Practice Test Geeks(ECE) Early Childhood Education Certificate Practice Test
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Child Development Theories Flashcards

7 cards from real ECE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Child Development Theories flashcards as text

  1. According to Piaget, children in the preoperational stage (ages 2–7) primarily demonstrate:

    Answer: Symbolic thinking and egocentrism

    Preoperational children use symbols and language but are egocentric and have not yet mastered logical operations like conservation.

  2. Freud's psychosexual stage theory suggests that unresolved conflicts during the oral stage may lead to:

    Answer: Issues with dependency, aggression, or excessive oral habits

    Freud believed fixation at the oral stage (birth–18 months) could result in dependency, sarcasm, or excessive eating/smoking later in life.

  3. Which theorist is most associated with the concept of 'attachment' and its critical role in early childhood development?

    Answer: John Bowlby

    John Bowlby developed attachment theory, proposing that early bonds between infants and caregivers are essential for healthy social-emotional development.

  4. Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation experiment identified children who showed distress when separated and were not easily comforted upon reunion as:

    Answer: Anxious-ambivalent (resistant)

    Anxious-ambivalent children show intense distress at separation and mixed behavior — seeking and resisting comfort — upon the caregiver's return.

  5. Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences challenges the traditional view of intelligence by suggesting:

    Answer: There are at least eight distinct types of intelligence

    Gardner proposed that humans possess multiple intelligences — including linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, and bodily-kinesthetic — rather than one general ability.

  6. In Kohlberg's theory of moral development, the 'conventional' level is characterized by:

    Answer: Following rules to maintain social order and meet others' expectations

    At the conventional level, individuals conform to social norms and laws to gain approval and maintain order.

  7. Lev Vygotsky emphasized the role of language in cognitive development because he believed:

    Answer: Language is a tool for thought that mediates higher mental functions

    Vygotsky viewed language as a cultural tool that internalizes into inner speech, becoming fundamental to thinking and self-regulation.