(2 points) Synaptic pruning is the process by which

neurons seldom stimulated lose their connective fibers


the two brain hemispheres lateralize during early childhood


neural fibers become myelinated as a result of stimulation of the brain


new synaptic connections are formed by environmental stimulation


2 (2 points) Donnie and Vinny are playing with similar objects in the same room, without looking at one another at all. They are engaging in _____ play.

nonsocial


parallel


cooperative


associative


3 (2 points) Robert was upset when his family car hit a dog. Although the dog was OK and ran away, Robert insisted that his father go back and “Run over the dog backwards, so he’ll be okay.” Although incorrect in this assumption, Robert is displaying

egocentric thought


idiosyncratic reasoning


hierarchical classification


reversibility of thought


4 (2 points) Understanding that certain physical characteristics of objects remain the same even though their outward appearance has changed is

egocentrism


object permanence


animism


conservation


5 (2 points) Which of the developmental trends matches most closely with the maturation rates of the two hemispheres of the brain?

spatial skills develop very rapidly in early childhood


control over the arms develops before control over the feet


children show a strong hand preference from birth


language skills develop very rapidly in early childhood


6 (2 points) A major factor that determines what foods children will prefer is

their genetic preference for very salty foods


repeated exposure to a food


direct pressure to eat a particular type of food


their genetic preference for very sweet foods


7 (2 points) When parents have difficulty controlling their own anger adn hostility, their children tend to

be more empathic


be fearful and shy


have problems regulating emotion


have higher IQs


8 (2 points) A set of attitudes, abilities, and values that define an individual are known as

identification


the self-concept


self-knowledge


individuation


9 (2 points) While Jesse plays, his mother comments and encourages him without giving direct instructions. This form of supportive communication is known as

bootstrapping


discovery learning


guided participation


scaffolding


10 (2 points) Which of the following statements about sex differences in aggression is true?

As soon as children become aware of gender stereotypes, overt aggression drops off for boys


Preschool and school-age girls are just as aggressive than boys


Girls are more likely to engage in overt aggression


Boys are more likely to engage in relational aggression


11 (2 points) ____ hormone and ____ hormone are pituitary hormones that affect children’s growth

luteinizing; thyroid-stimulating


growth; melanocyte-stimulating


growth; thyroid-stimulating


luteinizing; melanocyte-stimulating


12 (2 points) Researchers at a child-care center observed children who had been physically abused. Compared to their nonabused peers, abused children were more likely to ____ when another child was in distress

be more empathic


seek the help of an adult


cry


respond with anger


13 (2 points) Christine frequently plays alone with puzzles, crayons, and construction materials. It is likely that Christine is

cognitively but not socially delayed


bright and socially competent


cognitively and socially delayed


socially delayed but bright


14 (2 points) Natascha wants to design a play environment that will enhance the make-believe play of her preschoolers. WHich of the following things should she do?

Offer a wide variety of realistic materials as well as materials without a clear function


Limit the amount of space and play materials so that the children will not be distracted from themake-believe task


Allow the children to resolve their own disagreements without adult interference


Select the topic for play and then direct the children’s activities


15 (2 points) Children who spend more time in sociodramatic play are

at risk for social rejection


less socially competent


advanced in cognitive development


more physically skilled than their agemates


16 (2 points) Young Fletcher notices a four-legged creature and calls it a ‘dog’, ignoring the telltale facial features and stripes that indicate the creature is a tiger. Fletcher is demonstrating

irreversibility


centration


conservation


perception bound thought


17 (2 points) The best way of estimating a child’s physical maturity is to use

skeletal age


weight


height


head circumference


18 (2 points) According to Piaget, which of the following would have the greatest impact on mental representation for a child in the preoperational stage?

playing with a ball


asking a parent to get a ball


dreaming about a ball


looking at a ball


19 (2 points) On the average, 2- and 3- year-olds need ____ hours of sleep and 4- to 6- year-olds need _____ hours

10 to 11; 8 to 9


14 to 15; 10 to 11


14 to 15; 8 to 9


12 to 13; 10 to 11


20 (2 points) Piaget used the term _______ to describe mental representations of actions that obey logical rules

organization


operations


function


programs


21 (2 points) During early childhood, on the average, children grow about _____ inches and gain about ______ pounds each year.

3 to 4; 10


1 to 2; 10


4 to 5 5


2 to 3; 5


22 (2 points) According to Vygotsky, children speak to themselves

because they are lonely


for the pleasure of hearing their own voice


because they are egocentric


for self-guidance


23 (2 points) Myelination of the ____ throughout early childhood and into adolescence contributes to improvements in sustained, controlled attention

cerebellum


reticular formation


frontal lobe


parietal lobe


24 (2 points) A decline in appetite during the preschool years

suggests a pituitary hormone disorder


occurs because growth has slowed


is an early sign of deprivation dwarfism


indicates a deficiency of thyroxine


25 (2 points) Right-handed children are more likely than left-handed children to

be weakly lateralized


develop outstanding verbal and mathematical skills


lie turned toward the left during the prenatal period


be ambidextrous


26 (2 points) _______ refers to the judgements we make bout our own worth and the feelings associated with those judgements

emotional self-regulation


Self-concept


self-esteem


self-consciousness


27 (2 points) In comparing Piaget’s and vygotsky’s theories,

Piaget’s theory paid more attention to the development of basic cognitive processes


Vygotsky, but not Piaget, attempted to understand the significance of children’s private speech


Vygotsky placed more emphasis on skills such as categorization and problem-solving


Piaget’s theory pointed out the importance of children’s communication with caregivers


28 (2 points) Which of the following is 3-year-old Leah most likely to believe is alive?

the kitchen table


a rock


a crayon


a train


29 (2 points) Neo-Piagetian theorists combine Piaget’s stage approach with an emphasis on

ethology


behavioral theory


information processing


psychoanalytic thought


30 (2 points) ______ has/have been shown to strengthen attention, memory, logical reasoning, language, imagination, and creativity

Fine motor tasks


Make-believe play


Animistic thinking


Sensorimotor activity


31 (2 points) The original inspiration for the cognitive-developmental approach to morality was the

ethological theorists


work of Piaget


information-processing theory of cognition


belief that moral development is a lifelong process


32 (2 points) Which of these influences has the strongest effect on the age at which children lose their primary teeth?

Prolonged malnutrition


Oral hygiene


Environmental pollution


Breast- versus bottle- feeding


33 (2 points) At what point are helpful and generous models most influential on children’s prosocial behavior?

toddlerhood


during the early elementary years


infancy


during the preschool years


34 (2 points) Seth’s parents make sure to provide him with lots of rich, real-world experiences and restrict his television viewing to one hour of “Sesame Street” per week. Which of the following statements about Seth is probably accurate?

Seth has limites social knowledge to incorporate into fantasy play


Seth’s parents are limiting his ability to engage in fantasy play


Seth’s fantasy play will contain many violent themes


Seth’s fantasy play involves very little aggressive behavior


35 (2 points) An overproduction of ____ during early childhood supports the plasticity of the brain

dendrites


axons


synapses


glial cells


36 (2 points) In Freud’s theory, a young girl identifies with her mother by

doing new activities with her mother


rejecting her father altogether


feeling that her mother loves her unconditionally


taking on her mother’s characteristics, including morals and gender-role standards


37 (2 points) According to Piaget, the preoperational stage begins at _____ and ends at _____

2 years; 7 years


7 years; 10 years


4 years; 6 years


birth; 4 years


38 (2 points) X-rays of ______ permit doctors to estimate children’s progress toward physical maturity

growth cells


epiiphyses


fontannels


cartilage cells


39 (2 points) Which of the following is supported by research on sleep?

About half of preschoolers experience frequent difficulty falling and staying asleep


Most children begin having night mares during toddlerhood


Bedtime rituals become less important to children during the preschool years than they wre dureing toddlerhood


In some cultures, daytime napping persists throughtou adulthood


40 (2 points) Parents use ______ with boys than girls

fewer time outs


less physical discipline and more “reasoning”


more consistent discipline


harsher discipline


41 (2 points) The make-believe play with others that first appears between 2 and 3 years is called

sociodramatic play


parallel play


egocentric play


animistic play


42 (2 points) Sean and Jordan are playing in the sandbox. Sean says, “Use the wet sand for the castle. No, the blocks will be best. Were are the blocks?” Jordan is playing with a truck at the other end of the sandbox. According to Piaget, Sean’s speech is

communicative


adaptive


egocentric


private


43 (2 points) When 4-year-old Nicholas sees a tree blowing in the wind, he says, “Look! The tree is waving at!” Nicholas is demonstrating

dual representation


centration


animistic thinking


conservation


44 (2 points) Cross-cultural research demonstrates that growth norms

vary within a culture and vary by socioeconomic status


vary by culture


are not good standards against which to judge health problems for children in nonindustrialized countries


are universal


45 (2 points) Children and adults who exhibit either masculine or androgynous characteristics

are maladjusted


are extremely rare


are higher in self-esteem


possess neither feminine nor masculine characteristics


46 (2 points) A major change in represrntation that increases steadily from 4 to 8 years of age is

the appearance of self-directed sociodramatic play


directing pretend actions toward other objects


the awareness that make-believe is a representational activity


the use of less realistic toys in make-believe play


47 (2 points) The gland located at the base of the brain that releases hormones affecting physical growth is the ____ gland

thyroid


ciliary


adrenal


pituitary


48 (2 points) Cartoon TV shows designed specifically for children

are less violent than adult shows


have no effect on aggression, since children do not understand them


contain more acts of violence than any other type of program


actually decrease aggression by providing an acceptable emotional outlet


49 (2 points) As children move from the sensorimotor to the preoperational stage,

the use of objects in play become more functinal and realistic


thinking becomes related to logical rules


make-believe play dimishes


symbolic mental activity increases


50 (2 points) According to Erikson, _____ is a means through which preschools can try new skills with little risk of criticism and failure

play


daydreaming


having a temper tantrum


displaying sympathy


51 (2 points) The _____ is a structure at the rear and base of the brain that aids in balance and control of body movement

spinal cord


cerebral cortex


corpus callosum


cerebellum


52 (2 points) By age 7, American low-SES children are, on the average,

About 1 inch shorter than the average for middle-SES children


Much more variable in size compared to middle-SES children


No different in size than their middle-SES agemates


Comparable to low-SES children in other industrialized countries