CH-11 Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood – The World of Children : Exam Guide

Chapter 11 Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood 11.1 Multiple-Choice Questions 1. Which of the following characteristics are true of children’s thought during early childhood? A) egocentrism B) animism C) artificialism D) all of the above Answer: D) all of the above. During the preoperational stage (early childhood), thinking is intuitive and characterized by egocentrism, animism, and artificialism. 2. In early childhood, thought is ____________ , while in middle childhood, it is ____________. A) intuitive; logical B) concrete; abstract C) verbal; emotional D) rational; irrational Answer: A) intuitive; logical. Preoperational thinking is intuitive (based on personal experience) during early childhood, while concrete operational thought becomes logical during middle childhood. 3. According to Piaget, most children enter concrete operations at approximately what age? A) 2 years of age B) 4 years of age C) 7 years of age D) 12 years of age Answer: C) 7 years of age 4. A concrete operational thinker is able to do all of the following except A) decenter. B) have abstract thought. C) reversibility of mental operations. D) understand dynamic transformations. Answer: B) have abstract thought. A limitation of concrete operational thought is that children’s use of mental operations is still closely tied to concrete materials, contexts, and situations. It becomes abstract in adolescence during formal operations, the final stage of cognitive development. 5. Nine-year-old Esther helps her mother rolls pieces of cookie dough into balls. Esther notices that after she rolls each ball, it somehow looks smaller than when it was just a piece of dough! But then she realizes that rolling has only changed the shape, without changing the amount of dough. By carefully watching the effect of rolling, Esther shows that she understands A) dynamic transformations. B) working memory. C) inventive spelling. D) subitizing. Answer: A) dynamic transformations. Esther learns to recognize that the static stages (the piece of dough and ball of dough) are related to each other through the dynamic transformation of rolling. 6. In Piaget's stage of concrete operations, children can think A) abstractly and hypothetically. B) logically and flexibly. C) only using assimilation. D) only using accommodation. Answer: B) logically and flexibly. During concrete operations, children develop the capacity for logical thought, which includes decentered thinking, an understanding of dynamic transformations, and reversibility of mental operations. 7. Being able to consider more than one aspect of a problem is called the ability to A) centrate. B) decenter. C) seriate. D) subitize. Answer: B) decenter 8. Five-year-old Marco complains that his slice of cake is smaller than Maria’s, his 10-year-old sister. But she explains, “Look, your slice is skinnier, but it’s taller. So we really have the same amount.” Which aspect of concrete operational reasoning does Maria’s explanation use? A) decentered thought B) seriation C) class inclusion D) dynamic transformation Answer: A) decentered thought. Maria illustrates her ability for decentered thought by paying attention to both the width and height of the cake, while her brother Marco focuses his attention on only one dimension, the height. 9. Thomas watches his teacher, Ms. Hunt, perform a classic conservation task. She has two glasses with an equal amount of a blue liquid. She then pours the liquid from one glass into a tall narrow container and the liquid from another glass into a short wide container. Ms. Hunt asks him which container has more liquid or do they have the same amount. Thomas responds confidently, "They have the same amount; if you poured them back into their original glasses, they would be the same.” Thomas is most likely illustrating which aspect of thought? A) seriation B) transitivity C) reversibility D) class inclusion Answer: C) reversibility. By recognizing that the original state can be returned to by undoing the act of moving the liquid, that is, returning it back to its original containers, Thomas understands the concept of reversibility. 10. Piaget proposed that children in the concrete operational stage understand _______________, which is the idea that two actions like filling and emptying a cup lead to opposite results. A) animism B) seriation C) transitive inference D) reversibility Answer: D) reversibility. Reversibility is the understanding that the effect of one action can be done by applying the opposite action. 11. Children in the concrete operational stage are able to solve class inclusion problems because they A) can reverse operations mentally. B) can focus on more than once aspect of a problem. C) are egocentric in their thinking. D) have abstract thinking. Answer: B) can focus on more than once aspect of a problem. Class inclusion requires decentered thought, that is, viewing an object in two or more ways. 12. Ashley is taking a class on Piaget and as part of an assignment, has to interview children. She gives 7-year-old Andrew a bag of red and blue candies. They discuss how the candies are made of chocolate. Andrew counts the candies—7 red and 14 blue. Ashley asks, "Are there more blue candies or chocolate candies?" Andrew looks at her and laughs: "Of course there are more chocolate candies—they are all made of chocolate." This demonstrates that Andrew understands the concept of A) seriation. B) class inclusion. C) reversibility. D) transitivity. Answer: B) class inclusion. Class inclusion is a relation between subclasses of a class. In particular, it is the understanding that all members of a subclass are also included in the same class (e.g., all tulips and roses are also flowers). 13. Show a 7-year-old child five toy horses and three toy cows, and then ask, "Are there more horses or more animals?" If the child responds, "More animals," he or she is most likely to be in the A) sensorimotor stage. B) preoperational stage C) concrete operational stage. D) formal operational stage. Answer: C) concrete operational stage. Piaget proposed that in order to solve the class inclusion problem, a child must be in the concrete operational stage of development. 14. What is the process of mentally drawing inferences by making comparisons among objects? A) seriation B) transitive inference C) dynamic transformations D) decentration Answer: B) transitive inference 15. What is the ability to arrange items according to a quantitative dimension? A) transitivity B) conservation C) reversibility D) seriation Answer: D) seriation 16. When 8-year-old Jamal is asked to sort a pile of circles, squares, and triangles of various sizes and colors, he will probably be A) able to sort by object shape only. B) able to sort by object size only. C) able to sort the objects in a variety of different ways. D) confused by too many options and unable to sort at all. Answer: C) able to sort the objects in a variety of different ways. Given his age, it is likely that Jamal is in the stage of concrete operations and has begun to develop decentered thought, and he is, therefore, capable of sorting objects along multiple features or dimensions. 17. "Carol is older than Lexi and Lexi older than Tyler. Who is older Carol or Tyler?" The ability to solve problems such as this demonstrates the concept of A) transitive inference. B) reversibility. C) seriation. D) decentration. Answer: A) transitive inference. Transitive inferences require comparisons between elements in a series of objects that have not been directly compared. 18. Thomas is asked to arrange toy trains from shortest to longest. This is most likely a test for A) transitive inference. B) class inclusion. C) seriation. D) decentration. Answer: C) seriation. Seriation is the ability to arrange a set of items in a series according to a quantitative dimension such as size, weight, or length. 19. The one major limitation in concrete operational thought is the ability to A) focus on only one aspect of a situation. B) solve problems using only tangible materials and situations. C) think about the world hypothetically but not realistically. D) use inductive and deductive reasoning. Answer: B) solve problems using only tangible materials and situations. Children’s use of mental operations is still closely tied to concrete materials, contexts, and situations. In other words, if children have not had direct experience with the context or situation or if the material is not tangible, then they are not successful in using their mental operations. 20. Sandra is 11 years old, and reasons at Piaget’s concrete operational stage of development. Which task is likely to be beyond her ability to solve? A) sort a set of dolls by their height B) sort a set of imaginary objects by weight C) sort a set of baseball playing cards by team D) solve all of these tasks Answer: B) sort a set of imaginary objects by weight. Because concrete operational thought is limited to actual experiences, it is unlikely that Sandra will be able to reason about a set of dolls she cannot directly see and manipulate. 21. Some research indicates that ___________ is (are) most affected by maturation and out-of-school experiences. A) conservation abilities B) class inclusion C) seriation D) transitivity Answer: A) conservation abilities 22. What model of information processing views memory as a series of different storage locations? A) stores B) network C) conservation D) working memory Answer: A) stores 23. Which kind of event is likely to be found in the sensory store? A) the memory of your 4th birthday B) the sound of a dog that just barked outside your window C) the route you took to work today D) the cup of coffee you are thinking about buying Answer: B) the sound of a dog that just barked outside your window. The sensory store is the location where large amounts of information can be maintained in their original modalities (e.g., visual, verbal, and acoustic) for very brief periods of time (approximately half a second). 24. According to the stores model, information enters the cognitive system through the A) sensory store. B) short-term store. C) long-term store. D) executive processor. Answer: A) sensory store 25. Which of the following stores is only able to hold information for approximately half a second? A) short-term store B) rapid-encoding store C) long-term store D) sensory store. Answer: D) sensory store. The sensory store is the location where large amounts of information can be maintained in their original modalities (e.g., visual, verbal, and acoustic) for very brief periods of time (approximately half a second). 26. On average, how many chunks of information can your short-term memory hold? A) 2 to 5 B) 10 to 12 C) 1 to 2 D) 5 to 9 Answer: D) 5 to 9 27. Given a list of words to remember, Helen notices that half of the words are items from the kitchen, while the other half are items from the garage. She realizes that by _____________ the words into two groups, it will be easier to remember them. A) rehearsing B) transferring C) chunking D) retrieving Answer: C) chunking. By creating related groups of items (chunks), Helen is able to improve her memory. 28. Telephone numbers are organized into groups of numbers: the area code, the first three digits, and the last four digits. According to the stores model, this is because A) the executive processor needs groups of numbers in order to remember information. B) short-term memory can only hold a limited number of chunks. C) there are limited nodes and links in our network. D) there is a limited amount of information that can be activated in our memory at one time. Answer: B) short-term memory can only hold a limited number of chunks. Short-term memory can hold only between 5 and 9 “chunks” of information. 29. Information can be maintained in the STS for long periods of time if we ______________, but it will fade and disappear within seconds if we do not. A) dream about it B) exercise C) actively attend to it. D) divide our attention over several tasks Answer: C) actively attend to it. Items in short-term memory required continued attention in order to remain active. 30. All of the following are storage areas within the stores model of memory except A) long-term store. B) short-term store. C) sensory store. D) attentional store. Answer: D) attentional store. The stores model includes the sensory, short-term, and long-term stores. While attention plays an important role, it is not a storage location. 31. Connie and her father are shopping for groceries. Connie's father asks her to go and get the toothpaste and the milk. Connie takes off muttering to herself "toothpaste and milk...toothpaste and milk." According to the stores model, which memory system is Connie using? A) sensory store B) short-term store C) long-term store D) network store Answer: B) short-term store. By rehearsing her list of desired items, Connie is maintaining the words in short term memory. 32. Information stored in the ________ is infinite and permanent. A) short-term store B) sensory store C) long-term store D) working memory Answer: C) long-term store 33. In order to hold events in memory—where they are kept even when we are not actively attending to them—they must be passed from the ___________ to the ___________. A) short-term store; long-term store B) long-term store; sensory store C) executive processor; long-term store D) sensory store; executive processor Answer: A) short-term store; long-term store. To be stored more permanently, information must be passed along to the long-term store. 34. Rehearsal is a mental activity that helps keep information active and available in the A) sensory store. B) short-term store. C) long-term store. D) executive processor. Answer: B) short-term store. Rehearsal draws attention to the items in the short-term store, keeping them active and available to memory. 35. In ________ models, information is believed to move from one storage facility to another, whereas in ________ models, information is believed to be activated or accessible to different degrees at different times. A) network; stores B) stores; network C) node; link D) link; node Answer: B) stores; network. The stores model views information as placed in a particular location (store), while the network model views information as distributed over a set of distinct concepts, ideas, or objects. 36. The ________ controls the sensory, short-term, and long-term stores and determines what information will pass in and out of each storage unit. A) executive processor B) network manager C) working memory D) coordinating system Answer: A) executive processor. An important aspect of the stores model is the executive processor, which controls all three stores and the processes that pass information among them. 37. Several recent studies suggest that activity in the _________ lobe is related to the executive processor (or executive function). A) frontal B) parietal C) occipital D) temporal Answer: A) frontal 38. What is the difference between concept nodes and links in network models? A) The node has a limited capacity, whereas the link does not. B) Concept nodes are connected to each other by links. C) Links are strong, and nodes are weak. D) Nodes are memory stores, and links are memory networks. Answer: B) Concept nodes are connected to each other by links. The concept nodes are distinct items or properties, whereas the links represent the degree to which those items are related or associated with each other. 39. The main difference between the stores and the network models of memory in the information-processing approach is that A) the stores approach examines concept nodes and the network model examines activation. B) the stores approach likens memory to storage boxes, whereas the network approach likens memory to interconnected links. C) the stores approach uses the executive processor to manage information and the network model uses the working memory to manage information. D) the stores approach likens memory to a computer, whereas the network approach likens memory to an Internet Web site. Answer: B) the stores approach likens memory to storage boxes, whereas the network approach likens memory to interconnected links. The stores model views information as placed in a particular location (store), whereas the network model views information as distributed over a set of distinct concepts, ideas, or objects. 40. According to network models of memory, why is it likely to be easier for you to recall your mother's maiden name when asked than to remember the name of an acquaintance that you've only met once or twice? A) Information regarding your mother's maiden name moves more quickly from long-term to short-term storage. B) Information regarding your mother's maiden name has a higher level of activation than information regarding a brief acquaintance. C) Information regarding your mother's maiden name may be connected by fewer links than information about a brief acquaintance. D) Information regarding your mother's maiden name does not have to move from node to node because it is relevant to your family. Answer: B) Information regarding your mother's maiden name has a higher level of activation than information regarding a brief acquaintance. Items that are more highly activated in the network model are easier to remember. 41. According to the network model, the farther away an activation travels from its original source A) the weaker it becomes. B) the longer it will have to travel. C) the stronger it becomes. D) the shorter it will have to travel. Answer: A) the weaker it becomes. The distance between nodes in a network determine the degree to which they are associated; longer distances mean weaker or less activated links. 42. Jeremy sees a red fire engine pass by his house, the sight of which makes him think of a fire station. Then he thinks of a Dalmatian, the thought of which reminds him of his own pet dog. The idea that remembering involves a sequence of steps from one image or concept to another illustrates which model of memory? A) stores model B) concept-cascade model C) network model D) memory-inhibition model Answer: C) network model. Jeremy’s mental network includes associations between fire engine, fire station, Dalmatian, and his own dog. 43. In the network model of memory, nodes can be activated from either ____________ sources or ____________ sources. A) genetic; environmental B) internal; external C) concrete; abstract D) active; passive Answer: B) internal; external. Nodes can be activated from either external sources (e.g., seeing an object in the environment) or internal sources (e.g., thinking about an object). 44. According to the network model, all of our activated knowledge is in which aspect of our memory? A) sensory register B) short-term memory C) working memory D) long-term memory Answer: C) working memory. Working memory (WM) refers to the information that is currently active in the memory system and available for use in any mental task. From this “pool” of activated pieces of knowledge (i.e., stored information), a person focuses on some pieces for more detailed processing, but all of the activated information is considered to be in working memory. 45. Working memory and the short-term store are similar to each other in that they both A) consist of information that is currently being processed. B) move information between different storage systems. C) see information as always available and active. D) have several different components that monitor, process, and allocate information. Answer: A) consist of information that is currently being processed. Both working memory and the STS are forms of memory that we are consciously aware of or attending to and currently processing. 46. An important difference between short-term store and working memory is that the latter A) has a limited capacity. B) has several distinct components. C) decays over time. D) is connected to the sensory store. Answer: B) has several distinct components. Working memory is divided into a number of special-purpose components, including a component that is centrally involved in processing verbal information, another in processing auditory information, and others in allocating and monitoring cognitive resources such as attention as well as rehearsal and temporary storage of information. 47. Which of the following is a component of working memory? A) processing verbal information B) processing auditory information C) allocating cognitive resources such as attention D) all of the above Answer: D) all of the above. The components of working memory include a component that is centrally involved in processing verbal information, another in processing auditory information, and others in allocating and monitoring cognitive resources such as attention as well as rehearsal and temporary storage of information. 48. Piper's teacher asks the class, "What is 5 times 7?" According the network model, the numbers 5 and 7 are currently activated and reside in which of Piper's memory systems? A) short-term memory B) long-term memory C) working memory. D) sensory memory Answer: C) working memory. As Piper considers the question, the numbers 5 and 7 are brought into working memory, and then the operation of multiplication is used to produce the result. 49. If activation is not maintained, short-term store and working memory A) can hold information for a long period of time (roughly 2 minutes). B) have a large capacity (can hold about 20 items). C) can hold information for a short period of time (roughly 30 seconds). D) has a very small capacity (can hold only 2 items). Answer: C) can hold information for a short period of time (roughly 30 seconds). 50. Which activity may help to keep information activated and available in working memory? A) rehearsing what we are trying to remember B) relating the material to other pieces of information that are active in working memory C) blocking new information from entering the sensory store D) both A and B Answer: D) both A and B. We can rehearse (i.e., repeat over and over) what we are trying to remember or relate it to other pieces of information that are active in working memory. Such strategies help keep information activated and therefore available in working memory for longer periods of time. 51. Performing well on short-term and working memory tasks has been found to be correlated with better cognitive functioning in all of the following areas except A) language. B) math performance. C) abstract thinking. D) intelligence. Answer: C) abstract thinking 52. Researchers who believe in the network model view long-term memory as all of the following except as A) unlimited in its capacity. B) permanently holding information. C) nonactivated. D) completely separate from the other memory systems. Answer: D) completely separate from the other memory systems. According to the network model of memory, all memories are stored in a single, unified network. Working memory is those parts of the network that are currently active, while long-term memory is the remaining, nonactivated parts of the network. 53. Memory that endures over a long period of time, is permanent, and is unlimited is called A) working memory. B) sensory store. C) long-term memory. D) short-term memory. Answer: C) long-term memory. One of the things that both the stores and network models agree on is that long-term memory is permanent and unlimited. 54. Last week, Dudley learned in his science class that the fluffy white clouds in the sky are called cumulous clouds. However, a week later, on his science test, he is not able to remember their name. According to the network model, Dudley is most likely having difficulty ________ the information. A) accessing B) retrieving C) storing D) chunking Answer: B) retrieving. In the stores model, retrieval is the process of bringing information from the long-term store to the short-term store. In network models, retrieval is the process of activating information so that it becomes a part of the working memory and thus available for use. 55. As you head down the stairs on the way to your psychology class, another student looks at you and says, "Hi." You try to remember the person's name to say "Hello" back. However, you remember that it is your roommate's best friend and that she has never told you his name. This example most likely illustrates A) a problem accessing information. B) difficulty storing the information. C) what happens when you never receive information to encode. D) a problem retrieving information. Answer: C) what happens when you never receive information to encode. Encoding is the process of forming a mental representation of information. Information cannot be accessed or retrieved if it is not encoded. 56. In the _____________________ model, retrieval is the process of bringing information from the long-term store to the short-term store. A) connectionist B) stores C) network D) parallel-processing Answer: B) stores. According to the stores model of memory, information is consciously recalled when retrieval brings the information from the long-term store back to the short-term store. 57. In the _____________________ model, retrieval is the process of activating information so that it becomes part of the working memory and thus available for use. A) fuzzy trace B) stores C) network D) metalinguistic Answer: C) network. According to the network model of memory, information is brought into working memory and becomes consciously available through the process of retrieval and activation. 58. The "tip-of-the-tongue" phenomenon results in difficulty with which aspect of your long-term memory? A) encoding B) storage C) retrieval D) accessing Answer: C) retrieval. When the desired memory is stored in long-term memory, it is accessible. However, it cannot be consciously recalled if it cannot be retrieved. 59. Changing information into a form that can be stored in long-term memory is known as ________, whereas bringing information to mind that has been stored previously is known as ________. A) accessing; encoding B) encoding; sensing C) encoding; retrieval D) accessing; retrieval Answer: C) encoding; retrieval 60. According to the network model of memory, changes in the ____________ of interconnections of stored information are the things that create alteration in the organization of long-term memory. A) number B) types C) strengths D) all of the above Answer: D) all of the above. Development of memory networks involve increases in the number and type of nodes, as well as increases in the connections between nodes. 61. As a young child, Gustav developed a network for representing the concept of “dog.” Now that he is 10, which change is true of his network? A) It has incorporated more concept nodes and linked them by association. B) The short-term store is able to hold information for longer periods. C) He can now form verbatim traces of events. D) The executive processor can successfully retrieve memories. Answer: A) It has incorporated more concept nodes and linked them by association. With age, Gustav’s network has more nodes and more links between them. 62. Nine-year-old Dustin comes home from a birthday party and tells everyone what he did at the party, all the friends he met, and the games they played. Dustin is using ______ memory to rely on his recall for events of the party. A) semantic. B) episodic. C) short-term. D) long-term. Answer: B) episodic. Episodic memory is memory for events, or episodes, that one experiences in day-to-day life. 63. The memory for events and episodes that occur in one's life is called ________ memory. A) semantic B) working C) episodic D) reconstructive Answer: C) episodic 64. Which of the following is an example of semantic memory? A) The word “persnickety” means fussy or picky. B) Cordelia remembers that she ate oatmeal for breakfast today. C) Thomas knows how to play the piano. D) all of the above Answer: A) The word “persnickety” means fussy or picky. Semantic memory is knowledge of words and concepts. 65. What stages does long-term memory pass through? A) encoding, storage, retrieval B) input, rehearsal output C) encoding, rehearsal, processing, recall. D input, processing, output Answer: A) encoding, storage, retrieval 66. The fact that our memory is influenced by previous knowledge, memories, and the current context implies that memory is A) literal. B) reconstructed. C) automatic. D) inaccurate. Answer: B) reconstructed 67. Dr. Thomas is conducting a research study examining memory. It involves having a research assistant run into a fifth-grade classroom shouting that she has lost her pet monkey. She says that the monkey is brown and that he is wearing a red coat. One week later, the children are asked questions such as "What color hat was the monkey wearing?" Sammy answers "Blue." Why is Sammy remembering something that did not actually happen? A) He is relying on his reconstructive memory. B) He has very limited long-term memory capacity. C) His sensory store perceived the color incorrectly. D) He is having difficulty with his working memory. Answer: A) He is relying on his reconstructive memory. In reconstructive memory you patch together what probably happened based on the bits and pieces you actually stored along with other relevant information from memory and from external cues. 68. Reconstructive memory uses information from storage and _____ cues. A) internal B) external C) false D) recreated Answer: B) external. In reconstructive memory. you patch together what probably happened based on the bits and pieces you actually stored along with other relevant information from memory and external cues. 69. Justin has vivid memories of his grandfather giving him his first pet dog, Pedro, on his seventh birthday. Justin remembers every detail of the afternoon he got Pedro, including how Pedro sniffed Justin’s red shirt and wagged his tail nonstop. What memory is Justin relying on as he recalls his past experience? A) semantic memory. B) false memory. C) cognitive strategy. D) autobiographical memory. Answer: D) autobiographical memory. Autobiographical memories are quite vivid and detailed, sometimes even including emotions, sights, and sounds. 70. In “Children’s Eyewitness Testimony: The Truth, the Whole Truth, Nothing but the Truth?” it is noted that both children and adults become ____________ their memories if they receive feedback confirming their reports. A) confused about B) less able to remember C) less sure of D) more confident in Answer: D) more confident in 71. According to “Children’s Eyewitness Testimony: The Truth, the Whole Truth, Nothing but the Truth?” under which conditions can the accuracy and details of children’s eyewitness reports be good? A) Questions are misleading. B) Children are questioned in a demanding atmosphere. C) Children are given permission to acknowledge when they do not know the answer. D) Children are questioned in a frightening atmosphere. Answer: C) Children are given permission to acknowledge when they do not know the answer. 72. Long-lasting memories of personally relevant events are called A) scripts. B) knowledge bases. C) autobiographical memories. D) reconstructive memories. Answer: C) autobiographical memories. Long-lasting memories of personally experienced events are called autobiographical memories, which are a special subgroup of episodic memories. They are memories of events that had a high level of personal significance. 73. When adults have "remember when you..." conversations with children, they are trying to teach children how to describe their ________ memories. A) semantic B) working C) autobiographical. D) event Answer: C) autobiographical. Interactions like these teach children a form for describing memories, and they also help children fill in forgotten details. In other words, such conversations strengthen events that might have become inaccessible in memory so that the child is better able to remember them later. 74. One of the major problems we encounter with autobiographical memory is that A) most people cannot remember information from their childhoods. B) sometimes people are influenced by other people's interpretations of events. C) once the information is stored, we often have difficulty with retrieval. D) it is only for traumatic events. Answer: B) sometimes people are influenced by other people's interpretations of events. Research shows that many kinds of autobiographical memories are susceptible to social influence; simply hearing another person describe an early autobiographical memory can influence age judgments and confidence in early memories. 75. What is currently known about how autobiographical and semantic memories are processed at the neural level? A) Both semantic and autobiographical memories are processed in the occipital lobe. B) Semantic memories are processed frontally; autobiographical memories are processed temporally. C) It is not clear if the two types of memories are processed differently. D) Both semantic and autobiographical memories are processed in the parietal lobe. Answer: C) It is not clear if the two types of memories are processed differently. 76. In "Career Focus: Meet a Child and Family Therapist," what does Dr. Updegrove suggest for helping children to accurately recall events? A) The therapist must establish trust with the client. B) Questions should be open-ended. C) It is helpful to ask the client to explain in his or her own words. D) all of the above Answer: D) all of the above 77. The amount of information a person knows about a particular area or topic is called their A) scripts. B) knowledge base. C) strategies. D) episodic memories. Answer: B) knowledge base 78. Deliza misplaced a library book and is looking through her house. She decides to go through each room, one at a time, and carefully search. Her conscious, intentional, and controllable plan is a A) personal narrative. B) knowledge base. C) working memory. D) strategy. Answer: D) strategy. Strategies are conscious, intentional, and controllable plans used to improve performance. 79. Having a knowledge base on a particular topic allows you to do all of the following except A) notice more details and relationships than someone who was unfamiliar with the topic. B) store new information effectively. C) quickly access and retrieve information about the topic. D) have fewer pieces of information in your memory system. Answer: D) have fewer pieces of information in your memory system. Having a knowledge base leads to more pieces of information in your memory system. 80. In a study of expert-novice differences among chess players, Chi (1978) found that A) adults' memories of chessboard arrangements were clearly superior to children's memories. B) children's performance on a memory task involving a series of random numbers was superior to the adults' performance. C) the child experts clearly outperformed the adult novices on memory for chessboard arrangements. D) child experts and adult novices did not differ in their performance on the random numbers memory tasks. Answer: C) the child experts clearly outperformed the adult novices on memory for chessboard arrangements. 81. One reason that experts may have superior performance to novices in their area of specialization is that experts A) "chunk" more information than novices. B) have better memory capabilities in general. C) have larger frontal lobes. D) do not have to rely on scripts. Answer: A) "chunk" more information than novices. Because experts are able to chunk or combine pieces of information into groups, they are able to encode and consequently remember more than novices. 82. Compared to older children, younger children's knowledge bases are A) less connected. B) organized according to underlying principles. C) larger and have more links. D) more flexible. Answer: A) less connected 83. According to your text, which of the following factors appears to be most important to the development of a strong knowledge base? A) general aptitude B) motivation C) interest D) practice Answer: D) practice 84. Which of the following supports the claim that young children are “universal novices”? A) They know fewer topics than older children. B) They know less than older children about the topics they have encountered. C) Their knowledge base tends to be organized according to surface features. D) all of the above Answer: D) all of the above 85. Which of the following is a memory strategy? A) rehearsal B) organization C) elaboration D) all of the above Answer: D) all of the above. Memory strategies include rehearsal, organization, and elaboration. 86. When using the strategy of rehearsal, older children tend to use a cumulative style—repeating everything several times. In contrast, younger children use a passive style—repeating ________ they are trying to remember. A) only the first word B) the first few words C) the last word D) every other word Answer: C) the last word 87. Gertie loves her Spanish class. Tonight, her homework is to learn 10 new words including the words perro and gato. She repeats to herself over and over again "Dog, perro, cat, gato, dog, perro, cat, gato." Which memory strategy is Gertie most likely using to learn the words? A) organization B) elaboration C) rehearsal D) recall Answer: C) rehearsal. Rehearsal involves repetition of the material to be remembered. 88. Given a list of spelling words to study, Marcus decides to divide the list into verbs and nouns and then again into short and long words. This illustrates which memory strategy? A) rehearsal B) organization C) elaboration D) recombination Answer: B) organization. Organization involves creating relations between the items to be remembered and then using those groups to aid memory. 89. The best example of elaboration is A) repeating "red, card, white, chocolate" over and over again. B) organizing red and white into a color category. C) creating a story about receiving a red card and a box of white chocolates for Valentine's Day. D) noticing that card and chocolate both begin with the letter "c." Answer: C) creating a story about receiving a red card and a box of white chocolates for Valentine's Day. Elaboration involves creating verbal or visual associations to help link the items to be remembered. 90. When trying to remember everything that she has to get at the store—peaches, strawberries, milk, and eggs—Ashley groups the fruits together in one category and the dairy in another category. Ashley is using which memory strategy? A) rehearsal B) elaboration C) scripting D) organization Answer: D) organization. Organization involves the use of relationships among items to improve memory for the items. 91. All of the following developmental trends concerning memory strategies are true except A) preschool children are less likely to spontaneously use memory strategies than are older children. B) all of the three memory strategies appear at roughly the same ages. C) younger children do not use memory strategies as effectively as older children do. D) children are more likely to use memory strategies effectively when the information is familiar. Answer: B) All of the three memory strategies appear at roughly the same ages. 92. Children's strategy development has been likened to ________, meaning that children use a variety of strategies ranging in complexity. A) an iceberg B) a series of steps C) a multidimensional cube D) overlapping waves Answer: D) overlapping waves. Children’s strategy development can be thought of as a series of overlapping waves in which children use a variety of different strategies, some simpler and some more complex. The particular strategies used most often gradually shift from the simpler to the more complex. 93. Which approach to understanding cognitive development uses sets of computerized "if-then" statements to determine what a person will do under certain conditions? A) connectionist models B) stores models C) production systems D) network models Answer: C) production systems 94. Production systems models and connectionist models are similar in that they both A) hypothesize that information is not stored but rather reconstructed. B) are referred to as neural networks. C) use computer simulations to understand human cognitive processing. D) involve neural activation and networking. Answer: C) use computer simulations to understand human cognitive processing. Production systems and connectionist models are two examples of computational models that are programmed and tested on computers. 95. In the production systems approach, a(n) ________ must be met before the production is implemented. After the production is implemented, the response occurs which is called the ________. A) condition; solution B) solution; action C) condition; action D) action; condition Answer: C) condition; action. Each production specifies a condition that must be met before the production will be implemented (this is the if part) and a specific action that will be taken (the then part). 96. According to the _____________ model of cognitive development, an important difference in thinking between early and middle childhood is an increase in the number and complexity of rules that children use to reason about a particular situation. A) connectionist B) production systems C) fuzzy trace D) phonemic awareness Answer: B) production systems. Development is explained in the production systems model as a change in the number of rules (productions) that a child represents over time. 97. Recent work on production systems models has focused on developing ______________ production systems that “learn” in order to simulate the actual process of developmental change. A) self-modifying. B) human C) emotional D) metalinguistic Answer: A) self-modifying. Earlier production systems emphasized matching children’s performance at different ages. More recently, researchers have focused on developing self-modifying production systems or systems that “learn” in order to simulate the actual process of developmental change. 98. Connectionist models contain all of the following except A) scripts. B) units. C) links. D) levels of activation. Answer: A) scripts 99. Which model asserts that knowledge is reconstructed based on activations among interconnected neural networks? A) stores B) conservation C) connectionist D) production systems Answer: C) connectionist 100. Like ____________ models of memory, connectionist models also propose that knowledge is represented by a pattern of activation across a set of neuronlike units. A) stores B) fuzzy trace C) strategy choice D) network. Answer: D) network. Both network models of memory and connectionist models view knowledge as distributed across a network that is only partially active at any moment in time. 101. Because connectionist models reflect what is known about the workings of neurons in the brain, they are often referred to as A) production systems. B) neural networks. C) strategy choice models. D) scripts. Answer: B) neural networks 102. Jonah is participating in the liquid conservation task, and according to the production system model, he only uses two productions to guide his reasoning (see Table 11.1, Model I). He watches as liquid is poured from a short glass into a tall glass and explains that there is more in the new tall glass because A) it is wider than the original glass. B) it is taller than the original glass. C) he can pour it back into the original, shorter glass. D) the old glasses were initially equal in height. Answer: B) it is taller than the original glass. One of Jonah’s two basic productions is that if one glass has a higher level of liquid in it, it must have more than the other glass. 103. The production systems model of Piaget’s liquid conservation task presented in Table 11.1 describes a series of four models. In particular, Model IV systematically includes both the height and width of each container. The capacity to consider multiple aspects of the problem is closest to which aspect of concrete operational thought? A) egocentrism B) reversibility C) decentered thought D) seriation Answer: C) decentered thought. Like Piaget’s idea of decentered thought, more advanced production models have more elaborate rules in which multiple aspects of a situation are considered. 104. How does “learning” occur in a connectionist model? A) through changes in the weights of the links between units B) by adding new “if-then” rules C) by shifting from verbatim to gist descriptions D) through integration of short-term and long-term memory Answer: A) through changes in the weights of the links between units. Connectionist models “learn” as the connections between units increases or decreases over time. 105. What cognitive approach proposes that children are probabilistic learners? A) fuzzy trace theory B) connectionist model C) stores model D) theory theory Answer: D) theory theory 106. Cognition, according to theory theory, is a _____ process. A) top-down B) bottom-up C) random D) sequential Answer: A) top-down 107. Compared to verbatim trace memories, fuzzy trace memories are A) harder to access. B) more difficult to use. C) less susceptible to interference. D) more susceptible to forgetting. Answer: C) less susceptible to interference. Because fuzzy trace memories capture the general “gist” of an event, they are better maintained and less influenced by interference. 108. According to the fuzzy trace theory, young children perform worse on memory tasks compared to older children and adults because they A) rely only on fuzzy traces. B) do not have a large knowledge base. C) do not have as many units in their memories. D) have a hard time encoding information into their long-term memories. Answer: B) do not have a large knowledge base. To extract the main ideas from an encounter, a child must have some way of identifying what the central aspects are. But until the child has at least a basic script for commonly encountered events, he or she has no solid basis for knowing what is relevant and important and what is not. 109. The major criticisms of the information-processing approach include all of the following except that A) it assumes that children do not understand conservation until middle childhood. B) the approach is based on "cold" logic and reasoning. C) it rarely examines how social interactions and emotions influence cognition. D) the concept of an executive processor has not been fully explained. Answer: A) It assumes that children do not understand conservation until middle childhood. 110. Both fuzzy trace theory and connectionist models are able to explain changes in how children think without the need for A) a computational level of explanation. B) social interaction or feedback. C) an executive processor. D) all of the above Answer: C) an executive processor. Unlike the stores model of memory, fuzzy trace theory and connectionist models function without a central processor that manages or controls cognitive activity. 111. The sentence "Store go to the Mommy" violates the ________ of the English language. A) phonemes B) semantic knowledge C) pragmatic knowledge D) syntax Answer: D) syntax. Syntax is concerned with the rules for combining words into sentences. 112. If a child understands that it is correct to say "The cat ate the mouse" but incorrect to say "Ate the mouse cat," the child has some understanding of A) semantics. B) morphology. C) syntax. D) pragmatics. Answer: C) syntax. Syntax is concerned with the rules for combining words into sentences. 113. Rasheed understands that how he addresses his mother should differ from how he speaks to his peers. This understanding is related to A) semantics. B) morphology. C) pragmatics. D) syntax. Answer: C) pragmatics. Pragmatics is the use of language to effectively interact with others. 114. Which of the following is the best example of metalinguistic awareness? A) Jean understands that the word "draw" has several different meanings. B) Sarah knows not to repeat something that has already been said in a conversation. C) Phillipe comprehends the passive voice and uses it in daily speech. D) Malik recognizes the appropriate uses of sarcasm and humor. Answer: A) Jean understands that the word "draw" has several different meanings. Metalinguistic awareness is the explicit knowledge about language itself and one’s own use of it. 115. Understanding that the word "duck" can refer to a bird that flies and swims or a warning that you are going to run into a tree branch is called A) working memory. B) executive processor. C) metalinguistic awareness. D) elaboration. Answer: C) metalinguistic awareness. One aspect of metalinguistic awareness is the understanding that a single word can have multiple meanings. 116. What are stories about personal experiences called? A) personal narratives B) knowledge bases C) autobiographical memories D) phonemic awareness Answer: A) personal narratives 117. At what age are children able to tell a classic narrative? A) 2 to 3 years B) 4 to 5 years C) 6 to 7 years D) 8 to 9 years Answer: D) 8 to 9 years 118. What is it called when children tell stories in a sequence of events without adding in their own evaluations of the events? A) classic narrative B) chronological structure C) script D) leap-frog structure Answer: B) chronological structure 119. Krystyna is telling her mother about her day at school: "First we said the pledge of allegiance, then we had math and spelling, then lunch and recess, then we learned about frogs in science, then we had music class with Mrs. Letters, then I came home on the bus." This example illustrates Krystyna's ability to tell personal narratives using a ________ structure. A) chronological B) classic C) leap-frog D) constructive Answer: A) chronological. In a chronological structure, the storyteller reports a sequence of events without adding details or evaluating the events. 120. Research has found ethnic differences in children's narratives. Hispanic children's narratives ________, whereas African American children's narratives ________. A) focus on a single topic; focus on family B) focus on family; focus on a single topic C) focus on family; include different characters D) include different characters; focus on a single topic Answer: C) focus on family; include different characters 121. What information-processing memory theory has been applied to the study of language development? A) the stores model B) the network model C) the production systems theory D) the connectionist model Answer: D) the connectionist model 122. Critics claim that connectionist models have difficulty explaining ________ in children's language development. A) one-trial learning B) syntax C) pronunciation D) grammar Answer: A) one-trial learning. Because connectionist models learn gradually over multiple exposures to a word, they have difficulty explaining how children learn some words after only one trial or exposure. 123. What is the earliest evidence of humans' ability to understand basic mathematical ideas? A) Newborns less than one week old can distinguish between cards with four and six black dots. B) Newborns less than one week old can distinguish between cards with two and three black dots. C) Infants two or three months old can match the number of objects they see to the number of sounds they hear. D) Children do not recognize mathematical quantities when they see or hear them until they are about four years old. Answer: B) Newborns less than one week old can distinguish between cards with two and three black dots. 124. What is the perceptual process that we use to quickly determine the quantity of a small set of objects? A) habituation B) subitizing C) encoding D) elaboration Answer: B) subitizing 125. As your friend is walking to class, she drops a few coins from her pocket. You quickly glance at the ground and tell her that she has dropped three coins. This is most likely an example of the process called A) phonemic awareness. B) habituation. C) subitizing. D) sensory store. Answer: C) subitizing. Subitizing is a perceptual process in which people quickly and easily determine how many objects are in a small set without actually counting them. 126. When a child can figure out that 4 + 7 is 11 by first adding 4 + 6 and then adding one, he or she is using A) a counting strategy. B) subitizing. C) phonemic awareness. D) practical intelligence. Answer: A) a counting strategy. Counting strategies are approaches to solving math problems that involve counting of the quantities. 127. As children get older, they tend to use what type of strategy to determine mathematical quantity? A) counting all of the items B) quicker strategies based on remembering basic math concepts C) using their fingers to count D) the counting manipulative Answer: B) quicker strategies based on remembering basic math concepts 128. According to the _______________ model, children tend to use the fastest approach that they can execute correctly. A) network B) connectionist C) strategy choice D) none of the above Answer: D) none of the above 129. The strategy choice model predicts that when there is a weak association between a problem and its correct answer, children will use ______________ such as counting, guessing, or deriving an answer based on known facts or rules. A) backup strategy B) phonemic awareness C) reconstructive memory D) chunking Answer: A) backup strategy. When the correct strategy is only weakly used, children will often fall back on older strategies that have been successful in the past. 130. Steven is trying to determine how many crackers his mother gave him for lunch. He counts the first two crackers, then counts five more crackers, and then counts all seven crackers and states out loud, "I have seven crackers!" Steven is using which counting strategy? A) decomposition B) fact retrieval C) counting manipulatives. D) counting on from larger Answer: C) counting manipulatives. In the counting manipulatives strategy, children first explicitly count each set of items and then count all of the items exhaustively. 131. Cassandra knows from her hours and hours of memorizing her times tables that 7 x 3 = 21 so that when her teacher asks her, she can easily bring the answer to mind. Cassandra is using which mathematical strategy? A) decomposition B) fact retrieval C) regrouping D) counting manipulatives Answer: B) fact retrieval. In the fact retrieval strategy, children obtain the answer by retrieving the response from long-term memory. 132. All of the following factors contribute to difficulties completing mathematical word problems except A) number of words. B) number of mathematical operations. C) using a familiar context. D) the problem is not interesting. Answer: C) using a familiar context. Using a familiar context helps support the use of successful strategies. 133. When six-year-old Molly is working on addition and subtraction problems, her father refuses to let her count on her fingers. According to research, her father's refusal may A) increase the amount of time it takes for Molly to learn basic addition and subtraction. B) decrease the amount of time it takes for Molly to learn basic addition and subtraction. C) increase Molly's ability to solve mathematical word problems when she is older. D) decrease Molly's ability to solve math problems requiring three or more operations. Answer: A) increase the amount of time it takes for Molly to learn basic addition and subtraction. According to the strategy choice model, discouraging children from using backup strategies (like counting on their fingers) may actually delay their memorizing basic math facts. 134. The best way to help children understand and remember mathematical knowledge is to A) discourage them from using their fingers to count. B) help them to memorize mathematical rules. C) encourage them to use backup strategies. D) give them word problems that use numerous mathematical operations. Answer: C) encourage them to use backup strategies. The use of backup strategies may help children learn and memorize basic math facts. 135. A study of Brazilian children who were experienced at selling products at street stands found that the children were good at solving word problems that had a “selling” context. However, the children performed much worse on word problems that required the same computations but A) did not have the sales context. B) required a calculator to be solved. C) were not presented in their native language. D) could only be solved cooperatively. Answer: A) did not have the sales context 136. Who said that "the learning and uses of literacy are among the most advanced forms of intelligence, and, compared to other forms, depend more on instruction and practice"? A) Jean Piaget B) Jeanne Chall C) Fredrick Thomas D) Carolyn Hicks Answer: B) Jeanne Chall 137. What percentage of individuals in the United States are poor readers? A) 10% B) 25% C) 40% D) 55% Answer: B) 25% 138. What factor best predicts success in early reading? A) familiarity with the alphabet B) phonemic awareness C) semantic knowledge D) both A and B Answer: D) both A and B 139. All of the following are stages in Chall's theory except A) fluency. B) multiple viewpoints. C) reading/decoding. D) working knowledge. Answer: D) working knowledge 140. According to Chall's theory of reading development, the stage fluency occurs at which age period? A) birth to kindergarten B) Grades 1 to 2 C) Grades 2 to 3 D) Grades 4 to 8 Answer: C) Grades 2 to 3 141. At which of Chall’s stages in reading does fluency with words allow children to move to less familiar material (i.e., “reading to learn”)? A) fluency B) reading for new learning C) multiple viewpoints D) construction and reconstruction Answer: B) reading for new learning 142. In the sentence “The tree is tall,” which of the following is a phoneme? A) The “ee” sound in the word “tree.” B) The word “tree.” C) The phrase “tree is.” D) The entire sentence “The tree is tall.” Answer: A) The “ee” sound in the word “tree.” A phoneme is a basic unit of sound in a word. 143. The understanding that words are made up of smaller units is called A) metalinguistic awareness. B) phonemic awareness. C) automatization. D) knowledge telling. Answer: B) phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the understanding that words are made up of smaller units of sound, or phonemes. This understanding involves associating printed letters with the sounds that go with them. 144. Derek understands that the word "that" is made up of two small units "th" and "at." This understanding most likely illustrates that Derek has A) autobiographical memory. B) subitizing. C) metalinguistic awareness. D) phonemic awareness. Answer: D) phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the understanding that words are made up of smaller units of sound, or phonemes. This understanding involves associating printed letters with the sounds that go with them. 145. Children who have learning disabilities in reading often have difficulty with the ability to quickly recognize words. This is called the ability to ________ words. A) automatize. B) produce C) subitize D) rehearse Answer: A) automatize. Automatization of reading includes the ability to rapidly recognize whole words without sounding out each individual letter or sound. 146. Recent research on learning to read indicates that visual and phonological (sound) properties of words are processed in different areas of the brain but that specific neural circuits between the ________________ lobes develop as the visual and sound properties of words are experienced together. A) frontal and parietal B) occipital and temporal C) parietal and occipital D) temporal and frontal Answer: B) occipital and temporal 147. Which of the following findings has recently emerged from neuroscience research on reading? A) Activity shifts to the left hemisphere with increased skill in reading. B) Different written languages are processed in different areas in the brain. C) Reading interventions with dyslexics creates neural activity patterns similar to nondisabled readers. D) all of the above Answer: D) all of the above 148. Mrs. Hicks is grading her fifth grade classes' spelling quizzes. She notices that one of her students, Matt, is having difficulty with some words. For example, he wrote the spelling for the word "cantaloupe" as "cantellope." Having knowledge of child development, Mrs. Hicks knows that Matt is using ________ spelling. A) creative B) inventive C) imaginative D) incorrect Answer: B) inventive. Before they memorize conventional word spellings, children frequently invent their own made-up versions, a process called inventive (or sometimes invented ) spellings. 149. When children make up their own versions of the spelling of words, it is called A) knowledge telling. B) recursive revisions. C) creative spellings. D) inventive spellings. Answer: D) inventive spellings 150. Research indicates that inventive spelling ______________ children’s ability to learn to correctly spell words later on. A) is not correlated with B) does not interfere with C) delays D) will prevent Answer: B) does not interfere with 151. Children tend to use ________ in which they add ideas and examples to their essays as the ideas come into their minds. A) phonemic awareness B) inventive spelling C) knowledge telling D) semantic knowledge Answer: C) knowledge telling 152. Mature writers realize that good writing evolves through the dynamic process of ________; that is, they reevaluate their plan and rewrite several times. A) knowledge telling B) recursive revision C) chunking D) inventive spelling Answer: B) recursive revision. Recursive revision is the process of writing, editing, and revising one’s writing over several cycles or iterations in order to eliminate errors and increase clarity. 11.2 True/False Questions 1. It is accurate to say that concrete operational thinkers use "trial-and-error" to solve problems rather than to think abstractly about problems. Answer: True 2. Information is held in the sensory store for a relatively long span of time. Answer: False 3. Long-term memory is unlimited in its capacity and can store an infinite amount of information. Answer: True 4. Research indicates that eyewitness memory is not influenced by reconstructive memory. Answer: False 5. It can be difficult to determine whether a memory of a traumatic event is accurate or whether it is influenced by others’ interpretations of the event. Answer: True 6. The better a child's short-term and working memories are, the better the child's overall cognitive abilities (e.g., language, intelligence. and so forth). Answer: True 7. The conscious, intentional, and controllable plans we use to perform better on tasks is called our knowledge bases. Answer: False 8. Expert chess players can store entire board configurations as a single chunk in their short-term memories. Answer: True 9. Research indicates that children expert chess players outperform novice adult chess players because the children have better memories. Answer: False 10. Younger children cannot be taught specific memory strategies. Answer: False 11. Both the connectionist models and the production systems use computer simulations to examine cognitive processes. Answer: True 12. According to theory theory, children’s cognition is a top-down process, driven by hypotheses that they test. Answer: True 13. Older children and adults tend to store memories and to reason with verbatim traces, whereas younger children tend to rely on fuzzy traces. Answer: False 14. It has only been for the last five years or so that the information-processing approach has been the dominant model for examining cognitive development. Answer: False 15. Children as young as 3 years of age can give personal narratives with classic structures in which a story leads up to a main event. Answer: False 16. Newborns can do math: They can tell the difference between two and three objects. Answer: True 117. According to the strategy choice model, teachers should discourage children from counting on their fingers. Answer: False 18. High phonemic awareness has been found to be a strong predictor of reading success—even stronger than a child's IQ score. Answer: True 19. Research studies indicate that teachers should not encourage their students to use inventive spelling when trying to correctly spell words. Answer: False 11.3 Short Answer Questions 1. Piaget's third stage of cognitive development is called ________. Answer: concrete operational thought 2. The ________ is infinite, and information remains there permanently. Answer: long-term store 3. Which type of memory pieces together information and infers the rest? Answer: reconstructive memory 4. The amount of information a person knows on a particular topic is called their ________. Answer: knowledge base 5. Theories of cognition that are tested using computers are known as ________. Answer: computational models 6. The ________ states that memories range on a continuum from literal information to imprecise and general information. Answer: fuzzy trace theory 7. The term used to refer to the rules for combining words into sentences is ________. Answer: syntax 8. When young children tell a story that leads up to a main event, it is called a(n) ________. Answer: classic narrative 9. The strategy most likely to be used by young children to determine the answer to an addition or subtraction problem is the ________. Answer: counting strategy 10. A strategy in which children add ideas to their essays as they come to mind is called ________. Answer: knowledge telling 11. When you continue to evaluate your work and rewrite after writing a first draft it is called ________. Answer: recursive revision 11.4 Essay Questions 1. According to Piaget's theory, what are the differences between the cognitive abilities of a preoperational thinker and the cognitive abilities of a concrete operational thinker? Answer: The preoperational thinker is not able to solve conservation problems because their cognitive schemes are not yet reversible and they center their thoughts on one dimension of a problem. The concrete operational thinker is able to solve conservation problems because they can decenter, focus on dynamic transformations, show reversibility of mental operations, understand class inclusion, seriation, and transitive inference. 2. Describe the similarities and differences between the short-term store in the stores model and the working memory in the network model. Answer: Both short-term memory and working memory consist of information that a person is consciously processing at any given time. Working memory differs from short-term memory because the information is not moving from one storage area to another; it is simply available. Another difference is that the working memory has components involved in processing verbal information, processing auditory information, and allocating and monitoring cognitive resources. 3. What are the differences in memory and information processing between individuals who are experts and individuals who are novices in a particular area? Answer: Experts mentally organize their knowledge about topics differently than do novices. For example, expert chess players can mentally group entire chess board configurations and store it as a single chunk in their memory. In contrast, novices can only think about, store, and retrieve a few pieces of information at a time. Experts also are able to categorize information based on general principles instead of based on surface-level characteristics. 4. List and define the three strategies discussed in the text related to improving performance on information-processing tasks? What are the developmental changes in the use of each strategy? Answer: Rehearsal is repeating information that you want to remember. Organization is forming relationships among items in order to improve your memory for the items. Elaboration is creating visual or verbal associations to link items. Preschool children are less likely to use these strategies spontaneously; however, young children can be taught to use the strategies. Even after training, younger children do not use the strategies as effectively or consistently as older children. Rehearsal is often used by preschoolers, organization during elementary school, and elaboration during adolescence. 5. List and define the various components of the connectionist model. Answer: The connectionist model consists of neural networks. The basic elements of the neural networks are called units, which combine to form different patterns. Each unit has a certain level of activation and is connected by links. The links vary in how strongly they are weighted, with heavily weights links capable of transmitting activation between two units more easily than lightly weighted links. 6. What are the major criticisms of the information-processing approach to cognitive development? Answer: First, the information-processing approach does not offer a comprehensive, overarching structure for explaining cognitive development. Second, it sometimes describes cogitation as "cold" and emphasizes logical reasoning. The approach rarely considers social interactions, emotional reactions, or motivations in real-world situations. Third, the information-processing models focus on the executive processor; however, the theory lacks details regarding how the executive processor works or develops. 7. Briefly define and give an example of each of the following terms related to language development: semantic knowledge, syntax, and pragmatic language. Answer: Semantic knowledge is what words mean, syntax is defined as rules for combing words into sentences, and pragmatic language is using language to effectively interact with others. An example of semantic knowledge is ________, an example of syntax is ________, and an example of pragmatic language is ________. Semantic knowledge: Understanding the meaning of words and sentences. Example: Knowing that the word "apple" refers to a fruit. Syntax: The rules for structuring sentences and phrases in a language. Example: Knowing that "She is reading a book" is correct, while "She reading is a book" is not. Pragmatic language: The use of language in social contexts, including the rules for conversation and storytelling. Example: Knowing how to take turns in a conversation and using polite forms like "please" and "thank you." 8. List and describe the six developmental stages in Chall's theory on reading. Answer: Prereading: Parents read to infants and toddlers by pointing to and naming objects and colors in books and by reading simple stories. Reading/decoding: Children learn to associate letters with their corresponding sounds. Fluency: Children become fluent in recognizing or decoding words. Reading for new learning: After children learn numerous words, they can move on to learning less familiar material. Multiple viewpoints: Adolescents can move beyond basic facts and begin to appreciate different viewpoints. Construction and reconstruction: Mature readers can read multiple sources, opinions, and views and then construct theories own understanding. 11.5 MyDevelopmentLab Questions 1. Identify and describe the major steps of memory processing in the stores model of memory. Answer: Information that enters the information-processing system proceeds through three storage locations or stores. First, sensory stimuli from the environment enter the sensory store. Information is maintained in the sensory store very briefly and must be transferred to the next store in order to be remembered for a longer duration. Second, information from the sensory store enters the short-term store (or working memory). The short-term store holds information for several seconds and represents the storage location between the sensory store and the long-term store. Rehearsal enables information to be maintained in the short-term store. Finally, information is passed from the short-term store to the long-term store. Information that enters the long-term store is held permanently, and the capacity of long-term is unlimited. 2. Contrast the performance of preoperational and concrete operational children on the liquid and number conservation tasks. Answer: When shown two displays (cups of liquid or rows of coins), both preoperational and concrete operational children note that the quantities are equal. However, after one of the displays is transformed (e.g., the liquid from one container is poured into a new container with a different shape), preoperational children reason that one display has more than the other. For example, they may state that liquid poured into the new container “has more because it’s taller.” In contrast, concrete operational children reason that the quantities have not changed, and therefore, the displays are still equal in amount. Concrete operational children understand conservation of quantity because they focus on the dynamic transformation and recognize that it links the appearance of the two displays before and after the transformation. They also understand reversibility: that by pouring the liquid back into the original container, the original state can be recreated. 3. Briefly describe the study presented in the video, which investigated memory of words after watching a short dental-related video clip. How do the findings from the study relate to the theories of memory discussed in Chapter 11? Answer: The researcher divided participants into two groups. Both groups were first presented with a list of words and then shown a brief dental video. One group watched a video of tooth brushing, while the other group watched a dental surgery video. Twenty-four hours later, participants in the second group remembered more of the words they had seen. The findings suggest that encoding of semantic memory (words) in long-term memory can be improved by creating an emotional experience during the encoding process. The emotional experience also appears to improve retrieval of those words 24 hours later. Test Bank for The World of Children Joan Littlefield Cook, Greg Cook 9780205953738