Chapter 12
Middle Childhood: Cognitive Development
Students should be able to answer the following questions (from text):
1. What is meant by the stage of concrete operations? (pp. 394-397)
2. Can we apply Piaget’s theory of cognitive development to educational practices? (pp. 398-399)
3. How does Piaget view the development of moral reasoning? (pp. 400-401)
4. What is Kohlberg's theory of moral development? (pp. 401-403)
5. What is the difference between Piaget's view of cognitive development and the information
processing approach? (pg. 404)
6. What is meant by the term memory? (pp. 405-407)
7. How much information can be stored in long term memory? How is it “filed”? (pp. 407-408)
8. What do children understand about the functioning of their cognitive processes, and, more
particular, their memory? (pg. 409)
9. What is intelligence? (pg. 411)
10. What are “factor theories” of intelligence? (pg. 412)
11. What is Sternberg’s triarchic model of intelligence? (pg. 412)
12. What is meant by multiple intelligences? (pp. 413-415)
13. What is the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale? (pp. 416-417)
14. How do the Wechsler Scales differ from the Stanford-Binet? (pg. 418)
15. Many psychologists and educators consider standard intelligence tests to be culturally biased.
What is the controversy about? (pp. 420-421)
16. Putting test scores aside, how does intelligence develop? (pp. 421-422)
17. What is mental retardation? (pg. 422)
18. What does it mean to be gifted? (pg. 423)
19. What are the socioeconomic and ethnic differences in intelligence? (pp. 423-424)
20. What is creativity? (pg. 423)
21. What is the relationship between creativity and intelligence? (pg. 425)
22. What are the roles of nature (heredity) and nurture (environmental influences) on the development
of intelligence? (pp. 426-428)
23. How does language develop in middle childhood? (pg. 429)
24. What cognitive skills are involved in reading? (pp. 429-430)
25. What is Ebonics? (pg. 431)
26. What does research reveal about the advantages and disadvantages of bilingualism? (pg. 432)