Psychology Exam Study Guide
Questions With Correct Marking
Scheme
Mr. Remick asks 9-year-old Anne to divide a pitcher of lemonade equally between two
glasses, one each for her and her friend Kate. The two glasses are different shapes,
with Anne's being tall and thin and Kate's being short and wide. After Anne pours the
lemonade, Mr. Remick says to her, "look, the lemonade in your glass is higher than the
lemonade in Kate's glass. Did you give yourself more than you gave Kate?" "No," Anne
replies, "my glass is skinnier." Mr. Remick continues to ask Anne questions to
determine how well she understands that height compensates for width in this situation.
Mr. Remick's strategy can best be described as illustrating: - Answer- The Clinical
Method
Larger systems of mental processes are known as: - Answer- Operations
From Piaget's perspective, children are: - Answer- Eager to interact with and make
sense of their world
Which one of the following statements best describes Piaget's view of how children
acquire knowledge about the world? - Answer- Children actively construct their own
view of the world from their experiences with the environment
Five-year-old Becky is playing with blocks, stacking them one on top of another until her
towers eventually tumble, and then stacking them again. Which one of the following
best reflects Piaget's view of how Becky is probably learning in this situation? - Answer-
She is actively thinking about and interpreting the results of her actions
Which one of the following statements best describes the idea that cognitive
development involves a process of construction? - Answer- Children pull together
pieces of information about a topic to create their own understanding
In Piaget's theory, a scheme can best be described as: - Answer- An organized group of
similar thoughts or actions
In her first trip to a zoo, 7-year-old Latisha notices that leopards have paws very similar
in shape to her cat Snowball's paws. She also notices that leopards walk in much the
same way that Snowball does. Latisha starts to wonder if perhaps leopards are cats.
Latisha's thinking illustrates Piaget's idea that thought is characterized by: - Answer-
Use of schemes
, Which of the following is not a concept described by Piaget? - Answer- Zone of proximal
development
Which one of the following clearly illustrates Piaget's concept of assimilation? - Answer-
Five-year-old Harvey draws on the chalkboard with a large white crayon in stead of with
chalk
Louis receives a new soccer ball and begins to dribble it in the same way he dribbles his
basketball. His dribbling of the new ball reflects Piaget's concept of: - Answer-
assimilation
Which one of the following best illustrates Piaget's concept of accommodation? -
Answer- Carol receives her understanding of what clouds are like when she studies
them in science
The processes of assimilation and accommodation both involve: - Answer- Relating new
information to prior knowledge
Which one of the following teachers is definitely keeping in mind Piaget's idea that
assimilation and accommodation are both necessary for cognitive development? -
Answer- Mr. Chang shows students how a new topic is similar to the things they already
know but also different in certain ways.
According to Piaget, three of the following are essential for cognitive development.
Which one is not? - Answer- High self-esteem
From Piaget's perspective, social interactions are most likely to promote cognitive
development when: - Answer- Children share and explain different points of view
as a first-grade teacher reads a book about penguins in Antarctica an a globe. Six-year-
old John seems really puzzled. "How come they don't fall off the earth?" he asks. From
Piaget's perspective, John can best be describe as: - Answer- Experiencing
disequilibrium
Which one of the following best reflects Piaget's notion of equilibration? - Answer- A
child revises existing schemes to incorporate new information
Piaget's view of cognitive development can best be described as: - Answer- Discrete
stages in which distinctly different forms of logical thought emerge
Mr. Johnson teaches a class of twenty 7- and 8-year old second graders. His goal for
the upcoming school year is to help at least 50% of his students reach formal
operations. From the perspective of Piaget's theory, we would expect that Mr. Johnson's
goal is: - Answer- Almost impossible to attain