Researchers have found that when we human beings think about performing a particular physical skill (e.g., using scissors, dribbling a basketball), we activate some of the same brain regions that we use when actually executing that skill. Which one of the following concepts best reflects this research finding?
a. Guided participation
b. Intersubjectivity
c. Appropriation
d. Embodiment
Ques. 2Three of the following statements are consistent with neo-Piagetian perspectives of cognitive development. Which statement is not?
a. Formal instruction can have a significant impact on children's cognitive development.
b. Incomplete brain maturation limits how much children at any particular age can do.
c. Through their everyday experiences, children learn some of the basic patterns in their environment even without intentionally trying to do so.
d. Cognitive development is better characterized as a series of seven (rather than four) general stages.
Ques. 3Xavier loves to write poetry. Often he uses techniques that his favorite poets use, but typically he modifies these techniques to better suit his own style. This situation illustrates which one of the following concepts in Vygotsky's theory?
a. Appropriation
b. Mediated learning
c. Actual developmental level
d. Level of potential development
Ques. 4Several parents who are making costumes for an elementary school play ask the young cast members to assist them with such tasks as cutting fabric, pinning pieces together, and sewing simple hems. Using the language of Vygotskian theorists, we can say that the parents are:
a. Presenting tasks that exceed the students' zone of proximal development
b. Encouraging the separation of thought and language
c. Engaging the students in guided participation (also know as legitimate peripheral participation)
d. Helping each student work at his or her actual developmental level
Ques. 5In three of the following situations, interactions with peers might promote considerable learning. In which situation is an interaction with an adult (rather than with peers) more likely to be beneficial?
a. Learning how to use a microscope correctly
b. Contrasting different interpretations of a poem
c. Identifying the pros and cons of a democracy
d. Exploring various ways of solving a mathematical problem
Ques. 6If you were to criticize Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development in a way that contemporary theorists sometimes do, which one of the following would you be most likely to say?
a. It ignores the effects that formal education has on cognitive development.
b. It disregards the important roles that peers play in children's development.
c. It's a bit vague in its explanations of how development occurs.
d. It places heavy emphasis on drill and practice as factors promoting development.
Ques. 7Which one of the following statements most accurately describes Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development?
a. Children's cognitive growth should be judged on the basis of their actual developmental level, not on the basis of their level of potential development.
b. Cognitive development progresses through four distinct stages; each stage is characterized by increasingly more complex thought and language.
c. Children progress, in part, by working on difficult tasks with the assistance of more competent individuals.
d. Language and thought, although closely intertwined in the first few years of life, become increasingly distinct entities.
Ques. 8From Vygotsky's perspective, why do cultural differences exist in people's cognitive abilities?
a. Cultures differ in the extent to which they use inner speech.
b. The varying eating habits of different cultural groups influence children's nutrition and thus also influence brain maturation.
c. Different cultures pass along somewhat different cognitive tools.
d. Some cultures mediate children's experiences, whereas others do not.
Ques. 9Dr. Bauer 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, Dr. Bauer 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. Dr. Bauer continues to ask Anne questions to determine how well she understands that height compensates for width in this situation. Dr. Bauer's strategy can best be described as illustrating:
a. equilibration
b. class inclusion
c. the clinical method
d. reciprocal teaching
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