Correct Response: C. A ten-year-old child is considered to be in the concrete operational stage of cognitive development. By having the child return to the store and pay for the shoplifted item, a parent reinforces the idea of ownership and corrects the behavior by having the child make restitution. This is a concrete way of demonstrating that the act of stealing from a store is taking an item that belongs to someone else and must be returned or purchased. While making the child write about why stealing is wrong (A) may help the child remember the incident and consider why the act of stealing is wrong, it is not a concrete consequence. Using a punishment, such as taking away a favored activity from the child for an indefinite period (B), may be less effective in influencing the child's behavior since it does not show the child how to change the behavior. While withholding the child's allowance so that it can be used to pay for the stolen item (D) may be an appropriate action to take, it will not directly reinforce a change in behavior.
