Deck 17: The Mere Presence of Others

Question 1

The earliest stage of speech development is called the ________ stage.
•babbling
•telegraphic speech
•one-word
•grammatical

Answer 1

•babbling

Question 2

Mentally segmenting other's spoken sounds into individual words best illustrates a 7-month-old's capacity for
•telegraphic speech.
•receptive language.
•categorization.
•productive language.

Answer 2

•receptive language

Question 3

Language refers to the
•smallest distinctive speech sounds.
•rules by which we derive meaning from speech sounds.
•rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences.
•spoken,written,or signed words and the ways they are combined to communicate meaning.

Answer 3

•spoken,written,or signed words and the ways they are combined to communicate meaning

Question 4

At the age of 15 months,Anita repeatedly cries "hoy" when she wants her mother to hold her. Anita is most likely in the ________ stage of language development.
•syntactic
•babbling
•telegraphic speech
•one-word

Question 5

Infants are first able to discriminate speech sounds during the ________ stage.
•one-word
•telegraphic
•babbling
•syntactic

Question 6

Whorf's linguistic determinism hypothesis emphasizes that
•infancy is a critical period for language development.
•all languages share a similar grammar.
•our linguistic proficiencies influence our social status.
•words shape the way people think.

Question 7

Chomsky suggested that as a child first begins hearing language,appropriate settings or standards regarding the rules of that language are activated in the child's
•heuristics.
•language acquisition device.
•receptive language.
•outcome simulation.

Question 8

The best evidence that there is a critical period for language acquisition is the fact that
•infants babble sounds that occur in their parents' native language.
•toddlers maintain a capacity to discriminate language sounds they have never heard.
•people most easily master the grammar of a second language during childhood.
•preschoolers typically fail to use proper syntax.

Question 9

To combine words into a grammatically sensible order,we need to apply proper rules of
•categorization.
•syntax.
•nomenclature.
•process simulation.

Question 10

With respect to the debate over the process of language development,nature is to nurture as ________ is to ________.
•Skinner; Whorf
•Whorf; Skinner
•Skinner; Chomsky
•Chomsky; Skinner

Question 11

It is difficult to explain language acquisition solely in terms of imitation and reinforcement because children
•acquire language even in the absence of social interaction.
•resent being corrected for grammatical mistakes.
•generate all sorts of sentences they have never heard before.
•employ telegraphic speech patterns before their second birthday.

Question 12

At some point during the babbling stage,infants begin to
•imitate adult grammar.
•make speech sounds only if their hearing is unimpaired.
•speak in simple words that may be barely recognizable.
•lose their ability to discriminate sounds they never hear.

Question 13

When 3-year-old Rosalie complained,"Boris hitted me with a ball," she was illustrating the tendency of young children to
•use telegraphic speech patterns.
•imitate the speech patterns of others.
•receive inadequate reinforcement for correct language usage.
•overgeneralize certain grammatical rules in sentence construction.

Question 14

Which of the following would be most characteristic of a 2-year-old's telegraphic speech?
•"a doggy"
•"eat apple"
•"to store"
•"ball pretty"

Question 15

Compared with deaf children exposed to sign language from birth,those who first learn sign language as teens are less likely to
•correctly imitate the signs they are shown.
•use signs to indicate concrete objects.
•mentally associate signs with written words.
•comprehend grammatical subtleties of sign language.

Question 16

Noam Chomsky has emphasized that the acquisition of language by children is facilitated by
•an inborn readiness to learn grammatical rules.
•their ability to imitate the words and grammar modeled by parents.
•the learned association of word sounds with various objects,events,actions,and qualities.
•the positive reinforcement that adults give children for speaking correctly.

Question 17

The ability to produce words is to productive language as the ability to comprehend speech is to ________ language.
•sign
•grammatical
•receptive
•telegraphic

Question 18

Telegraphic speech is most closely associated with the ________ stage of language development.
•one-word
•babbling
•two-word
•syntactic

Question 19

Chomksy suggested that diverse human languages share a(n)
•universal grammar.
•bilingual advantage.
•outcome simulation.
•basic syntax.

Question 20

Using barely recognizable syllables to communicate meaning best illustrates a 12-month-old's developing capacity for
•syntax.
•telegraphic speech.
•productive language.
•grammar.

Question 21

Research on the language capabilities of apes clearly demonstrates that they
•are able to vocalize the most common vowel sounds.
•can acquire language vocabulary as rapidly as most children.
•can communicate through the use of symbols.
•have all of these abilities.

Question 22

Six-month-old Ohmar recognizes the difference between squares and circles just as accurately as his 3-year-old brother,who can correctly name the different shapes. This fact would most directly challenge
•Chomsky's language acquisition theory.
•Köhler's insight theory.
•Whorf's linguistic determinism hypothesis.
•Skinner's language acquisition theory.

Question 23

During a lecture,your professor says,"A child learns language as he interacts with caregivers." This generic use of the pronoun he is more likely to trigger images of males than of females. This best illustrates the impact of
•language on thinking.
•fixation on problem solving.
•telegraphic speech on universal grammar.
•insight on decision making.

Question 24

Beatrice and Allen Gardner taught the chimpanzee Washoe to communicate by means of
•pictures.
•Morse code.
•sign language.
•English letters.

Question 25

Which language theorist would have been most likely to emphasize that children master the rule for forming the past tense of regular verbs like "push" before they learn common past tense constructions of irregular verbs like "go"?
•Skinner
•Whorf
•Chomsky
•Tversky

Question 26

Psychologists are most likely to question whether chimps have the capacity to
•use complex grammar.
•discern numerical order.
•transmit cultural innovations.
•form concepts.

Question 27

Contemporary psychologists are most likely to criticize Whorf's linguistic determinism hypothesis for
•overestimating the impact of thinking on language.
•overestimating the extent to which thinking occurs without language.
•underestimating the impact of language on thinking.
•underestimating the extent to which thinking occurs without language.

Question 28

In Wolfgang Köhler's experiment,the chimpanzee Sultan retrieved a long stick with a short stick to retrieve a piece of fruit. Sultan was able to reach the fruit as a result of
•insight.
•concept formation.
•trial and error.
•an outcome simulation.

Question 29

Vocal sounds that are not included in one's native language first begin to disappear from usage during the ________ stage of language development.
•one-word
•two-word
•telegraphic
•babbling

Question 30

If using a stick is successful in retrieving termites from a mound,chimpanzees improve their ability to use sticks for this purpose. This illustrates that the chimps' problem-solving strategy is shaped by
•productive language.
•nondeclarative memory.
•an outcome simulation.
•reinforcement.

Question 31

The two-word stage of language development typically begins at the age of ________ months.
•6
•10
•24
•36

Question 32

The isolated Piraha tribespeople of Brazil have no words for specific numbers higher than 2. If shown seven nuts in a row they find it difficult to lay out the same number from their own pile of nuts. This best illustrates the impact of
•language on thinking.
•images on thinking.
•syntax on grammar.
•process simulations on outcome simulations.

Question 33

Many people who are bilingual experience a different sense of self,depending on which language they are using. This most clearly illustrates the implications of
•Whorf's linguistic determinism hypothesis.
•Skinner's language acquisition theory.
•Köhler's insight theory.
•Chomsky's language acquisition theory.

Question 34

Introductory psychology students performed best on a midterm psychology test if they had previously spent five minutes a day visualizing themselves
•studying effectively.
•physically relaxing.
•receiving a high midterm test grade.
•feeling proud about receiving a high midterm test grade.

Question 35

Pigeons can reliably discriminate pictures of cars from pictures of chairs. This best illustrates their capacity to develop
•concepts.
•syntax.
•heuristics.
•algorithms.

Question 36

The problem-solving abilities of forest-dwelling chimpanzees are best illustrated by their naturally developed use of
•sign language.
•tools.
•concepts.
•outcome simulations.

Question 37

Bilingual children who inhibit one language while using the other can better inhibit their attention to irrelevant information. This has been called
•linguistic determinism.
•the language acquisition device.
•the bilingual advantage.
•process simulation.

Question 38

People's procedural memory of how to open the front door of their house is most likely to consist of
•a receptive language.
•a mental image.
•telegraphic speech.
•universal grammar.

Question 39

It has been suggested that Alaskan Eskimos' rich vocabulary for describing snow enables them to perceive differences in snow conditions that would otherwise go unnoticed. This suggestion most clearly illustrates
•inborn universal grammar.
•process simulations.
•linguistic determinism.
•telegraphic speech.

Question 40

One group of Australian dolphins learned to use marine sponges to catch fish. This best illustrates their capacity to
•demonstrate empathy.
•transmit cultural innovations.
•generate category hierarchies.
•engage in outcome simulations.

Question 41

Skinner and other behaviorists have argued that language development is the result of
•imitation.
•reinforcement.
•association.
•all of these.

Question 42

Those who learn sign language as teens never become as fluent as children exposed to sign language from birth. This best illustrates the importance of ________ for mastering language.
•heuristics
•telegraphic speech
•a critical period
•reinforcement

Question 43

According to the text,language acquisition is best described as
•the result of conditioning and reinforcement.
•a biological process of maturation.
•an interaction between biology and experience.
•a mystery of which researchers have no real understanding.

Question 44

Deaf children who are not exposed to sign language until they are teenagers
•are unable to master the basic words of sign language.
•learn the basic words but not how to order them.
•are unable to master either the basic words or syntax of sign language.
•never become as fluent as those who learned to sign at a younger age.

Question 45

Using different words for two very similar objects enables people to recognize conceptual distinctions between the objects. This illustrates
•telegraphic speech.
•linguistic determinism.
•fixation.
•the representativeness heuristic.

Question 46

Research on the language capabilities of apes indicates that they cannot
•translate spoken words into signs.
•acquire a vocabulary of more than two dozen signs.
•use signs to communicate with other members of their own species.
•grammatically order language symbols as well as most 3-year-old children.

Question 47

Many studies have indicated that the generic pronoun "he"
•tends for children and adults alike to trigger images of both males and females.
•tends for adults to trigger images of both males and females,but for children to trigger images of males.
•tends for both children and adults to trigger images of males but not females.
•for both children and adults triggers images of females about one-fourth of the time it is used.

Question 48

Which of the following is NOT true of babbling?
•It is imitation of adult speech.
•It is the same in all cultures.
•It typically occurs from about age 4 months to 1 year.
•Babbling increasingly comes to resemble a particular language.

Question 49

The study in which people who immigrated to the United States at various ages were compared in terms of their ability to understand English grammar found that
•age of arrival had no effect on mastery of grammar.
•those who immigrated as children understood grammar as well as native speakers.
•those who immigrated as adults understood grammar as well as native speakers.
•whether or not English was spoken in the home was the most important factor in mastering the rules of grammar.

Question 50

Which of the following is true regarding the relationship between thinking and language?
•"Real" thinking requires the use of language.
•People sometimes think in images rather than in words.
•A thought that cannot be expressed in a particular language cannot occur to speakers of that language.
•All of these statements are true.

Question 51

The linguistic determinism hypothesis is challenged by the finding that
•chimps can learn to communicate spontaneously by using sign language.
•people with no word for a certain color can still perceive that color accurately.
•the Eskimo language contains a number of words for snow,whereas English has only one.
•infants' babbling contains many phonemes that do not occur in their own language and that they therefore cannot have heard.

Question 52

A listener hearing a recording of Japanese,Spanish,and North American children babbling would
•not be able to tell them apart.
•be able to tell them apart if they were older than 6 months.
•be able to tell them apart if they were older than 8 to 10 months.
•be able to tell them apart at any age.

Question 53

Children first demonstrate a rudimentary understanding of syntax during the ________ stage.
•babbling
•one-word
•two-word
•three-word

Question 54

In preparing her class presentation,"Updating Chomsky's Understanding of Language Development," Britney's outline includes all of the following evidence EXCEPT that
•computers programmed to learn to form the past tense of irregular verbs can learn to do so,even without "inborn" linguistic rules.
•infants rapidly learn to detect subtle differences between simple sequences of syllables.
•infants can recognize color differences even before they can name different colors.
•children isolated from language during the first seven years of life never fully develop language.

Question 55

Regarding the relationship between thinking and language,which of the following most accurately reflects the position taken in the text?
•Language determines everything about our thinking.
•Language determines the way we think.
•Thinking without language is not possible.
•Thinking affects our language,which then affects our thoughts.

Question 56

Which of the following is NOT cited by Chomsky as evidence that language acquisition cannot be explained by learning alone?
•Children master the complicated rules of grammar with ease.
•Children create sentences they have never heard.
•Children make the kinds of mistakes that suggest they are attempting to apply rules of grammar.
•Children raised in isolation from language spontaneously begin speaking words.

Question 57

Whorf's linguistic determinism hypothesis states that
•language is primarily a learned ability.
•language is partially an innate ability.
•the size of a person's vocabulary reflects his or her intelligence.
•our language shapes our thinking.

Question 58

Telegraphic speech is typical of the ________ stage.
•babbling
•one-word
•two-word
•three-word

Question 59

The child who says "Milk gone" is engaging in ________. This type of utterance demonstrates that children are actively experimenting with the rules of ________.
•babbling; syntax
•telegraphic speech; syntax
•babbling; semantics
•telegraphic speech; semantics

Question 60

Which of the following BEST describes Chomsky's view of language development?
•Language is an entirely learned ability.
•Language is an innate ability.
•Humans have a biological predisposition to acquire language.
•There are no cultural influences on the development of language.

Question 61

The chimpanzee Sultan used a short stick to pull a longer stick that was out of reach into his cage. He then used the longer stick to reach a piece of fruit. Researchers hypothesized that Sultan's discovery of the solution to his problem was the result of
•trial and error.
•heuristics.
•fixation.
•insight.

Question 62

Researchers taught the chimpanzee Washoe and the gorilla Koko to communicate by using
•various sounds.
•plastic symbols of various shapes and colors.
•sign language.
•all of these methods.

Question 63

Which of the following has been argued by critics of ape language research?
•Ape language is merely imitation of the trainer's behavior.
•There is little evidence that apes can equal even a 3-year-old's ability to order words with proper syntax.
•By seeing what they wish to see,trainers attribute greater linguistic ability to apes than actually exists.
•All of these are arguments by critics.

Question 64

Researchers who are convinced that animals can think point to evidence that
•chimpanzees demonstrate the ability to "count" by learning to touch pictures of objects in ascending numerical order.
•chimpanzees regularly use sticks as tools in their natural habitats.
•chimps invent grooming and courtship customs and pass them on to their peers.
•they exhibit all of these skills.

Question 65

Many psychologists are skeptical of claims that chimpanzees can acquire language because the chimps have not shown the ability to
•use symbols meaningfully.
•acquire speech.
•acquire even a limited vocabulary.
•use syntax in communicating.