Educ-135: Educational Psychology Final Exam Multiple Choice

At which age is a typical child most likely to speak his or her first word?

10 to 13 months of age

Surprisingly, ____________ of high school students do not participate in a daily physical education program.

68%

Which of the following scenarios provides the best example of a mental process?

A child tries to decide which crayon to use next.

In Pavlov's experiments with dogs, the sound of a bell ringing just prior to the presentation of food is best described as which of the following?

A conditioned stimulus

In the United States, which of the following students is most likely to receive physical punishment in school?

A minority male from a low-income background

Which of the following statements best describes the nature of declarative memory?

A student is able to provide specific factual information about an event.

Which of the following is an example of service learning?

A student volunteers to nurse patients in a hospital.

When children intensely pursue independence, seek their own identity, and experience rapid physical changes, they are most likely in the __________ stage of their development.

Adolescence

Which of the following individuals is the main architect of social cognitive theory?

Albert Bandura

Researchers have found that self-regulatory learners also often have which of the following traits?

Are high achieving

Which of the following strategies would best help students become better problem solvers?

Asking students to solve a real-world problem

Which of the following researchers is considered the primary architect of operant conditioning?

B.F. Skinner

Which of the following teachers best exemplifies social constructivist thinking?

Because the class is having difficulty comprehending the concept of a "defense mechanism," Mr. Oleander divides his psychology class into groups to share their personal experiences of observing these mechanisms.

Fourteen-year-old Beverly and 10-year-old Ben are doing their homework. Beverly asks Ben if he minds if she turns on the radio while they work. Ben tells her he doesn't mind. Although Beverly can sing to the radio and do her homework at the same time, Ben is having trouble focusing on his homework. This situation is best explained as which of the following?

Ben has problems concentrating and focusing mental resources.

Mrs. Tell, a third-grade teacher, is using a taxonomy that is comprised of cognitive skills which include remembering, comprehending, synthesizing, and evaluating. Who created the taxonomy that Mrs. Tell is using?

Benjamin Bloom

What are the processes/domains of development?

Biological (Physical), Cognitive, Socio-emotional, Spiritual, Language

Which of the following is an example of deductive reasoning?

Celia asks her students to solve a math puzzle during a math quiz.

Which of the following observations would provide the strongest support to the statement that the process of language is biologically based?

Children from all over the world acquire language milestones at about the same age despite their vast differences in their environmental experiences.

Which of the following statements is an important conclusion that was drawn from the Bobo doll study?

Children learn to display aggressive behavior when they observe that other people are rewarded for doing it and when others encounter no consequences at all.

_____ is defined as a technique in which an expert stretches and supports a novice's understanding and use of a culture's skills.

Cognitive apprenticeship

An example of a strategy intended to encourage metacognition is encouraging students to do which of the following?

Compare their own perspectives with that of a character in a story

Why does the use of concepts aid remembering?

Concepts serve as retrieval cues.

When attempting to promote situated cognition in group learning, teachers should do which of the following?

Create learning situations that are close to real-world circumstances

Which of the following individuals is at Kohlberg's social systems morality stage of moral reasoning?

Don obeys his teacher because the rules of the school are that all students must obey the teachers. As a student, he has a duty to obey his teacher.

When children develop school readiness skills such as following instructions and identifying letters, they are most likely in the _________ stage of their development.

Early Childhood

Which of the following conditions is important to implement in cooperative learning?

Evaluating a student's individual contribution using a suitable method

Which of the following activities would best encourage metacognition in students?

Evaluating one's own strategy for taking notes

According to a recent survey, the "best teachers" expect too much from students. (true or false)

False

If the results of correlational research indicate that two traits are highly correlated, then one trait most likely is the cause of the other. (true or false)

False

The neuroconstructivist view of cognitive development rejects the theory that the human brain has plasticity. (true or false)

False

Chunking is a beneficial strategy for improving memory that involves which of the following?

Grouping information into higher-order units

Heterogeneous grouping refers to which of the following?

Grouping students with diversity in ability, gender, and ethnic background

Marsha, a junior in high school, has debilitating test anxiety. She is particularly anxious about high-stakes tests, such as final exams. She often becomes so anxious that she "blanks out" and forgets everything that she has studied. What would a teacher using a cognitive behavior modification approach do to help her with her test anxiety?

Help Marsha to develop anxiety management strategies and use self-instructions.

Of the following questions, which is best addressed by the approach of social cognitive learning?

How do behavior and environment interact to influence learning?

All of the following questions reflect an information-processing approach to learning except which one?

How do genetic factors influence the age at which a child learns to walk?

Benjamin is a high school student who enjoys art classes the most. He also loves photography. He would like to pursue a career in creative arts. He would also like to work with people. He has thought about becoming an art teacher, photographer, or art historian. He is still thinking about his career but has not made a final decision. Which of the following labels best describes Benjamin's identity status?

Identity moratorium

Movement can be an effective strategy to...

Improve memory and retrieval, strengthen learning, enhance learner motivation and morale (all of the above)

According to Erikson's life-span development theory, the primary risk during the elementary years is that an individual might develop a sense of which of the following?

Inferiority, unproductiveness, and incompetence

Which of the following statements is true about the Good Information-Processing model?

It emphasizes that competent cognition results from a number of interacting factors, such as content knowledge and motivation.

Which of the following statements best describes shaping?

It involves teaching new behaviors by reinforcing successive approximations to a specified target behavior.

In the context of classical conditioning, identify an accurate statement about generalization.

It involves the tendency of a new stimulus similar to the original stimulus to elicit a similar response.

What is metacognition?

It is knowing about knowing.

Under which of the following conditions is physical punishment of students recommended?

It is not recommended in any circumstance.

What is true about the prefrontal cortex?

It is the region where higher-level thinking and self-regulation take place.

Which of the following statements is true of inductive reasoning?

It is usually based on repeated observation.

Which of the following statements is true about punishment?

It results in a decrease in the frequency of an undesired response.

Which of the following individuals is best known for his investigations into classical conditioning?

Ivan Pavlov

According to the text, who established the first major educational psychology laboratory in the United States, where was it established, and in what year was it established?

John Dewey, University of Chicago, 1994

Which of the following scenarios presents the best example of encoding?

Julie is listening to music.

Macy sits staring at her math homework. she has not attempted a single problem. "What's the use?" she sighs. "I'll never get it right." According to Bandura's social cognitive theory, what is the most plausible explanation for Macy's response?

Macy has low self-efficacy.

Deductive reasoning is best described as which of the following?

Making specific predictions based on general conclusions

Matt is the start of his high school's basketball team. The team is doing very well this year, in large part because of Matt's performance. This makes him a very popular student. About halfway through basketball season, Matt decides to shave his head. Soon other members of the basketball team shave their heads. Then the trend spreads to rest of the school. By the end of February, 30 percent of the male students in the school have shaved heads. According to Bandura's social cognitive theory, what is teh most plausible explanation for the students' behavior?

Matt is a high-status role model.

When children interact more with the wider social world beyond their families, master fundamental skills in reading, writing, and math, and increase their self-control, they are most likely in the ___________ stage of their development.

Middle/Late Childhood

Which of the following teachers is clearly planning to create heterogeneous groups?

Mr. Franklin plans his group by looking at the make-up of his students. He knows that the best grouping will allow for African American, Asian American, and Caucasian boys and girls who represent different achievement levels to work together.

Which of the following does not characterize a teacher with adaptive expertise?

Mr. Wallace does not modify his instruction for English language learners in the classroom.

Which of the following is the best example of scaffolding?

Ms. Chow first models how to make a capital letter in cursive on the board, then she provides a worksheet that groups can work on that offers tracing opportunities before she asks them to write each letter on their own.

If Natalie engages easily in low-road transfer, which of the following is true?

Natalie effortlessly transfers learning to new situations.

Which of the following statements best describes indulgent parenting?

Parents are highly involved with their children but place few limits or restrictions.

Which of the following statements is true of the effect of using various kinds of schedules of reinforcement with children?

Partial reinforcement produces greater resistance to extinction than continuous reinforcement.

Mrs. Benson is considered one of the best math teachers at Lincoln Middle School. Her students say that she is good at helping them learn new concepts and that she gives them strategies for overcoming the difficulties they experience. They say that she is a challenging teacher but she knows how to help students succeed. Which type of knowledge is Mrs. Benson using to help her students learn?

Pedagogical content knowledge

In the context of the strategies that decrease undesirable behaviors, which of the following should be the last resort for decreasing undesirable behaviors?

Present aversive stimuli (punishment)

All of the following strategies help children pay attention except which one?

Present students with lots of information at a time.

Don wants to get an early start on his social studies semester project. The teacher has assigned the students to choose and research a societal issue of concern to them. Students must develop a specific concern, frame hypotheses addressing the reasons behind the problem, and search for scientific research to support their assertions. What type of project is Don working on?

Problem-based learning

Which of the following is not the best way to promote concept formation?

Refrain from providing many examples of concepts as they may result in student frustration.

During the symbolic function substage, a child gains the ability to do which of the following?

Represent mentally an object that is absent

Which of the following best relates to subgoaling?

Setting intermittent goals

Tutors and mentors can provide which of the following benefits to students?

Specialized assistance in reading, math, and other areas Strengthened network of support One-on-one help that classroom teachers are typically unable to give (all answers are correct)

Identify an accurate statement about brain development.

The corus callosum, where fibers connect the brain's left and right hemispheres, thickens in adolescence.

Kathy's heart rate increases every time she goes down a certain hallway at school. The boy that she likes has his locker in that hallway, and he often stands beside his locker and talks with his friends. In this scenario, which of the following is the conditioned stimulus?

The hallway where the boy's locker is located

Prototype matching is best described as which of the following?

The process of individuals deciding if an item is a member of a category by comparing it to established category elements

According to Vygotsky, what is the zone of proximal development?

The range of tasks that are too difficult for children to master alone but can be learned with assistance

Which of the following best describes an example of scaffolding as used by a teacher when assisting a student?

The teacher begins with direct instruction but gradually reduces the amount of guidance given.

Mr. Castillo gives an assignment to his third-grade class. The assignment is a list of case studies dealing with hypothetical situation. Most of the class does not do well on this assignment. When Mr. Castillo asks them what happened, most of them reply, "I did not understand it." Mr. Castillo is frustrated because he thinks these children are lazy and unmotivated. According to Piaget's theory, what is happening?

The teacher is expecting formal operational thinking from concrete operational kids.

Which of the following statements best describes the characteristics of children who are raised by neglectful parents?

They have poor self-control and do not handle independence well.

Children learn to display aggressive behavior when they observe that other people are rewarded for doing it and when others encounter no consequences at all.

They imitated Daniel because his behavior was reinforced.

Which of the following is a characteristic of experts?

They notice features and meaningful patterns that novices do not. They can retrieve important knowledge with little effort. They have a great deal of content knowledge organized to reflect a deep understanding of the subject matter. (All of these.)

Researchers who study peer relations among children have noted that popular children typically display which of the following characteristics?

They show concern for others.

Which of the following situations best describes the conditions under which near transfer takes place?

Transfer occurs between two situations that are very similar to one another.

Which of the following is an example of splintered development?

Travis has excellent math skills but behaves in socially inappropriate ways.

There are several theories about why all mammals (including humans) play, but there is no controversy around the notion that we do play, and that it is generally good for us. (true or false)

True

William James is responsible for writing the first psychology textbook in 1890. (true or false)

True

A behaviorist's research would most likely address which of the following questions?

Under what conditions are children likely to share toys with others?

Which of the following is the best example of an associative learning?

Vincent consistently talks out of turn because his teacher pays attention to him whenever he does so.

In operant conditioning, extinction occurs when:

a previously reinforced response is no longer reinforced and the response decreases.

Which of the following is the initial stage of expertise in a particular domain (such as English, biology, or mathematics)?

acclimation

Rudolph needs to calculate the volume of water in his fish tank. He remembers that there is a specific formula that can easily help him determine the volume of water. In this case, Rudolph is most likely using a(n) _____ to arrive at the right answer.

algorithm

As students in U.S. schools have become more ethnically diverse in recent decades, their teachers:

are still overwhelmingly non-Latino White females.

Which of the following is an example of a focus group study?

asking a series of open-ended questions to a set of eight consumers at a research lab about the effectiveness of a new product

According to Piaget, _________ occurs when children incorporate new information into their existing schemas.

assimilation

Children whose parents are _____ often behave in socially competent ways.

authoritative

Karen learned to play the guitar two years ago. Now, when she plays chords and notes on the instrument, she hardly looks at it. She is also able to sing and play at the same time. This scenario best exemplifies the concept of:

automaticity

All of the following are recommended strategies for developing students' team-building skills except _____.

beginning the school year with a difficult cooperative task

According to Darling-Hamond and Bransford (2005), many effective teachers use what type of instructional approach?

both a constructivist and a direct instruction approach

Jean Piaget emphasized _____; Lev Vygotsky emphasized _____.

cognitive constructivism; social constructivism

Mr. Matthews plans his lesson on amphibians for the next day. He plans on first identifying the key features of amphibians, answering all student questions on key terms, providing examples of amphibians that might be common to students, and then asking students to provide examples of their own. Which of the following is Mr. Matthews trying to encourage among his students?

concept formation

Marcy is given the choice between two Hershey's bars, one of which has been broken into four pieces and the other is intact. Marcy chooses the broken candy bar, believing that it has more candy. According to PIaget, Marcy is having trouble with which concept?

conservation

John is listening to the news on his radio while gardening. This is an example of:

divided attention

Ryan's favorite park is going to be demolished, and in its place, a shopping center is going to be built. Ryan is very upset because he will no longer be able to go to the park every day and play. His mom has explained to him that they have no control over this decision. She will try to take him to the next closest park. However, this park is farther away, and Ryan may only get to go once a week. According to Bronfenbrenner, Ryan's experiences are influenced by the:

exosystem

Effective teachers set high goals for their teaching and organize plans for reaching those goals. Which of the following activities is included in good planning?

figuring out which things students should do when, in what order, and how

Rodriquez tries to solve a math problem. He uses a formula that had worked for him in his previous math problems. He refuses to try out different methods or formulas to solve the problem and struggles to complete the math problem. This is an example of:

fixation

Rudolph is criticized by his soccer coach for his poor performance in a game. The coach tells him that he is a poor team player. When Rudolph prepares for a game of basketball, he feels anxious because both soccer and basketball are team sports. In the context of classical conditioning, this scenario exemplifies _____.

generalization

Researchers have found that high achieving students tend to do all of the following except what?

get frustrated when goals are difficult to attain

Mr. Chandler is in a conundrum. He has gone over his cooperative learning approach meticulously and cannot find the reason behind students' lack of enthusiasm and group engagement. He has tried to incorporate materials that are appropriate as well as infused with content matter of interest to them. He has told each student how important the lesson is for the term paper each of them has due on Friday. What is Mr. Chandler missing?

group rewards

Sheila is trying to solve an economics problem. She recalls that a few months ago, she had learned a similar concept in math and the algorithm she had used then was closely similar to the one she uses to solve the current problem. She learns that the algorithm can be successfully used to solve the problem. This is an example of:

high-road transfer

Bandura's reciprocal determinism model consists of all of the following main factors except which one?

intelligence

A criticism of Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development is that:

it is a justice perspective rather than a care perspective.

When heterogeneous groups are formed, students of high-ability level are most likely to form "teacher-student" relationships with students of which ability level?

low-ability

Students of medium ability are likely to perform best in groups with students of:

medium ability

The term "cognitive psychology" became a label for approaches that sought to explain behavior by examining which of the following?

mental processes

Mr. Lee is having trouble helping one of his students master a new math skill. The student, Patrick, is consistently applying the skill learned the previous week to this new mathematical problem. Mr. Lee understands that Patrick is confident in using this strategy because he mastered it so thoroughly on homework assignments. However, to correctly master the current problem, Patrick must understand which strategy is appropriate to apply in each situation. Which of the following most specifically describes the problem Patrick is experiencing?

mental set

Cecilia's mother volunteers to help other students in Cecilia's class. She participates in classroom activities three times a week. Cecilia's father is on the school advisory committee that discusses important connections between the school and the families. According to Bronfenbrenner, Cecilia's connections with others demonstrate the:

mesosystem

All of the following uses of applied behavior analysis are especially important except:

modifying involuntary responses.

Which of the following is the smallest unit of meaning in a language?

morpheme

What helps an individual become an expert?

motivation, practice, talent (all of these)

Rena is working quietly at her desk when she notices that Tania and Cheryl are giggling and exchanging notes. Mrs. Guru quickly and sternly reprimands Tania and Cheryl for their misbehavior, and both students get back to their work. Moments later, Valerie, who is seated behind Rena, taps her on the shoulder and motions for her to pass a note to Roger. Rena shakes her head "no" and quickly gets back to her work. In this example, which of the following explains why Rena refuses to pass the note?

observational learning

The interference theory states that individuals forget information that has already been stored because:

other information gets in the way.

On Fridays, sixth-grade students help kindergarteners with reading, math, and other subjects. Some students provide one-on-one tutoring, while others read aloud to small groups and assist with work in small "centers." This is an example of which of the following?

peer tutoring

The smallest unit of sound in a language is which of the following?

phoneme

Language is highly ordered and organized according to which systems of rules?

phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics

At the initiative versus guilt stage of Erikson's life-span development theory, children learn to:

plan and carry out some of their own activities.

Karen is participating in a brainstorming session. She does not interrupt other participants when they speak, and she patiently waits for her turn to speak. She also politely makes her points during the session. In the context of language rules that govern communication, Karen is demonstrating the knowledge of ______________.

pragmatics

Trisha speaks grammatically correct sentences without actually having to think about it. The knowledge about making such sentences is most likely stored in her:

procedural memory.

The belief that one can master a situation and produce positive outcomes is known as _____.

self-efficacy

Before Terrence begins a large project, he takes time to ask himself these questions: "What do I have to do?" "What can I do right now?" and "What might I need help with?" After he successfully completes the project, Terrence positively reinforces himself with such statements as follows: "Good! I did it!" "All it took was a little planning and effort. I knew I could do it!" Which of the following cognitive-behavioral strategies is Terrence using?

self-talk strategy

Several weeks ago, Jonathan bought a new car. For the first few weeks, the buzzer went off every time he started the car because he had forgotten to buckle his seat belt. Now, he always buckles his seat belt as soon as he sits down, before starting the car. Which of the following is the conditioned stimulus?

sitting in the car

_____ refers to the idea that thinking is located in social and physical contexts, not only within an individual's mind.

situated cognition

Social constructivism emphasizes which of the following?

social contexts of learning

Heuristics are best described as strategies that:

suggest a solution to a problem but do not guarantee it.

The tiny gaps between neurons where connections are made are called:

synapses

Many children's television shows and movies show animals and objects that can talk. In most cases, these shows are ____________ correct, but ____________ incorrect.

syntactically; semantically

In English, the adjective usually precedes the noun, whereas in Spanish the adjective usually follows the noun. This is an example of the _____________ of the language.

syntax

Kiley is having trouble learning the steps involved in using a microscope correctly. If we consider Vygotsky's description of how children help themselves through difficult tasks, we should suggest that Kiley:

talk herself through the steps.

A teacher wants her class to complete a science assignment. She knows that her students usually never submit their assignments on time. She is aware that her students always love to go on a trip to the National Aeronautical Museum. She tells the class that she would take them to the museum if they complete their science assignment. This is an example of:

the Premack principle

A teacher wants to assess his students' performance in a math test when they are allowed to use a calculator. He divides the class into group A and group B. Student in group A receive calculators to help them during the math test, while students in group B do not receive calculators to aid them in the test. Which of the following statements is true about the experiment?

the independent variable is the calculator

Which of the following statements is true about mindless students?

they engage in automatic behavior.

Children benefit when their parents and teachers actively engage them in conversation, ask questions, and emphasize interactive rather than directive language. (true or false)

true

Piaget's cognitive development theory would fall on the "discontinuity" side of the "continuity vs. discontinuity" issue. (true or false)

true

The Developmental Case Study Paper is both a course assessment and an Teacher Preparation Program assessment. (true or false)

true

The word "walking" consists of two morphemes. (true or false)

true