OSAT OSAT Child Development and Learning 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A 3-year-old child insists on doing everything 'by myself' and becomes upset when adults help without being asked. This behavior best illustrates which of Erikson's stages?
- Trust vs. Mistrust
- Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Correct answer)
- Initiative vs. Guilt
- Industry vs. Inferiority
Correct answer: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Erikson's Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt stage (ages 1-3) involves children asserting independence and control over their actions.
Question 2: Which theorist proposed that children construct knowledge through active interaction with their environment rather than passively receiving information?
- B.F. Skinner
- Jean Piaget (Correct answer)
- Albert Bandura
- Sigmund Freud
Correct answer: Jean Piaget
Piaget's constructivist theory holds that children actively build knowledge schemas through experience and exploration.
Question 3: A teacher notices that an English Language Learner is silent during class discussions but converses freely in her home language. This is best described as:
- A cognitive delay requiring intervention
- The silent period of second language acquisition (Correct answer)
- Selective mutism disorder
- Lack of motivation to participate
Correct answer: The silent period of second language acquisition
The silent period is a normal phase in second language acquisition where learners listen and absorb before producing output.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes 'scaffolding' in Vygotsky's framework?
- Providing all answers so children can focus on understanding
- Permanent structural support built into curriculum
- Temporary support adjusted to a child's current ability level (Correct answer)
- Physical classroom organization to support learning
Correct answer: Temporary support adjusted to a child's current ability level
Scaffolding is temporary, adjustable support provided within a child's Zone of Proximal Development that is gradually withdrawn as competence grows.
Question 5: Research on brain development indicates that the early childhood years (birth to age 8) are critical because:
- IQ scores are permanently fixed by age 5
- Neural connections are formed at a rapid rate, influenced by experience (Correct answer)
- Children cannot learn abstract concepts until age 8
- Sleep needs are greatest during this period
Correct answer: Neural connections are formed at a rapid rate, influenced by experience
Early childhood is marked by rapid synaptogenesis, and rich experiences strengthen neural pathways while unused connections are pruned.
Question 6: A kindergarten child believes that a tall, narrow glass holds more water than a short, wide glass even after watching the same amount of water being poured. This demonstrates a lack of:
- Object permanence
- Conservation (Correct answer)
- Seriation
- Classification
Correct answer: Conservation
Conservation is the understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance; its absence is characteristic of the preoperational stage.
Question 7: Which attachment style is characterized by a child who becomes extremely distressed when a caregiver leaves and is not easily comforted upon return?
- Secure attachment
- Avoidant attachment
- Disorganized attachment
- Anxious-ambivalent attachment (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Anxious-ambivalent attachment
Anxious-ambivalent (resistant) attachment involves intense distress at separation combined with difficulty being soothed upon reunion.
OSAT OSAT Child Development and Learning 2
A 3-year-old child insists on doing everything 'by myself' and becomes upset when adults help without being asked.
This behavior best illustrates which of Erikson's stages?