Question 1

What term did Piaget use to describe the process of incorporating new information into an existing schema?

Accepted Answer

Assimilation. It occurs when a person uses an existing mental framework to interpret new experiences without changing the schema.

Question 2

During which of Piaget's stages does a child first demonstrate object permanence?

Accepted Answer

The sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2). Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen.

Question 3

What cognitive limitation causes preoperational children to view the world solely from their own perspective?

Accepted Answer

Egocentrism. Children in the preoperational stage (ages 2–7) cannot easily take another person's point of view.

Question 4

What is the term for a child's understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape or appearance?

Accepted Answer

Conservation. This concept is typically mastered during the concrete operational stage (ages 7–11).

Question 5

What cognitive ability, first emerging in the formal operational stage, allows adolescents to reason about hypothetical situations?

Accepted Answer

Abstract thinking (hypothetical-deductive reasoning). Adolescents can now consider possibilities beyond concrete reality.

Developmental Theories – AP Psychology Exam Flashcards

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