Deck 10: The Thinking Mind: Cognition, Language, and Intelligence

Question 1

Which group is most likely to use visual images in their thought processes?

A)young children
B)the elderly
C)adults
D)teenagers

Answer 1

young children

Question 2

What is the best definition of a "problem"?

A)the lack of information to meet a specific goal within a given timeframe
B)an organizing principle based on difficult experiences in the individual's past
C)a situation in which a current state is separated from an ideal state by obstacles
D)an event that requires thought processing in unpredictable and nonconstant ways

Answer 2

a situation in which a current state is separated from an ideal state by obstacles

Question 3

Concepts can guide our thinking and be continually tested for accuracy against new, incoming information, such as by judging category membership. In this way, concept formation can be viewed as a type of ____.

A)theory building
B)schema
C)feature detection
D)prototype

Answer 3

theory building

Question 4

Which of the following is true?

A)Exemplars provide a better way of thinking about the variability of a category than prototypes.
B)Even when an exemplar is well understood, evidence suggests that prototypes might work better.
C)The processes in which prototypes and exemplars are used are very different.
D)In both exemplars and prototypes, dissimilar objects will be included in a concept and similar objects will be excluded.

Question 5

Marvin, who lives in San Francisco, has been asked to host a teenage alien, Regor, as part of an intergalactic exchange program. Marvin is sure that Regor would love to experience the adventure of sailing, but decides he should introduce the concept of a "sailboat" first. After some time studying, Regor has learned quite a bit about sailboats and is now excited about experiencing life on the water. So, Marvin and his dad take Regor sailing one weekend. Regor now has a set of beliefs, expectations, and personal experiences related to sailboats and sailing to which he can add new information. This is called a ____.

A)template
B)concept
C)schema
D)paradigm

Question 6

The childhood ability to directly access visual images may be overwritten or interfered with by the development of ____.

A)more mature brain structures
B)greater hormonal regulation
C)more sophisticated language skills
D)long-term potentiation in neurons

Question 7

Studies on patients with brain damage suggest that our brains have been shaped in a way that provides a survival advantage. The vast majority of these patients who have specific deficits in processing categories perform differently from control participants in one domain: ____.

A)the familiar versus the unfamiliar
B)light versus dark
C)humans versus animals
D)animals versus nonliving things

Question 8

Which of the following is the best example of problem solving?

A)Joan and her friends debate the current political situation in China into the wee hours of the night.
B)Roy is worried about his persistent sore throat. He does research on the Internet and decides to contact his doctor.
C)Joe feels discouraged by his weight gain during his freshman year in college. He doesn't know quite what to do, so he continues in his current lifestyle.
D)Reed lets her friend vent about her nonexistent dating life. She listens empathically but does not offer advice.

Question 9

Marvin, who lives in San Francisco, has been asked to host a teenage alien, Regor, as part of an intergalactic exchange program. Marvin is sure that Regor would love to experience the adventure of sailing, but decides he should introduce the concept of a "sailboat" first. Marvin begins by sharing the dictionary definition of a boat: "a small vessel propelled on water by oars, sails, or an engine." The primary problem with this definition is that it ____.

A)is broader than the information Regor needs to identify sailboats
B)does not provide a good way to think about the category's variability
C)excludes many category members that should be included
D)provides a checklist with too many exceptions

Question 10

Marvin, who lives in San Francisco, has been asked to host a teenage alien, Regor, as part of an intergalactic exchange program. Marvin is sure that Regor would love to experience the adventure of sailing, but decides he should introduce the concept of a "sailboat" first. Marvin shares as many details as he can remember about the small sailboat he had as a child. This is called a(n)____.

A)prototype
B)model
C)paradigm
D)exemplar

Question 11

Marvin, who lives in San Francisco, has been asked to host a teenage alien, Regor, as part of an intergalactic exchange program. Marvin is sure that Regor would love to experience the adventure of sailing, but decides he should introduce the concept of a "sailboat" first. Marvin tries to describe the common features of a sailboat. He explains that they are pointed at the front and square at the back, have a tall mast to hold up the sail, and have one or two triangular sails. Which of the following demonstrates a problem with this approach?

A)Some sailboats have more than one mast and more than two sails.
B)This description does not describe a specific sailboat.
C)This description does not provide an average of all relevant features.
D)Some sailboats are longer than others.

Question 12

Ella is 4 years old and expanding her schema regarding dogs. The dog that she knows the best is her neighbor's golden retriever, Gus. She was recently told by her neighbor that dogs like to roll in grass with distinctive, or "smelly," odors. Under what circumstances is she most likely to extend that fact to all dogs?

A)She hears her uncle describe his dog Bob rolling around with a dead fish, but has not yet met Bob.
B)She sees Gus roll in the grass and then finds a dead mouse in the same area.
C)She sometimes sees dogs through the car window that are rolling in the grass.
D)She sees a nature show on television about hyenas who engage in the same activity.

Question 13

Tinesha comes into her Introduction to Psychology class on the first day of the semester and sees a man wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt sitting at the front of class. She does not say anything to him, and assumes that he is just someone sitting in the room. When more students show up and the man doesn't leave, Tinesha starts to wonder if he is going to cause a problem. When he stands up and says, "Hello everyone, I'm Dr. Lawrence and I will be teaching your psychology class this semester," Tinesha starts to wonder if this will be a good class. Tinesha's perception of Dr. Lawrence is probably affected by the fact that he does not represent a common _______, or average "image," of a college professor.

A)exemplar
B)schema
C)prototype
D)concept

Question 14

Marvin, who lives in San Francisco, has been asked to host a teenage alien, Regor, as part of an intergalactic exchange program. Marvin is sure that Regor would love to experience the adventure of sailing, but decides he should introduce the concept of a "sailboat" first. Marvin tries to describe a sailboat as an average of all sailboats in terms of such features as length, width, height of mast, materials, and color. This is called a(n)____.

A)model
B)prototype
C)exemplar
D)paradigm

Question 15

How is the term cognition , derived from the Latin word cogito , described in your text?

A)a set of organizing principles derived from experience and leading to permanent changes in behavior or knowledge
B)a group of internal mental processes, including information processing, thinking, reasoning, and problem solving
C)the ability to understand complex ideas, adapt effectively to the environment, learn from experience, engage in reasoning, and overcome obstacles
D)a system for communicating thoughts and feelings using universally understood signals

Question 16

Which of the following is the best definition of a concept?

A)an internal mental process that can include information processing, thinking,
B)a representation of a category formed by averaging all members of that category
C)an organizing principle derived from experience
D)a specific member of a category used to represent that category

Question 17

Broadly speaking, knowledge is the entire body of information acquired through study, investigation, observation, and experience. To manage all of this knowledge, the mind often uses ____, or mental representations, to signify information.

A)mnemonics
B)procedural memory
C)priming
D)symbols

Question 18

Concept formation is ____.

A)seen in mammals and amphibians only
B)seen in human beings and primates, but not other categories of animals
C)noted only in human beings
D)seen in human beings, as well as in diverse categories of animals

Question 19

Which of the following is true of mental images?

A)Children cultivate the ability to think in mental images as they reach adulthood and their brains mature.
B)People with extremely low or high intellect have difficulty thinking in mental images.
C)People can turn visual mental images around in their minds, zoom in or out, and identify their features.
D)People store and use mental images as small units of unrelated data.

Question 20

Marvin, who lives in San Francisco, has been asked to host a teenage alien, Regor, as part of an intergalactic exchange program. Marvin is sure that Regor would love to experience the adventure of sailing, but decides he should introduce the concept of a "sailboat" first. Marvin suggests that Regor compare the features of an item that he thinks might be a sailboat with a checklist of sailboat features. If there are sufficient overlapping features, he might determine that it is a sailboat. This could be considered a ____.

A)prototype
B)theory
C)feature detection model
D)schema

Question 21

Yves is called on in class to define the representativeness heuristic. He answers that "it is a rule of thumb in which stimuli similar to an exemplar are believed to be more likely than stimuli that are dissimilar." Which part of his definition is incorrect?

A)a rule of thumb
B)similar to an exemplar
C)believed to be more likely
D)stimuli that are dissimilar

Question 22

Jason is looking down at the tiny vent holes on his laptop computer, and notices how dusty they have become. When blowing on the holes does not clear the dust from them, he takes a paper clip and unbends it. He then uses the straight ends to clear the dust from each of the vent holes. Although this takes a bit of time, he is pleased with the overall result. Jason's ability to look at the paper clip and see something other than holding papers together illustrates that he has overcome _____.

A)algorithmic paralysis
B)functional fixedness
C)the availability heuristic
D)irrelevant information bias

Question 23

What is the most important element when generating possible solutions to a problem?

A)convergent thinking
B)single-mindedness
C)time
D)narrowing down the choices to the correct one

Question 24

Bertram has had a whirlwind of a first semester of college, and now that finals are over, he is concerned about his weight gain during the past few months. He is determined to make a plan to address his weight gain problem. First, he must generate possible solutions. What should he do next?

A)Choose the best solution to implement.
B)Focus on the solution that can be accomplished by application of an algorithm.
C)Create a detailed plan for each potential solution.
D)Conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis for each one.

Question 25

Bertram has had a whirlwind of a first semester of college, and now that finals are over, he is concerned about his weight gain during the past few months. He feels that he has never been athletic and, therefore, could not possibly run in a charity race with his friends in the spring, though he would like to become more physically active to address his weight gain. This reflects ____.

A)the truth
B)a misapplication of the availability heuristic
C)a lack of possible solutions
D)a limited sense of self-efficacy

Question 26

Dolores has moved to a big city for the first time in her life. She is excited by the opportunity to explore the city, but is also anxious about what she read recently about street crime in one of the city's neighborhoods. In reality, she is more at risk of harm from reckless drivers. What heuristic is she applying is this situation?

A)representativeness heuristic
B)availability heuristic
C)affect heuristic
D)recognition heuristic

Question 27

The recognition heuristic ____.

A)requires a relatively sophisticated understanding of probability
B)generally produces a faulty decision
C)explains a hot streak in a baseball player's batting average
D)has been shown to beat other, more conventional means of selecting stocks

Question 28

What is a rule of thumb approach in which we choose between alternatives based on emotional or "gut" reactions to stimuli?

A)representativeness heuristic
B)recognition heuristic
C)affect heuristic
D)availability heuristic

Question 29

Which of the following is true about algorithms?

A)Algorithms cannot arrive at a definitive solution.
B)Algorithms can take in a relatively small amount of information as input.
C)Algorithms may be inefficient when used by a human brain.
D)Algorithms have roughly the same efficiency whether used by a human or a computer.

Question 30

The availability heuristic is a rule of thumb in which ____.

A)stimuli similar to a prototype are believed to be more likely than stimuli that are dissimilar to a prototype
B)a higher value is placed on the more easily recognized alternative
C)the frequency of an event's occurrence is predicted by the ease with which the event is brought to mind
D)people choose between alternatives based on emotional or "gut" reactions to stimuli

Question 31

You and your classmates have spent hours trying to debug the final group project for your computer science class. You take a break to clear your minds, and decide to debate the meaning of the terms heuristic and algorithm for fun. Which of the following would be an accurate contribution to your debate?

A)Heuristics provide an exhaustive evaluation of solutions.
B)Heuristics do not guarantee a solution.
C)Algorithms typically require less information than heuristics do.
D)Algorithms are more time-efficient than heuristics.

Question 32

A heuristic is a(n)____.

A)shortcut to problem solving, also known as a "rule of thumb"
B)technique to improve memory and mental processing
C)analytical technique based on self-knowledge and self-reflection
D)precise, step-by-step set of rules that will reliably generate a solution to a problem

Question 33

Bertram has had a whirlwind of a first semester of college, and now that finals are over, he is concerned about his weight gain during the past few months. After reading a bit about this issue, he believes that the gain is primarily due to engaging in less physical activity than in his high school years, rather than a change in his eating habits. Bertram is currently attempting to ____.

A)solve the problem
B)make a plan
C)frame the problem
D)speculate on a solution

Question 34

What are the four steps of problem solving?

A)Understand the problem, make a plan, carry out the plan, and look back.
B)Plan an approach, define the problem, evaluate progress, and carry out the plan.
C)Look back on past experiences, develop a plan, narrow in on the problem, and move forward.
D)Research options, develop an algorithm, follow the prescribed steps, and complete the process.

Question 35

Careful formulation of a problem may help to avoid distractions from ____.

A)personal biases
B)generating diverse solutions
C)numerous heuristics
D)functional fixedness

Question 36

A possible barrier to successful problem solving, in which a concept is considered only in its most typical form, is called ____.

A)algorithmic paralysis
B)functional fixedness
C)the availability heuristic
D)irrelevant information bias

Question 37

Katie loved baking brownies with her grandmother during her holiday visits. In fact, she still makes these brownies using the exact same steps as her grandmother. What is this called?

A)a codification
B)a heuristic
C)a schematic diagram
D)an algorithm

Question 38

Angela has a dream of devoting her career to the reduction and eventual elimination of malaria. What does the text recommend as an approach to address a substantial, large scale problem such as malaria?

A)Plan a global summit of the world's wealthiest nations to develop a strategy.
B)Break the problem down into component parts with intermediate and long-term goals.
C)Prepare a single initial plan to address all aspects of the problem concurrently.
D)Request proposals from interested parties and countries on how to address the problem.

Question 39

Max, an attorney, is attending a hearing at the federal courthouse. He opens the courthouse door for a young woman with a tattoo on her forearm. When Max enters the room of the hearing, he is stunned to see that the assigned judge is the same woman. Max had applied the ____.

A)representativeness heuristic
B)availability heuristic
C)recognition heuristic
D)affect heuristic

Question 40

Understanding a problem should ____.

A)rely more on initial instincts rather than labor-intensive research
B)should be shaped by the presumed solution
C)should revolve around the big picture
D)should include data collection, analysis, and organization

Question 41

Rajon is trying to decide between majoring in psychology and majoring in economics. He considers the intensity of each major since he will be on the varsity football team next year, his interest in the subject matter of the required courses in each field, and the likelihood of finding a job after graduation. He has employed ____.

A)the affect heuristic
B)an algorithm
C)the representativeness heuristic
D)utility theory

Question 42

According to a report on endangered languages, what percentage of the world's spoken languages may soon be lost?

A)one fourth
B)about a third
C)nearly half
D)three quarters

Question 43

Damage to the frontal lobes, such as that suffered by Phineas Gage, reliably produces ____.

A)impulsivity and poor judgment
B)insensitivity to the potential for loss
C)poor anger management
D)obsessive compulsive disorder

Question 44

According to Benjamin Lee Whorf's hypothesis of linguistic relativity, what affects a person's ability to think about a topic?

A)having a rich vocabulary on the topic
B)two-way interactions as an infant in the form of conversation
C)the number of phonemes in the language
D)a critical gene mutation in the FOXP-2 gene

Question 45

Leena's and Ruth's mother takes them to see a dermatologist for their acne. The dermatologist, Dr. Pore, sees each daughter separately but prescribes the same medication for both. Dr. Pore tells Leena the medication has a 75% effectiveness rate. She tells Ruth the medication has a 25% failure rate. Leena leaves the appointment more optimistic than Ruth. This is an example of ____.

A)the affect heuristic
B)a framing effect
C)utility theory
D)cost‑benefit analysis

Question 46

At the start of the spring semester, Marie decides that she will focus more on her physical health. Her solution is to start jogging with a goal of running in the annual Memorial Day 10K. After training for several weeks, Marie completed the race but needed to walk for the last mile. What would be the next step for her as an effective problem solving strategy?

A)Celebrate her success.
B)Continue to do what she has been doing.
C)Choose a new problem to work on.
D)Look back to see if the original problem has been solved.

Question 47

An analysis of over 500 contemporary languages has demonstrated that the number of speech sounds in a language decreases systematically ____.

A)with the level of education of the population
B)with the culture's distance from Africa along migration routes
C)according to the cultural values embedded in the language
D)with the level of assimilation into larger cultures

Question 48

Wes is always looking for the ultimate in everything: the best burger, the best movie, the best smartphone. He likes to think that he holds himself to similar high standards. According to research studies, Wes would be considered a ____.

A)satisficer
B)maximizer
C)minimizer
D)utilitarian

Question 49

Shirley's home is full of piles of old newspapers and magazines. She feels she might find the information in these useful someday. She also collects rags, old paper towels, plastic bags, and empty bottles and cans. Shirley likely has ____. ​

A)abnormally low activity in the anterior cingulate cortex
B)damaged nucleus accumbens
C)a hyperactive hypothalamus
D)extremely high activity in the orbitofrontal cortex

Question 50

Low levels of activity in the anterior cingulate cortex are associated with ____.

A)hoarding behaviors
B)threats or dangers
C)winning or losing in a competitive activity
D)evaluating social and financial rewards

Question 51

Language has been defined as a system for communicating thoughts and feelings using ____.

A)arbitrary signals such as phonemes, morphemes, and grammar
B)objective signals such as phonemes, morphemes, and grammar
C)objective signals such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols
D)arbitrary signals such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols

Question 52

At the start of the spring semester, Marie decides that she will focus more on her physical health. Her solution is to start jogging with a goal of running in the annual Memorial Day 10K. Marie's roommate suggests that she use a Gantt chart in preparation for the race. This is because the Gantt chart will

A)focus on the end goal of completing the race and determine a "prize" for reaching this goal
B)track height, weight, and body mass index over time and compare it to the doctor's chart for optimal numbers ​
C)record strength training as well as weekly mileage, while giving her a visual record of her progress
D)provide a way to break plans into manageable pieces and schedule the time needed for each piece

Question 53

At the start of the spring semester, Marie decides that she will focus more on her physical health. Her solution is to start jogging with a goal of running in the annual Memorial Day 10K. The most critical element for Marie to successfully implement her solution is to ____.

A)maintain a better diet
B)keep up with her studies
C)approach it with careful planning
D)start a buddy system

Question 54

People with very high maximizer scores tend to be ____.

A)highly successful and happy
B)committed to their jobs and their partners
C)less happy and more prone to depression
D)satisfied with their daily lives

Question 55

Which of the following is a phoneme?

A)the "sh" in ship
B)the "ly" in quickly
C)the "un" in uncomfortable
D)the "es" in boxes

Question 56

A circuit involving the insula, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the ______ seems to play a role in complex social decision making, such as deciding whom to trust.

A)hypothalamus
B)basal ganglia
C)orbitoprefrontal cortex
D)amygdala

Question 57

Good decision making is ____.

A)a skill that can be taught
B)a product of nature over nurture
C)not predictive of real world behavior
D)an innate skill

Question 58

Which of the following is the best biological explanation for the way people who are addicted to drugs behave?

A)The hyperactivity of their insula causes a release of greater levels of pleasure-related neurotransmitters.
B)Their "impulsive" system gains control over their "impulse control" system.
C)The hypothalamus‑pituitary‑adrenal (HPA)system becomes inhibited, which leads to an inability to delay unhealthy actions.
D)Their pleasure pathways become desensitized, which leads to a need for more pleasurable input in order to compensate.

Question 59

Evaluation is an ongoing process, but it is especially important ____.

A)when following an algorithm
B)once a solution has been fully implemented
C)when assessing and understanding a problem
D)while making a plan

Question 60

Which event occurring around 100,000 years ago possibly marked the start of modern language as we know it (Corballis, 2004)?

A)the start of human migration to different continents
B)the development of sophisticated hand tools
C)a critical mutation in the FOXP-2 gene
D)the end of the last Mesozoic era

Question 61

Place the following conditions in order from the least difficulty to the most difficulty in terms of the ability to learn language.

A)Williams syndrome, mutation in FOXP-2 gene, Down syndrome
B)mutation in FOXP-2 gene, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome
C)Williams syndrome, Down syndrome, mutation in FOXP-2 gene
D)Down syndrome, mutation in FOXP-2 gene, William syndrome

Question 62

Of the following, who has a speech pattern comparable to that of Paul Broca's research subject Leborgne?

A)Dan speaks rapidly and fluently and with good grammar, but his speech is virtually meaningless.
B)Ashley has a moderate level of intellectual disability, but her speech is fluent and she has a large vocabulary for her age.
C)Erica has severe difficulties with the production of language, though she is otherwise healthy.
D)Diego speaks very slowly and with much effort, but his speech generally makes sense.

Question 63

Human beings produce over 500 different phonemes, of which the English language uses ____.

A)about 11
B)approximately 26
C)about 45
D)over 140

Question 64

Chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas have a part of the brain that is ____.

A)uniquely related to verbalization
B)analogous to the human Broca's area
C)larger in the right hemisphere than the left, which may relate to language ability
D)analogous to the human Wernicke's area

Question 65

In which of the following ways does a typical child first learn language?

A)Kristen concentrates on practicing her words each day and needs educational television programs to remember them.
B)Jared's mother has taught him language through repeated drills from an early age.
C)Evan seems to learn words and form small sentences effortlessly with no specific instruction.
D)Lauren learns language in much the same way as she learns reading and writing, with training and practice.

Question 66

Upon autopsy, Paul Broca found that his research subject Leborgne had significant damage ____.

A)in the motor cortex
B)to the left frontal lobe
C)near the primary auditory cortex
D)in the temporal lobe

Question 67

Morphemes are combined into phrases and sentences according to ____.

A)linguistic relativity principles
B)the nature of speech sounds
C)personal preferences
D)rules of grammar

Question 68

Many scholars, including linguists Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker, believe that human beings ____.

A)learn language through operant conditioning
B)have an inborn capacity for learning language
C)learn language through classical conditioning

Question 69

Which of the following is the most effective method to produce the fastest language learning and to support the social nature of language use?

A)reading bedtime stories to the child
B)providing educational videos and television programs
C)engaging in two-way interaction in the form of conversation
D)providing interactive toys with voice recognition software

Question 70

Behaviorists, including B. F. Skinner, argued that children learn language through ____.

A)operant conditioning
B)an innate cognitive profile
C)genetic programming
D)classical conditioning

Question 71

The loss of the ability to speak or understand language is called ____.

A)amnesia
B)dyslexia
C)aphasia
D)muteness

Question 72

According to current research, the brain has ____.

A)complex pathways for processing language that connect Broca's and Wernicke's areas to other cortical areas involved in cognition
B)only two main language centers, Broca's area and Wernicke's area
C)at least four main language centers, including Broca's area, Wernicke's area, the amygdala, and the hippocampus
D)complex pathways for processing language that connect Broca's and Wernicke's areas to the amygdala and hippocampus

Question 73

Critics point out that ape language must be taught laboriously, whereas children build vocabularies spontaneously. This may support an argument that apes have ____.

A)real language abilities that approximate those of a human being
B)acquired some language due to operant conditioning
C)acquired some language due to classical conditioning
D)no complexity to their behavior

Question 74

Which of the following can be either a phoneme or a morpheme?

A)"a"
B)"r"
C)"sh"
D)"s"

Question 75

One approach to language suggests that it results from some innate capacity shaped by natural selection, which implies that we might be able to find precursors of human language in the behavior of other animals. This is called the ____ approach.

A)cognitive
B)developmental
C)biological
D)evolutionary

Question 76

Which of the following pairs expresses an arguably correct relationship with regard to language learning?

A)nature-operant conditioning for language
B)nurture-inborn capacity for language
C)nurture-role of left hemisphere in language
D)nature-inborn capacity for language

Question 77

Researchers have attempted to teach human languages to apes and African gray parrots, among others. What was one result of these interactions, based on the cases described in your text?

A)A chimpanzee successfully learned to vocalize a large number of words.
B)A chimpanzee became virtually fluent in the comprehension of English language.
C)An African gray parrot learned to engage in wide-ranging conversations on abstract topics.
D)A gorilla was trained to communicate in sign language.

Question 78

A morpheme is ____.

A)any phrase in a given language
B)an individual speech sound unique to a specific language
C)an arbitrary signal in a language system
D)the smallest component of speech that carries meaning

Question 79

The affected area of the brain in Wernicke's aphasia is ____.

A)in the left frontal lobe, near Broca's area
B)in the temporal lobe, near the primary auditory cortex
C)in the temporal lobe, adjacent to the motor cortex
D)in the occipital lobe, near the cerebellum

Question 80

Of the following, who has a speech pattern comparable to that of a person with Wernicke's aphasia?

A)Ashley, who has a moderate level of intellectual disability, but has fluent speech and a large vocabulary for her age
B)Diego, who speaks very slowly and with much effort, but generally makes sense
C)Dan, who speaks rapidly, fluently, and with good grammar, but rarely makes sense
D)Erica, who has severe difficulties with the production of language though she is otherwise healthy