Compared with Piaget's theory, Case's neo-Piagetian theory __________ cognitive development.

A) emphasizes a more rigid stepwise approach to

B) emphasizes that concrete operational thought represents a universal stage of

C) overlooks the importance of information processing in

D) better accounts for unevenness in

Answer: D; page 236

Nala has the ability to think through a series of steps and then mentally reverse direction, returning to the starting point. Nala has attained the Piagetian concept of 

A) seriation

B) classification

C) reversibility

D) conservation

Answer: C; page 234

Because African-American children often use a __________ style of communication, their narratives are usually longer and more complex than those of white children.

A) topic-focused

B) metacognitive

C) topic-associating

D) pragmatic

Answer: C; page 249

Research indicates that obese children

A) are often viewed as lazy, sloppy, ugly, and stupid.

B) tend to be jolly and good-natured.

C) typically outgrow the disorder by early adulthood.

D) usually reach puberty later than normal weight children.

Answer: A; page 229

Which of the following treatments is the most effective for overweight and obese children?

A) Removing soda and vending machines from schools.

B) A school-based health education course.

C) A strict diet and exercise regimen.

D) A family-based intervention.

Answer: D; page 229

Eating an evening meal with parents leads to a diet

A) higher in fruits, vegetables, grains, and milk products.

B) lower in fruits and vegetables and higher in carbohydrates and fat.

C) higher in fried food and sugary soft drinks.

D) lower in fruits, vegetables, grains, and milk products.

Answer: A; page 227

In recent years, school recess has

A) increased due to the belief that it will translate into achievement gains.

B) led to an increase in aggression, especially among boys.

C) been incorporated into the academic curriculum of most US public schools.

D) declined due to the belief that extra time for academics will translate into achievement gains.

Answer: D; page 233

Pat and Terry are fraternal twins. As a girl, Pat is more likely to have an edge over her brother in which of the following skills?

A) throwing

B) jumping

C) hopping

D) kicking

Answer: C; page 231

Gains in __________ permit the transition to rule-oriented games

A) agility and force

B) fine-motor development

C) perspective taking

D) flexibility and balance

Answer: C; page 232

Which of the following statements about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is true?

A) The brains of children with ADHD grow faster than those of unaffected agemates.

B) Children with ADHD score 15-20 points lower than other children on intelligence tests.

C) Fraternal twins are more likely than identical twins to share ADHD.

D) Boys are diagnosed with ADHD about 4 times as often as girls.

Answer: D; page 239

Children from __________ families are more likely than others to score low on working-memory tasks.

A) poverty-stricken

B) dual-income

C) middle-income

D) high-income

Answer: A; page 237

The ability to grasp mental inferences enables knowledge of __________ to expand.

A) classification

B) seriation

C) false-belief

D) self-regulation

Answer: C; page 240

Which of the following statements about cooperative learning is true?

A) Western cultural-majority children require very little teacher guidance to succeed at cooperative learning.

B) In multigrade classrooms, cooperative learning often promotes educational self-fulfilling prophecies.

C) Children benefit most from cooperative learning when they are grouped with peers of the same ability.

D) Western children who are trained in cooperative learning give clearer explanations and enjoy learning more than children who lack such training.

Answer: D; page 251

Magnet schools

A) typically focus on the basics--math, science, social studies, and English.

B) restrict attendance to low SES schools.

C) deepen the racial divide in American education.

D) provide greater gains in reading and math achievement compared with other city schools.

Answer: D; page 253

Highly creative children

A) have IQ scores above 130.

B) are convergent thinkers.

C) excel in a specific field.

D) are divergent thinkers.

Answer: D; page 254

Many gifted children and adolescents

A) are socially isolated.

B) have high self-esteem.

C) display creativity in many unrelated areas.

D) have driving and overambitious parents.

Answer: A; page 254

Which of the following statements about traditional versus constructivist classrooms is true?

A) Preschool and kindergarden students in traditional classrooms have a significant advantage in achievement test scores.

B) Constructivist classrooms are associated with gains in critical thinking, greater social and moral maturity, and more positive attitudes toward school.

C) Older elementary school children in constructivist classrooms have a slight edge in achievement test scores.

D) In traditional classrooms, students are evaluated by considering their progress in relation to their own prior development.

Answer: B; page 255

Educational self-fulfilling prophecies are especially strong when teachers

A) de-emphasize competition.

B) publicly compare children.

C) privately evaluate children.

D) do not express favoritism.

Answer: B; page 252

Roma's parents and teacher believe that she is a gifted student. In addition to an intelligence test, Roma will likely be given a test that assesses

A) executive function.

B) working memory capacity.

C) divergent thinking.

D) theory of mind.

Answer: C; page 254

Magnet schools offer

A) education to ethnically diverse students, although achievement results remain similar to more segregated schools.

B) more exclusive education to high-SES students who are able to afford it.

C) the usual curriculum, plus an emphasis on a specific area of interest.

D) education in a specific area of interest to select groups of homogeneous students

Answer: C; page 253

Glancing inside Ms. Park's classroom, one will find richly equipped learning centers, small groups and individuals solving self-chosen problems, students who are evaluated by considering their progress in relation to their own prior development, and a teacher who guides and supports in response to children's needs. Ms. Park teaches in a(n) __________ classroom.

A) constructivist

B) inclusive

C) integrated

D) traditional

Answer: A; page 250

Mario is skilled at tackling difficult problems and coming up with novel solutions. When given a new task, Mario applies information-processing skills in exceptionally effective ways, making these skills automatic so that working memory is freed for more complex aspects of the situation. According to Sternberg's triarchic theory of successful intelligence, Mario would score high in __________ intelligence.

A) analytical

B) logico-mathematical

C) practical

D) creative

Answer: D; page 243

Eleven-year-old Sarah's performance on her state's standardized test is adversely affected by her worries that she, as an African-American student, is not expected to do well on the test. This anxiety she feels is known as

A) stereotype threat.

B) cultural negativity.

C) dynamic assessment.

D) in-group bias.

Answer: A; page 246

Dynamic assessment

A) is an innovation consistent with Piaget's notion of discovery learning.

B) is a common feature of most group-administered intelligence tests.

C) often underestimates the IQs of ethnic minority children.

D) consists of an adult introducing purposeful teaching in a testing situation to find out what the child can attain with social support.

Answer: D; page 247

Jack and Jenny are approaching adolescence. They are likely to grow out of their __________ more quickly than their __________.

A) jeans; jacket

B) shirts; jeans

C) shirts; shoes

D) hats; shoes

Answer: A; page 227

Which of the following questions most likely illustrates the elaborative style of eliciting children's autobiographical narratives?

A) "Do you remember what we did at the playground today?"

B) "Did you have fun going down the slide?"

C) "Who did you see at the playground?"

D) "I was scared when you went so high on the swing! How did you feel?"

Answer: D; page 186

Gains in __________ are strongly related to mastery of false beliefs.

A) inhibition

B) recognition and recall

C) vocabulary

D) planning

Answer: A; page 186

Even preschoolers with good language skills recall poorly because they are not skilled at using

A) recast

B) recognition skills

C) memory strategies

D) episodic memory

Answer: C; page 185

As early as age 2, children

A) adjust their speech to fit the age, sex, and social status of their listeners.

B) rely on linguistic cues to figure out new word meanings.

C) can effectively give directions over the phone.

D) take turns and respond appropriately to their partners' remarks in face-to-face interaction.

Answer: D; page 195

By age 6, the average child has a vocabulary of about _____ words.

A) 1,000

B) 2,500

C) 5,500

D) 10,000

Answer: D; page 193

One challenge to Vygotsky's theory is that __________ may not be the only means through which children's thinking develops.

A) keen observation of adult work

B) make-believe play

C) independent discovery

D) verbal communication

Answer: D; page 183

Findings of research based on Vygotsky's theory show that parents of children who are more successful when attempting difficult tasks and more advanced in overall cognitive development teach their children using

A) frequent modeling.

B) direct instruction.

C) effective scaffolding

D) discovery learning.

Answer: C; page 183

Yucatec Mayan preschoolers' make-believe play involves

A) a variety of fantasy themes.

B) playing school with peers.

C) imitating adult work.

D) playing with their parents.

Answer: C; page 184

Research reveals that children in village and tribal cultures who spend their days in contact with adult work

A) rely on conversation to learn new tasks.

B) are unable to sit still for long periods.

C) are less self-sufficient than Western children.

D) rarely engage in make-believe play.

Answer: D; page 184

Vygotsky called children's self-directed speech

A) egocentric speech

B) private speech

C) self-talk

D) inner speech

Answer: B; page 182

Research on the development of make-believe play indicates that

A) preschoolers who create imaginary companions are at risk for maladjustment.

B) school-aged children are more self centered in their pretend play than preschool children.

C) girls spend more time at sociodramatic play than boys.

D) preschoolers who spend more time at sociodramaitc play are seen as more socially competent by their teachers.

Answer: D; page 183

Asking frequent questions permits 2-year-old Logan to

A) overcome his egocentrism.

B) solve Piaget's famous class inclusion problem.

C) obtain precise knowledge he needs at the precise moment he needs it.

D) refocus his father's attention on him and instigate social interaction.

Answer: C; page 181

By the third year, children

A) easily move back and forth between basic-level categories and general categories.

B) are skilled at organizing objects into classes and subclasses on the basis of similarites and differences.

C) form many general categories but have a limited understanding of basic-level categories.

D) form many basic-level categories but have a limited understanding of general categories.

Answer: A; page 195

Children master dual representation through

A) hearing stories about supernatural or magical events.

B) practice with counting large quantities.

C) opportunities to practice fine motor skills, such as cutting with scissors.

D) experience with diverse symbols, such as photos and maps.

Answer: D; page 177

By early childhood, children's categories include objects that go together because of their

A) animistic qualities.

B) common function, behavior, or natural kind.

C) perceptual features.

D) hierarchical classification.

Answer: B; page 178