Question 1

Whole-language theorists focus on the concept of:

Accepted Answer

Whole-language theorists emphasize the importance of emergent literacy, meaning young children naturally develop literacy skills through exposure to reading and writing in their everyday lives, rather than through direct instruction of isolated skills. This approach views children as active participants in their own learning, building on their prior knowledge and experiences to construct meaning and make sense of language. Metacognition, logical inference, and cooperative learning may be components of a whole-language approach, but they are not the central focus.

Question 2

Heidi has a series of events that she follows every morning: she takes a shower, dresses, eats breakfast, and rides the bus to school. Her memory of this sequence of events would most likely be organized in the form of:

Accepted Answer

A script is a standard sequence of events that comprise a familiar event. Because this example clearly emphasizes the events associated with "morning events before school," it would be considered a good example of a script, even though other control processes might be involved.

Question 3

The original purpose for developing the first intelligence tests in the early part of the twentieth century was:

Accepted Answer

Although intelligence tests have served to select gifted children, they have been used to support discriminatory policies and practices, and they do help researchers understand the relationships between intelligence and wide range of other variables, their original purpose in France was to allow the government to select children who would be less likely to benefit from formal education.

Question 4

Eleven-year-old Susan overheard her father say, "I drove to the store." She is able to infer the presence of a car even though he never mentioned the word. This example best illustrates what memory strategy?

Accepted Answer

Although retrieval of information is involved in any memory problem, it is not the central event here, nor is organization (since categorization is not the central aspect of this problem). Mental imagery is involved, since Susan must be able to create a mental image of driving to the store, but the example focuses not only on her ability to imagine the scene but also on her ability to logically infer that there was a car involved. Thus, because the central point of the example pertains to logical inference, semantic elaboration is the best answer to this question.

Question 5

Remembering the details about a family dinner, such as helping set the table, washing hands before eating, saying grace at the dinner table, eating the food, and clearing off the dishes, best illustrates what memory control process?

Accepted Answer

A script is a standard sequence of events that comprise a familiar event. Because this example clearly emphasizes the events associated with "family dinners," it would be considered a good example of a script, even though other control processes might be involved.

Question 6

The first tests of intelligence were developed in France by:

Accepted Answer

The first tests of intelligence were developed in France by Alfred Binet in 1905.

Question 7

Suppose that 7-year-old Anna is having trouble learning to read in school. Her teacher investigates how her family encourages reading, how her friends interact with her during play, and how she uses oral language to communicate. The teacher concludes that her reading will likely develop in its own time, and encourages Anna to continue to interact verbally. The teacher's approach would be very compatible with which of the following points of view?

Accepted Answer

The whole-language viewpoint emphasizes the role of social interactions in developing literacy, and also suggests that reading emerges from earlier language skills of speaking and understanding. The metacognitive, preoperational, and formal operational "viewpoints" are not meaningful in this context, since they do not pertain directly to literacy.

Question 8

Memory for routine events, such as getting ready for bed, is most likely to be organized by using:

Accepted Answer

Scripts are standard sequences of events that comprise a familiar event, such as getting ready for bed. Although other memory strategies can be employed in remembering routine events, because the question emphasizes the memory for routine events and it gives an example that would involve a script, the choice of scripts is the best answer for this question.

Question 9

The term literacy refers to:

Accepted Answer

Literacy specifically refers to the ability to read and write, encompassing skills such as decoding, comprehension, and composition.

Note: While control processes in thinking (Option A) and metacognition (Option D) are related to cognitive abilities linked to literacy, they are not considered synonymous with the term itself. Option C refers to a specific measure of literacy, but does not encompass the broader skills and abilities associated with it.

Question 10

Which of the following is the most accurate statement about the whole-language viewpoint about literacy?

Accepted Answer

The whole-language view is based on the idea that literacy skills begin in infancy with understanding of spoken language, and these early skills are modified through experience with language to become more complex and to transition into speaking and writing. This view also emphasizes that language learning occurs in a sociocultural context and that language learning occurs naturally, without the need of formal expectations or rewards.

Question 11

Restructuring the material to be learned so that it is arranged categorically is the major feature of the control process called:

Accepted Answer

Organizing material into categories helps individuals to better process and remember information. This is a key feature of the control process known as organization. Scripts involve organizing information into a sequence of events, mental imagery involves creating visual images to aid in memory, and semantic elaboration involves relating new information to existing knowledge.

Question 12

The essential idea encompassed by the term emergent literacy is that:

Accepted Answer

According to the concept of emergent literacy, the skills associated with oral and written language acquisition begin to develop in infancy and gradually improve over a period of years.

Question 13

Suppose that Lucy is 6 years old and she is answers the same number of questions on an intelligence test as the average 8-year-old. Her mental age would be:

Accepted Answer

Mental age is determined according to the number of questions a person answers correctly and has nothing to do with a person's chronological age. If a person answers the same number of questions correctly as the average 8-year-old, that person's mental age is 8 years, irrespective of how old the person is.

Question 14

Samuel tells his little brother an elaborate story about imaginary creatures with three heads and sharp tails who can fly like helicopters by rotating a huge wing that comes out of their back. Samuel's ability to imagine these creatures and describe them to his brother is a good example of which of the following control processes?

Accepted Answer

The best answer is mental imagery, since this example emphasizes Samuel's ability to construct a mental image of an imaginary object. Semantic elaboration emphasizes the use of logical inferences, and Samuel's memory does not rely on logic about missing information. Samuel's ability to describe an imaginary creature also does not emphasize the organization of his memory, nor does it emphasize common events associated with a particular event, which is the core concept associated with memory scripts.

Question 15

According to whole-language theory, the skills associated with oral and written language acquisition develop over a period of years, beginning in:

Accepted Answer

According to whole-language theory, the skills associated with oral and written language acquisition develop over a period of years, beginning in infancy. Infants start learning language from the moment they are born, and their language skills continue to develop and improve throughout childhood and into adulthood.

Question 16

Nine-year-old Kimberly is presented with a list of words to memorize. She groups the words by common features. For instance, she groups the words "dog," "cat," and "horse" as animals. What strategy does she use to help her remember the list?

Accepted Answer

Organization typically involves categorization of similar items, which is what this example describes. Mental imagery involves imagination, scripts rely on memory of common events, and semantic elaboration involves logical inferences about things that would have occurred, even if such things were not experienced directly.

Question 17

Jude learns the concept of subtraction by forming a picture in his mind of removing blocks from one stack and adding them to another stack. His memory strategy is best considered an example of the use of:

Accepted Answer

Mental imagery involves the ability to construct mental images, which is what this example emphasizes. Rehearsal involves repetition of to-be-remembered events; organization emphasizes categorization of information into meaningful units; and semantic elaboration the ability to make logical inferences about missing information.

Question 18

44 The intellectual process that allows people to monitor their own thoughts and thinking processes is called:

Accepted Answer

The intellectual process that allows people to monitor their own thoughts and thinking processes is referred to as metacognition.

Question 19

Maria is asked to create and tell a story about how a lost dog was able to find its home. She talks and talks about the dog, and about its home, but is never able to figure out how to end the story or what would be required to make the story complete. In terms of her control processes, her problem in finishing her work would be described as a failure of:

Accepted Answer

This example points to Maria's lack of awareness about what the problem involves and what a correct solution requires. Thus, she in not able to "think about her thinking," which is the essence of metacognition. Motivation is not a problem, as evidenced by her continued effort. The example does not indicate that she has trouble remembering (retrieval) or repeating relevant details (rehearsal).

Question 20

Which of the following would be LEAST likely to contribute positively to the development of literacy?

Accepted Answer

Several factors contribute to the development of literacy, but a common feature is that the child is able to progress at his or her own speed and without formal expectations or pressure to perform in a particular way.

Quiz 8: Middle Childhood: Physical and Cognitive Development