I85PREP
⌘ K
CLEP Introduction to Educational Psychology study materials
CLEP Introduction to Educational Psychology study resources

CLEP Introduction to Educational Psychology practice questions

One question at a time. Build your CLEP Introduction to Educational Psychology understanding.

First 50 of 200 questions. Each one lists the choices, the correct answer, and an explanation. The checker at the top of this page saves progress in this browser when it is available.

Continue in the practice tool above to load more questions, 50 at a time.

Question 1Cognition and Learning

In educational psychology, the term 'learning' is best defined as which of the following?

  1. The maturation of physical and neural structures independent of experience
  2. Any temporary change in performance caused by fatigue or motivation
  3. A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge resulting from experience Correct answer.
  4. The storage of information that is recalled without any prior exposure

Explanation

Learning is conventionally defined as a relatively enduring change in behavior or knowledge that arises from experience rather than from maturation or transient states. The word 'relatively permanent' distinguishes genuine learning from short-term fluctuations such as fatigue, mood, or drugs.

Question 2Cognition and Learning

A teacher praises a student each time the student raises a hand before speaking. The student's hand-raising increases. This is an example of which process?

  1. Extinction
  2. Positive reinforcement Correct answer.
  3. Punishment by application
  4. Negative reinforcement

Explanation

Positive reinforcement occurs when a desirable consequence (praise) is added after a behavior and strengthens that behavior. The key feature is the addition of a pleasant stimulus following the target response.

Question 3Cognition and Learning

In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus when it is repeatedly paired with which element?

  1. An unconditioned stimulus that naturally elicits a response Correct answer.
  2. A punisher that reduces the frequency of a behavior
  3. A reinforcer delivered after an operant response
  4. A conditioned response that the learner produces voluntarily

Explanation

Classical conditioning pairs a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus that already evokes an automatic response. Through repeated pairing, the neutral stimulus acquires the capacity to elicit the conditioned response.

Question 4Cognition and Learning

According to Piaget, a child who can conserve quantity and classify objects but cannot yet reason hypothetically about abstract propositions is most likely in which stage?

  1. Preoperational
  2. Concrete operational Correct answer.
  3. Formal operational
  4. Sensorimotor

Explanation

Concrete operational thinking (roughly ages 7 to 11) includes conservation and classification but remains tied to tangible situations. Abstract hypothetical reasoning emerges only in the formal operational stage.

Question 5Cognition and Learning

Vygotsky's zone of proximal development refers to which range of tasks?

  1. Tasks a learner has already mastered and can perform automatically
  2. Tasks that require no social interaction or cultural tools
  3. Tasks a learner can complete with guidance but not yet independently Correct answer.
  4. Tasks far beyond the learner's reach even with extensive support

Explanation

The zone of proximal development is the gap between what a learner can do alone and what the learner can accomplish with assistance from a more capable person. Instruction is most effective when targeted within this zone.

Question 6Cognition and Learning

In information processing theory, which memory store holds a small amount of information for roughly 15 to 30 seconds without rehearsal?

  1. Long-term memory
  2. Short-term memory Correct answer.
  3. Sensory register
  4. Procedural memory

Explanation

Short-term memory retains a limited amount of information for a brief period, commonly cited as about 15 to 30 seconds, unless rehearsal or encoding intervenes. Long-term memory has far greater capacity and duration.

Question 7Cognition and Learning

A student studies vocabulary by spreading practice sessions across several days instead of cramming once. This study strategy is known as which of the following?

  1. Massed practice
  2. Distributed practice Correct answer.
  3. Incidental learning
  4. Blocked practice

Explanation

Distributed practice spaces study episodes over time, which generally improves long-term retention compared with concentrating the same amount of study in one session. The spacing effect describes this advantage.

Question 8Cognition and Learning

Which statement best describes intrinsic motivation?

  1. Engaging in an activity because of fear of failure
  2. Engaging in an activity to please a teacher or parent
  3. Engaging in an activity because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable Correct answer.
  4. Engaging in an activity to obtain a reward or avoid punishment

Explanation

Intrinsic motivation arises from interest, enjoyment, or satisfaction inherent in the activity itself. It contrasts with extrinsic motivation, which is driven by separable outcomes such as rewards or approval.

Question 9Cognition and Learning

A teacher wants students to remember key concepts for an end-of-year exam rather than just for Friday's quiz. Which assessment practice best supports durable retention?

  1. Periodically re-quizzing earlier material alongside new material Correct answer.
  2. Testing each topic once immediately after it is taught
  3. Removing all previously tested content from later assessments
  4. Reviewing notes passively by rereading them repeatedly

Explanation

Repeated retrieval of earlier material, interleaved with new content, strengthens long-term retention and counteracts forgetting. Spacing retrieval practice across the year produces more durable learning than a single immediate quiz.

Question 10Cognition and Learning

According to Baddeley's model of working memory, which component coordinates attention and integrates information from the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad?

  1. Episodic buffer
  2. Central executive Correct answer.
  3. Visuospatial sketchpad
  4. Phonological loop

Explanation

The central executive is the attentional control system that allocates resources and coordinates the subsidiary stores. The episodic buffer integrates information but is not the primary attention-coordinating component.

Question 11Cognition and Learning

A student who once was bitten by a dog now feels anxious around all dogs. In classical conditioning terms, the widening of fear from the specific dog to other dogs illustrates which phenomenon?

  1. Higher-order conditioning
  2. Stimulus generalization Correct answer.
  3. Stimulus discrimination
  4. Spontaneous recovery

Explanation

Stimulus generalization occurs when a response conditioned to one stimulus is elicited by similar stimuli. Responding fearfully to many dogs after one aversive experience fits this pattern.

Question 12Cognition and Learning

A teacher stops giving stickers for completed homework, and the student's homework completion gradually declines. In operant terms, this decline most directly illustrates which process?

  1. Punishment by removal
  2. Discrimination
  3. Negative reinforcement
  4. Extinction Correct answer.

Explanation

Extinction is the weakening of a previously reinforced behavior when the reinforcer is no longer delivered. Removing the stickers withdraws the maintaining consequence, so the behavior declines.

Question 13Cognition and Learning

Which instructional move best reflects the cognitive principle of automaticity in skill learning?

  1. Providing repeated practice so basic skills require fewer attentional resources Correct answer.
  2. Delaying practice until students fully understand every underlying concept
  3. Introducing many new skills simultaneously to increase challenge
  4. Requiring students to justify every step verbally during fluent performance

Explanation

Automaticity develops through practice until basic operations consume minimal working memory, freeing capacity for higher-level thinking. This is why fluent decoding or computation supports comprehension and problem solving.

Question 14Cognition and Learning

A teacher uses a KWL chart in which students record what they know, what they want to know, and what they learned. This technique primarily supports learning by doing which of the following?

  1. Activating prior knowledge and monitoring comprehension Correct answer.
  2. Eliminating the need for feedback
  3. Increasing the speed of reading fluency
  4. Reducing the need for retrieval practice

Explanation

The KWL structure prompts learners to activate relevant prior knowledge and to monitor whether their questions are answered, both of which support comprehension and metacognition. It does not primarily target reading speed.

Question 15Cognition and Learning

Which of the following best illustrates negative reinforcement in a classroom?

  1. A student who talks during a lesson loses a privilege
  2. A student who fails a quiz is asked to retake it
  3. A student who answers correctly receives a token
  4. A student who completes work early is excused from the remaining practice problems Correct answer.

Explanation

Negative reinforcement strengthens a behavior by removing an aversive or unwanted condition. Being excused from remaining problems after finishing early removes an unwanted task and increases early completion.

Question 16Cognition and Learning

In Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning, which factor most strongly determines whether new material can be learned meaningfully?

  1. The number of times the material is repeated verbatim
  2. The availability of relevant prior knowledge in the learner's cognitive structure Correct answer.
  3. The length of the textbook chapter
  4. The physical arrangement of the classroom

Explanation

Ausubel argued that meaningful learning depends on anchoring new information to relevant existing knowledge structures. Without appropriate prior knowledge, new material is likely to be learned only rotely.

Question 17Cognition and Learning

A teacher presents examples of mammals (dog, cat, whale) and non-examples (snake, bird, fish) to help students form a concept. This approach is most consistent with which instructional strategy?

  1. Discovery learning without any teacher guidance
  2. Programmed instruction with fixed linear steps
  3. Concept attainment through comparison of exemplars and non-exemplars Correct answer.
  4. Rote memorization of a definition without examples

Explanation

Concept attainment involves comparing positive exemplars with non-exemplars so learners infer the defining attributes of a category. The contrast helps students distinguish critical from irrelevant features.

Question 18Cognition and Learning

Which of the following best describes the spacing effect?

  1. Information studied across separated sessions is retained better than information studied in one massed session Correct answer.
  2. Students forget material more quickly when it is tested repeatedly
  3. Information studied in a single long session is retained better than information studied in short sessions
  4. Students learn faster when material is presented in the same context every time

Explanation

The spacing effect is the finding that distributing study over time yields better long-term retention than massing the same amount of study together. It is one of the most robust findings in learning research.

Question 19Cognition and Learning

A student uses the mnemonic 'ROY G BIV' to remember the colors of the spectrum. This primarily relies on which memory strategy?

  1. Metacognitive monitoring of comprehension
  2. An acrostic that provides a retrieval cue Correct answer.
  3. Distributed practice across days
  4. Elaborative rehearsal that links new material to prior knowledge

Explanation

An acrostic encodes a list in a memorable phrase whose first letters cue the target items. It works by providing a structured retrieval cue rather than by deepening conceptual understanding.

Question 20Cognition and Learning

A teacher notices that students who study in varied locations and with varied practice formats perform better on a later transfer test than students who practice in one fixed setting. Which principle best explains this result?

  1. Rote rehearsal produces flexible knowledge
  2. Massed practice strengthens a single memory trace
  3. Encoding variability creates multiple retrieval routes Correct answer.
  4. State-dependent learning prevents transfer

Explanation

Varying the context and format of practice produces multiple encoded associations, giving learners more retrieval routes and supporting transfer. This is a form of encoding variability that enhances flexible access to knowledge.

Question 21Cognition and Learning

A student can solve problems when they are presented in the textbook's standard format but fails when the same underlying problem appears in a novel context. This pattern most directly indicates a weakness in which of the following?

  1. Transfer of learning Correct answer.
  2. Sensory registration
  3. Classical conditioning
  4. Developmental maturation

Explanation

Transfer is the application of learned knowledge or skills to new situations. Success only with familiar formats shows that learning is tied to surface features rather than to underlying structure, limiting transfer.

Question 22Cognition and Learning

Which scenario best illustrates the difference between a schema and a script in cognitive theory?

  1. A schema is a general knowledge structure about a concept, while a script is a schema for a routine event sequence Correct answer.
  2. A schema is a routine event sequence, while a script is a general concept
  3. A schema is a reinforcer, while a script is a punisher
  4. A schema is a temporary memory store, while a script is a permanent one

Explanation

Schemas are organized knowledge structures about concepts or categories, whereas scripts are a specialized type of schema representing the expected sequence of events in a routine situation, such as ordering food. The distinction is one of generality versus event-sequence specificity.

Question 23Cognition and Learning

A teacher designs instruction so that students first master component skills with guidance, then gradually take on more of the task independently. This design most closely reflects which Vygotskian concept?

  1. Punishment of incorrect responses
  2. Unstructured discovery without support
  3. Scaffolding within the zone of proximal development Correct answer.
  4. Rote memorization of procedures

Explanation

Scaffolding provides temporary, graduated support that is faded as learners gain competence, keeping tasks within the zone of proximal development. The gradual release of responsibility is central to this approach.

Question 24Cognition and Learning

A researcher finds that students who generate their own explanations of a text remember it better than students who simply reread it, even when total study time is equal. Which interpretation is most defensible?

  1. Rereading is always more effective than any form of generative study
  2. The finding proves that reinforcement is unnecessary for learning
  3. Generating explanations engages deeper encoding processes that improve retention Correct answer.
  4. The result reflects maturation rather than an instructional effect

Explanation

Self-explanation prompts learners to integrate and elaborate material, producing deeper encoding than passive rereading. Because study time was equated, the advantage is best attributed to the depth of processing rather than to time on task.

Question 25Cognition and Learning

A teacher wants to reduce the cognitive load of a complex multi-step procedure for novices. Which approach is most consistent with cognitive load theory?

  1. Require novices to discover the procedure entirely on their own
  2. Assign complex problems immediately without any worked examples
  3. Increase the number of extraneous details in each problem statement
  4. Present worked examples first and gradually fade to independent problem solving Correct answer.

Explanation

For novices, worked examples reduce extraneous load and free working memory for understanding the procedure; support is then faded as expertise grows. This is the worked-example effect described in cognitive load theory.

Question 26Cognition and Learning

According to the Atkinson–Shiffrin multi-store model, which sequence correctly describes the path of information from the environment to long-term storage?

  1. Sensory register → long-term memory → short-term memory
  2. Short-term memory → sensory register → long-term memory
  3. Sensory register → short-term memory → long-term memory Correct answer.
  4. Long-term memory → short-term memory → sensory register

Explanation

The multi-store model proposes that environmental stimuli first enter modality-specific sensory registers, where unattended information decays rapidly. Attended information is transferred to short-term memory, and through rehearsal and encoding it can move into long-term memory. The other sequences reverse or skip stages that the model treats as sequential.

Question 27Cognition and Learning

A teacher wants students to encode new vocabulary into long-term memory rather than simply holding the words briefly. According to information processing theory, which student activity is most likely to support durable encoding?

  1. Repeating each word silently ten times without checking meaning
  2. Copying each word once from the board into a notebook
  3. Connecting each new word to a personal example and its definition Correct answer.
  4. Reading the word list aloud while walking around the room

Explanation

Durable encoding depends on elaborative processing, which links new information to existing knowledge and gives it personal meaning. Connecting a word to a personal example and its definition creates multiple retrieval routes. Maintenance rehearsal such as silent repetition or copying keeps items in short-term memory without deep processing.

Question 28Cognition and Learning

A student reads a chapter and, without looking back, writes a summary of the main ideas and then checks it against the text. This study technique most directly strengthens long-term retention because it requires which cognitive process?

  1. Retrieval practice with feedback Correct answer.
  2. Recognition of familiar wording on the page
  3. Massed repetition of the same passage
  4. Incidental learning through exposure

Explanation

Summarizing from memory is a form of retrieval practice: the learner must reconstruct content without the text in front of them. Checking the summary against the source supplies corrective feedback, which improves the accuracy of later recall. Recognition and rereading feel productive but produce weaker long-term retention than active retrieval.

Question 29Cognition and Learning

Which classroom practice best reflects the principle of metacognition?

  1. Students receive a sticker for each assignment finished on time
  2. Students listen to a lecture and copy the teacher's notes verbatim
  3. Students predict their quiz score, compare it with the actual score, and plan how to study differently Correct answer.
  4. Students complete a worksheet of multiplication facts timed to one minute

Explanation

Metacognition involves monitoring and regulating one's own thinking, including judging how well material is understood and adjusting strategies accordingly. Predicting performance and comparing the prediction with the outcome is a classic calibration activity that builds metacognitive awareness. Timed drills, verbatim copying, and reward systems do not require students to reflect on their own learning processes.

Question 30Cognition and Learning

A student solving a geometry proof repeatedly checks whether each step follows logically from the previous one and asks, 'Does this conclusion actually make sense?' This behavior primarily reflects which component of metacognition?

  1. Monitoring of comprehension and reasoning Correct answer.
  2. Procedural fluency in drawing diagrams
  3. Declarative knowledge about geometry theorems
  4. Conditional knowledge about when to use a formula

Explanation

Metacognitive monitoring is the ongoing evaluation of whether one's reasoning is sound and whether understanding is adequate. Checking the logic of each step and questioning the plausibility of a conclusion are monitoring behaviors. Declarative and procedural knowledge describe what the student knows and can do, not the self-regulatory checking process itself.

Question 31Cognition and Learning

A teacher presents a concept map showing how photosynthesis connects to cellular respiration, food chains, and the carbon cycle. This instructional choice primarily supports learning by doing which of the following?

  1. Providing extrinsic rewards for completing the organizer
  2. Activating and building relational knowledge structures Correct answer.
  3. Reducing the number of vocabulary terms students must learn
  4. Increasing the amount of time students spend reading

Explanation

Concept maps make relationships among ideas explicit, which helps learners integrate new material into organized knowledge structures rather than storing isolated facts. Relational organization supports retrieval because ideas are linked to multiple related concepts. Reducing vocabulary, increasing reading time, and offering rewards are not the mechanism the map is designed to exploit.

Question 32Cognition and Learning

A teacher asks students to classify a list of statements as examples or non-examples of a scientific law. This task most directly requires which cognitive process?

  1. Maintenance rehearsal of the definitions
  2. Automatic retrieval of memorized examples
  3. Discrimination between defining features and irrelevant features Correct answer.
  4. Perceptual learning of the printed text

Explanation

Classifying examples and non-examples requires learners to identify the defining attributes of a concept and to ignore features that are irrelevant to membership. This discrimination process is central to concept attainment. Rote rehearsal or automatic retrieval of memorized examples would not require the student to apply criteria to new cases.

Question 33Cognition and Learning

Which of the following best illustrates the use of a heuristic rather than an algorithm?

  1. A student checks every possible combination until finding the right one
  2. A student uses the quadratic formula to solve every equation of that form
  3. A student follows a step-by-step recipe with no deviations
  4. A student tries a few likely values to estimate an answer quickly Correct answer.

Explanation

A heuristic is a mental shortcut that often produces a good solution efficiently but does not guarantee correctness. Trying a few likely values to estimate an answer is a shortcut strategy. Algorithms, by contrast, are step-by-step procedures that guarantee a correct result when followed properly, such as applying a formula or checking every combination.

Question 34Cognition and Learning

A student is stuck on a word problem and cannot see a way forward. Which strategy most directly addresses functional fixedness?

  1. Memorizing the steps the teacher demonstrated
  2. Rereading the problem more slowly several times
  3. Increasing effort by working longer without a break
  4. Restating the problem in a new form or considering an object's unusual use Correct answer.

Explanation

Functional fixedness is the tendency to see objects or elements only in their conventional roles, which blocks novel solutions. Representing the problem differently or imagining unconventional uses of its elements can break that mental set. Rereading, memorizing procedures, and simply persisting do not challenge the fixed assumptions that produced the impasse.

Question 35Cognition and Learning

A teacher wants students to transfer a mathematical strategy to unfamiliar contexts. Which assessment design best supports this goal?

  1. A timed drill of the exact procedures from the textbook
  2. A quiz containing the same problem types practiced in class
  3. A multiple-choice test of definitions of the strategy
  4. A project requiring students to apply the strategy to a novel real-world scenario Correct answer.

Explanation

Transfer is demonstrated when a learner applies knowledge to situations that differ from the original learning context. A project set in a novel real-world scenario requires students to recognize where the strategy applies and adapt it. Tests made of practiced problem types, definitions, or identical procedures measure retention and near transfer at most.

Question 36Cognition and Learning

Which statement best distinguishes near transfer from far transfer?

  1. Near transfer involves applying learning to a similar context, while far transfer involves applying it to a dissimilar context Correct answer.
  2. Near transfer occurs only in early childhood, while far transfer occurs only in adolescence
  3. Near transfer is always assessed by standardized tests, while far transfer is always assessed by portfolios
  4. Near transfer requires no prior knowledge, while far transfer requires none either

Explanation

The near–far distinction concerns how similar the transfer situation is to the original learning context. Near transfer involves applying skills to closely related tasks or settings, whereas far transfer involves applying them to contexts that differ substantially. The distinction is not defined by age, prior knowledge, or a particular assessment format.

Question 37Cognition and Learning

A teacher uses a think-aloud while solving a problem, naming the strategies being considered and why some are rejected. This modeling primarily supports students' learning of which of the following?

  1. Conditional and procedural knowledge for regulating strategy use Correct answer.
  2. Classical conditioning of emotional responses
  3. Perceptual speed in reading aloud
  4. Declarative knowledge of unrelated facts

Explanation

A think-aloud makes the covert decisions of an expert visible, showing students when and why a strategy is chosen or abandoned. This builds conditional knowledge about when to apply strategies and procedural knowledge about how to carry them out. It does not primarily teach unrelated facts, condition emotions, or increase reading speed.

Question 38Cognition and Learning

A student who has mastered basic addition facts can now solve multi-digit problems without consciously counting on fingers. In cognitive terms, what has most likely occurred?

  1. The student has forgotten the underlying concepts
  2. The student has reduced the need for any further practice
  3. The student has switched from procedural to declarative knowledge
  4. The student has developed automaticity that frees working memory capacity Correct answer.

Explanation

Automaticity is the result of extended practice, in which a skill becomes fast and accurate enough to require minimal conscious attention. This frees limited working memory capacity for higher-level problem solving. Automaticity does not imply forgetting concepts, a shift to declarative knowledge, or an end to the need for practice.

Question 39Cognition and Learning

Which of the following best illustrates the role of prior knowledge in comprehension?

  1. A student who knows how engines work understands a text about carburetors more easily than a peer unfamiliar with engines Correct answer.
  2. A student reads a passage aloud with accurate pronunciation but cannot explain its meaning
  3. A student memorizes a list of definitions without reading any context
  4. A student copies a passage word for word into a notebook

Explanation

Comprehension depends on integrating new text with existing knowledge structures, so readers who already possess relevant background knowledge can interpret and elaborate on the material more readily. Accurate pronunciation without understanding, copying, and rote memorization all show that decoding or recording alone does not guarantee comprehension.

Question 40Cognition and Learning

A teacher asks students to generate their own examples of a concept after reading a definition, and then compares their examples with a partner's. Which combination of cognitive processes does this task most directly engage?

  1. Maintenance rehearsal and passive listening
  2. Classical conditioning and reflex generalization
  3. Elaboration and peer feedback on encoding Correct answer.
  4. Perceptual priming and echoic memory

Explanation

Generating one's own examples requires elaborative processing that connects the definition to specific cases, which strengthens encoding. Comparing examples with a partner provides feedback that can reveal misconceptions and refine the learner's understanding. Rehearsal, conditioning, and priming do not describe this combination of generative and socially mediated processing.

Question 41Development and Individual Differences

According to Piaget, a child who can classify objects by more than one dimension and understands conservation is most likely in which stage of cognitive development?

  1. Preoperational
  2. Formal operational
  3. Concrete operational Correct answer.
  4. Sensorimotor

Explanation

Concrete operational thought (roughly ages 7 to 11) is marked by the emergence of conservation, reversibility, and the ability to classify and seriate along multiple dimensions, provided the reasoning is tied to tangible objects. Formal operational thought adds abstract, hypothetical reasoning.

Question 42Development and Individual Differences

A teacher presents a lesson slightly beyond what students can do alone but within reach with guidance. This instruction targets which concept?

  1. Assimilation
  2. Zone of proximal development Correct answer.
  3. Private speech
  4. Scaffolding

Explanation

Vygotsky's zone of proximal development is the gap between what a learner can do independently and what the learner can accomplish with assistance. Scaffolding is a support strategy used within that zone, not the zone itself.

Question 43Development and Individual Differences

Erikson's psychosocial theory places the central conflict of adolescence at which stage?

  1. Trust versus mistrust
  2. Industry versus inferiority
  3. Intimacy versus isolation
  4. Identity versus role confusion Correct answer.

Explanation

Erikson located the adolescent crisis in identity versus role confusion, when young people explore commitments and values to form a coherent sense of self. Intimacy versus isolation follows in young adulthood.

Question 44Development and Individual Differences

Kohlberg's preconventional level of moral reasoning is best characterized by which orientation?

  1. Maintaining social order and fulfilling duty
  2. Upholding abstract principles of justice
  3. Seeking approval from peers and family
  4. Avoiding punishment and seeking personal reward Correct answer.

Explanation

Preconventional morality is self-centered: judgments hinge on avoiding punishment and gaining rewards rather than on internalized social rules. Conventional reasoning, by contrast, emphasizes approval, duty, and maintaining social order.

Question 45Development and Individual Differences

A child who calls a horse a "big dog" when first seeing one is using which Piagetian process?

  1. Equilibration
  2. Assimilation Correct answer.
  3. Conservation
  4. Accommodation

Explanation

Assimilation occurs when new experiences are interpreted through an existing scheme, as when a horse is fit into the child's dog schema. Accommodation would require modifying the schema to create a separate category for horses.

Question 46Development and Individual Differences

A researcher finds that a test of reading comprehension yields similar scores when the same students take it on two occasions two weeks apart. The test demonstrates which property?

  1. Predictive validity
  2. Internal consistency
  3. Content validity
  4. Test-retest reliability Correct answer.

Explanation

Test-retest reliability refers to the stability of scores across repeated administrations of the same instrument. Validity, by contrast, concerns whether the test measures what it is intended to measure.

Question 47Development and Individual Differences

Which of the following best describes Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence?

  1. Intelligence comprises analytical, creative, and practical abilities Correct answer.
  2. Intelligence consists of a single general factor
  3. Intelligence is best represented by verbal and performance scales
  4. Intelligence comprises eight relatively independent intelligences

Explanation

Sternberg proposed that intelligence includes analytical (componential), creative (experiential), and practical (contextual) aspects, emphasizing how people apply abilities in real settings. The other options describe Spearman's g, Gardner's multiple intelligences, and the Wechsler structure.

Question 48Development and Individual Differences

A student who is highly gifted in mathematics is placed in an accelerated class that moves faster and covers more advanced content. This placement is an example of which approach to individual differences?

  1. Differentiated instruction
  2. Grade acceleration Correct answer.
  3. Remediation
  4. Mainstreaming

Explanation

Grade acceleration advances a student through the curriculum or grade levels more rapidly than the standard pace, often used with academically gifted learners. Differentiation adjusts content and process within the regular grade placement.

Question 49Development and Individual Differences

A student who has difficulty sounding out unfamiliar words and mapping letters to sounds most likely has a deficit in which area?

  1. Visual-spatial reasoning
  2. Working memory for numbers
  3. Phonological processing Correct answer.
  4. Fine motor coordination

Explanation

Phonological processing underlies the ability to perceive and manipulate speech sounds and to map them onto letters, which is central to word decoding. Difficulties here are associated with dyslexia.

Question 50Development and Individual Differences

In Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, a child's school and neighborhood constitute which system?

  1. Mesosystem
  2. Microsystem Correct answer.
  3. Macrosystem
  4. Exosystem

Explanation

The microsystem consists of the immediate settings in which the child directly participates, such as family, school, and peer groups. The mesosystem refers to interactions among those microsystems.