PrepTest 132

Incorrect. The children in question were walking up and down the stairs, so they almost certainly saw them.

Incorrect. While the children here did learn a word, they didn't learn it perfectly, and there's no indication that this was the best method to teach them (in fact, their misapplication of it suggests it isn't the best way to learn).

Incorrect. These young children did misuse the word, and there's no comparison to children of other age groups learning words, so most parts of this answer are out of scope.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Illustration (Principle)

Stimulus Summary:
Children taught "stairs" with a video of someone walking on them later called a ladder they saw someone climbing "stairs."

Answer Anticipation:
Adorable. This Illustration (Principle) question gave us a set of facts, and we're looking to find an answer that states a generalization that sums up that scenario. And we can use a common logic lens to analyze that scenario—comparisons.

The argument brings up two things that the children treat as comparable to the point of using the same word for both—stairs and a ladder. Another similarity is noted between these two objects—the children used stairs to go up and down, and they saw a video of someone using a ladder to do the same. Since the children observed two objects that were being used for similar purposes, and they used the same word to describe it, that's probably the generalization that will show up in the Answer Explanation:

Children sometimes use the same word for objects that have the same or similar purpose.

Answer Explanation:
The young children here learned "stairs" by using them. They then misapplied that word to a different object—a ladder—that had the similar purpose of going up/down. The example in the stimulus is of this generalization, so it's the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
Illustration (Principle) questions—like most Principle questions—tend to have answers that are wrong because they get the details from the stimulus wrong. Make sure to leave enough time to "fact-check" the answers against the stimulus to make sure that your selected answer doesn't feature any shifts!

Incorrect. There's no indication that there were no other objects present when the children were learning "stairs," and the stimulus notes that this is one way that children learn words, not the best way.