This is Set 14 of 60 in the smartvidya question bank on Teaching Aptitude (UGC NET Paper 1, Unit I). Part II: Learner characteristics. This set covers Piaget's stages and key concepts of cognitive development.
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Set 14: Cognitive Development: Piaget
1. Jean Piaget was a
(a) Swiss psychologist
(b) Russian psychologist
(c) German philosopher
(d) American psychologist
Ans. (a) Swiss psychologist — Explanation: Jean Piaget (1896–1980) was a Swiss psychologist known for his theory of cognitive development. [Ref: Piaget]
2. The correct sequence of Piaget's stages is
(a) concrete operational, sensorimotor, pre-operational, formal operational
(b) sensorimotor, concrete operational, pre-operational, formal operational
(c) sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational
(d) pre-operational, sensorimotor, formal operational, concrete operational
Ans. (c) sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational — Explanation: Piaget proposed four invariant stages in this order. [Ref: Piaget, stages of cognitive development]
3. The sensorimotor stage covers approximately
(a) 7 to 11 years
(b) birth to 2 years
(c) 11 years onwards
(d) 2 to 7 years
Ans. (b) birth to 2 years — Explanation: In the sensorimotor stage infants learn through senses and motor actions. [Ref: Piaget, stages of cognitive development]
4. Object permanence is achieved during the
(a) pre-operational stage
(b) formal operational stage
(c) sensorimotor stage
(d) concrete operational stage
Ans. (c) sensorimotor stage — Explanation: Towards the end of the sensorimotor stage children understand that objects exist even when out of sight. [Ref: Piaget, sensorimotor stage]
5. Egocentrism, animism and centration are features of the
(a) pre-operational stage
(b) concrete operational stage
(c) sensorimotor stage
(d) formal operational stage
Ans. (a) pre-operational stage — Explanation: Children aged about two to seven tend to see things from their own view, attribute life to objects and focus on one feature. [Ref: Piaget, pre-operational stage]
6. The understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape is called
(a) object permanence
(b) accommodation
(c) conservation
(d) assimilation
Ans. (c) conservation — Explanation: Children in the concrete operational stage understand that pouring water into a taller glass does not change its amount. [Ref: Piaget, conservation]
7. Conservation is typically mastered in the
(a) sensorimotor stage
(b) pre-operational stage
(c) concrete operational stage
(d) formal operational stage
Ans. (c) concrete operational stage — Explanation: Between about seven and eleven years, children understand conservation and reversibility. [Ref: Piaget, concrete operational stage]
8. Fitting new information into an existing schema is called
(a) assimilation
(b) equilibration
(c) accommodation
(d) conservation
Ans. (a) assimilation — Explanation: In assimilation, new experiences are interpreted in terms of existing mental structures. [Ref: Piaget, adaptation]
9. Modifying an existing schema to fit new information is called
(a) centration
(b) seriation
(c) assimilation
(d) accommodation
Ans. (d) accommodation — Explanation: When existing schemas cannot handle new information, they are changed through accommodation. [Ref: Piaget, adaptation]
10. The process of balancing assimilation and accommodation is called
(a) equilibration
(b) reinforcement
(c) conditioning
(d) scaffolding
Ans. (a) equilibration — Explanation: Equilibration drives cognitive development by resolving conflict between existing knowledge and new experiences. [Ref: Piaget, equilibration]
11. In Piaget's theory, a schema is
(a) a kind of test
(b) an organised pattern of thought or action
(c) a teaching aid
(d) a type of reward
Ans. (b) an organised pattern of thought or action — Explanation: Schemas are mental structures used to understand and respond to the world. [Ref: Piaget, schema]
12. A child who believes that the moon follows her when she walks shows
(a) conservation
(b) egocentrism
(c) hypothetical reasoning
(d) seriation
Ans. (b) egocentrism — Explanation: Pre-operational children assume the world revolves around their own perspective. [Ref: Piaget, pre-operational stage]
13. A child says that a doll feels hungry and the sun is happy. This illustrates
(a) seriation
(b) animism
(c) reversibility
(d) decentration
Ans. (b) animism — Explanation: Animism is attributing life and feelings to inanimate objects, typical of the pre-operational stage. [Ref: Piaget, pre-operational stage]
14. The ability to arrange objects in order of size is called
(a) egocentrism
(b) centration
(c) seriation
(d) animism
Ans. (c) seriation — Explanation: Seriation develops in the concrete operational stage. [Ref: Piaget, concrete operational stage]
15. Piaget's "three mountains task" was used to study
(a) moral reasoning
(b) egocentrism
(c) conservation of number
(d) object permanence
Ans. (b) egocentrism — Explanation: Children were asked how a doll would see the mountains from another position, revealing their egocentrism. [Ref: Piaget and Inhelder]
16. According to Piaget, the main factors in cognitive development include
(a) heredity alone
(b) maturation, experience, social transmission and equilibration
(c) reward and punishment only
(d) classroom discipline only
Ans. (b) maturation, experience, social transmission and equilibration — Explanation: Piaget identified these four factors as driving development from one stage to another. [Ref: Piaget, factors of development]
17. Piaget's approach to development is best described as
(a) constructivist, with the child actively constructing knowledge
(b) purely maturational
(c) psychoanalytic
(d) behaviourist, with learning by conditioning alone
Ans. (a) constructivist, with the child actively constructing knowledge — Explanation: Piaget viewed children as active learners who build understanding through interaction with the environment. [Ref: Piaget, constructivism]
18. An educational implication of Piaget's theory is that teachers should
(a) match tasks to the learner's stage of cognitive development
(b) treat all learners alike irrespective of age
(c) teach abstract concepts to infants
(d) avoid hands-on activities
Ans. (a) match tasks to the learner's stage of cognitive development — Explanation: Teaching should be suited to the learner's cognitive readiness, with concrete experiences for younger children. [Ref: Piaget, educational implications]
19. Piaget called himself a
(a) behaviour analyst
(b) social psychologist
(c) genetic epistemologist
(d) psychoanalyst
Ans. (c) genetic epistemologist — Explanation: Piaget studied the origin and development of knowledge, which he called genetic epistemology. [Ref: Piaget, genetic epistemology]
20. Reversibility in thinking means
(a) returning to an earlier stage
(b) reading from right to left
(c) forgetting what was learnt
(d) mentally reversing an action or operation
Ans. (d) mentally reversing an action or operation — Explanation: Concrete operational children understand that operations can be undone, as when a child sees that 8 − 3 undoes the addition in 5 + 3 = 8 and returns to the starting number. [Ref: Piaget, concrete operational stage]
21. Centration refers to
(a) placing the child at the centre of education
(b) concentrating on studies
(c) grouping children in the centre of the room
(d) focusing on one aspect of a situation and ignoring others
Ans. (d) focusing on one aspect of a situation and ignoring others — Explanation: A pre-operational child may judge quantity only by the height of liquid, ignoring width. [Ref: Piaget, pre-operational stage]
22. Symbolic or make-believe play is most typical of the
(a) formal operational stage
(b) adult stage
(c) concrete operational stage
(d) pre-operational stage
Ans. (d) pre-operational stage — Explanation: Children aged two to seven use objects to represent others, such as treating a stick as a horse. [Ref: Piaget, pre-operational stage]
23. A child can solve problems with real objects but has difficulty with purely abstract problems. The child is most likely in the
(a) sensorimotor stage
(b) post-formal stage
(c) formal operational stage
(d) concrete operational stage
Ans. (d) concrete operational stage — Explanation: Concrete operational thinking is logical but tied to tangible, concrete situations. [Ref: Piaget, concrete operational stage]
24. A criticism of Piaget's theory is that he
(a) overemphasised rewards and punishment
(b) ignored the stages of development altogether
(c) considered only adults
(d) underestimated the abilities of young children and neglected social and cultural factors
Ans. (d) underestimated the abilities of young children and neglected social and cultural factors — Explanation: Later research showed young children are often more capable than Piaget suggested, and Vygotsky stressed social context. [Ref: Critiques of Piaget]
25. Cognitive conflict in Piaget's theory is useful for learning because it
(a) replaces the need for teaching
(b) creates disequilibrium that motivates the learner to restructure ideas
(c) always confuses the learner permanently
(d) stops development
Ans. (b) creates disequilibrium that motivates the learner to restructure ideas — Explanation: Disequilibrium prompts accommodation and the construction of better understanding. [Ref: Piaget, equilibration]
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