Exam 8: Thinking, Reasoning and Language

As symbolic systems of communication, most languages

The smallest units of speech that are meaningful are referred to as

When a student is given two seemingly different problems to solve, but the problems have the same underlying logical requirements, the student may miss this similarity due to the apparent differences in the wording of the questions. The relationship between two problems is called ________.

You are learning Russian in preparation for a trip next summer. Although you are doing a good job recognising the written signs you need to know, you are having trouble with the sounds of the Russian language. Which of the following aspects of language is giving you trouble?

Which of the following statements is true about language?

A ________ marker is a grammatical element that modifies words by adding sounds that change their meanings.

You just discovered a nomadic people who have lived in the desert their whole lives. Their language contains more than 20 words to describe the various types and textures of sand contained in their environment. According to research on linguistic determinism, what is the likely origin for all of these terms?

Parrots seem to talk. They utter words that sound like human language. So, can this behaviour be thought to be speech? Which statement about parrots is supported by the research?

Let's say we could teach a dolphin to understand the difference between the sentences "The parrot kissed the dolphin" and "The dolphin was kissed by the parrot". If this were demonstrated, it might mean the dolphin had an understanding of ________.

Rosemary, a college professor, has not been able to give up her overhead projector and transparencies even though her classroom has equipment that will support computer-generated projected images. This might be an example of a(n)________.

In addition to the bonobo, the ________ appears to use language in a way that is more similar to human use than other animals.

A ________ period is a time during which people are more receptive to learning and can acquire knowledge more easily.

Babies can hear inside the womb

MacGyver, a fictional TV hero, was able to solve nearly any problem with duct tape, chewing gum, and some luck. Which of the following cognitive tendencies was one that MacGyver has clearly overcome?

The sounds t, th, and sh are ________.

Honeybees communicate through

Benny and Darla are driving to a concert downtown. Benny decides to drive one route, and Darla does not object. When they get stuck in traffic, Darla mumbles, "I just knew it would have been faster if we'd gone my way". What sort of heuristic is Darla employing?

Eduardo is from Brazil. He is fluent in both Portuguese and English. When he uses English to speak to you of his home in Brazil, he seems to have trouble remembering details. Yet, when he is speaking Portuguese to another Brazilian, he has no trouble remembering. This phenomenon can be best explained by

One explanation for the difficulty of second language acquisition among adults is that when someone learns a second language in adulthood, they use different ________ than those who learn a second language in early childhood.

________ refers to how attention-grabbing something is.