Question 1

Ms. Goodsell is thinking about how she might help the students in her introductory French class learn to pronounce the word bonjour correctly. Which one of her thoughts below is most consistent with a social cognitive theory perspective of learning?
A)"If I explain the parts of the word-if I tell them that bon means "good" and jour means "day"-then they will have an easier time understanding why the word is pronounced the way it is."
B)"I need to be patient. Correct pronunciation will come in time for those students who are really motivated to speak French."
C)"Maybe I should explain how certain letters and letter combinations are consistently pronounced differently in French than they are in English."
D)"Maybe I should show them how I form my mouth and lips as I pronounce the word and then encourage them to imitate me."

Accepted Answer

Social cognitive theory emphasizes learning through observation and imitation. By showing students how to form their mouth and lips, Ms. Goodsell is providing a model for them to imitate, which aligns with this theory.

Question 2

Which one of the following scenarios best reflects the basic idea of individual constructivism?
A)A students receives a sticker from his music teacher when he is able to play the F major scale on his saxophone without any mistakes.
B)Four students in a study group divide the day's reading assignment into four sections. Each student reads a section and then teaches the material to the other group members.
C)A student tries to make sense of a poorly written and confusing magazine article.
D)A student watches his physical education teacher as the teacher shows his class the arm motion for throwing a football.

Accepted Answer

Individual constructivism involves learners actively constructing their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. In scenario C, the student is actively trying to make sense of the article, which reflects this process.

Question 3

As Chalonte reads her science textbook,she encounters the word ecology for the first time and uses the context to figure out what the word means. Given what we know about how the brain functions,we could reasonably assume that most of her mental "work" is being done:
A)In her right hemisphere.
B)In many parts of her brain.
C)In the occipital lobes,located at the back of her brain.
D)In a part of the cortex known as Wernicke's area,above the left ear.

Accepted Answer

Understanding new vocabulary and using context involves multiple cognitive processes, including language comprehension, memory, and reasoning, which engage various parts of the brain.

Question 4

Which one of the following statements best describes sociocultural theory?
A)Children learn more effectively when they study material that is consistent with their preexisting beliefs about the world.
B)What children learn depends on the particular cultural context in which they grow up.
C)Children learn most effectively when the environment nurtures their social and emotional needs.
D)Children learn much more from their peers than they do from adults.

Accepted Answer

Sociocultural theory emphasizes the influence of cultural context and social interactions on a child's learning and development.

Question 5

Many psychologists believe that learning and understanding are often quite constructive in nature. Three of the following scenarios illustrate such construction. Which scenario does not necessarily involve construction in learning?
A)Although no one has ever told her so,Peggy thinks that the night sky is a big black blanket covering the earth and that the blanket has tiny holes through which the stars shine.
B)Mr. McFarland asks his third graders to practice their multiplication tables every day. After a month of such practice,Misty can retrieve all the basic multiplication facts quickly and easily.
C)When George reads about the Vietnam War in his history book,he comes to the conclusion that the United States should never have gotten involved in Southeast Asia.
D)Because the word photosynthesis begins with photo,Jeremy guesses that it must have something to do with taking photographs.

Accepted Answer

Practicing multiplication tables involves rote memorization rather than constructing new understanding or knowledge.

Question 6

Reynelda has trouble tracing a complex shape with a pencil when she is in kindergarten,but she can do it quite well by the time she is in second grade. Is this an instance of learning?
A)Yes,because her behavior has changed
B)No,because the circumstances are too dissimilar
C)Maybe,although the change may be due to physiological maturation rather than experience
D)Maybe,but only if she is being reinforced for tracing accurately

Accepted Answer

The improvement in Reynelda's ability to trace a complex shape could be due to physiological maturation, such as the development of fine motor skills, rather than learning from experience.

Question 7

As human beings,we encounter a great many stimuli at any one time. Which one of the following alternatives most accurately reflects educational psychologists' perspective about how we respond to all these stimuli?
A)By learning to use effective long-term memory storage processes,we can eventually begin to remember almost everything we encounter.
B)We must select the things we think are most important to learn and remember,and ignore the rest.
C)We remember virtually everything we experience,but we have trouble retrieving most of it.
D)We cannot remember everything,and we have little control over the things that we do remember.

Accepted Answer

Educational psychologists believe that due to the limited capacity of our working memory, we must selectively focus on and process the most important stimuli to learn and remember effectively.

Question 8

Behaviorists view learning differently than information processing theorists and constructivists do. Which one of the following statements best describes the difference?
A)Behaviorism focuses on temporary changes; information processing theory and constructivism focus on long-term changes.
B)Behaviorism focuses on long-term changes; information processing theory and constructivism focus on temporary changes.
C)Behaviorism focuses on mental phenomena; information processing theory and constructivism focus on observable behaviors.
D)Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors; information processing theory and constructivism focus on mental phenomena.

Accepted Answer

Behaviorism emphasizes observable behaviors and external stimuli, while information processing theory and constructivism focus on internal mental processes and how knowledge is constructed.

Question 9

Which one of the following scenarios best reflects the basic idea of social constructivism?
A)Two students discuss possible interpretations of the proverb,"We only know the worth of water when the well is dry."
B)A teacher assigns a laboratory activity using cumbersome equipment that students can only use successfully by working in pairs.
C)When a student borrows a classmate's marker without asking and then forgets to put the cap back on,leaving it dried out and useless by the following morning,her teacher reminds her of one of the class rules: "Respect other students' property."
D)Four students in a study group divide the day's reading assignment into four sections. Each student reads a section and then teaches the material to the other group members.

Accepted Answer

Social constructivism emphasizes learning as a social process, where knowledge is constructed through interaction and discussion with others.

Question 10

Which one of the following statements best describes the idea that learning involves a process of construction?
A)Students must learn certain things very well before they can begin to understand other things.
B)Students must learn ideas in a concrete form before learning them as abstractions.
C)Students combine pieces of information about a topic to create their own understandings.
D)Students develop increasingly complex and sophisticated thought processes as they grow older.

Accepted Answer

Learning as a process of construction means that students actively build their own understanding by integrating new information with their existing knowledge.

Question 11

Which one of the following is the best example of encoding while learning state capitals?
A)Abe tries to learn that Richmond is the capital of Virginia by visualizing rich men (because it sounds like "Richmond")standing on a map of Virginia.
B)Bernice tries to learn that St. Paul is the capital of Minnesota by repeating "St. Paul,Minnesota" many times in rapid succession.
C)Corey tries to learn that Austin is the capital of Texas by making sure he is relaxed before he studies this information.
D)Darcy tries to learn that Sacramento is the capital of California by having a tape recorder play "Sacramento,California," over and over while she sleeps.

Accepted Answer

Abe uses a mnemonic device by associating the sound of "Richmond" with "rich men," which is an effective encoding strategy to enhance memory.

Question 12

As his teacher reads a story,Wesley pictures the main characters the way he thinks they must look. By forming visual images based on the verbal descriptions his teacher reads,Wesley is ________ those descriptions.
A)using verbal mediation to learn
B)organizing
C)retrieving
D)encoding

Accepted Answer

Wesley is encoding the descriptions by forming mental images, which is a process of transforming verbal information into a visual format for better understanding and memory.

Question 13

Three of the following statements are consistent with general principles of learning presented in the textbook. Which one is not consistent with these principles?
A)Different people may learn different things from the same experience if they process it differently.
B)People don't just passively absorb knowledge like a sponge; instead,they actively construct it.
C)People learn in ways that are very similar to how most other animal species learn.
D)People's existing beliefs about a topic influence the new things they learn about the topic.

Accepted Answer

Humans have unique cognitive processes and capabilities that differentiate their learning from most other animal species, such as the ability to use language, abstract reasoning, and metacognition.

Question 14

Which one of the following best describes our current knowledge about the brain and learning?
A)We know that learning is associated with the formation of new synapses and may also involve creation of new astrocytes.
B)We know that large doses of certain vitamins promote brain growth and lead to more rapid and efficient learning.
C)We know that "left-brained" individuals are,on average,more effective learners than "right-brained" individuals.
D)We know that the long-term memories of rapid learners are about 20% larger than the long-term memories of slow learners.

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that learning is associated with the formation of new synapses, and while the role of astrocytes is still being explored, they are known to support synaptic function.

Question 15

Which one of the following best describes how neurons transmit messages to one another?
A)By joining their axons
B)By fusing the axon of one with a dendrite of the other
C)By stimulating dendrites to "poke" neighboring neurons
D)By sending chemical substances across a tiny gap between them

Accepted Answer

Neurons transmit messages to one another by releasing neurotransmitters, which are chemical substances, across a synapse, the tiny gap between neurons.

Question 16

Three of the following are examples of learned behavior. Given the textbook's definition of learning,which behavior is most likely not an example of learned behavior?
A)Abigail cries because of a painful ear infection.
B)After many hours of heated debate with a friend,Brian begins to modify his religious beliefs.
C)Cara suddenly recognizes how the division fact "24 ÷ 4 = 6" is related to the multiplication fact "6 x 4 = 24."
D)Ever since David was bitten by a German shepherd two years ago,he runs away from them when he sees them.

Accepted Answer

Abigail's crying is a natural response to pain, not a learned behavior.

Question 17

Social cognitive theory can best be characterized as being concerned with learning:
A)Communication skills.
B)Socially appropriate behaviors.
C)Through observations of others.
D)From a sociological rather than psychological perspective.

Accepted Answer

Social cognitive theory emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others in order to learn and develop one's own understanding and skills. It also emphasizes the role of personal factors such as cognitive processes and motivation in shaping behavior.

Question 18

Which one of the following is located primarily in the upper and outer parts (the cortex)of the brain?
A)Essential physiological processes (e.g.,breathing,heart rate)
B)Body movements (e.g.,walking,riding a bicycle)
C)Basic perceptual skills (e.g.,coordinating eye movements)
D)Complex thinking (e.g.,reasoning,decision making)

Accepted Answer

The cortex of the brain is responsible for higher-order functions such as complex thinking, reasoning, and decision making.

Question 19

Mr. Loosigian is worried about Jerri,a girl who is struggling in his seventh-grade class. He thinks about several different reasons why she might be having so much difficulty with her schoolwork. Which one of the reasons he considers is consistent with a behaviorist perspective of learning?
A)"Maybe she isn't paying attention as much as she should be."
B)"Maybe I don't praise her enough when she does something well."
C)"Maybe she has trouble understanding the things she reads."
D)"Maybe she has trouble remembering things from one day to the next."

Accepted Answer

The behaviorist perspective of learning emphasizes the importance of external stimuli and responses in shaping behavior. Choice B, "Maybe I don't praise her enough when she does something well," aligns with this perspective because it suggests that external reinforcement (praise) could influence Jerri's learning and performance.

Question 20

Knowledge of brain physiology ("brain research")is useful to teachers because it:
A)Identifies knowledge and skills that are important in a particular culture.
B)Provides guidance as to how teachers can help students acquire knowledge and skills.
C)Helps teachers understand the neurological bases of certain disabilities (e.g.,dyslexia).
D)Identifies which methods of instruction are most helpful in a particular subject area (e.g.,science).

Accepted Answer

Understanding brain physiology helps teachers comprehend the neurological underpinnings of learning disabilities, aiding in better support for affected students.

Quiz 2: Learning, cognition, and Memory

Ms. Goodsell is thinking about how she might help the students in her introductory French class learn to pronounce the word bonjour correctly. Which one of her thoughts below is most consistent with a social cognitive theory perspective of learning?

Which one of the following scenarios best reflects the basic idea of individual constructivism?

As Chalonte reads her science textbook,she encounters the word ecology for the first time and uses the context to figure out what the word means. Given what we know about how the brain functions,we could reasonably assume that most of her mental "work" is being done:

Which one of the following statements best describes sociocultural theory?

Many psychologists believe that learning and understanding are often quite constructive in nature. Three of the following scenarios illustrate such construction. Which scenario does not necessarily involve construction in learning?

Reynelda has trouble tracing a complex shape with a pencil when she is in kindergarten,but she can do it quite well by the time she is in second grade. Is this an instance of learning?

As human beings,we encounter a great many stimuli at any one time. Which one of the following alternatives most accurately reflects educational psychologists' perspective about how we respond to all these stimuli?

Behaviorists view learning differently than information processing theorists and constructivists do. Which one of the following statements best describes the difference?

Which one of the following scenarios best reflects the basic idea of social constructivism?

Which one of the following statements best describes the idea that learning involves a process of construction?

Which one of the following is the best example of encoding while learning state capitals?

As his teacher reads a story,Wesley pictures the main characters the way he thinks they must look. By forming visual images based on the verbal descriptions his teacher reads,Wesley is ________ those descriptions.

Three of the following statements are consistent with general principles of learning presented in the textbook. Which one is not consistent with these principles?

Which one of the following best describes our current knowledge about the brain and learning?

Which one of the following best describes how neurons transmit messages to one another?

Three of the following are examples of learned behavior. Given the textbook's definition of learning,which behavior is most likely not an example of learned behavior?

Social cognitive theory can best be characterized as being concerned with learning:

Which one of the following is located primarily in the upper and outer parts (the cortex) of the brain?

Mr. Loosigian is worried about Jerri,a girl who is struggling in his seventh-grade class. He thinks about several different reasons why she might be having so much difficulty with her schoolwork. Which one of the reasons he considers is consistent with a behaviorist perspective of learning?

Knowledge of brain physiology ("brain research") is useful to teachers because it: