Piagets Theory

If Eugene believes that water is "strong" and that it wants objects to float, he is demonstrating _____ thinking, and is probably in the _____ Piagetian stage of cognitive development.

animistic; preoperational

When asked why the stars twinkle, Sarah replied, "Because they are happy." According to Piaget, Sarah's thinking is _____, and she is in the _____ stage of cognitive development.

animistic; preoperational

Exactly half of the sugar is poured from a long, narrow bag into a round bowl. Gene says that the bowl contains less sugar than the bag because the sugar is "less tall." His sister Jeanette, who is a year or so older, explains to him that they both contain the same amount of sugar. Gene, in determining the amount of sugar, is focusing on only the height of the sugar, whereas Jeanette is taking into consideration both the height of the sugar and the shape and diameter of the two containers. Quite clearly, Gene's thinking is still characterized by _____, while Jeanette's is characterized by _____. Jeanette has developed the concept of _____, whereas Gene has not. According to Piaget, Jeanette has achieve at least the _____ stage of cognitive development.

centration; decentration; conservation; concrete operations

Johnny continues to search for his ball after it has rolled out of sight; however, he is sure that all four-footed animals are dogs, regardless of whether they bark or meow. According to Piaget, Johnny has probably reached the _____ stage of cognitive development.

preoperational

According to Piaget, which stage of cognitive development is characterized by coordination of sensory information and motor activity and the lack of the use of symbols to represent the external world?

sensorimotor

Patsy sees some candy and attempts to grab it. You put the candy in a drawer that is within her reach, but she acts as if she doesn't know it is there, and makes no move to open the drawer. Based upon this behavior, according to Piaget, Patsy is in the _____ stage of cognitive development.

sensorimotor

Three-month-old Georgia shakes her rattle because she loves to hear it, but when the rattle slips under the covers, it's "out of sight, out of mind." She doesn't search for it and she doesn't cry because it's gone. According to Piaget, Georgia is in the _____ stage of cognitive development.

sensorimotor

Cynthia knows that she has the same amount of play dough whether she makes it into a ball or a snake. Cynthia has only recently achieved this concept and is entering the _____ Piagetian stage of cognitive development.

concrete operations

Mary knows that pouring a liquid into a different shaped container does not change the amount of liquid. Also, she can reason logically, but she cannot handle abstractions, i.e., proverbs. According to Piaget, Mary has probably achieved the _____ stage of cognitive development.

concrete operations

The fact that Jerome realizes that the mass of a ball of clay is the same, no matter what its shape, indicates that he has achieved at least the _____ Piagetian stage of cognitive development and is able to comprehend more than one aspect of a problem at a time, i.e., he has achieved _____.

concrete operations; decentration

In Piagetian theory, the fact that a child believes that others see their world exactly as the child does is called _____. Such a child is in Piaget's _____ period of cognitive development.

egocentrism; preoperational

What stage of cognitive development must children reach before they are able to think and reason more or less as adults?

formal operations

Peter can debate the relative merits of nuclear and non-nuclear energy for generating electricity. According to Piaget, Peter is probably in the _____ stage of cognitive development.

formal operations

Piaget believed that children can first think hypothetically in the _____ stage of cognitive development.

formal operations

Dee Dee enjoys playing the game of hide-and-seek. The fact that she enjoys playing the game suggests that she remembers the vanished person and therefore has probably developed the concept of _____.

object permanence

Rohini tells you that she once thought that the dishwasher hated her and wanted to eat her. In fact, she said that she felt that the machine was alive. At the time, Rohini was a normal four-year-old and was not mentally disturbed. According to Piaget, Rohini, at that time was probably in which stage of cognitive development?

preoperational

Sharon would prefer a long piece of licorice compared to the same amount cut into smaller pieces because she cannot yet understand the concept of conservation. Sharon also believes that the sun and moon are alive because when she walks, they seem to follow her. According to Piaget, Sharon probably is at the _____ stage of cognitive development.

preoperational

Susan and David seem to be unable to understand how anyone can perceive anything differently than they do. Also they believe the amounts of water in two beakers of different diameters are equal if the water is at the same level in the two beakers. According to Piaget, Susan and David are in the _____ stage of cognitive development. Their inability to handle the conservation problem is related to thinking that is characterized by _____, i.e., a focusing on only one attribute, or dimension, at a time.

preoperational; centration

Paul has begun to use representational thought. He is aware that he has a sister, but it would never occur to him that his sister has a brother and that he is that brother. His mother can still "trick" him into drinking more milk by pouring it into a smaller cup, and telling him he has less to drink, so "Drink up!" Even if Paul saw her pour the milk into the smaller cup, her "trick" would still work because, according to Piaget, Paul is at the _____ stage of development and cannot yet mentally retrace his steps in thinking, i.e., his thinking is still characterized by _____.

preoperational; irreversibility

Angelina views water poured from a glass of regular shape into one of an irregular shape and a different diameter. Because she has just seen the water poured into the second glass and can imagine the reverse of pouring water from the second glass back into the first glass, Angelina is certain that the amount of water in the two glasses is the same--even though the water levels in the two glasses are quite different. Angelina is demonstrating the principle of _____ and is in the _____ stage of cognitive development.

reversibility; concrete operations