BECOMING HUMAN: Cognitive development

__________ refers to using prior knowledge and skills to interpret new information.

Assimilation

Which of the following is not one of the four basic principles underlying the Vygotskian framework?

B. Growth is independent of cultural skills.

Hereditary factors that influence cognitive development consist of __________.

B. genetically transmitted characteristics inherited from one's parents

Give one similarity and one difference between Jean Piaget's and Lev Vygotsky's views on cognitive development.

Both theorists felt that children were active participants in their learning, stressed the importance of mentally challenging students, and believed that children can benefit cognitively as a result of social interactions. However, Piaget claimed that the self-exploration initiated by the child fueled cognitive development, while Vygotsky stressed that cognitive development occurs through social interactions. Vygotsky also stressed the importance of language development and the influence of culture on cognitive skills more than Piaget.

__________ who have been raised apart are typically more similar in intelligence level than biological siblings raised together because they have been born with the same genetic code.

C. Identical twins

When new understandings are achieved but the range of information able to be understood does not change, a learner's zone of proximal development __________.

C. is smaller

Explain the limitations in Piaget's preoperational stage.

Children in Piaget's preoperational stage of development are unable to understand that they are part of a bigger picture. They also focus on one feature of a problem instead of looking at the whole problem in order to come to a logical conclusion. This is known as centration. They also think in terms of the current stage of a problem. They are unable to think of the process that caused a certain state or anything that will happen after. Children in this stage are also unable to mentally reverse actions, such as seeing someone pour water from one glass into a taller, more slender glass and being unable to mentally reverse the action to realize that it is still the same amount of water.

What is the difference between concept formation and symbolism? Use examples to explain your answer.

Concept formation is the ability to categorize information into groups. An example would be making categories of different dogs, such as poodles, beagles, or collies. Another example of concept formation is categorizing different kinds of vegetables, such as peppers, cucumbers, and carrots. Symbolism is placing a symbol to represent an object, idea, or event. Words are symbols of ideas, people, or objects. Signs can be a symbol that represents an object or idea as well.

During __________, frequently used synaptic connections in the brain strengthen while rarely used connections tend to thin.

D. synaptogenesis

A child's intellectual capacity is most likely to reach its fullest potential in a home where __________.

D. there is strong emotional support and security

Object permanence is formed near the end of the preoperational stage of development.

F

Vygotsky believed that scaffolding limited communication between the teacher and the learner.

F

When it comes to the development of the ability to think and reason, individuals in __________ tend to be less self-centered and begin to think about decisions that have an effect on the world around them.

NOT B. middle adulthood

Which of the following statements regarding cognitive development is false?

Parents who reason openly with children can limit a child's cognitive ability.

Adolescents in the formal operational stage typically have unrealistic or impractical solutions to solving world issues.

T

Schemas are mental pictures that are formed as a result of one's experiences.

T

Which of the following is not an example of scaffolding?

asking the learner to begin working on a problem

According to Piaget's theory on cognitive development, individuals construct knowledge mainly through __________.

interaction with the environment

According to Jean Piaget, in what stage of cognitive development are children able to understand conservation tasks?

preoperational

Which of the following is a method of scaffolding?

showing a learner how to correct common mistakes