Q&A Hero

Q: With regard to information processing, preschoolers A) have little or no sustained attention ability. B) cannot resist the pull of their attention toward a dominant stimulus. C) have little or no ability to inhibit impulses. D) become more aware of their own mental life.

Q: __________ refers to shared endeavors between more expert and less expert participants, without specifying the precise features of communication. A) The zone of proximal development B) Guided participation C) Discovery learning D) Scaffolding

Q: Compared to their Western agemates, Yucatec Mayan preschoolers A) engage in more sophisticated make-believe play. B) are not as self-sufficient. C) are less competent at self-care. D) seldom ask others for something interesting to do.

Q: Itzel, a Yucatec Mayan preschooler, is hungry. She is most likely to A) decide for herself when and how much to eat. B) ask her mother to make her a meal. C) wait until the family's set mealtime to eat. D) make a pretend meal for herself and her dolls to "eat."

Q: Ignacio lives in a remote Mayan village in Yucatan, Mexico. Ignacio does not rely on conversation and play to teach his children. Which of the following is the most likely reason for this? A) Ignacio is too busy working and maintaining his household to interact with his children. B) Ignacio instead focuses on preparing his children for academic success and civic engagement. C) Ignacio's young children spend most of their time playing with and talking to their agemates. D) Ignacio's children spend their day in contact with adult work and start to assume mature responsibilities in early childhood.

Q: Vygotsky saw __________ play as the ideal social context for fostering cognitive development in early childhood. A) make-believe B) outdoor C) cooperative D) parallel

Q: In Yvonne's preschool classroom, children of varying abilities work in groups, teaching and helping one another. This classroom emphasizes the Vygotskian principle of A) active participation. B) individualized instruction. C) independent exploration. D) peer collaboration.

Q: In Jean's preschool classroom, teachers guide children's learning, tailoring their interventions to each child's zone of proximal development. This classroom emphasizes the Vygotskian principle of A) discovery learning. B) assisted discovery. C) active participation. D) acceptance of individual differences.

Q: When building a block tower with his young daughter, Samuel adjusts the support offered to his daughter to fit her current level of performance. Samuel is engaging in A) transitive inference. B) dual representation. C) proximal teaching. D) scaffolding.

Q: According to Vygotksy, learning takes place A) within the zone of proximal development. B) through trial and error. C) through discovery learning. D) through independent activity.

Q: Research shows that children more often use private speech when A) they have difficulty taking the perspectives of others. B) they are engaged in cooperative dialogues. C) tasks are appropriately challenging or they are confused about how to proceed. D) they cannot find a conversational partner.

Q: Vygotsky saw __________ as the foundation for all higher cognitive processes. A) egocentrism B) language C) sensorimotor activity D) self-reflection

Q: Piaget called children's self-directed utterances __________ speech, reflecting his belief that young children have difficulty taking the perspectives of others. A) inner B) egocentric C) private D) collaborative

Q: Which of the following educational principles derived from Piaget's theory continues to have a major impact on classroom practices? A) teacher-directed learning activities B) emphasis on scaffolding C) acceptance of individual differences D) emphasis on academic achievement

Q: In Jody's preschool classroom, teachers introduce activities that build on children's current thinking, challenging their incorrect ways of viewing the world. But they do not try to hasten development by imposing new skills before children indicate interest or readiness. This preschool emphasizes the Piagetian principle of A) sensitivity to children's readiness to learn. B) acceptance of individual differences. C) discovery learning. D) scaffolding.

Q: In Paul's preschool classroom, children are encouraged to choose activities from a rich variety of materials designed to promote exploration. This preschool emphasizes the Piagetian principle of A) acceptance of individual differences. B) sensitivity to children's readiness to learn. C) discovery learning. D) scaffolding.

Q: Using __________, children in a Piagetian classroom are encouraged to spontaneously interact with the environment. A) scaffolding B) information processing C) dynamic systems D) discovery learning

Q: Over time, children rely on increasingly effective __________ to solve problems. A) reflexive schemes B) memory tricks C) logic games D) mental approaches

Q: Evidence that preschoolers __________ supports the idea that operational thought is not absent at one point in time and present at another. A) rarely use magical thinking B) never perform well on Piagetian problems C) can be trained to perform well on Piagetian problems D) attain logical operations by age 2

Q: Follow-up research indicates that A) when given simplified tasks based on familiar experiences, preschoolers rely on trial and error to solve problems. B) a preoperational stage, as described by Piaget, really exists. C) Piaget was partly wrong and partly right about young children's cognitive capacities. D) preschoolers rely on faulty logic to solve problems even when given simplified tasks based on familiar experiences.

Q: When children ask questions, parents A) rarely respond informatively, unless the children are extremely persistent. B) adjust the complexity of their answers to fit their children's maturity. C) should respond with "prior cause" explanations. D) should respond with "mechanism" explanations.

Q: Which of the following statements about children's questions is true? A) Seventy to ninety percent of children's questions are non-information-seeking. B) When preschoolers ask questions, more often than not they are clamoring for attention. C) The content of children's questions is related to their cognitive development. D) With age, preschoolers ask fewer questions about function.

Q: Follow-up research indicates that even though preschoolers have difficulty with Piagetian class inclusion tasks, they A) have very complex category systems. B) organize their everyday knowledge into nested categories at an early age. C) are capable of abstract reasoning. D) cannot use logic or causal reasoning to form global categories.

Q: Piaget __________ preschoolers' __________. A) underestimated; magical thinking B) overestimated; animistic beliefs C) overestimated; abstract thinking D) underestimated; egocentrism

Q: One reason Piagetian problems do not always elicit responses reflecting preschoolers' true cognitive abilities is that they contain A) too many familiar elements. B) unfamiliar elements or too many pieces of information. C) an insufficient amount of information for the young child to process. D) too many real-world examples.

Q: Heidi is shown 16 flowers, 4 of which are blue and 12 of which are red. Asked, "Are there more red flowers or flowers?" Heidi, a preoperational child, responds, "More red flowers." This problem demonstrates Heidi's difficulty with A) animistic thinking. B) egocentrism. C) hierarchical classification. D) magical thinking.

Q: The most important illogical feature of preoperational thought is its A) class inclusion. B) irreversibility. C) reversibility. D) centration.

Q: Piaget's conservation-of-liquid task demonstrates that preoperational children's thinking is characterized by __________ in that they focus on one aspect of a situation, neglecting other important features. A) dynamic transformation B) centration C) hierarchical classification D) irreversibility

Q: Four-year-old Jasmine is shown two identical tall glasses of water and agrees that they contain the same amount of liquid. When the liquid is poured into a short, wide container, she says that there is more water in the shorter container because it is "all spread out." Jasmine is demonstrating a lack of understanding of A) conservation. B) animistic thinking. C) magical thinking. D) reversibility.

Q: Conservation refers to the A) failure to distinguish others' symbolic viewpoints from one's own. B) belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities, such as thoughts, wishes, feelings, and intentions. C) inability to mentally go through a series of steps in a problem and then reverse direction, returning to the starting point. D) idea that certain physical characteristics of objects remain the same, even when their outward appearance changes.

Q: Three-year old Abah refuses to leave his stuffed elephant at home. He explains, "She feels scared because she is alone." Abah is using A) conservation. B) egocentrism. C) animistic thinking. D) dual representation.

Q: Five-year-old Chaim is participating in Piaget's three-mountains problem. When Chaim is asked to pick the picture that shows what the display looks like from the doll's perspective, he will most likely select the A) correct picture but not be able to explain why he chose it. B) picture that shows the researcher's point of view. C) correct picture and be able to explain why he chose it. D) picture that shows his own point of view.

Q: According to Piaget, the most fundamental deficiency of preoperational thinking is A) egocentrism. B) conservation. C) animistic thinking. D) dual representation.

Q: While playing house, 3-year-old Lindsay uses a straw as a "bottle" to feed her doll. Lindsay has begun to grasp A) egocentrism. B) animistic thinking. C) conservation. D) dual representation.

Q: Preschoolers who __________ are seen as more socially competent by their teachers. A) prefer to play alone B) spend more time at sociodramatic play C) use more realistic objects in their pretend play D) make up imaginary companions

Q: Researchers today believe that make-believe play A) is not nearly as important as Piaget thought. B) not only reflects but also contributes to children's cognitive and social skills. C) is less important than drawing or building with blocks. D) is mere practice of representational schemes.

Q: Which of the following statements about the development of make-believe play is true? A) Make-believe play becomes increasingly self-centered with age. B) Toddlers' first pretend acts are flexible and involve imitating a typical household activity, such as cooking. C) Sociodramatic play gradually decreases during the preschool years. D) Increasingly, preschoolers realize that agents and recipients of pretend actions can be independent of themselves.

Q: Piaget believed that __________ leads to internal images of experience, which children then label with words. A) imagination B) intentional behavior C) sensorimotor activity D) role playing

Q: Piaget acknowledged that __________ is our most flexible means of mental representation. A) imagination B) language C) intentional behavior D) deferred imitation

Q: According to Piaget, the most obvious change as children move from the sensorimotor to the preoperational stage is an increase in A) representational, or symbolic, activity. B) private speech. C) logical thought. D) abstract thought.

Q: Which of the following statements is supported by research on individual differences in motor skills? A) Environmental factors have little impact on sex differences in motor skills. B) Sex differences in motor skills decrease with age. C) Children master the motor skills of early childhood during everyday play. D) Participation in competitive sports at a young age fosters motor development.

Q: Which of the following statements about sex differences in motor skills in early childhood is true? A) Boys have better balance than girls. B) Girls can broad-jump slightly farther than boys. C) Boys can hop and skip better than girls. D) Girls are ahead of boys in fine-motor skills.

Q: Preschoolers' first attempts to print often involve writing A) in lowercase letters. B) a pretend grocery list. C) a parent's or sibling's name. D) their own name.

Q: Research conducted on adolescents in the Jimi Valley of Papua New Guinea indicates that A) nonrepresentational scribbles and shapes seem to be a universal beginning stage in drawing. B) even adolescents with no indigenous pictorial art draw figures that look human. C) the first drawings of the human figure produced by nonschooled Jimi children emphasize the head and face over the hands and feet. D) schooling has little impact on children's first representational shapes and forms.

Q: Most 3- and 4-year-olds can A) draw so others can tell what their pictures are. B) create conventional animal figures with the head and body differentiated. C) represent depth in drawings. D) use lines to represent the boundaries of objects.

Q: When __________, preschoolers' pictures become more comprehensible and detailed. A) they are able to represent depth in their drawings B) adults draw with children and point out the resemblances between drawings and objects C) they gesture rather than label their scribbles D) they trace adult drawings

Q: Two-year old Mason placed a crayon on paper and quickly drew a line across the page, explaining, "Car zooms!" Which of the following statements best describes Mason's drawing progress? A) His gestures rather than the resulting scribbles contained the intended representation. B) His gesture made a recognizable shape, and then he labeled it. C) He used lines to represent the boundaries of objects. D) His drawing contained perceptual distortions because he had just begun to represent depth.

Q: Perhaps the most complex self-help skill of early childhood is A) self-dressing. B) shoe tying. C) self-feeding. D) tooth brushing.

Q: By age 2 or 3, most children can A) copy vertical lines and a circle. B) use a spoon effectively. C) pedal and steer a tricycle. D) walk down stairs, leading with one foot.

Q: As children's bodies become more streamlined and less top-heavy, A) balance improves greatly. B) their center of gravity shifts upward. C) gross-motor development slows. D) fine-motor development slows.

Q: Which of the following statements about preventing childhood injuries is true? A) About 27 percent of infant seats are improperly used. B) As early as 2 or 3 years of age, parents should begin relying on children's knowledge of safety rules. C) Even though they know better, many parents and children behave in ways that compromise safety. D) About 40 percent of U.S. parents fail to place their preschoolers in car safety seats.

Q: Which of the following statements is supported by research on childhood injuries? A) U.S. children from advantaged families are at considerably greater risk for injury than children in Western Europe. B) Childhood injury deaths in developing nations are 1.5 times as high as those in developed countries. C) Safety devices, such as car seats and bicycle helmets, are readily available in developing nations, but they are rarely used by parents. D) Contrary to popular belief, girls are more likely to be injured than boys during play.

Q: __________ are strongly associated with childhood injury. A) Permissive child rearing and participation in child care B) Poverty, single parenthood, and low parental education C) Family size, rural living, and divorce D) Poor school performance, inattentiveness, and lesser impulsivity

Q: Boys are _____ times more likely to be injured during childhood than girls. A) 1.5 B) 2 C) 2.5 D) 3

Q: In the United States, __________ is/are the leading cause of death among children more than 1 year old. A) drowning B) motor vehicle collisions C) fires D) abuse and neglect

Q: Compared to other industrialized nations, the United States has a high childhood injury rate, largely because of A) rapid population growth. B) widespread childhood poverty. C) overcrowding in cities. D) inadequate safety measures.

Q: __________ are the leading cause of childhood mortality in industrialized nations. A) Carcinogens B) Unintentional injuries C) Birth defects D) Infectious diseases

Q: Which of the following is one reason the United States lags behind Denmark, Norway, Great Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Canada in immunizations? A) Uninsured U.S. children do not receive free immunizations. B) Childhood diseases have been virtually eradicated in the United States, making immunization unnecessary. C) Many U.S. children do not have access to the health care they need. D) More U.S. parents are aware that immunizations cause autism.

Q: About 30 percent of U.S. preschoolers A) lack essential immunizations. B) are fully immunized. C) receive mercury-free immunizations. D) sustain frequent childhood injuries.

Q: In industrialized nations, childhood diseases have declined dramatically during the past half-century, largely as a result of A) generous government nutrition programs. B) government-funded health care. C) widespread immunization of infants and young children. D) a reduction in the number of viral and bacterial infections worldwide.

Q: Bullous lives in a shantytown. His parents can decrease the risks of persistent diarrhea by A) limiting his diet to organic fruits and vegetables. B) delaying his childhood immunizations, which routinely weaken the immune system. C) administering oral rehydration therapy (ORT) when he is sick and giving him a regular zinc supplement. D) limiting the amount of protein he eats and giving him a daily multivitamin.

Q: Developmental impairments and deaths due to diarrhea can be prevented with oral rehydration therapy (ORT), which consists of A) iron supplements. B) antiviral drugs. C) immunization of infants and young children. D) a solution of glucose, salt, and water.

Q: Agata suffered from persistent diarrhea in early childhood. As a result, during her school years, Agata is probably __________ than her agemates who were not stricken with persistent diarrhea. A) heavier in weight B) shorter in height C) better nourished D) more attentive

Q: __________, often caused by unsafe water and contaminated foods, leads to nearly 1 million childhood deaths each year. A) Diarrhea B) Scurvy C) Rubella D) Tuberculosis

Q: Worldwide, _____ percent of deaths of children under age 5 are __________. A) 25; in industrialized countries B) 50; due to infectious diseases C) 70; in developing countries D) 98; in developing countries

Q: Which of the following statements about childhood diseases is true? A) Childhood diseases occur earlier in developing countries than in industrialized countries. B) Even among well-nourished youngsters, ordinary childhood illnesses often interfere with physical growth. C) Even mild nutritional deficiencies cause childhood diseases in both developing and industrialized countries. D) Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) is more effective at preventing childhood illnesses than a high-quality diet.

Q: By the school years, low-SES U.S. children are, on average, __________ than their economically advantaged counterparts. A) to 1 inch shorter B) 1 to 2 inches taller C) 5 to 10 pounds heavier D) taller and heavier

Q: Four-year-old Erin is a picky eater. How can Erin's parents encourage her to eat a new food? A) Reward her with dessert if she eats the new food. B) Repeatedly expose her to the new food without any direct pressure to eat it. C) Add salt or sugar to the new food to increase her willingness to eat it. D) Make her stay at the table until she takes a few bites of the new food.

Q: Which of the following statements is supported by research on nutrition? A) Preschoolers require significantly more carbohydrates and fat than adults. B) Serving "adult" foods like broccoli or tofu promotes picky eating in preschoolers. C) Preschoolers compensate for a meal in which they eat little by eating more at a later meal. D) In North America, few children lack access to sufficient high-quality foods.

Q: With the transition to early childhood, many children A) have an increase in appetite. B) become unpredictable, picky eaters. C) eat healthier foods than in infancy. D) require different foods than adults for a healthy diet.

Q: Priya was born with a deficiency of thyroxine. She did not receive prompt treatment. Priya is most likely A) extremely tall for her age. B) mentally retarded. C) inattentive and unruly. D) strong in spatial relationship skills.

Q: Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) prompts the thyroid gland in the neck to release __________, which is necessary for brain development and for growth hormone (GH) to have its full impact on body size. A) protein B) estrogen C) thyroxine D) oxytocin

Q: Children who lack __________ reach an average mature height of only 4 to 4 feet. A) growth hormone (GH) B) estrogen C) thyroxine D) thyroid-stimulating hormone

Q: The __________, located at the base of the brain, plays a critical role by releasing two hormones that induce growth. A) hippocampus B) cerebellum C) reticular formation D) pituitary gland

Q: An inner-brain structure called the __________ plays a vital role in memory and in images of space that help us find our way. A) hippocampus B) corpus callosum C) reticular formation D) cerebellum

Q: The reticular formation A) maintains alertness and consciousness. B) aids in balance and control of body movement. C) plays a vital role in memory and in images of space that help us find our way. D) is a large bundle of fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres.

Q: Casey suffered damage to his cerebellum. Casey will most likely display both __________ and __________ deficits. A) emotional; problem-solving B) motor; cognitive C) cognitive; social skills D) attention; motor

Q: Fibers linking the __________ to the __________ grow and myelinate from birth through the preschool years, contributing to dramatic gains in motor coordination. A) cerebellum; cerebral cortex B) corpus callosum; reticular formation C) reticular formation; cerebellum D) cerebral cortex; hippocampus

Q: The cerebellum A) maintains alertness and consciousness. B) aids in balance and control of body movement. C) plays a vital role in memory and in images of space that help us find our way. D) is a large bundle of fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres.

Q: Research on handedness demonstrates that A) most left-handers have no developmental problems. B) right-handedness is associated with prematurity. C) there is little cultural variation in rates of left-handedness. D) right-handedness is associated with birth difficulties that can result in brain damage.