Social Cognitive Theory
All of these are examples of symbolic models except:
a) A mom showing their daughter how to make a bed
b) A story about a child's uncle standing up to a bully
c) A cartoon cat on television who builds traps for mice
d) A boy wizard in a book who tells lies to protect his friends
a is correct since a mom is a live model, modeling in real-life. Symbolic models are models from stories, movies, shows, characters (not live) that still perform behaviors.
Bree often gives Zena the dog a walk when she comes home from work. Zena begins to get excited when she hears or sees the door open for any reason because she associates it with a walk. In this case, the "door opening" would be considered the:
a) conditioned stimulus
b) unconditioned stimulus
c) unconditioned response
d) conditioned response
a is correct. The neutral stimulus of the door opening--this wouldn't normally evoke an involuntary response like happiness. BUT it has been transformed into a conditioned stimulus. Conditioned means "learned". Zena learned that the door was associated something good.
Door opening (NS) + Going on a walk (UCS) -> Excitement (UCR)
Door opening (CS) -> Excitement (CR)
A child learns his father is called Dad, so he calls other males, like the mailman, Dad. But the mailman replies, “No, I’m Bob.”
What is the accommodation?
a) Believing all men are “dad”
b) Learning that not all men are called Dad and modifying the scheme for Dad.
c) Calling Mailman Dad and hearing “No, I’m Bob”
B is correct.
The moment of possible Disequilibrium: Calling Mailman Dad and hearing “No, I’m Bob”
The assimilation: He believes all men are “dad”. He is quickly told that the other man is not Daddy, he is Bob.
The accommodation: Not all men are called Dad. The scheme for Dad is modified.
What is one way in which Vygotsky's cognitive development theory differs from Piaget's theory?
a) Vygotsky's theory is constructivist
b) Vygotsky's theory emphasized social context
c) Vygotsky's theory discusses language learning
d) Vygotsky's theory focused on early cognitive development
b is correct. Piaget did not consider a child's social context. A child interacting and observing more experienced others was central to Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development. Answers A, C, and D are true of both theories.
After the U.S. Industrial Revolution, which metaphor describes schools BEST?
a) Schools -> Factories
b) Schools-> Farms
c) Schools -> Egg Crates
d) Schools -> Churches
A is correct. Schools were based off the factory-model. While C "Egg Crates" does describe the division of grades in different rooms within the school building, it is not the BEST answer since "egg crate schools" only began at the end of the Industrial Revolution and do not describe the hidden curriculum of conformity and obedience.
Wanda sees a person on TV violently kick a chair over when he's stressed, however Wanda chooses not behave like this person on TV. Which necessary condition for modeling is likely NOT met:
a) motivation
b) ability
c) attention
d) retention
a is correct. Wanda is likely not to be motivated to violently kick furniture. Attention refers to Wanda noticing the behavior. Retention refers to Wanda remembering the behavior. Ability refers to Wanda's physical capability to perform the observed behavior.
When the Zoo keeper wants the lion to stand on a scale, she might first reward the lion for walking in the direction of the scale, then she will reward it for touching the scale. After it does this consistently, she might only reward it for putting it's two front paws on the scale. Lasty, she will only reward the lion for fully standing on the scale. This is an example of:
a) chaining
b) shaping
c) generalization
d) the Premack principle
b is correct. Shaping teaches animals to learn one behavior by gradually reinforcing specific segments or small steps toward a desired response. It should not be confused with "chaining" which is focused on having the animal perform multiple behaviors in a row as the desired response, rather than one behavior. The Premack principle is about providing reward of engaging in a highly valued activity if person does a less valued activity first. Generalization is about an response from an association continuing to happen with similar stimuli to the CS (i.e., scared of all animals not just dog who bit me) or in similar context (i.e., scared every place I have to public speak).
Which is NOT true of Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development?
a) All people must progress through the stages in the same sequence
b) Each stage contains different cognitive developments
c) There are four stages, with the first beginning in infancy
d) Some individuals may skip over an earlier stage
D is correct. There is a fixed sequence or order that every child goes through. No one can skip the earlier stages.
Which of these is NOT an example of scaffolding for learning how to differentiate the words "there", "they're" and "their":
a) Providing a fill-in-the-blank worksheet with a word bank and then removing the word bank the next week
b) Learning about contractions in an earlier unit in order to better understand the word "they're"
c) Assessing which word the student uses incorrectly the most in order to give them more practice and strategies for that word
d) Telling students that they will need to know the difference between these words if they are going to do well on the upcoming spelling test
d is correct in that it is not scaffolding. Scaffolding is temporary support that is tailored to a learner’s needs and abilities and aimed at helping the learner master the next task. Often scaffolding involves breaking a task in units (a and b), and evaluating student progress in order to tailor subsequent supports (c).
Which is NOT a classroom instruction method that John Dewey would support:
a) A group discussion about how what is being learned could be used to serve the community
b) Taking a field trip to a local dairy farm after learning about Wisconsin industry
c) Everyone in the class standing up at the same time and repeating the names of the planets in unison
d) Allowing 301 students to pick their own topic for a final course project in order to make connections to their own lives
C is the correct answer. John Dewey was a huge proponent of child-centered learning, connected learning, and inquiry-based learning.
The idea that individuals’ thoughts, personalities, and behaviors affect their environments and that environments affect the individual’s thoughts, personalities and behaviors refers to:
a) The Premack principle
b) Triadic reciprocality
c) Social constructivism
d) Cognitive modeling
b is correct. Triadic reciprocality is a major assumption in Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory that considers how personal, behavioral, and environmental factors influence one another. Social constructivism focuses on social and cultural learning through social interactions with others and is a cognitivist theory--so it focuses on unobservable internal processes rather than observable processes like social environment changes, modeling, etc.
Tiffany is a hyperactive child who rarely sits still for more than 30 seconds at a time. Ms. Garcia decides to use positive reinforcement to help Tiffany learn to sit quietly in her seat during class time. Which one of the following approaches will bring about the fastest change in Tiffany’s behavior?
a) A variable ratio schedule of reinforcement
b) A variable interval schedule of reinforcement
c) Continuous reinforcement
d) A fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement
C is correct. Continuous reinforcement, or when a behavior is followed by a consequence every time it occurs, is great for starting a new behavior quickly BUT the behavior will quickly stop if the reinforcement stops. Intermittent reinforcement (i.e., variable/fixed + interval/ratio) is better for keeping a behavior from extinguishing but not for teaching a new behavior.
When learning mathematics, when does the brain development occur according to Piaget?
a) Brain development occurs before being able to learn how do multiplication
b) Brain development occurs after learning how to do multiplication
c) Brain development and learning how to do multiplication occurs simultaneously
A is correct. Piaget (of individual constructivism) believed that brain development preceded learning. A child cannot learn certain things until their brain is ready for them.
Which is NOT something Vygotsky emphasized in his theory:
a) the importance of play as a way to understand social roles and ideas
b) the importance of private speech as a way to advance thinking
c) the importance of assimilation and accommodation when one encounters new information
d) the importance of a zone of proximal development
c is correct. Piaget of individual constructivism was the one who emphasized schemas or mental representations and how to organize them using assimilation and accommodation.
Which is generally TRUE of learning ?
a) We learn best by repeating a fact again and again
b) We learn best if we learn in our preferred learning style (i.e., audio, visual, kinesthetic)
c) We're quick to correct our misconceptions if we someone tells us something differently
d) We learn best when we attach personal significance or meaning to a new concept, by asking our own questions or making our own connections
D is correct. "D" describes a learning strategy called "Elaboration". Earlier we learned that elaboration is more powerful than rote memorization, repetition, or organizational strategies (So "A" is wrong). That Learning Styles are not research-supported. "C" is false because we are not prone to change our misconceptions immediately after someone corrects us.
Models can influence an observer’s behavior in a number of ways. Which one of the following behaviors is LEAST likely to be the result of modeling?
a) Kevin is punished for hitting his brother, but several weeks later, after seeing a child on television hit a friend, he hits his brother again.
b) Luke scratches his mosquito bites, even though his mother continually asks him not to, because it makes them feel better.
c) Melvin is studying to be a dentist. His older brother is a physician.
d) When Nathan sees how much pleasure his best friend gets by being in the school chess club, he joins a similar group: the school math club.
B is correct in that it is the least likely to be the result of modeling. "A" is an example of disinhibiting a previously forbidden behavior. "D" is an example of vicarious learning that reinforces or facilitates Nathan joining a school club. "C" is a general example of modeling, possibly showing an example of a captivating model being a person who is similar to you.
A new student to the class, Marcella, kept rocking back and forth in her chair. Her teacher repeatedly scolded her and asked her to keep all four chair legs on the ground. The teacher's scolding resulted in Marcella rocking back and forth in her chair more frequently. In this situation, the scolding worked as:
a) positive reinforcement
b) negative reinforcement
c) positive punishment
d) negative punishment
a is correct. This is positive reinforcement because it is adding a something to the environment ("positive") and it is increasing the students behavior ("reinforcement"). The teacher may have hoped this would be positive punishment.
Which does NOT describe a Scheme
a) A mental representation
b) A change in our existing way of thinking
c) A cognitive structure which contains general expectations and knowledge of the world
d) How the experiences and knowledge are organized
B is correct. B describes an accommodation to our scheme but not what a scheme is
Which is TRUE of Private Speech:
a) Adults and children engage in private speech when they are working on solving difficult problems
b) Only children engage in private speech
c) In terms of child development, inner speech happens earlier than private speech
d) Children are more likely to engage in private speech when they are playing and not when they are doing homework
a is correct. Private speech is talking to oneself our loud. It usually happens with younger children or with adults when the task is new or challenging. Later on, inner speech, or talking to one's self inside one's head becomes more frequent.
Which is FALSE about Constructivism:
a) Constructivism includes behaviorist theories
b) Constructivism includes cognitivist theories
c) Constructivists emphasize how the learner contributes to their own learning
d) Constructivists emphasize an individual's social interactions in the development of their knowledge
A is correct. The focus of constructivism is not on the environment and the punishing and rewarding consequences, but rather on what’s happening within the minds or brains of individuals
A math teacher does a problem on the board and explains step by step what she is doing and why. This scenario reflects which term from Bandura's SCT:
a) cognitive modeling
b) enactive learning
c) status modeling
d) scaffolding
a is correct since cognitive modeling involves demonstration & explanation. The expert explains exactly what she is doing and thinking as she models the skill which ultimately is more effective modeling for the observer. This may also an example of scaffolding but that term is related to Vygotsky's Social Constructivism and not Bandura's SCT.
A type of positive reinforcement where a child may get to watch TV only after they sit down on time to have dinner with their family. This is an example of:
a) an intermittent reinforcement schedule
b) a continuous reinforcement schedule
c) classical conditioning
d) the Premack principle
d is correct. The Premack principle, named after psychologist David Premack, refers to reinforcing a target behavior with a more desired behavior afterwards. Another way it has been defined is "pairing a low frequency behavior (sitting with fam on time) with a high frequency behavior (tv-watching) increases the likelihood of the low frequency behavior."
In which of Piaget's four stages would a child first be able to understand that 5 + 4 equals 9 and also that 9 – 4 returns to 5
a) Sensorimotor Stage
b) Preoperational Stage
c) Concrete Operational Stage
d) Formal Operational Stage
C is correct. During Concrete operational stage, children begin to understand Reversibility-- that numbers or objects can be changed or manipulated and then returned back to their original state.
I will NOT ask you things this specific about stages on Exam 1....I just wanted the 500 in Jeopardy to be difficult.
A student falsely believes that trees only ever release oxygen and not carbon dioxide. Which would be the LEAST helpful for the teacher to do to help change the student's beliefs?
a) Provide the student with lecture on the processes of respiration and photosynthesis
b) Ask the student about what they already know about trees' respiration and photosynthesis in order to identify their misconceptions and what they correctly understand
c) Show the student a short video that begins with common misconceptions about respiration, and photosynthesis
d) Show student's the formula for a tree's respiration (oxygen + glucose -> water + carbon dioxide) and ask them why many individuals may find this formula surprising
a is correct--giving a lecture would be the least helpful because students often do not pay close attention to what they think they already know. To help a student with conceptual change, it is important for a teacher to acknowledge and reveal students’ prior conceptions and either build on these (b) or give them a way to have a conceptual conflict (d, c).
Which BEST describes learning?
a) Change in thought or behavior that is enduring over time and due to an experience
b) Constantly taking in sensory information from the world around us
c) Applying knowledge to a real-life situation
d) A short-term change in mental representations or associations as a result of an experience
A is correct. D would have been correct if it stated "long-term change" rather than "short-term change". Answers B & C either account for behavior change or experiences but not both.