ACT Educational Psychology Principles 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) refers to:
- Tasks a learner can complete independently without any help
- The gap between what a learner can do alone and what they can do with guidance (Correct answer)
- The maximum cognitive load a student can handle before performance declines
- A fixed developmental stage tied to chronological age
Correct answer: The gap between what a learner can do alone and what they can do with guidance
The ZPD is the range of tasks a learner cannot yet complete independently but can accomplish with skilled support or collaboration.
Question 2: Which learning theory emphasizes reinforcement and punishment as the primary drivers of behavior change?
- Constructivism
- Humanism
- Behaviorism (Correct answer)
- Cognitivism
Correct answer: Behaviorism
Behaviorism, associated with Skinner and Watson, holds that observable behaviors are shaped through reinforcement (increasing behavior) and punishment (decreasing behavior).
Question 3: A test administrator notices that students in a high-stakes testing environment show extreme anxiety affecting performance. This phenomenon is best described as:
- Test-wiseness deficit
- Stereotype threat
- Test anxiety (Correct answer)
- Cognitive overload
Correct answer: Test anxiety
Test anxiety is a form of performance anxiety specifically triggered by evaluation situations, causing emotional and cognitive disruption that impairs test performance.
Question 4: Bloom's Taxonomy categorizes educational objectives into domains. Which domain includes skills like analysis, synthesis, and evaluation?
- Psychomotor
- Affective
- Cognitive (Correct answer)
- Conative
Correct answer: Cognitive
The cognitive domain in Bloom's Taxonomy addresses intellectual skills ranging from basic recall to higher-order thinking such as analysis, evaluation, and creation.
Question 5: Which concept describes a student's belief that their intelligence and abilities can grow through dedication and hard work?
- Self-efficacy
- Growth mindset (Correct answer)
- Intrinsic motivation
- Metacognition
Correct answer: Growth mindset
Carol Dweck's 'growth mindset' theory holds that students who believe their abilities are developable through effort outperform those who see abilities as fixed.
Question 6: When a student recalls a list of spelling words by grouping them into related categories, they are using which memory strategy?
- Elaborative rehearsal
- Chunking (Correct answer)
- Spaced practice
- Retrieval practice
Correct answer: Chunking
Chunking involves organizing individual pieces of information into meaningful groups, reducing cognitive load and improving working memory capacity.
Question 7: Formative assessment is best described as evaluation that:
- Assigns a final grade at the end of a course
- Compares student performance against national norms
- Monitors learning during instruction to guide teaching adjustments (Correct answer)
- Certifies mastery of standardized competencies
Correct answer: Monitors learning during instruction to guide teaching adjustments
Formative assessment is ongoing, low-stakes evaluation used during the learning process to provide feedback and inform instructional decisions, not to assign final grades.
ACT Educational Psychology Principles 2
According to Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) refers to: