Deck 9: Language and Thought

Question 1

Babies typically begin speaking simple words such as mama and dada around the age of __________ year(s) old.

Answer 1

one

Question 2

Pragmatics refers to the practical use of language.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Babies can initially produce all of the phonemes of different languages.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

By what age do normally-developing babies begin to babble?

A) 1 month
B) 3 months
C) 6 months
D) 9 months

Question 5

What are the two main components of language?

Question 6

Why is animal communication not a language?

Question 7

What are the smallest units of meaning within a language called?

Question 8

Alphonso, who is 2 years old, frequently asks his mother for a drink by using two-word phrases such as "More milk." What type of speech does this represent?

Question 9

Colin received his paper back from his English teacher, Ms. Taylor. She informed him that adverbs follow the verbs they modify in sentence order. What level of language analysis does this represent?

A) Syntax
B) Semantics
C) Morphology
D) Pragmatics

Question 10

Which of the following areas refers to the meaning of words?

A) Phonology
B) Semantics
C) Morphology
D) Pragmatics

Question 11

Humans make new sentences each time they speak. This refers to the concept that language is creative or __________.

Question 12

Language can be spoken, signed, or written.

Question 13

How many phonemes does the English language have?

A) Approximately 15
B) Approximately 25
C) Approximately 40
D) Approximately 50

Question 14

Describe Chomsky's theory of the language acquisition device (LAD).

Question 15

One aspect of pragmatics is our use of body language such as facial movements and gestures that may affect the meaning of the words we speak. The use of body language is a type of __________ communication.

Question 16

What makes the word "dog" different from the word "dogs"?

Question 17

Provide an example of nonverbal communication that you have encountered and explain how it actively changed the connotation of the words that were spoken.

Question 18

Languages with more phonemes are capable of producing more complex ideas than languages with fewer phonemes.

Question 19

Define lexical meaning and describe how it changes over time?

Question 20

The study of phonemes is called __________.

Question 21

What pattern in the progression of language development is seen in children who grow up in a bilingual or multilingual home?

Question 22

Damage to which hemisphere of the brain is linked to the inability to understand humor and metaphors?

Question 23

Which of the following sequences correctly orders the components of language, from the smallest or most specific to the broadest?

A) phoneme morpheme syntax
B) syntax morpheme phoneme
C) phoneme syntax morpheme
D) syntax phoneme morpheme

Question 24

Which condition, resulting from damage to Broca's area, can produce an inability to speak using proper grammar?

A) Aphasia
B) Agraphia
C) Agrammatism
D) Agnosia

Question 25

Most younger adults score higher than older adults on tests of vocabulary.

Question 26

Maya said, "I thinked about it." This is an example of the linguistic error called __________.

Question 27

What brain area is critical for speech production?

Question 28

What is the term used to define the developmental time window during which the brain is especially susceptible to influences?

Question 29

Wernicke's area is located in the left temporal lobe.

Question 30

Define transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and describe a study that used this technique.

Question 31

Describe the interactionist theory of language development.

Question 32

When individuals read words that evoke odors, the smell-related portions of the brain become active.

Question 33

Joan speaks to her toddler son using high-pitched and exaggerated speech. Which type of speech is this an example of?

A) Baby talk
B) Child-directed speech
C) Telegraphic speech
D) Pragmatic speech

Question 34

Which of the following areas is activated when individuals read?

A) Pons
B) Medulla
C) Frontal eye fields
D) Parietal cortex

Question 35

Psychologists often report that the years prior to age __________ are an especially important time for language acquisition.

Question 36

Child-directed speech is observed when parents communicate using sign language.

Question 37

What does a "critical period" in language development refer to?

A) Period during which the brain is receptive to language learning
B) Period during which children are proficient in their first language
C) Period during which children must receive stimulation to learn language
D) Period during which the brain forms neural connections for language learning

Question 38

When linguists and psychologists say that language is "generative," they mean that it is

A) creative
B) innate
C) complex
D) symbolic

Question 39

Define aphasia and describe the difference between Wernicke's aphasia and Broca's aphasia.

Question 40

The brain region responsible for fear and aggression that appears to be involved in the use of profanity is the __________.

Question 41

Which component of language below is CORRECTLY matched to its description?

A) pragmatics - social communication
B) syntax - speech sounds
C) semantics - word order
D) phoneme - meaning

Question 42

You are creating a language development timeline for a class presentation. Along the top of a display board, you write the following ages in sequence: 3 months 6 months 1 year 2 years
How should you label these ages, from youngest to oldest?

A) prevocal learning babbling first words telegraphic speech
B) babbling prevocal learning first words telegraphic speech
C) babbling first words telegraphic speech pragmatic speech
D) prevocal learning first words telegraphic speech syntactic competence

Question 43

"Sophie kitty," Tara says, when her aunt asks her whether the stuffed animal belongs to her or to her sister. Tara's reply exemplifies _________ speech.

A) telegraphic
B) holographic
C) idiographic
D) agrammatic

Question 44

How many morphemes does the word firefighters contain?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 4
D) 9

Question 45

Dr. Salim is a linguist, studying the rules guiding the order of words and phrases in several of the world's languages. Dr. Salim is a(n) ___________.

A) syntactician
B) semanticist
C) phonologist
D) morphologist

Question 46

Dorian is 1-1/2 years old; Constance is 3. Dorian's vocabulary probably contains about _________ words. Constance's vocabulary contains about _______ words.

A) 50; 500
B) 100; 500
C) 50; 1000
D) 100; 1000

Question 47

A time window in which certain influences are necessary for appropriate brain development is called a(n) _________ period. A time window in which the brain is susceptible to certain influences is called a(n) _________.

A) critical; sensitive period
B) critical; critical period as well
C) sensitive; sensitive period as well
D) sensitive; critical period

Question 48

Your text reports the case of a girl named Genie, who was exposed to virtually no language from the age of 20 months until the age of 13. In what way does Genie's case offer support for the notion of a critical period in language acquisition?

A) With intensive instruction, Genie acquired a sizeable vocabulary after the age of 13; moreover, she eventually mastered the rules of syntax.
B) Even with intensive instruction, Genie acquired only a very small vocabulary after the age of 13; furthermore, she never mastered the complexities of language.
C) Once she was no longer isolated, Genie acquired a sizeable vocabulary and eventually mastered the rules of syntax, even without intensive formal instruction.
D) Genie's case is irrelevant to the notion of a critical period.

Question 49

Grammar is to meaning as ________ is to ________.

A) semantics; syntax
B) syntax; semantics
C) syntax; phoneme
D) phoneme; semantics

Question 50

Phonology is the study of:

A) nonverbal communication
B) meaning
C) word order
D) speech sounds

Question 51

Which component of language is CORRECTLY matched with its usual representation in written language?

A) syntax -- syllable or word
B) phoneme -- letter
C) morpheme -- sentence
D) semantics -- letter

Question 52

Tina is 6 months old; Vincenzo is 1 year old; and Wayne is 2 years old. Which alternative below CORRECTLY pairs each child with the appropriate language development stage or phenomenon?

A) Tina - prevocal learning; Vincenzo - babbling; Wayne - first words
B) Tina - babbling; Vincenzo - telegraphic speech; Wayne - first words
C) Tina - prevocal learning; Vincenzo - first words; Wayne - telegraphic speech
D) Tina - babbling; Vincenzo - first words; Wayne - telegraphic speech

Question 53

What is the relationship, if any, between language comprehension and language production among young children in the "first-words" stage?

A) There is no systematic relationship between language comprehension and language production at this point: It varies from child to child.
B) Language comprehension generally exceeds language production at this stage.
C) Language comprehension generally lags behind language production at this stage.
D) Language comprehension ability is generally equivalent to language production ability at this point.

Question 54

Which of the following facts is CORRECTLY tagged with the extent to which it offers support for the learning theory approach to language development?

A) The more that parents speak to their young children, the more proficient the children become in language use - discredits learning theory approach
B) Children are reinforced not only when they use language correctly, but also when they use it incorrectly - supports learning theory approach
C) Psychologists have discovered specific genetic and brain mechanisms supporting language acquisition - irrelevant to learning theory approach
D) Children make overregularization errors when formal grammar instruction begins -- consistent with learning theory approach

Question 55

Approximately how many phonemes are found in English?

A) 26
B) 150
C) 40
D) an infinite number

Question 56

Which of the following alternatives best expresses the relationships among nonverbal communication, pragmatics, and gesturing?

A) The terms are synonymous and used interchangeably.
B) Nonverbal communication includes pragmatics and gesturing.
C) Pragmatics includes nonverbal communication, which is synonymous with gesturing.
D) Pragmatics includes nonverbal communication and gesturing.

Question 57

Antwan is 3. Bryce is 4. Which alternative best describes these boys' pragmatic and syntactic development?

A) Both boys display some syntactic sophistication. Bryce, though, has also developed some pragmatic skill.
B) Both boys display some pragmatic sophistication. Bryce, though, has also acquired many of the rules of grammar.
C) Both boys display sophisticated pragmatic and syntactic use of language.
D) Each of these boys has acquired only the rudiments of either pragmatics or syntax.

Question 58

A team of researchers computes correlation coefficients between family income and the number of words children hear each hour in the home, and between family income and the ratio of affirmations to prohibitions that children hear. What sorts of coefficients are the researchers likely to find?

A) They should find a positive correlation between family income and the number of words children hear, but a near-zero correlation between family income and the ratio of affirmations to prohibitions that children hear.
B) They should find a near-zero correlation between family income and the number of words children hear, but a positive correlation between family income and the ratio of affirmations to prohibitions that children hear.
C) They should find near-zero correlations between family income and both the number of words children hear and the ratio of affirmations to prohibitions that they hear.
D) They should find positive correlations between family income and both the number of words children hear and the ratio of affirmations to prohibitions that they hear.

Question 59

The biological approach to language development is associated with:

A) B. F. Skinner
B) Benjamin Whorf
C) Noam Chomsky
D) Amos Tversky

Question 60

In written language, letters most closely represent __________, whereas sentences may be said to reflect __________.

A) syntax; semantics
B) syntax; phonemes
C) phonemes; syntax
D) phonemes; semantics

Question 61

Four-year-old Jimmy tells you he "runned fast but falled down." Jimmy's speech exemplifies ______________; your text suggests that such errors provide evidence for the role of _______ in language development.

A) overregularization; biology
B) overregularization; learning
C) agrammaticism; biology
D) agrammaticism; learning

Question 62

Which of the following alternatives best describes gender differences in language arts skills during the K-12 years?

A) Girls consistently outperform boys during the elementary school years. This difference persists into the college years.
B) Girls consistently outperform boys during the elementary school years. This difference, however, disappears by the end of high school.
C) Boys consistently outperform girls during the elementary school years. This difference persists into the college years.
D) Boys consistently outperform girls during the elementary school years. This difference, however, disappears by the end of high school.

Question 63

How does the critical period for deaf children acquiring sign language compare to the critical period for hearing children acquiring spoken language?

A) There really is no critical period for deaf children acquiring sign language, whereas there is quite a definite critical period for hearing children acquiring spoken language.
B) The critical period for deaf children acquiring sign language is essentially the same as the critical period for hearing children acquiring spoken language.
C) The critical period for deaf children acquiring sign language is shorter than the critical period for hearing children acquiring spoken language.
D) The critical period for deaf children acquiring sign language is longer than the critical period for hearing children acquiring spoken language.

Question 64

The term "aphasia" refers to a deficit in:

A) language comprehension
B) language production
C) language development
D) either language production or language comprehension

Question 65

Dr. Prather is a behavioral psychologist strongly influenced by the ideas of Skinner and Bandura. To which of the following explanations of girls' language arts superiority in elementary school would Dr. Prather lend the LEAST credence?

A) Because they are more social than boys, girls are exposed to more interactive language than are boys.
B) Parents and teachers encourage the sophisticated use of language among girls to a greater extent than they do among boys.
C) Most elementary school teachers are women. Girls are thus exposed to adult models of sophisticated language use that resemble themselves. Boys have less such exposure.
D) There are more connections between the hemispheres in female brains than in male brains.

Question 66

Gil is reading a dry, literal technical manual. Faye is reading a lyrical poem filled with figurative language. Which of the following statements best describes the brain hemisphere activation of these two individuals?

A) Gil's left hemisphere is active. Faye's right hemisphere is active.
B) The two hemispheres are equally active in both Gil and Faye.
C) Only the left hemisphere is active in both Gil and Faye.
D) Gil's right hemisphere is active. Faye's left hemisphere is active.

Question 67

Theorists taking an interactive approach to language development:

A) reject both the learning theory and biological approaches
B) agree that we are biologically hardwired to acquire language
C) downplay the role of the environment in language development
D) remain unconvinced by the idea of a language-acquisition device

Question 68

According to your text's discussion of the brain basis of language, one of the newest brain imaging techniques is:

A) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
B) positron emission tomography (PET)
C) electroencephalogram (EEG)
D) transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Question 69

The language production and comprehension centers are located in the left hemisphere in about _______% of the population.

A) 5
B) 50
C) 75
D) 95

Question 70

According to your text, reading becomes an automatic process for most children around the age of ________.

A) 6
B) 7
C) 8
D) 9

Question 71

Hiroko learned Japanese and English simultaneously as the daughter of immigrants to Fresno, CA. Isaac is an American from the same town who studied Japanese for several years beginning as college freshman. Which alternative best describes the involvement of Broca's and Wernicke's areas in processing English and Japanese in these two individuals?

A) Hiroko - Broca's and Wernicke's areas are heavily involved only in processing English; Isaac -- Broca's and Wernicke's areas are heavily involved only in processing English
B) Hiroko - Broca's and Wernicke's areas are involved in processing both English and Japanese; Isaac -- Broca's and Wernicke's areas are involved in processing both English and Japanese
C) Hiroko - Broca's and Wernicke's areas are involved in processing both English and Japanese; Isaac -- Broca's and Wernicke's areas are heavily involved only in processing English
D) Hiroko - Broca's and Wernicke's areas are heavily involved only in processing Japanese; Isaac -- Broca's and Wernicke's areas are heavily involved only in processing English

Question 72

Fighting the freeway traffic, Eli's remarks are studded with vivid expletives. Based on research described in your text, you suspect that Eli's _________ is highly active.

A) auditory association cortex
B) prefrontal cortex
C) amygdala
D) motor association cortex

Question 73

Which of the following alternatives best describes gender differences in language development from birth to about age 2?

A) Girls learn to speak earlier than do boys, and they acquire language comprehension skills faster than boys do.
B) Girls learn to speak earlier than do boys, but they acquire language comprehension skills at about the same rate as boys do.
C) Boys learn to speak earlier than do girls, and they acquire language comprehension skills faster than girls do.
D) Boys learn to speak earlier than do girls, but they acquire language comprehension skills at about the same rate as girls do.

Question 74

Which of the following statements best captures your text's theoretical interpretation of child-directed speech?

A) Child-directed speech arises automatically, showing that we are biologically predisposed to structure the environment to aid children's language learning. In this way, child-directed speech is good evidence for an interactive perspective on language development.
B) Child-directed speech shows that we structure the environment to aid children's language development, thereby supporting the learning view of language acquisition
C) Child-directed speech arises automatically, pointing to the biological basis of language development.
D) Child-directed speech is universal, appearing even among deaf parents using sign language. This suggests the biological basis of language development.

Question 75

Which of the following statements best expresses the relationships, if any, between agrammatism and either Broca's aphasia, Wernicke's aphasia, or both?

A) Agrammatism is sometimes a feature of Wernicke's aphasia.
B) Agrammatism is sometimes a feature of Broca's aphasia.
C) Agrammatism is characteristic of both Wernicke's and Broca's aphasia.
D) Agrammatism is a third type of aphasia, along with Wernicke's and Broca's aphasia.

Question 76

The brain region critical for speech production is called ________'s area. It is located in the ____________ cortex.

A) Broca; auditory
B) Broca; motor association
C) Wernicke; auditory
D) Wernicke; motor association

Question 77

Mr. Daniels continues to speak fluently and grammatically following a brain injury. However, what he says makes absolutely no sense. Mr. Daniels appears to be suffering from ___________.

A) Wernicke's aphasia
B) agrammatism
C) Broca's aphasia
D) lexical agnosia

Question 78

Dr. MacIlhenny wishes to explore gender differences in language arts skills among elementary school students. She suspects, however, that gender differences in scores on language arts tests may be influenced by sex differences in the number of hours that students spend studying and doing homework each week. Which of the following research strategies should she pursue if she wishes to attribute any gender differences she finds specifically to differences in language ability?

A) She should match each boy spending a given number of hours studying each week with a girl spending the same number of hours studying each week.
B) She should manipulate hours of studying or homework as an independent variable.
C) She should hold hours of studying or homework constant.
D) She should randomly select the samples of girls and boys used in the study.

Question 79

Following a small stroke, Clemence has difficulty speaking grammatically. This impairment is termed ________ and suggests that Clemence may suffer from _______ aphasia.

A) telegraphic speech - Wernicke's
B) telegraphic speech - Broca's
C) agrammatism - Wernicke's
D) agrammatism -- Broca's

Question 80

When he was in the fifth grade, Jorge's middle-SES parents died in a tragic accident. Jorge was adopted into a lower-SES environment by an aunt. Kalendria, on the other hand, was born into a lower-SES environment but was adopted into a middle-SES milieu as a ten-year-old when her mother began an extended prison sentence. Lloyd, finally, was born into a middle-SES family, then adopted into a different middle-SES family at the age of 10. The vocabularies of all three children are assessed when they are 14. Which expression below provides the best estimate of their relative scores on the vocabulary test, all else being equal?

A) Lloyd > Jorge = Kalendria
B) Lloyd = Jorge = Kalendria
C) Lloyd > Jorge = Kalendria.
D) Lloyd = Jorge > Kalendria.