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

Question 1

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.

Answer 1

People can turn visual mental images around in their minds, zoom in or out, and identify their features.

Question 2

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

A) Young children
B) The elderly
C) Adults
D) Teenagers

Answer 2

Young children

Question 3

Studies on patients with brain damage suggest that our brains have been shaped in a way that provides a survival advantage. Many 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.

Answer 3

animals versus nonliving things.

Question 4

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 5

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 6

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 7

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

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

Question 8

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 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 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 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 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 11

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 12

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.

Question 13

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

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 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 15

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 first 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 16

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 17

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 18

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) 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 19

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

A) An internal mental process that can include information processing and 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 20

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 21

Jenner has a dream of a career devoted to the reduction and eventual elimination of HIV/AIDS. What does the text recommend as an approach to address a substantial, large-scale problem such as HIV/AIDS?

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 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 22

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 stress related eating habits, rather than a change in physical activity. Bertram is currently attempting to

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

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

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 25

Which of the following is true about algorithms?

A) Algorithms are step-by-step rules for reaching a particular solution.
B) Algorithms can take in a relatively small amount of information as input.
C) Algorithms are efficient when used by a human brain.
D) Algorithms have roughly the same efficiency whether used by a human or a computer.

Question 26

Jason is trying to tighten a slotted screw in his desk chair before finishing his physics homework. Though he has looked through his dorm room he is unable to locate a screw driver for slotted screws. Jason looks on his dresser and sees a dime, picks it up, and uses it to tighten the screw in his desk chair. Jason's ability to look at the dime and see something other than a coin illustrates that he has overcome

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

Question 27

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 begin training for long distance running, 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 28

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 29

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 30

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 31

Perry, an attorney, is attending a hearing at the federal courthouse. He opens the courthouse door for a young woman with a guide dog. When Perry enters the room of the hearing, he is stunned to see that the assigned judge is the same woman. Perry had applied the

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

Question 32

Jet and Rylee need to finish a project for an engineering class. Jet is fearful that they won't finish by the due date because Rylee works for four hours every evening, and Jet believes that Rylee isn't serious enough about school because Rylee is working part time. Jet's view of the problem and solution is limited by

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

Question 33

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 34

You and your roommates have been playing a massive multiplayer online game for hours. 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 35

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 36

Understanding a problem should

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

Question 37

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 being in a plane crash because she will now have to fly home for the holidays. 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 38

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 39

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 40

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 41

Rajon is trying to decide between majoring in communications and majoring in engineering. 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

An analysis of more than 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 43

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 44

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 45

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 46

Teens are more likely than young adults to make risky decisions

A) in the presence of their peers.
B) in the presence of their  parents.
C) when alone.
D) when they have less activity in the reward circuit.

Question 47

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 48

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 49

An attentional 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 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

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 52

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 53

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 54

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 55

When looking to carry out a decision, one of the most critical elements in successfully implementing a solution is

A) affect.
B) maximization.
C) planning.
D) enjoying the results.

Question 56

Which event that occurred about 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 57

The programmers of AlphaGo included in the program a "look back" strategy referred to as

A) "understand the problem."
B) "the Kasparov method."
C) "deep blue."
D) "deep reinforcement learning."

Question 58

Human beings produce more than 500 different phonemes, of which the English language uses

A) about 11.
B) approximately 26.
C) about 45.
D) more than 140.

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

Leena's and Ruth's mother takes them shopping for prom dresses. The sales clerk at the dress shop sees each daughter separately but recommends the same prom dress for both. The sales clerk tells Leena the dress will cost 75% of the regular price. She tells Ruth the dress will cost 25% less than the regular price. Ruth leaves the dress shop feeling that the same dress is a better deal for her than for Leena. This is an example of

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

Question 61

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

Question 62

The _____ approach suggests that language 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.

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

Question 63

Which of the following is a phoneme and a morpheme?

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

Question 64

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 65

Between _____ months of age, children become less successful in perceiving the differences between sounds that are not characteristic of their native language, an important perceptual shift that impacts their subsequent language learning.

A) 6 and 12
B) 14 and 16
C) 18 and 20
D) 20 and 24

Question 66

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 67

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.
D) learn language at varying rates as babies, depending on the language being learned.

Question 68

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 can produce a few syllables, but he is able to answer numerical questions by raising the appropriate number of fingers on his left hand.

Question 69

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

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

Question 70

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

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

Question 71

Ape language must be taught laboriously, word order does not seem to matter to apes, and describing word use like "waterbird" as creative could be the product of trainer assumptions. This may support an argument that trainers of the apes might be

A) using biased approaches to teaching apes language.
B) making biased observations.
C) underestimating the language use of apes.
D) misinformed about the process of teaching language use to animals.

Question 72

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 73

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 74

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 75

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 76

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 77

Which of the following is true about dyslexia?

A) Persons with dyslexia tend to think in rhymes.
B) Dyslexia is strongly influenced by genetic factors.
C) Persons with dyslexia are more likely to be right-handed.
D) Dyslexia is related to highly symmetrical cerebral hemispheres.

Question 78

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

A) Katie 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) Olivia learns language in much the same way as she learns reading and writing, with training and practice.

Question 79

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 80

Of the following, who fits the profile of a person with dyslexia?

A) Jonah, who has delayed mental and social development and difficulties learning to read
B) Nate, who has difficulty seeing the blackboard from a distance and is behind in learning to read
C) Felicia, who has difficulty explaining and understanding complex ideas and limited reading skills
D) Carol, who is bright and attends a good school but is having difficulty learning to read