Q&A Hero

Q: With regard to teaching mathematics, most experts agree that A) a blend of both drill in computing and "number sense," or understanding, is most beneficial. B) complex skills can only be learned by drill in computation and rote memorization. C) reasoning about number concepts should replace drill in computation in elementary school. D) because children need to retrieve mathematical answers automatically, children should be exclusively taught by rote.

Q: Many studies show that A) a whole-language approach is the best method for teaching beginning reading. B) children do not benefit from reading strategies until they have fully mastered phonics. C) fluent readers tend to use ineffective reading strategies and have difficulty with comprehension. D) combining phonics with whole language is the best approach for teaching beginning reading.

Q: Educators who advocate a phonics approach argue that A) as long as reading is kept whole and meaningful, children will be motivated to discover the specific skills they need. B) from the beginning, children should be exposed to text in its complete form. C) reading should be taught in a way that parallels natural language learning. D) children should learn the basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds before being given complex reading material.

Q: Educators who advocate a whole-language approach argue that A) from the beginning, children should be exposed to text in its complete form so that they can appreciate the communicative function of written language. B) before exposing them to written text, children should be coached on the basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds. C) reading aloud in the classroom helps children acquire effective reading strategies and enhances comprehension. D) young children should be given simplified text materials to facilitate beginning reading.

Q: As children make the transition from emergent literacy to conventional reading, __________ continues to predict reading and spelling progress. A) phonological awareness B) metacognitive awareness C) practical intelligence D) transitive inference

Q: Children who acquire effective self-regulatory skills develop a sense of A) elevated self-esteem. B) advanced linguistic intelligence. C) academic self-efficacy. D) practical intelligence.

Q: Throughout elementary and secondary school, __________ predicts academic success. A) learned helplessness B) metacognitive awareness C) self-regulation D) interpersonal intelligence

Q: Quinn knows that he should group items when memorizing lists, but he does not always do so. Quinn is not yet good at A) selective attention. B) flexibility of attention. C) metacognition. D) cognitive self-regulation.

Q: In a study of rural children in Cameroon, Africa, those who __________ performed much better on theory-of-mind tasks. A) attended school B) worked in the fields C) spent more time at home D) engaged in more make-believe play

Q: Research on metacognitive development shows that school-age children know that A) rehearsal is a more effective memory strategy than elaboration. B) use of private speech hinders task performance. C) memory strategies rarely work as suggested. D) people can extend their knowledge by making mental inferences.

Q: Nine-year-old Brett views his mind as an active, constructive agent that selects and transforms information. Brett's awareness of thought is known as A) selectivity of attention. B) elaboration. C) metacognition. D) cognitive self-regulation.

Q: Research on metacognitive development shows that preschoolers A) use elaboration and organization more than rehearsal. B) use memory strategies as effectively as school-age children. C) view the mind as a passive container of information. D) view the mind as an active agent.

Q: Cross-cultural research on memory indicates that A) people in non-Western cultures who lack formal schooling do not use or benefit from instruction in memory strategies. B) in all cultures, effective use of memory strategies is required for day-to-day problem solving. C) people in non-Western cultures who lack formal schooling are especially likely to benefit from instruction in memory strategies. D) memory strategies develop in a universal sequence among all cultures studied.

Q: Children who are expert in an area A) acquire new information at a slow and steady pace. B) rarely ask how previously stored information can clarify new material. C) do not find memory strategies useful. D) are usually highly motivated.

Q: To help herself remember that she needed cat food and gloves at the store, Cheryl imagined a cat wearing gloves. Which memory strategy did Cheryl use? A) elaboration B) organization C) rehearsal D) long-term retrieval

Q: When Mike had to learn the state capitals, he grouped the states by region to assist his memory. Which memory strategy did Mike use? A) elaboration B) organization C) rehearsal D) metacognition

Q: When Taylor was given a list of ingredients to memorize, she immediately repeated the list to herself over and over. Which memory strategy did Taylor use? A) elaboration B) organization C) rehearsal D) metacognition

Q: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) A) typically goes away by adulthood. B) is usually a lifelong disorder. C) cannot be effectively treated with medication. D) is more difficult to treat in girls than boys.

Q: Research on the origins of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) indicates that A) ADHD is highly heritable. B) symptoms of ADHD usually appear in infancy. C) the disorder is usually inherited from the mother's side of the family. D) a stressful home life usually causes ADHD.

Q: Which of the following statements about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is true? A) All children with ADHD are hyperactive. B) Fraternal twins are more likely than identical twins to have ADHD. C) Boys are diagnosed with ADHD about four times as often as girls. D) For a child to be diagnosed with ADHD, symptoms must appear before age 5.

Q: Dr. Goldberg introduces irrelevant stimuli into a task and records how well children attend to its central elements. Dr. Goldberg is probably studying A) adaptability of attention. B) memory strategies. C) selectivity of attention. D) elaboration.

Q: Heritability evidence suggests __________ genetic influences on various aspects of executive function, including combining information in working memory, controlling attention, and inhibiting inappropriate responses. A) little or no B) only minor C) moderate D) substantial

Q: Children with persistent learning difficulties in reading and math are often deficient in A) long-term memory capacity. B) gross-motor development. C) emotional self-regulation. D) working-memory capacity.

Q: The information-processing perspective A) examines separate aspects of thinking. B) fails to consider biological influences on cognitive development. C) applies only to children in cultures having formal schooling. D) focuses on overall cognitive change.

Q: Hannah listens to and tells stories but rarely draws pictures. According to Case's neo-Piagetian theory, Hannah probably displays A) more advanced central conceptual structures in drawing. B) less advanced central conceptual structures in storytelling. C) more advanced central conceptual structures in storytelling. D) egocentric thinking in both drawing and storytelling.

Q: In Case's neo-Piagetian theory, children acquire central conceptual structures A) in an abrupt stagewise transition to logical thought. B) once cognitive schemes are sufficiently automatic. C) spontaneously in a systematic transition. D) at about the same time, regardless of experience, culture, and schooling.

Q: In Robbie Case's neo-Piagetian theory, repeated practice of cognitive schemes A) requires abstract reasoning skills. B) interferes with the acquisition of central conceptual structures. C) decreases processing efficiency. D) leads them to become more automatic.

Q: Some investigators have concluded that the forms of logic required by Piagetian tasks do not emerge spontaneously but, rather, are A) heavily influenced by training, context, and cultural conditions. B) primarily developed through interaction with more expert peers. C) part of a slow but steady stagewise transition to logical thought. D) influenced by biological age and are mastered all at once.

Q: The very experience of __________ seems to promote mastery of Piagetian tasks. A) aging B) learning to read C) going to school D) brain lateralization

Q: School-age children master concrete operational tasks A) all at once. B) gradually, in a continuum of acquisition. C) much later than Piaget believed. D) after they master abstract thinking.

Q: Although 8-year-old Claire can easily arrange sticks of differing lengths from shortest to tallest, she cannot solve the following problem: "Jack is taller than Sam, and Sam is taller than Max. Who is the tallest?" This is because Claire's concrete mental operations work poorly with A) abstract ideas. B) logical constructs. C) everyday decision making. D) organized thoughts.

Q: Which of the following statements about children's map-making abilities is true? A) Cultural frameworks influence children's map making. B) Preschool children do not yet include landmarks on maps they draw. C) Girls tend to be better at map making than boys. D) Map making is a universal skill that emerges in most children by age 6.

Q: Kim Lee is able to mentally represent her neighborhood and describe it to others. Kim Lee's representation is known as a A) class inclusion. B) large-scale route of travel. C) transitive inference. D) cognitive map.

Q: A concrete operational child can __________ mentally, an ability called __________. A) conserve; seriation B) seriate; transitive inference C) classify; decentration D) reverse; class inclusion

Q: Seven-year-old Paolo can efficiently arrange a series of sticks of different lengths from shortest to longest. Paolo has developed an ability called A) classification. B) decentration. C) spatial reasoning. D) seriation.

Q: Margerite passed Piaget's class inclusion problem. This indicates that Margerite can A) think through a series of steps and then mentally reverse direction. B) focus on relations between a general and two specific categories at the same time. C) solve problems using abstract reasoning. D) order items along a quantitative dimension.

Q: Jamal is able to think through a series of steps and then mentally return to the starting point. Therefore, Jamal is capable of A) reversibility. B) decentration. C) transitive interference. D) class inclusion.

Q: During a conservation-of-water experiment, Emme can focus on several aspects of the problem and relate them, rather than centering on just one aspect. Therefore, Emme is capable of A) seriation. B) class inclusion. C) reversibility. D) decentration.

Q: According to Piaget, thought in middle childhood is far more __________ than in early childhood. A) rigid B) logical C) disorganized D) singular

Q: Many experts believe that schools should not only offer more physical education classes but should put less emphasis on __________ and more emphasis on __________ in their physical education programs. A) individual effort; grades B) individual exercise; diet and nutritional information C) competitive sports; informal games and individual exercise D) informal games and individual exercise; competitive sports

Q: Teacher ratings of classroom disruptive behavior decline for children who have A) 5 to 10 minutes of recess a day. B) the threat of recess cancellation if any child misbehaves. C) more than 15 minutes of recess a day. D) no recess.

Q: Which of the following statements is supported by research on recess? A) Over half of U.S. schools no longer provide recess to students as young as second grade. B) Elementary school students are more attentive in the classroom after recess than before it. C) Elementary school students are less attentive in the classroom after recess than before it. D) In more than half of U.S. elementary schools, recess is scheduled several times each day.

Q: Which of the following statements about children's rough-and-tumble play is true? A) It helps children form a dominance hierarchy. B) It predicts aggressive behavior during adolescence. C) It is equally common among boys and girls. D) It is a uniquely human social behavior.

Q: One valid criticism of youth sports is that A) participation in organized sports often results in psychological damage to children. B) they overemphasize competition and substitute adult control for children's natural experimentation with rules and strategies. C) participation in youth sports is the leading cause of childhood injury. D) they often interfere with school work and can cause a sharp decline in academic achievement.

Q: Ten-year-old Nadia enjoys making up games and playing them with her friends. Playing these child-invented games probably allows Nadia to A) play without rules and increase her popularity. B) compete against her friends and establish a dominance hierarchy. C) develop challenging gross- and fine-motor skills. D) try out different styles of cooperating and competing with little personal risk.

Q: During middle childhood, child-invented games usually involve A) simple physical skills and a sizable element of luck. B) analytical intelligence. C) competition and adult control. D) aggressive behavior.

Q: __________ contribute greatly to emotional and social development and are rarely contests of individual ability. A) Child-invented games B) Organized sports C) Community athletics D) Physical education classes

Q: Gains in __________ contribute to a child's ability to play games with rules. A) phonological awareness B) cognitive self-regulation C) perspective taking D) muscle mass

Q: Research confirms that __________ plays a large role in accounting for boys' gross-motor superiority. A) boys' greater muscle mass B) the social environment C) girls' higher fat-to-muscle ratio D) girls' lack of coordination

Q: Research on sex differences in motor skills during middle childhood indicates that A) they become more pronounced in some instances. B) boys are more advanced than girls in fine-motor skills of handwriting and drawing. C) boys' genetic advantage in muscle mass is large enough to account for their gross-motor superiority. D) boys outperform girls on skills that depend on agility and balance.

Q: Paul is concerned because his 6-year-old son prints using large letters and numbers. You can tell Paul that his son's writing is large because he A) cannot yet visually distinguish fine details. B) has not yet developed adequate depth perception. C) makes strokes with his entire arm rather than just the wrist and fingers. D) can only use his wrist and fingers to form the letters and numbers.

Q: Along with body growth, __________ plays a vital role in improved motor performance in middle childhood. A) abstract thinking B) more efficient information processing C) elaboration D) metacognition

Q: Which of the following is supported by research on unintentional injuries in middle childhood? A) Parents tend to underestimate their child's safety knowledge and physical abilities. B) The rate of injury deaths decreases from middle childhood into adolescence. C) Because of their underdeveloped motor skills, girls have a slightly higher risk of unintentional injury than boys. D) Use of protective helmets leads to a 25 percent reduction in risk of head injury.

Q: By far, the most common chronic disease or condition of children in the United States is A) sickle cell anemia. B) asthma. C) cystic fibrosis. D) diabetes.

Q: Middle-ear infections become __________ frequent in middle childhood because the Eustachian tube becomes __________. A) less; longer, narrower, and more slanted B) less; shorter and wider C) more; wider and less slanted D) more; shorter and less slanted

Q: The most common vision problem in middle childhood is A) cataracts. B) astigmatism. C) myopia. D) tunnel vision.

Q: Which of the following is regarded as one of the most effective interventions for treating childhood obesity? A) a weight loss camp B) a strict diet and exercise regimen C) punishment for daily inactivity D) a family-based approach focused on changing behaviors

Q: Which of the following statements about the consequences of obesity is true? A) Obese boys are viewed more negatively by adults and peers than obese girls. B) In most cases, obese children slim down by adolescence. C) Obese children are stereotyped as lazy, self-doubting, and deceitful. D) Due to growing public awareness, childhood obesity in the U.S. has declined by 30 percent in the last decade.

Q: Inactivity is __________ excessive weight gain in children. A) unrelated to B) both a cause and consequence of C) more important than nutrition in predicting D) caused by serious hormonal imbalances and predicts

Q: Obese children tend to A) be less responsive than normal-weight children to external stimuli associated with food. B) chew their food more thoroughly than normal-weight children. C) be less responsive than normal-weight children to internal hunger cues. D) eat slower than normal-weight children.

Q: Which of the following statements is supported by research on childhood obesity? A) All children are equally at risk for excessive weight gain. B) Overweight children tend to have overweight parents. C) Genetic factors are the primary determinant of obesity. D) Most obese children "grow out of it" by adolescence.

Q: Research shows that obesity has caused a dramatic rise in cases of __________ in children. A) asthma B) diabetes C) tuberculosis D) heart disease

Q: Which of the following statements about obesity rates in China is true? A) Obesity is nearly nonexistent in China. B) Chinese boys are more likely than Chinese girls to be obese. C) Today, 10 percent of Chinese children are overweight and 4 percent are obese. D) A prevailing belief in the Chinese culture is that excess body fat signifies ill health and laziness.

Q: A body mass index (BMI) above the __________ percentile for a child's age and sex is considered overweight, a BMI above the __________ percentile obese. A) 50th; 75th B) 75th; 85th C) 75th; 95th D) 85th; 95th

Q: Research on nutrition indicates that A) the percentage of children who eat dinner with their families increases slightly between ages 9 and 14. B) eating dinner with parents leads to a diet higher in fried foods and soft drinks than eating alone. C) school-age children often become picky eaters, but mild nutritional deficits rarely affect growth or cognitive functioning. D) malnutrition that persists from infancy or early childhood into the school years usually leads to permanent physical and mental damage.

Q: Among school-age children from middle- to high-SES families, insufficient dietary iron and folate predicted A) slightly lower mental test performance. B) a loss of body fat. C) serious and prolonged physical damage. D) an increase in childhood ear infections.

Q: Between the ages of 6 and 12, __________ primary teeth are lost and replaced by permanent ones. A) 12 to 14 B) 14 to 18 C) 20 D) 24

Q: As muscles adapt to an enlarging skeleton, children often experience A) a decrease in flexibility. B) nighttime "growing pains." C) a decreasing desire for physical exercise. D) faster growth in the upper portions of the body.

Q: After age 8, girls __________ than boys. A) are slightly shorter and lighter B) have slightly more muscle C) have slightly less body fat D) begin accumulating fat at a faster rate

Q: At age 6, the average North American child weighs _____ pounds and is _____ feet tall. A) 35; 3 B) 40; 3 C) 45; 3 D) 55; 3

Q: Molly says, "Only girls can be nurses." Molly A) is a gender-aschematic child. B) has not yet attained gender constancy. C) has an androgynous gender identity. D) is a gender-schematic child.

Q: Gender schema theory A) explains how environmental factors contribute to sex differences in behavior and personality traits. B) explains how environmental pressures and children's cognitions work together to shape gender-role development. C) maintains that children acquire gender-typed responses through modeling and reinforcement. D) maintains that biological factors have a greater impact on gender typing than environmental factors.

Q: Research on gender constancy demonstrates that A) providing preschoolers with information about genital differences promotes gender constancy. B) genetic factors have a greater impact on gender constancy than environmental factors. C) attainment of gender constancy is strongly related to false-belief understanding and emotional self-regulation. D) attainment of gender constancy is strongly related to the ability to pass verbal appearance"reality tasks.

Q: Four-year-old Cain watches an adult dress a boy doll in girl's clothing. Cain is likely to insist that the doll A) is a boy wearing a dress. B) is androgynous. C) is now a girl. D) looks pretty.

Q: Six-year-old Charlie realizes that his sister remains a girl even when she operates a bulldozer. Charlie has acquired the concept of gender A) awareness. B) constancy. C) preference. D) orientation.

Q: According to cognitive-developmental theory, __________ come(s) before __________ in the development of gender identity. A) behavior; self-perceptions B) gender constancy; gender identity C) self-perceptions; behavior D) gender constancy; gender awareness

Q: According to social learning theory, __________ come(s) before __________ in the development of gender identity. A) behavior; self-perceptions B) gender constancy; gender identity C) self-perceptions; behavior D) gender constancy; gender awareness

Q: Research on gender identity demonstrates that A) androgynous children score low on both "masculine" and "feminine" characteristics. B) "masculine" and androgynous children have a higher self-esteem than those with a "feminine" identity. C) children with a "feminine" gender identity are better adjusted than "masculine" or androgynous children. D) androgynous children often have difficulty with routines and are overly aggressive with peers.

Q: Mark rates his personality as ambitious, competitive, affectionate, cheerful, and soft-spoken. Mark's responses indicate a(n) A) traditionally masculine gender identity. B) traditionally feminine gender identity. C) androgynous gender identity. D) abnormal gender identity.

Q: When Henry is asked to judge the baking contest, he evaluates the boys more positively than the girls. This is an example of A) same-sex selection. B) in-group favoritism. C) gender selection. D) gender typing.