Understanding Schemas and Cognitive Development

Which of the following best describes a schema?

• A random collection of information in the brain

• A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

• A type of memory storage for past experiences

• A process of learning new skills

When a child who has a schema of “dog” based on a golden retriever sees a poodle and classifies it as a dog, this example is of:

• Accommodation

• Assimilation

• Object permanence

• Egocentrism

Which of the following is a characteristic of children in the formal operational stage?

• They can only think about concrete events

• They start to use language for the first time

• They can ponder hypothetical positions and predict consequences

• They are mainly egocentric

What is a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information?

• Accommodation

• Assimilation

• Schema

• Egocentrism

What is adapting our current understanding to incorporate new information?

• Assimilation

• Accommodation

• Schema

• Morality

In Piaget’s sensorimotor stage, infants look object permanence. This means that:

• They can remember objects even when they are out of sight.

• They forget an object exists when it is taken out of their sight.

• They can think logically about the object.

• They can form mental images of the object easily.

What is the main function of schemata in the brain?

• To make the world more complex.

• To simplify the world for quick recognition, evaluation, and action.

• To store all the nuanced information.

• To avoid categorizing objects and events.

When a child who has a schema of “dog” based on a golden retriever sees a poodle and calls it a dog, which process is the child using?

• Accommodation

• Assimilation

• Adaptation

• Differentiation

In Piaget's sensorimotor stage, what is a characteristic of infants in the first few months?

• They have a strong sense of object permanence.

• They can think logically about simple objects.

• They lack object permanence.

• They can use language to express their needs.

A child in the preoperational stage is shown two equal - volume glasses of water, one tall and one short. The child says the taller glass has more water. This shows that the child:

• Can understand the concept of volume conservation.

• Is in the concrete operational stage.

• Lacks the mental operations of concrete logic.

• Has developed abstract thinking.