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AP Psychology Unit 3A2: Cognitive Development Theories (Piaget & Vygotsky) — practice questions

Explore 98 free Unit 3A2: Cognitive Development Theories (Piaget & Vygotsky) questions in AP Psychology Psychology. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Unit 3A2: Cognitive Development Theories (Piaget & Vygotsky) questions and exercises with answers

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The term 'scaffolding', now tied to Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, was introduced by:Read the answer and worked solution →In scaffolding, what happens to the teacher's support as the learner gains skill?Read the answer and worked solution →Vygotsky's main criticism of standardised tests was that they:Read the answer and worked solution →Two children score alike alone; with hints, one does far more. Vygotsky says:Read the answer and worked solution →Talking aloud to oneself while doing a task, common between ages 2 and 7, is called:Read the answer and worked solution →Vygotsky saw a young child's self-talk during a hard task as:Read the answer and worked solution →Piaget described children's talk to themselves as egocentric speech, a sign of:Read the answer and worked solution →According to Vygotsky, a child's private speech later turns into:Read the answer and worked solution →Research finds that young children use private speech most when:Read the answer and worked solution →Vygotsky's term for the process by which shared cultural ways of acting become the child's own:Read the answer and worked solution →For Vygotsky, higher mental functions first arise:Read the answer and worked solution →Vygotsky's 1934 book, published after his death, is often titled in English:Read the answer and worked solution →Which instructional programme grew out of Vygotsky's zone of proximal development?Read the answer and worked solution →Testing a child while giving graded hints, to see what she can do with help, is called:Read the answer and worked solution →A teacher wants to use Vygotsky's ideas in class. Which practice fits best?Read the answer and worked solution →Vygotsky argued that good instruction should be pitched:Read the answer and worked solution →How did Piaget's view differ from Vygotsky's?Read the answer and worked solution →Piaget's view is called psychological constructivism. Vygotsky's is called:Read the answer and worked solution →A real classroom limit of scaffolding is:Read the answer and worked solution →How did Kohlberg organise moral development?Read the answer and worked solution →Which of Kohlberg's three levels of moral reasoning comes in the middle?Read the answer and worked solution →In Kohlberg's interviews, a person's moral stage was judged mainly from:Read the answer and worked solution →The Heinz dilemma, about stealing a costly drug to save a dying wife, is linked with:Read the answer and worked solution →'I won't skip school, or I will be in big trouble at home.' Which Kohlberg stage is this?Read the answer and worked solution →'I'll help you with your homework if you share your lunch with me.' Which Kohlberg stage?Read the answer and worked solution →Riya is honest mainly so that her teacher and friends will think well of her. Kohlberg stage?Read the answer and worked solution →'If everyone ignored the rules of the land, society would collapse, so I obey them.' Which stage?Read the answer and worked solution →'Laws must serve all and be changed by fair vote when they fail.' Which stage?Read the answer and worked solution →'An unjust law binds no one, so I am duty-bound to disobey it.' Which Kohlberg stage?Read the answer and worked solution →At Kohlberg's preconventional level, an act is judged right or wrong by:Read the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

The term 'scaffolding', now tied to Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, was introduced by:

  1. Wood, Bruner and Ross
  2. Lev Vygotsky himself
  3. Piaget and Inhelder
  4. Kohlberg and Gilligan
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Correct answer: A. Wood, Bruner and Ross

1. Scaffolding means the graded help an adult or able peer gives so a child can work within the ZPD. 2. It is so closely linked with Vygotsky that many assume he coined it. 3. In fact Vygotsky never used the term. 4. It was developed by Jerome Bruner, David Wood and Gail Ross when applying the ZPD to education. 5. Later work (Wass and Golding) found the hardest tasks a learner can do with scaffolding give the greatest gains. 6. So the term comes from Wood, Bruner and Ross. **Why the other options fail:** - Vygotsky himself is the main trap. - Piaget and Inhelder worked on cognitive stages. - Kohlberg and Gilligan worked on moral development. _Source: Wikipedia, "Zone of proximal development", section "Scaffolding" (revision 1365068534)_

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In scaffolding, what happens to the teacher's support as the learner gains skill?

  1. It stays the same
  2. It is steadily increased
  3. It is slowly withdrawn
  4. It is replaced by tests
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Correct answer: C. It is slowly withdrawn

1. Scaffolding is help given to a learner working in the ZPD. 2. As the learner becomes able, the help tapers off. 3. Like a builder's scaffold, it is removed once the structure stands on its own. **Why not the others:** Support that stays the same or grows would keep the learner dependent, which defeats the purpose. _Source: Wikipedia, "Zone of proximal development", section "Scaffolding" (revision 1365068534)_

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Vygotsky's main criticism of standardised tests was that they:

  1. Measure only solo performance
  2. Take far too long to give
  3. Favour girls over boys
  4. Test only memory of school facts
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Correct answer: A. Measure only solo performance

1. Vygotsky held that development shows in what a child can do with others, not just alone. 2. Many students can complete a task in a group before they can do it on their own. 3. Standardised tests record only what the student can do independently. 4. So they miss the zone where learning is about to happen. **Why not the others:** Test only memory is a general complaint about exams, not Vygotsky's specific point about independent versus assisted performance. _Source: Wikipedia, "Zone of proximal development", section "Definition" (revision 1365068534)_

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