Exam 9: Language and Thinking

When you read a section in your introductory psychology textbook, you are reading language units larger than a sentence. This level of language hierarchy is called:

Which of the following would be best considered an example of the motoric mode of thought?

Procedures or formulas that, if used correctly, always lead to correct solutions are called algorithms.

Jane gets a phone call from someone she was just thinking about. She concludes that whenever she thinks of someone they will call. However, she is making a mistake because she is not remembering how often she DID NOT get a call when thinking about a person. This is an example of

Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective, notices that all of the coffee cups in your house have the handles facing to the left. He concludes that you must, therefore, be left-handed. Sherlock has just used

In their most basic form, these statements express facts and consist of concepts that are combined in a particular way. These statements are called:

Which of the following obstacles to reasoning and problem-solving does NOT involve the influence of our personal opinion?

Anna and her family moved to Germany when Anna was thirteen years old and her brother Andrew was four. Even after many years of speaking and reading the German language, Anna still struggled with the language compared to Andrew who easily switches between English and German when necessary. The fact that Andrew was able to master this second language faster and better than Anna is evidence for:

Professor Krizan is studying the remote people in the interior of New Zealand. She claims that there is a strong relation between their language and their way of thinking. In fact, she claims that language determines how they think. Her observations are most Consistent with

While researchers have long debated whether animals can acquire language, more recent research has clearly demonstrated that at least chimps are capable of acquiring it like humans.

To infer how closely something fits our prototype for a particular class and the likelihood that it belongs to that class, we use _.

A system of knowledge about the meaning and conduct of life is known as:

Simon had a big fight with his girlfriend and he is not certain now what he should do about it. He has a close relationship with his grandfather so Simon talks to him about his problem. His grandfather's advice turns out to be very helpful and relieves the strain the fight had on the relationship. Which of Baltes' five components of wisdom did Simon's grandfather show evidence of?

Language can be used to create an infinite number of messages that can have novel or new meanings. This quality of language is referred to as:

To consistently solve a certain type of problem correctly, it is advantageous to use a(n) ________.

Seth is interested in studying individuals' ability to recognize phonemes present in different languages. Seth's research interests lie in the area of:

If you identify differences between the present situation and the desired goal state and then make changes to reduce these differences, it is indicative of using to solve a problem.

Professor Lee has just conducted an observational study looking at the types of cars driven by students versus professors. He notes that professors tend to drive more expensive cars and concludes that they are more likely in a position to afford them. Professor Lee has come to this conclusion through

The five properties that are common to all languages are that they are all symbolic, have structure, convey meaning, are generative, and permits displacement.

A researcher asks a four-year-old how to make cookies. The child answers: "You mix the sugar and butter and flour, you put them in the oven, then you eat them!" This four-year-old shows evidence of a rudimentary _ for baking cookies.