Developmental psychology Exam Questions and Answers 100% Pass

Developmental psychology Exam Questions and Answers 100% Pass What is developmental psychology? - The study of how and why people change over time in terms of their behaviour and thoughts, as well as their ability to relate to others. State three areas that developmental psychology focuses on. - Identity, attachment and adolescence. What is cognitive developmental psychology? - Cognitive developmental psychology deals with how cognitive processes - such as reasoning, perception and memory - change over time. How does Piaget's theory of cognitive development differ from other theories? - It focuses on development rather than learning, and it deals with children rather than all learners. It also suggests that there are several discrete stages of development marked by qualitative differences (rather than a gradual increase in the number and complexity of behaviours, concepts, ideas, etc.). What are the three basic components of Piaget's theory? - 1) Schemas 2100% Pass Guarantee Sophia Bennett, All Rights Reserved © 2025 2) Adaption processes 3) Stages of development What are the two types of adaption, according to Piaget's theory? - 1) Assimilation - using an existing schema to deal with a new situation 2) Accommodation - when an existing schema does not work, it either needs to be changed to deal with the new situation or it needs to be replaced with a new schema Explain the four stages of cognitive development in Piaget's theory. - 1) The sensorimotor stage (0-2 years) - Children characterized by extreme egocentrism. Main development is object permanence. 2) The pre-operational stage (2-7 years) - Key features are egocentrism and animism. Focus is on limitations of children's thinking, e.g. their inability to grasp conservation. 3) Concrete operational stage (7-11 years) - Major turning point in cognitive development of children. Less egocentrism and improved thinking, e.g. regarding conservation. 4) Formal operational stage (11+ years) - Abstract thinking, manipulation of ideas and inferential reasoning. What is egocentrism? - It refers to a child's inability to see a situation from another person's point of view. 3100% Pass Guarantee Sophia Bennett, All Rights Reserved © 2025 Explain object permanence. - Object permanence refers to the knowledge that an object still exists, even when it is hidden. It requires the ability to form a schema of the object. What is animism? - The belief that inanimate objects have human feelings and intentions. Explain conservation. - Conservation is the understanding that something stays the same in quantity even though it changes in appearance. Evaluate Piaget's theory of cognitive development (3 strengths/3 weaknesses). - + First comprehensive theory - has been widely accepted + Deals with both biological and cognitive aspects + High applicability, as it deals with development and is very thorough - Underestimates the importance of social and cultural aspects, as well as the role of language - The model is too rigid and inflexible (e.g. the stages of development) - Underestimates children's cognitive abilities in general What is constructivism? - The idea that knowledge is actively constructed through the child's interaction with the environment. 4100% Pass Guarantee Sophia Bennett, All Rights Reserved © 2025 Give three examples of how Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development differs from Piaget's theory. - 1) Vygotsky puts more emphasis on how culture can affect/shape cognitive development, while Piaget states that cognitive development is mostly universal across cultures. 2) Vygotsky's theory focuses on how environment and social interactions (such as the guidance of teachers) can influence children's cognitive development, while Piaget focuses more on the independent explorations of the children. 3) Vygotsky places more emphasis on the role of language in cognitive development. What is the 'Zone of Proximal Development' (ZPD), according to Vygotsky? - The ZPD is the zone between what the child already knows and what the child has the potential to know. It is the difference between what a child can do alone and what he/she can accomplish with help from someone else. Explain the three stages of the development of language (in Vygotsky's theory). - 1) Pre-intellectual social speech (0-3 years) - Speech is on