1. A child is presented with two identical beakers containing the same amount of liquid.
The child is asked to pour the liquid from one beaker into a tall, thin beaker. If the child
says that the tall, thin beaker now contains more liquid, the child has not reached
Piaget’s
stage.
a) sensorimotor
b) preoperational
c) concrete operational
d) formal operational
2. Ally tried to build her new puzzle using the same strategy she always used. When
that didn’t work, Ally tried a new approach. When she tried the new approach, Piaget
would say she had
a) accommodated
b) assimilated
c) demonstrated reversibility
d) conserved
3. An adult rolls one of two identical balls of clay into a long, thing rod and then asks a
child which shape contains more clay. If the child states that the amounts are equal, the
child has entered the
stage.
a) sensormotor
b) concrete operational
c) formal operational
d) preoperational
4. A teenager who is concerned about the effects of the terrorist attacks on the United
States on September 11, 2001 on racial prejudice has reached Piaget’s
stage.
a) formal operational
b) preoperational
c) sensorimotor
d) concrete operational
5. Which statement reflects Piaget’s thinking about the cognitive stages?
a) All people pass through the same stages but not necessarily in the same order.
b) All people progress through the stages in the same order but not at the same rate.
c) All people progress through the stages in the same order and at the same rate.
d) Very bright children sometimes skip stages
6. Three year old Danielle says “Airplane!” when she sees a helicopter for the first time.
She is using the process Piaget called.
a) Assimilation
b) Centration
c) Conservation
d) Accomodation
7. Four year old Kendra rolls her ball of clay into the shape of a wiener to make “more”
clay. Her actions demonstrate that she has not acquired the concept of
a) Reversibility
b) Animism
c) Centration
d) Conservation
8. Not all individuals reach the stage of formal operations.
a) true
b) false
c) N/A
d) Only baboons reach formal operations
9. According to Piaget, a group of three year old children who are pretending that they
are characters in a popular cartoon are demonstrating
processes.
a) physical
b) cognitive
c) socioemotional
d) genetic
10. An infant who tries to reach for a toy that has been placed behind her mother’s back
has developed the concept of
.
a) Assimilation
b) Egocentrism
c) Object permanence
d) Conservation
Answer Key: 1 (c), 2 (a), 3 (b), 4 (a), 5 (b), 6 (a), 7 (d), 8 (a), 9 (b), 10 (c)
Sources of these questions came from:
 http://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0070914028/student_view0/chapter4/multiple_choice_quiz.html

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/novella/QuizProcessingServlet

Santrock, J., Mitterer, J., Psychology 2:Canadian Edition. McGrawHill In-Psych.,
accompanying CD Rom.
The understanding that objects still exist even if they can’t be seen/heard/touched:
a.
b.
c.
d.
object permanence
conservation
cognitive development
assimilation
What are the four stages of Cognitive Development (in the correct order):
a.
b.
c.
d.
pre-operational, concrete, sensorimotor, formal
sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete, formal
cognitive, formal, sensorimotor, preoperational
formal, sensorimotor, concrete, accommodation
A four month old infant first puts a new object into their mouth as their knowledge of
objects is that they are for eating or sucking. This is an example of:
a.
b.
c.
d.
schemes
cognition
accommodation
assimilation
Because five year old Frankie likes spiders, he believes that everyone likes spiders. This
is an example of:
a.
b.
c.
d.
assimilation
object permanence
conservation
egocentrism
14 month old Amanda believes that her teddy bear, which is hidden under her bed, does
not exist. What stage is Amanda in?
a.
b.
c.
d.
concrete
formal
sensorimotor
preoperational
As teachers, using the technique of scaffolding in the classroom to teach a new concept
assists in the process of:
a.
b.
c.
d.
assimilation
construction
achievement
accommodation
Genetic Epistemology is:
a.
b.
c.
d.
the study of DNA
the study of how knowledge emerges in a person
the study of how genes determine knowledge
a mad genetic scientist
Answers:
A
B
D
D
C
D
B
1) Piaget’s main method of research was:
a) intelligence tests
b) observation of his own children and children in schools
c) observation in a laboratory setting
d) questionnaires of parents and teachers
2) Piaget believed development was a result of:
a) genetics alone
b) biology and the environment
c) social conditioning alone
d) pure instinct
3) The concrete operational stage occurs during what ages?
a) 2 – 7
b) 7 – 9
c) 12+
d) 7 – 11
4) The definition of assimilation is:
a) changing an existing schema to fit a new idea
b) fitting new information into existing knowledge
c) altering or creating new knowledge in response to new information
d) associating to ideas to be equal
5) A left-handed child begins going to a new school. He finds out that his new school
has only right-handed desks. The child adjusts by sitting at an unusual angle in the
desk while writing. This adjustment in his sitting pattern is an example of:
a) preservation
b) conservation
c) accommodation
d) none of the above
6) Fred is smarter than Jeff; Fred is not as smart as Debbie. Who is the smartest of
the three, or is it impossible to tell? If a child can give the correct answer this
hypothetical question that child has reached the stage of:
a) concrete operations
c) formal operations stage
b) intuitive stage
d) conceptual operations
7) It is sometimes useful to present information to learners at a level of abstraction
slightly higher than that at which they are comfortable.
a) True. Only if this happens are they likely to move to higher levels of abstraction.
b) False. Learners cannot assimilate information that is presented to them at a
higher level of abstraction than that at which they feel comfortable.
c) False. Learners cannot accommodate to information that is presented to them at a
higher level of abstraction than that at which they feel comfortable.
d) False. Equilibration cannot occur when information is presented at a higher level
of abstraction than that at which learners feel comfortable.
8) If a child says, “I don’t live in Canada, I live in Ontario!”, what developmental stage
is this child in?
a) Pre-operational
b) Formal operational
c) Sensorimotor
d) Concrete operational
9) When a child realizes the cause-and-effect relationship of their actions they are in
the:
a) pre-operational stage
b) concrete operational stage
c) formal operational stage
d) sensorimotor stage
10) Rule: If a card has a vowel on one side, then it has an even number on the other.
Of the cards shown, which would need to be turned over to tell if this rule is true?
E
a) the E and the 4
c) all of them
K
7
b) the E
d) the E and the 7
Answers:
1) b 2) b 3) d 4) b 5) c 6) c 7) a 8) a 9) d 10) d
4
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. Accommodation refers to
a) incorporating new information into your schema
b) adjusting your schema to fit in new information
c) the equilibrium reached when making sense of new information
2. A child is bouncing a ball over and over again in the kitchen. What type of play is this child engaging
in?
a) games with rules
b) symbolic play
c) pretend play
d) practice play
3. A child is asked what they think is in the Smarties box. The child says that there are Smarties in the box.
Then she finds out that there isn’t Smarties but rather pink gems in the box. When asked what she thinks
her friend (who does not know what’s in the Smarties box) will say is in the box, the child says, “pink
gems.” This child is demonstrating:
a) assimilation
b) accommodation
c) egocentrism
4. According to Piaget the best predictor of academic success is:
a) one-to-one time with teacher
b) good home environment
c) completion of all assignments at a high level
d) more independent learning than cooperative learning
5. Which is NOT one of Piaget’s four classroom principals:
a) fluency precedes accuracy
b) child process information differently at each developmental stage
c) al students should be working at the same academic level
d) horizontal elaboration precedes vertical integration
6. One of the main critiques of Piaget’s theory is:
a) he observed monkeys not humans
b) he observed adults not human
c) it was a stage based theory
7. What theorist expanded on Piaget’s theories of child development?
a) Skinner
b) Vygotsky
c) Santa
d) Freud