Cognitive and Linguistic Development

Most developmental theorists agree that:

• physical development occurs in a predictable sequence, but cognitive development does not.

• cognitive development occurs in a predictable sequence, but physical development does not.

• developmental milestones appear in a consistent sequence for most children.

• development occurs at a smooth, constant rate throughout childhood and early adolescence; it begins to slow down in the high school years.

Emily's mother is a doctor. According to bioecological systems theory, the hospital and the people she works with all have some influence on Emily's development and are part of Emily's:

• microsystem

• macrosystem

• mesosystem

• exosystem

It is because of brain plasticity that:

• individuals are able to learn new things at many different ages and in many different circumstances.

• individuals are able to develop mastery with little effort.

• individuals can be either left- or right-handed.

• individuals are often able to remember something they thought they had forgotten.

Which one of the following reflects class inclusion as Piaget described it?

• Identifying a shape as a square one day but as a triangle the next

• Realizing that things that are cars can also be vehicles

• Understanding that some behaviors that are perfectly acceptable at home are unacceptable at school

• Getting cows and horses confused

Which one of the following statements best describes Piaget's view of how children acquire knowledge about the world?

• Children repeatedly parrot their parents' and teachers' beliefs, eventually adopting these beliefs as their own knowledge.

• Initially, children unconsciously develop a rather complex but confused view of the world; this view becomes simpler and more straightforward as time goes on.

• Children are naturally disposed to think about their environment in particular ways; in a sense, some basic knowledge about the world is "pre-wired."

• Children actively construct their own view of the world from their experiences with the environment.

In Piaget's theory, a scheme can best be described as:

• a mental picture of oneself.

• an organized set of similar thoughts or actions.

• a set of motor skills that children acquire during the preschool years.

• a lifestyle or family pattern.

Louis receives a new soccer ball and begins to dribble it in the same way he dribbles his basketball. His dribbling of the new ball reflects Piaget's concept of:

• accommodation

• concrete operations

• assimilation

• equilibration

Which one of the following is the best example of Piaget's concept of assimilation?

• An eighth grader is discouraged from using the word awesome to describe everything he sees.

• A third grader develops the necessary eye-hand coordination for writing letters.

• A kindergartner uses a white crayon instead of chalk to draw on the blackboard.

• A sixth grader moves to a different school and changes styles to fit the fashions.

Which one of the following best illustrates Piaget's concept of accommodation?

• Donna revises her understanding of what clouds are like when she studies them in science.

• Carol copies what her teacher writes on the chalkboard.

• Betsy writes down her definition of a mollusk—something she learned word-for-word from her textbook.

• After Amanda solves a set of 10 addition problems carelessly and incorrectly, she is given 10 more problems to solve.

Piaget's view of cognitive development can best be described as:

• an increasing number of stimulus-response connections over time.

• an increasing number of stimulus-response connections over time.

• changes in the brain that enable increasingly rapid learning.

• discrete stages in which distinctly different forms of logical thought emerge.