manipulate objects that they can see. c. understand the symbols used in language. d. form mental schemas.

a. think systematically about abstract concepts.

67. Houdini is watching a magician pour a clear liquid from one glass into another. When the liquid enters the second glass, it magically changes to the color blue. While Houdini finds the trick interesting, he is not surprised that an object can be changed from one state to another. This indicates that Houdini possesses _____ thought. a. transformational b. egocentric c. sensorimotor d. animistic

a. transformational

163. Piaget used the term _____ to describe the process by which we modify existing schemas to better fit our experiences.

accomodation

150. Recent research has supported Piaget's conclusions that young children (age three or so) have no ability to take another person's point of view. a. True b. False

b. False

151. Concrete operational thinkers can conserve, but they are still unable to use transformational thought. a. True b. False

b. False

123. Whose statement indicates that they are engaging in dialectic thinking? a. Earl, who says, "I love the fact that ice is cold." b. Eileen, who says, "I just do not understand how light can be both a wave and an individual element, but I will." c. Lowell, who says, "Drop a bowling ball and it will fall; can the world get any more consistent?" d. Rellen, who says, "The moon looks massive tonight."

b. Eileen, who says, "I just do not understand how light can be both a wave and an individual element, but I will."

141. Which is a legitimate criticism of Vygotsky's theory? a. There is no evidence that private speech helps children solve problems. b. He placed too much emphasis on the influence of social interactions. c. His stages of psychosocial development have received little empirical support. d. A model that focuses only on postformal thinking in adulthood is too limited to be considered a major developmental theory

b. He placed too much emphasis on the influence of social interactions.

25. Which statement best describes Piaget's theory on intelligence? a. Intelligence develops as the result of the interactions of classical and operant conditioning. b. Intelligence develops as the result of interactions between biologically based individuals and their interaction with an environment. c. Intelligence is solely the product of the interaction of genetic predispositions with biological maturation. d. Intelligence is solely the product of sociocultural experiences.

b. Intelligence develops as the result of interactions between biologically based individuals and their interaction with an environment.

12. Which of the following is an example of a symbolic schema? a. Counting the number of holes on a belt b. Pointing a finger and saying "Bang!" c. Sucking on the nipple of a bottle of milk d. Grasping an adult's finger

b. Pointing a finger and saying "Bang!"

7. Tenyearold Chester has just been asked, "What is 10 plus 10?" He says, "The answer is 22." How would a researcher best use Piaget's clinical method to followup this response? a. She would ask Chester to count the number of fingers on each hand. b. She would ask Chester to explain how he came up with the answer of "22." c. She would ask Chester to describe any abuse he had endured as a child. d. She would ask Chester to give a blood sample.

b. She would ask Chester to explain how he came up with the answer of "22."

55. Why might perceptual salience lead a child not to believe in the Easter Bunny? a. The fact that Easter is a holiday b. The fact that it would be impossible for one rabbit to deliver millions of eggs in one night c. The fact that eggs come from chickens d. The fact that Easter eggs come in many colors

b. The fact that it would be impossible for one rabbit to deliver millions of eggs in one night

112. Jamie doesn't worry very much about contracting HIV from unprotected sex, saying "I'm a good guy. It can't happen to me." This is an example of a. an imaginary audience. b. a personal fable. c. an A not B error. d. hypothetical-deductive reasoning.

b. a personal fable.

139. With respect to children's use of private speech, research suggests that this speech is (may) a. unrelated to children's cognitive capabilities. b. a sign of cognitive maturity. c. a sign of immature egocentrism. d. indicate that the child is autistic.

b. a sign of cognitive maturity.

121. Perry's (1970) research with cognitive development in college students found that many students tended to be _____ in their thought when they first started college and grow to be _____ thinkers by the end of their college careers. a. formal; concrete b. absolutist; relativistic c. nonegocentric; egocentric d. decontextualized; contextualized

b. absolutist; relativistic

16. Piaget stated that adaptation involves the two major processes of a. accommodation and symbolic thinking. b. assimilation and accommodation. c. assimilation and organization. d. organization and equilibration.

b. assimilation and accommodation.

20. Jerry likes to play with his stuffed animals, dragging them around the house by their arms, ears, or tails. He tries to do this with Tom the cat one day, but Tom hisses at Jerry and runs off, leaving Jerry perplexed and crying. Jerry's original attempt to play with the cat best illustrates the concept of a. accommodation. b. assimilation. c. disequilibrium. d. fixation

b. assimilation.

61. The tendency to focus on only a single aspect of a problem is called a. assimilation. b. centration. c. conservation. d. identification.

b. centration.

66. Transformational thought is best defined as the ability to a. think to one's self. b. conceptualize processes of change from one state to another. c. put two or more objects in some order. d. focus on one aspect of a task.

b. conceptualize processes of change from one state to another.

57. Jimmy watches as his mom pours all of his juice out of a tall skinny glass into a short wide cup. He puts up a fuss, because he now thinks he doesn't have as much juice as he started with. Jimmy is unable to a. center. b. conserve. c. seriate. d. animate.

b. conserve.

33. According to Piaget, _____ occur when an infant combines secondary actions to achieve a simple goal. a. secondary circular reactions b. coordination of secondary schemes c. tertiary circular reactions d. beginning of thought

b. coordination of secondary schemes

99. Findings from the Munich Longitudinal Study of the Ontogenesis of Individual Competencies (LOGIC) demonstrated that most 12-year-olds a. could not recognize good or bad examples of scientific research nor could they create a good experiment themselves. b. could recognize good or bad examples of scientific research but could not create a good experiment themselves. c. could not recognize good or bad examples of scientific research but could create a good experiment themselves. d. could recognize good or bad examples of scientific research and could create a good experiment themselves.

b. could recognize good or bad examples of scientific research but could not create a good experiment themselves.

102. Gomer was born and raised in the Midwestern part of the United States. All of his life, he has been told that seafood tastes terrible so he has avoided it. One day while visiting the East Coast, he goes into a restaurant that features steamed clams. Gomer tells himself, "Those clams do smell good and many people eat seafood, so they can't be terrible to eat. I think I'll order a big bucket of steamers." Gomer's decision to eat the seafood would best be explained by the Piagetian concept of a. reversibility b. decontextualization c. animism d. horizontal décalage

b. decontextualization

127. Piaget's work _____. a. stifled most research on children's cognitive development. b. demonstrated that infants are active participants in their development. c. pointed out the critical effect that genes play in abnormal trajectories of development. d. lent significant support to theories that emphasize the key role of unconscious elements of the mind (e.g. id) .

b. demonstrated that infants are active participants in their development.

128. Piaget's theory _____. a. does a nice job describing development, but a poor job explaining it. b. ignores the possibility that development may be the result of an interaction between nature and nurture. c. emphasizes the role of brain maturation in stage transition. d. clearly distinguishes between competence and performance.

b. ignores the possibility that development may be the result of an interaction between nature and nurture.

115. People are most likely to regularly use formal operational thinking a. in making relationship decisions. b. in areas where they have some expertise. c. in high school and college courses but not on nonacademic tasks. d. on novel and complex tasks.

b. in areas where they have some expertise.

1. Cognition is best defined as the activity of a. sensing energy in the environment. b. knowing and processing through which knowledge is acquired. c. brain maturation. d. unconscious influences.

b. knowing and processing through which knowledge is acquired.

30. Baby Jay accidently sucked his thumb, now seems to love to suck his thumb, and has learned to do it over and over again. This best exemplifies the concept of a a. beginning of thought. b. primary circular reaction. c. secondary circular reaction. d. tertiary circular reaction.

b. primary circular reaction.

103. One implication of formal operational thought is that adolescents are more likely than children to a. have idealized notions about their parent. b. rebel against the inconsistencies they are able to detect in the world. c. accept the realities of the world. d. solve problems by using a trial-and-error approach.

b. rebel against the inconsistencies they are able to detect in the world.

49. Piaget suggested that the key cognitive acquisition in the preoperational stage of cognitive development is the ability to a. comprehend object permanence. b. refer to people and objects that are not physically present. c. seriate concepts. d. construct a personal fable.

b. refer to people and objects that are not physically present.

9. Piaget argued that newborns enter the world with a. no means of adaptation. b. senses and reflexes that can assist in adaptation. c. little interest in investigating the world around them. d. an intuitive knowledge of basic biology and physics

b. senses and reflexes that can assist in adaptation.

79. A hallmark achievement of concrete operational thought is being able to a. solve object permanence tasks. b. solve conservation tasks. c. solve hypothetical problems. d. use relativistic thinking

b. solve conservation tasks.

40. The A not B error involves the a. inability to realize that a bowl of ice cream has the same amount when the ice cream has melted. b. tendency to search for an object in a place where it was last found rather than in a new hiding place. c. failure to convert a concrete problem into an abstract problem. d. valuing adaptation over organization

b. tendency to search for an object in a place where it was last found rather than in a new hiding place.

93. On Piaget's famous pendulum task, most concrete operations thinkers use a _____ approach. a. random guessing b. trial-and-error c. guided participation d. hypothetical-deductive reasoning

b. trial-and-error

32. Once while she was about to take a nap, baby Carolyn accidentally sucked on her blanket. Now she repeatedly sucks on the blanket when she's going to sleep. This new behavior is an example of a. coordination of secondary schemes. b. a primary circular reaction. c. a secondary circular reaction. d. a tertiary circular reaction

c. a secondary circular reaction.

18. Eighteen-month-old Mickey is visiting a theme park for the first time. At the park, he sees some zebras, an animal with which he is unfamiliar. Despite this, he looks at the animals and shouts, "Look at the horses!" He had previously formed a mental schema for horses. Piaget would say that Mickey's reaction best demonstrates the concept of a. accommodation. b. reversibility. c. assimilation. d. formal thought.

c. assimilation.

42. Piaget argued that object permanence is fully developed at 18 months. Recent research has indicated that a. Piaget's time estimate was right on. b. object permanence is actually developed at birth. c. awareness of object permanence is not apparent at birth but develops well before Piaget thought. d. object permanence actually develops around age two years.

c. awareness of object permanence is not apparent at birth but develops well before Piaget thought.

2. Dr. Gretzky defines himself as a cognitive psychologist. Given this information, you might predict that Dr. Gretzky is most interested in a. operant conditioning in rats. b. the endocrine system. c. children's thinking skills. d. the olfactory system.

c. children's thinking skills.

101. The ability to separate prior knowledge from the demands of a task at hand is referred to as a. egocentrism. b. conservation. c. decontextualization. d. class inclusion.

c. decontextualization.

104. A teenager's difficulty in differentiating his own thoughts and feelings from those of other people is called adolescent a. class inclusion. b. reversibility. c. egocentrism. d. décalage.

c. egocentrism

137. Rana never had any formal training in breeding animals, but had always actively helped his father in the family's business of breeding sheep. Consequently, Rana is now quite skilled at this practice. Vygotsky would refer to this skill acquisition as being the result of a. a personal fable. b. imaginary companions. c. guided participation. d. transformational thought.

c. guided participation

107. The phenomenon of the _____ occurs when an individual confuses her own thoughts with those of a hypothesized group of people. a. A not B error b. personal fable c. imaginary audience d. class inclusion

c. imaginary audience

41. Five-year-old Linus is playing with his baby sister, Lucy. He takes Lucy's teddy bear and hides it behind a pillow while Lucy watches. Lucy quickly finds the bear. Then Linus puts teddy in a bag, puts the bag behind a chair (where he dumps teddy), and then brings out the empty bag. Lucy looks inside the bag, but doesn't look for teddy behind the chair and is surprised when it is not there. According to Piaget, Lucy a. lacks object permanence. b. is playing to an imaginary audience. c. is committing the A not B error. d. is a formal operational thinker.

c. is committing the A not B error.

44. Piaget contended that in infancy, a. reaching was a developmental precursor of looking. b. reaching and looking represented the same activity. c. looking was a developmental precursor of reaching. d. reaching and looking were unrelated behaviors

c. looking was a developmental precursor of reaching.

38. To a young infant, out of sight is literally out of mind. Piaget stated that this was due to a lack of a. reversibility. b. insight. c. object permanence. d. horizontal décalage.

c. object permanence

116. Some theorists have proposed the existence of a stage of cognitive development beyond the highest level proposed by Piaget. This hypothesized level of thinking is referred to as _____ thought. a. private b. hypothetical c. postformal d. decontextualized

c. postformal

117. Relativistic thinking is best associated with the _____ stage of development. a. concrete operations b. formal operations c. postformal d. preoperationa

c. postformal

28. Piaget hypothesized that an infant's first schemas for interacting with the environment always involve a. cross-modal reactions. b. conservation. c. reflexes. d. trial-and-error accommodations.

c. reflexes.

118. Seefeldt doesn't understand why his psychology instructor doesn't just tell the class the correct answer. When asked, his instructor says that there is no single correct answer; it depends on each individual's interpretation. Seefeldt's difficulty in accepting his professor's answer would indicate that Seefeldt lacks _____ thinking. a. class inclusion b. systematic c. relativistic d. concrete

c. relativistic

31. A _____ circular reaction is a repetitive action that involves something in an infant's external environment. a. coordination b. primary c. secondary d. tertiary

c. secondary

83. Bell is shown a set of jars and is asked to arrange a group of them from shortest to tallest. This is a test for a. classification. b. conservation. c. seriation. d. centration

c. seriation

84. Amber can quickly and accurately arrange crayons from lightest to darkest. This demonstrates a capacity for a. animism. b. centration. c. seriation. d. transitional thinking.

c. seriation

74. A preoperational thinker is most likely to exhibit _____ thought. a. decentration b. reversible c. static d. transformational

c. static

35. Franco is enjoying a fine lunch in his high chair. He picks up a handful of spaghetti and stuffs it in his mouth. Next, he picks up two handfuls and shoves them in his ears. The next handful goes in his hair, and the one after that is casually thrown on the floor. As his motivation appears to be simply the novelty of each of these acts, Franco's behavior would best be categorized as a a. secondary circular reaction. b. primary circular reaction. c. tertiary circular reaction. d. beginning of thought.

c. tertiary circular reaction

34. A true sense of curiosity and novelty first emerge during the _____ stage of development. a. secondary circular reactions b. coordination of secondary schemes c. tertiary circular reactions d. beginning of thought

c. tertiary circular reactions

56. Conservation is best defined as the ability to a. think abstractly. b. think the way other people think. c. understand that some properties of an object remain the same even if other properties change. d. realize that an object continues to exist even if that object has left the sensory range.

c. understand that some properties of an object remain the same even if other properties change.

17. Assimilation is best defined as the process in which a. a conditioned stimulus becomes an unconditioned stimulus. b. multiple schemas are combined into single schemata. c. we interpret new experiences in terms of existing schemas. d. the unconscious mind impacts the conscious mind.

c. we interpret new experiences in terms of existing schemas.

96. Which of Gibson's statements indicates that he is engaging in hypotheticaldeductive reasoning? a. "I can still hear the sound of that guitar after the string has been strummed." b. "A guitar is just a larger version of a mandolin." c. "I bet that my guitar looks exactly like the one you have." d. "If the length of a guitar string matters, then a short string should produce a different sound than a long string."

d. "If the length of a guitar string matters, then a short string should produce a different sound than a long string."

111. Which idea is the best example of a personal fable? a. Believing that life is a tragedy, and thus, every precaution needs to be taken to ensure everyone's safety b. Failing to be self-conscious in front of an audience c. Knowing that everyone wants you dead d. Believing that no one has ever felt grief more strongly than you

d. Believing that no one has ever felt grief more strongly than you

122. _____ thinking is best defined as detecting paradoxes and inconsistencies among ideas and attempting to reconcile them. a. Absolutist b. Static c. Preoperational d. Dialectical

d. Dialectical

95. In what sort of reasoning does one move from general ideas to their specific implications? a. Empirical-inductive b. Empirical-deductive c. Hypothetical-inductive d. Hypothetical-deductive

d. Hypothetical-deductive

19. Which of the following is the best example of assimilation? a. Naming your dog Barney after the famous purple Barney on TV b. Changing the name of your dog after finding out that a classmate has a dog with the same name c. Pretending that your dog is a horse d. Naming the first dog you meet, "Spot," and then calling all other dogs that you meet "Spot"

d. Naming the first dog you meet, "Spot," and then calling all other dogs that you meet "Spot"

80. Which conservation skills does a concrete operations thinker possess? a. The ability to decenter, but neither reversibility nor transformational thought b. Reversibility, but neither the ability to decenter nor use transformational thought c. Transformational thought, but neither the ability to decenter nor to reverse d. The ability to decenter, reversibility, and transformational thought

d. The ability to decenter, reversibility, and transformational thought

135. How could Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development be applied to intelligence testing? a. A blood test could be given before the exam to test for genetic advantages in intellect. b. All intelligence tests could be given in a standard language, as the effects of culture and language on intelligence are minimal. c. The test-taker could be denied access to scratch paper and be told to perform all calculation in his or her head. d. The person giving the test could be allowed to give hints if the test-taker answered incorrectly

d. The person giving the test could be allowed to give hints if the test-taker answered incorrectly

6. Piaget's clinical method involves a. uncovering unconscious motives for behavior. b. presenting standardized questions to all children tested. c. observing children in their natural environment. d. a flexible question-and-answer technique.

d. a flexible question-and-answer technique.

110. The key to a personal fable is the belief that you a. are being watched by an imaginary audience. b. have an "invisible" friend. c. cannot deal with abstract concepts like philosophy or theology. d. are unique.

d. are unique.

37. Saturn has discovered that even though her dad won't let her play with his set of car keys, she can use a ring of metal tabs and pretend that these are his car keys. Saturn's behavior would indicate that she is in the _____ substage of sensorimotor development. a. secondary circular reactions b. primary circular reactions c. tertiary circular reactions d. beginning of thought

d. beginning of thought

89. One key difference between formal operational thought and concrete operational thought is that formal operational thinkers a. show more centration. b. can apply thoughts to real objects. c. can solve conservation tasks. d. can think about hard to imagine hypotheticals.

d. can think about hard to imagine hypotheticals.

78. Four-year-old Kula is given a puppet and told to teach it all of the names that she can think of for certain animals and food items. At one point, she is asked the following questions about a lion: "Is it an animal?" and "Is it a type of cat?" Her correct response of "yes" to both questions indicates that Kukla understands a. object permanence. b. seriation . c. hypothetical-deductive reasoning. d. classification hierarchies.

d. classification hierarchies.

81. For the first time in his young life, Nemo is able to look at photos of aquatic animals and classify them as mammals or fish. He is also able to order them from smallest to largest. These skills indicate that Nemo has likely just entered the _____ stage of cognitive development. a. formal operations b. sensorimotor c. preoperational d. concrete operations

d. concrete operations

58. Asked to choose between two cookies of equal size, one whole, and one broken, Jenny takes the broken cookie, saying that three cookies are better than one. Piaget would say that Jenny lacks a. centration. b. object permanence. c. seriation. d. conservation.

d. conservation.

45. The "crowning achievement" of the sensorimotor stage is the ability to a. display secondary circular reactions. b. deal with a purely abstract task. c. conserve. d. construct mental symbols to guide behavior.

d. construct mental symbols to guide behavior.

23. Peggy finds that yelling at her dog is an effective way to get the dog to learn to behave. Peggy has recently taken a job as a substitute Spanish teacher at a local middle school. During her first week of class, Peggy becomes aware that yelling at her students is not an effective way to get them to learn to behave. Piaget would say that Peggy's situation would likely lead her to experience cognitive a. inclusion. b. conditioning. c. realism. d. disequilibrium.

d. disequilibrium.

77. Research has demonstrated that when shown a card with a cat on one side and a dog on another side, three-yearolds seemed to correctly understand that when a researcher held the card so that the child saw the dog, the researcher must be seeing a cat. This indicates that children may not be as _____ as Piaget suggested. a. animated b. schema-driven c. logical d. egocentric

d. egocentric

4. Piaget was most interested in determining a. which genes drive development. b. social interactions with adults could be shown to determine cognitive development in children. c. the most effective way to test for a child's IQ. d. how children learn.

d. how children learn.

88. The term "concrete" is used to describe concrete operations because a. understating reversibility at this stage is so hard (like concrete). b. once a child focuses on one aspect of a task, his thinking appears to be unmovable (set in stone or concrete). c. the path of understanding is paved with challenges (like a concrete road). d. individuals in this stage can mentally manipulate objects as long as they are present (concrete example).

d. individuals in this stage can mentally manipulate objects as long as they are present (concrete example).

82. Seriation involves a. the realization that properties of objects do not change even though appearance might be altered. b. understanding that subclasses are included in the whole class. c. understanding the difference between big and small. d. mentally arranging elements along a quantifiable scale.

d. mentally arranging elements along a quantifiable scale.

43. Object permanence research has found that a. it is a purely cognitive task and physical task demands have, at most, a very limited impact. b. toddlers who watch a lot of television tend to develop object permanence at a later age. c. toddlers who do not achieve object permanence still have normal cognitive development. d. object permanence responding may be influenced by the time interval between seeing and being able to reach for it.

d. object permanence responding may be influenced by the time interval between seeing and being able to reach for it.

13. Piaget refers to the process of combining existing schemas into new and more complex ones as a. centration. b. transitivity. c. guided participation. d. organization.

d. organization.

75. The logic of class inclusion focuses on understanding that a. inanimate objects cannot move. b. a simple transformation does not change all aspects of an object. c. objects out of perceptual range still exist. d. parts are included in the whole.

d. parts are included in the whole.

54. Virginia tells her mom that "there is no Santa Claus" and as evidence, presents the fact that most of the gifts that are supposed to come from Santa have labels from Target, WalMart, and other retail stores. Virginia's questioning of Santa appears to be based on the concept of a. guided participation. b. adolescent egocentrism. c. seriation. d. perceptual salience.

d. perceptual salience.

51. Imaginary companions are most likely to first develop during the _____ stage of development. a. formal operations b. concrete operations c. sensorimotor d. preoperational

d. preoperational

114. Recent research on adolescent egocentrism (e.g., Bell and Bromnick, 2003) suggests that teens are most worried about how they present themselves in public because of concerns regarding a(n) _____ audience. a. adult b. imaginary c. overly supportive d. real

d. real

63. The process of mentally "undoing" an action is referred to as a. assimilation. b. a personal fable. c. egocentrism. d. reversibility.

d. reversibility.

27. Almost all of Timmy's cognitive structures appear to involve basic behavioral schemas for coordinating sensory input and motor responses (e.g., put hand near object, if object is hot, then pull hand away from object). Given this description, Timmy is best classified as being in Piaget's _____ stage of development. a. formal operations b. preoperational c. concrete operations d. sensorimotor

d. sensorimotor

70. While observing her mother bake cookies, Lorna ignores the process by which eggs, flour, and sugar are combined and baked, but focuses on the end product of a cookie. Lorna's thought best exemplifies a. conservation. b. class inclusion. c. reversibility. d. static thought.

d. static thought.

86. "Pete is older than Jill, and Jill is older than Pat. Who is older, Pete or Pat?" The ability to solve problems such as this demonstrates competence in a. decentration. b. identity. c. centration. d. transitivity.

d. transitivity.

100. By late adolescence, most individuals a. replace intuitive reasoning with scientific reasoning. b. replace scientific reasoning with intuitive reasoning. c. abandon both scientific reasoning and intuitive reasoning strategies. d. utilize both scientific reasoning and intuitive reasoning strategies.

d. utilize both scientific reasoning and intuitive reasoning strategies.

133. Vygotsky referred to the gap between what a learner can accomplish independently and what he can do with guidance and assistance as the a. imaginary audience. b. personal fable. c. guided participation. d. zone of proximal development

d. zone of proximal development

167. Piaget defined _____ as the ability to focus on two dimensions of a problem at the same time.

decentration

178. Vygotsky emphasized the importance of _____ participation in culturally relevant activities with support from others can lead to improvements in performance

guided