AP Psychology : Cognitive Development

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology

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Example Questions

Example Question #21 : Dimensions Of Psychological Development

Piaget is known for his theory of child development through stages. He believed children build their understanding of the world through interactions with it. Which of the following concepts best describes the stage of Piaget's theory associated with egocentrism?

Possible Answers:

Formal operational 

Preoperational 

Operational 

Concrete operational

Sensorimotor 

Correct answer:

Preoperational 

Explanation:

Piaget's stages of cognitive development are as follows: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. Piaget associated an age ranges for each stag that specific developmental phenomena occur at. Preoperational stage occurs at the preschool age. At around 2 to 4 years of age, children Piaget theorized that children experience egocentrism. During this time, children have difficulty perceiving things from another's point of view. For example, a 3-year-old girl may cover her eyes with the intention of making herself invisible from her parents. As a result of her obstructed vision, she incorrectly assumes that her parents cannot see her.

Example Question #869 : Ap Psychology

Sally is five years old. She is in a room with an adult with two glasses of juice. First, she is shown two glasses of juice with the same volume in same sized glasses. The adult then pours the juice from one of the glasses into a taller and narrower glass. When Sally is asked to choose the glass with the greater volume, she points to the tall, narrow glass. Which of the following stages of Piaget's cognitive development is characterized by Sally’s choice?

Possible Answers:

Sensorimotor 

Concrete operational

Formal operational 

Preoperational 

Operational 

Correct answer:

Preoperational 

Explanation:

Piaget's stages of cognitive development are as follows: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. Piaget associated an age ranges for each stag that specific developmental phenomena occur at. At 2 to 7 years of age, Piaget believed that a child encounters the preoperational stage. At this point, a child is believed to be too young to preform mental operations (i.e. it is difficult for a child to imagine a situation and mentally reverse the action). This was observed in Sally's example. She decided that the narrow glass had more liquid despite the fact that both glasses contained the same amount of juice. In Sally's case, she demonstrates what Piaget thought as a lack of the concept of conservation. She cannot identify that despite the change in shape of the glass, the amount of juice is the same. 

 

Example Question #861 : Ap Psychology

Kevin is eight years old. He is in a room with an adult with two glasses of juice in front of him. First, he is shown two glasses of juice with the same volume in same sized glasses. The adult then pours the juice from one of the glasses into a taller and narrower glass. When Kevin is asked to choose the glass with the greater volume, he says that both glasses have the same amount of juice. Which of the following stages of Piaget's cognitive development is characterized by Kevin’s choice?

Possible Answers:

Sensorimotor 

Operational 

Preoperational 

Concrete operational 

Formal operational 

Correct answer:

Concrete operational 

Explanation:

Piaget's stages of cognitive development are as follows: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. Piaget associated an age ranges for each stag that specific developmental phenomena occur at. At 6 to 11 years of age, Piaget believed that a child encounters the concrete operational stage. At this point, a child is believed to be old enough to grasp mathematical transformations and mental operations (i.e. they can imagine a situation and mentally reverse the action). This was observed in Kevin’s example. In Kevin’s case, he decided that both glasses contain equal quantities of juice. In this scenario, Kevin has a clear grasp of the concept of conservation, something that may not be true for a child in the preoperational stage. 

Example Question #31 : Dimensions Of Psychological Development

Piaget is known for his theory of child development through stages. He believed children build their understanding of the world through interactions with it. Which of the following concepts best describes the last stage of Piaget's theory of development?

Possible Answers:

Concrete operational

Sensorimotor 

Egocentrism 

Preoperational 

Formal operational 

Correct answer:

Formal operational 

Explanation:

Piaget's stages of cognitive development are as follows: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. Piaget associated an age ranges for each stag that specific developmental phenomena occur at. A child typically experiences the sensorimotor phase for the first two years of life. This stage is followed by the preoperational stage at 6 or 7 years of age. The preoperational stage is replaced by the concrete operational stage from the ages of 7 to 11 years. Last, the child will enter into the formal operational stage at age 12. This final stage continues throughout adulthood and is associated with a focus on abstract reasoning. At this stage, the individual will encounter abstract logic and the potential for mature moral reasoning.

Example Question #31 : Dimensions Of Psychological Development

Gary is fifteen years old. His younger brother, Cameron, is ten years old. Cameron's science class has just started a new unit that requires him to think of hypothetical situations and deduce consequences. Cameron is having trouble with his homework and turns to his older brother Gary for help. Gary appears to easily master the material. Which of the following stages of Piaget's cognitive development is characterized by Gary’s ability?

Possible Answers:

Concrete operational 

Sensorimotor

Operational 

Preoperational 

Formal operational 

Correct answer:

Formal operational 

Explanation:

Piaget's stages of cognitive development are as follows: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. Piaget associated an age ranges for each stag that specific developmental phenomena occur at. At 7 to 11 years of age, Piaget believed that a child encounters the concrete operational stage. At this point, a child is believed to be old enough to grasp mathematical transformations and mental operations. The child can think logically about concrete events. This represents Cameron’s developmental stage. On the other hand, at age12 through adulthood, the child enters the formal operational stage. By this time, the child can engage in abstract thinking and has the potential for mature moral reasoning. At this point, the individual can engage in hypothetical situations and deduce what the consequences may be. As a result Gary’s ability clearly characterizes Piaget's formal operational stage. 

Example Question #32 : Dimensions Of Psychological Development

Dylan, a 10-month old infant, begins to show signs that he realizes that objects continue to exist even if he cannot see them. According to Piaget's stages of development, which of the following stages does the child exhibit?

Possible Answers:

Egocentricity

Language development

Thought abstraction

Object permanence

Conservation

Correct answer:

Object permanence

Explanation:

Object permanence is defined as the understanding that objects continue to exist even if one cannot see them. According to Piaget, infants being to develop this at around 7-9 months of age in the sensorimotor stage.

Example Question #33 : Dimensions Of Psychological Development

A baby girl is sitting in a high chair. Her father is playing with her by ducking down below the table and popping back up. His daughter seems very distressed by this game. Which of the following best describes why this game of peekaboo is upsetting for her?

Possible Answers:

She fears the rapid motion

She has an innate fear of heights

She has not yet developed object permanence

She is insecurely attached to her father

Correct answer:

She has not yet developed object permanence

Explanation:

Object permanence is the understanding that even though an object has disappeared from view, that disappearance is probably temporary: the object has not disappeared totally from existence. Infants do not achieve this understanding until around eight months of age. Because of this, the baby girl likely believes her father no longer exists when he disappears from view, which is upsetting.

Example Question #34 : Dimensions Of Psychological Development

Jackie is 16-years-old. Although her processing speed, working memory, and attention abilities have improved, she often makes impulsive decisions at school and home, which often get her into trouble. She does not plan her responses or actions, and she often engages in sensation-seeking activities such as driving fast and experimenting with different substances. Which of the following might explain Jackie’s behavior? 

Possible Answers:

Jackie’s prefrontal cortex is fully developed, which means her executive functions are intact.

Jackie’s executive functions skills are fully developed. 

Jackie’s prefrontal cortex is fully developed, but her executive functions are not intact. 

Jackie’s prefrontal cortex is not fully developed, which means her executive functions skills are still improving. 

Correct answer:

Jackie’s prefrontal cortex is not fully developed, which means her executive functions skills are still improving. 

Explanation:

The adolescent brain continues to develop into the early to mid twenties. In fact, the prefrontal cortex is the last brain region to fully develop, but it is primarily responsible for executive functions among other cognitive skills. This explains Jackie's inability to inhibit and think through long-term consequences of her actions. 

Example Question #35 : Dimensions Of Psychological Development

Charlie is 75-years-old and easily recalls events such as his college graduation, first job, and his wedding day compared to other memories. Charlie is displaying which of the following? 

Possible Answers:

Reminiscence bump

Prospective memory 

Time-based memory 

Associative memory 

Correct answer:

Reminiscence bump

Explanation:

Individuals in late adulthood often have age-related memory difficulties; however, they often easily recall major life events from their adolescence and early adulthood years (e.g., graduation, marriage, college, career, etc.). They tend to reminisce about these events and describe those more to those around them. Associative memory is the ability to link unrelated events or information together (i.e. faces with names). Prospective memory is remembering to complete tasks or events in the future. Last, time-based memory is fabricated and a distractor item. 

Example Question #36 : Dimensions Of Psychological Development

Gabe has a difficult time recalling any memories prior to the age of 3. Which of the following might explain Gabe's trouble? 

Possible Answers:

Mental representation 

Object permanence 

Infantile amnesia 

Conservation 

Correct answer:

Infantile amnesia 

Explanation:

The correct answer is "infantile amnesia." Language development influences memory, so typically, individuals have a harder time recalling events prior to their proficient language use during infancy and early toddlerhood. The remaining choices are distractors. 

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