Deck 2: Cognitive Development

Question 1

Bryan went to the zoo with his first grade class.At the zoo,he saw alligators for the first time.He had never even seen pictures of alligators,but called them big-mouthed snakes.What basic tendency of thinking is Bryan using?

A)Conservation
B)Assimilation
C)Object permanence
D)Reversible thinking

Answer 1

Assimilation

Question 2

Three questions surrounding development pose continuing debate among researchers and theorists.Which of the following is one of those questions?

A)Do people develop at the same rate?
B)Does development take place gradually?
C)Is development orderly?
D)What is the shape of development?

Answer 2

What is the shape of development?

Question 3

Sierra walked into class late and felt quite embarrassed.To make matters worse,she was having a bad hair day and felt like all eyes were on her,judging her,and rejecting her.Her thinking can be described as:

A)disequilibrium.
B)adolescent egocentrism.
C)adaptation by assimilation.
D)accommodation.

Answer 3

adolescent egocentrism.

Question 4

Rachel has a hard time relating to other students.She is very independent,but wants to have friends.She has tried to carry on conversations about the science concepts that interest her and information she learned from her dad who is a civil engineer.She's trying to branch out and watch a TV show some of the students like so she can discuss it with them at school tomorrow.What kind of development is involved in Rachel's experiences?

A)Cognitive development
B)Personal development
C)Physical development
D)Social development

Question 5

"High horse power,poor steering," is a common phrase describing adolescent brain maturity.Which of the following behaviors best illustrates the meaning behind this saying?

A)Hansen had never skipped class before,but decided it was worth skipping to spend the day on the lake with two buddies.
B)Sophie studied harder and longer than usual and really wanted to ace the chemistry test,but she didn't study the lab material.
C)Carrington studied every day for the physics exam and felt good about his preparation,but his anxiety overwhelmed him when he started taking the test.
D)DeLinda wanted to go to the football game on Friday night,but she decided to go to a movie with her dad instead.

Question 6

Dewayne is engaged in the following activities.Which of the activities illustrates conservation?

A)Dewayne grouped the words according to their parts of speech by creating columns for nouns,verbs,adjectives,and adverbs.
B)Dewayne subtracted 100 from 700 and then added it back to arrive at 700 again.
C)Dewayne poured paint from the gallon bucket into his paint pan and realized it's the same amount of paint,but looks like less.
D)Dewayne arranged the members of his favorite baseball team in sequential order according to height.

Question 7

Katie was watching a movie and heard the main character say,"You only use 10% of your brain,and you're either right-brained or left-brained.Stop working at it.Your brain can't change.Drink up.At least we know your drinking isn't killing your brain cells." What part of the character's statement is true?

A)You only use 10% of your brain.
B)Your drinking isn't killing your brain cells.
C)You're either right-brained or left-brained.
D)Your brain can't change.

Question 8

Kim heard her grandmother speak Mandarin from the time she was born.Her adopted brother never heard Mandarin as a baby or as a child.As Kim grows up,she is more likely than her adopted brother to produce native sounds in Mandarin.This illustrates which of the three ongoing debates surrounding development?

A)Nature versus nurture
B)Critical versus sensitive periods
C)Continuity versus discontinuity
D)Qualitative versus quantitative change

Question 9

According to Piaget,three factors interact to influence cognitive development.Two of the factors are maturation and acting on the environment.What is the third factor?

A)Synaptic pruning
B)Social transmission
C)Quality of parenting
D)Quality of teaching

Question 10

Which of the following children has most likely reached the concrete operational stage of cognitive development according to Piaget's four stages?

A)Bart dislikes carrots and tells his mom that his friend Doug doesn't like carrots.
B)Sara imitates her mother's mouth movements and says,"Dad."
C)Pierre follows the steps of brushing his teeth and changing his clothes before bedtime.
D)Cori places the six colorful containers in order of size from smallest to largest.

Question 11

What facts about brain development during adolescence explain their risk-taking impulsivity?

A)The right hemisphere develops earlier than the left hemisphere.
B)The left hemisphere develops earlier than the right hemisphere.
C)The limbic system develops more slowly than the prefrontal lobe.
D)The prefrontal lobe develops more slowly than the limbic system.

Question 12

Mr.Benet gives his students an assignment that prepares them for their upcoming debate.The assignment involves the analysis of divergent perspectives on the issue,development of arguments to support the diverse perspectives,and efficient recall of resources and persuasive points during the debate.What part or parts of the brain are most likely functioning to complete this assignment effectively?

A)Amygdala
B)Right hemisphere of the cortex processing creatively
C)Left hemisphere of the cortex processing analytically
D)Many parts working simultaneously

Question 13

Mason grew one inch between sixth grade and seventh grade.What type of developmental change is this?

A)Quantitative
B)Qualitative
C)Discontinuous
D)Personal

Question 14

What part of the brain has the information processing capacity of a small computer?

A)Each neuron
B)Cerebellum
C)Thalamus
D)Hippocampus

Question 15

Mr.Mills instructs his students to practice the steps in the process over and over.As a result of students' practice,what is happening in their brains?

A)Overproduction of neurons in the amygdala
B)Strengthening of connections between neurons
C)Pruning of neurons in the amygdala
D)Increase in number of axons per neuron

Question 16

Each of the following children is undergoing change.Which change is NOT defined as developmental?

A)Julius is working on his batting skills and hit the ball farther today.
B)Cait left out several steps in the process of conducting the lab experiment,but she understands what she did wrong and is redoing the experiment.
C)Mark is walking carefully on one foot while his sprained ankle heals.
D)Davarko has learned enough English to introduce himself and meet other students.

Question 17

Sherita is now grasping the concept of conservation.She is most likely in what stage of development?

A)Formal operational
B)Preoperational
C)Sensorimotor
D)Concrete operational

Question 18

Mrs.Bollar created four centers in her classroom that related to sea life.Children accessed books,photographs,charts and posters,computer programs,mini-movies,and models.At the end of the unit,the students visited an aquarium.What type of synaptic production takes place as a child accesses such a rich learning environment?

A)Neurogenesis
B)Myelination
C)Experience-dependent
D)Experience-expectant

Question 19

In which assignment does Ms.Carlson expect her students to use formal operational thinking?

A)Ms.Carlson asked students to create mind maps representing their understanding of the organization of the state government.
B)Ms.Carlson instructed students to use the note-taking strategy they learned earlier to make notes during a guest lecturer's presentation.
C)Ms.Carlson asked students to think of metaphors for the current state of the economy in the U.S.
D)Ms.Carlson told students to share their summary of the story with their partner and compare perceptions.

Question 20

As an adult,Sanya wants to learn Spanish and become a Spanish teacher.She is having trouble trilling the r and does not sound like a native speaker.What kind of synapse overproduction and pruning process is associated with Sanya's difficulty?

A)Neurogenesis
B)Myelination
C)Experience-dependent
D)Experience-expectant

Question 21

Mr.Harper tells one of his third grade students to talk to himself and tell himself to stay seated,stay focused,and complete the task.This third grader has been diagnosed with ADHD and needs to learn strategies to help him control his behavior and complete his work.What would Lev Vygotsky most likely say about Mr.Harper's method of management?

Question 22

Riley is typically a rule follower who doesn't cause trouble.He's on the football team,has a good reputation,and likes school.In his tenth grade year,he has started going out with the guys after football games on Friday nights.Now he's breaking rules,taking risks,and doing things that his younger self labeled as stupid and reckless.Based on what we know about brain development,what explains Riley's behavior?

Question 23

Ms.Jacobs teaches 26 second grade students who represent a wide range of diversity.Her students include six English learners,one student who just arrived from Mexico,three students with special learning needs,students from extreme poverty to middle class,and students from various ethnic groups.She has divided students into three reading groups and expects other students to work silently and independently as she works with reading groups.All students work on the same spelling tasks and worksheets during their independent seatwork.
How might Ms.Jacobs's teaching procedures during reading group time need to change if she followed Vygotsky's ideas about the zone of proximal development?

Question 24

Suppose that you have a new teaching job,and your students are all most likely in Piaget's concrete-operational stage of development.Describe strategies you will use to teach the concrete-operational students effectively.

Question 25

Paige talks out loud to herself as she gets her backpack ready for school.She doesn't want to forget anything important.What would Vygotsky most likely say about Paige's behavior?

A)Paige's inner speech is a sign of immaturity.
B)Paige's self-talk serves a positive self-guiding function.
C)Paige's private speech is a sign of instability.
D)Paige's private speech is egocentric and negative.

Question 26

Nick is doing his sixth grade homework in history.The task requires him to make two maps of his state and compare the two maps.One map represents the state in 1850 and the other represents the state in current times.Nick is working at the task,following the instructions,and feeling that he can complete it successfully.He does need to ask the teacher one question before he finishes.Which of the following terms best describes the relationship of this assignment to Nick's level of performance?

A)Above his zone of proximal development
B)In his zone of proximal development
C)Below his zone of proximal development
D)Unrelated to his zone of proximal development

Question 27

In which of the following situations does Mr.Cannon scaffold learning?

A)Mr.Cannon assigned readings in the text about the period of history immediately following the Civil War in the U.S.
B)Mr.Cannon gave a student a choice between two actions: return to his seat quietly and immediately or stay after school.
C)Mr.Cannon showed a brief video with a close-up demonstration of the detailed steps he had explained to the class.
D)Mr.Cannon divided students into groups to play their favorite game of trivial pursuit in history.

Question 28

Which theorist or group of theorists promoted the idea that knowledge is co-constructed during social interactions?

A)Piaget
B)Neo-Piagetian theorists
C)Elkind
D)Vygotsky

Question 29

Mrs.Strasbourg made the following statement to her students."Learning is an active process.Your learning leads you to higher levels of development.I will be working with you,guiding you to more advanced thinking this year.And you will be working together,learning from one another." Which theorist or theorists most likely agree with Mrs.Strasbourg's statement?

A)Piaget
B)Vygotsky
C)Both Piaget and Vygotsky
D)Current and past psychologists

Question 30

Five-year-old Ava and her family welcomed a new baby this week.Ava's little sister was adopted a few days ago,and now Ava is a little confused.Her little sister didn't come from Mommy's tummy.Her parents flew away and came home with her.But Ava remembers that her little brother came from Mommy's tummy two years ago.
Using Piaget's conclusions about humans' basic tendency toward adaptation,discuss how Ava must adapt her existing schemes to assimilate and accommodate these changes in family structure.