Deck 7: Section 1: Thinking, Language, and Intelligence

Question 1

Describe Lewis Terman's contribution to intelligence testing.

Answer 1

The answer should include the following information: Terman developed the intelligence quotient or IQ score that described the results of the Stanford-Binet test as a single number. This score was derived by dividing the individual's mental age by their chronological age and multiplying the result by Answer: A child of average intelligence with a comparable mental and chronological age would have an IQ score of Answer: Conversely, a "bright" 10-year-old child with a mental age of 13 would have an IQ of 130 ((13/10) ×100). Terman's use of the intelligence quotient resulted in the popularization of the phrase "IQ test."

Question 2

Describe the field of comparative cognition, and describe some important findings from this active area of psychological research.

Answer 2

The answer should include the following information: Comparative cognition refers to the idea that many aspects of animal behavior, such as memory, problem solving, planning, cooperation, and even deception are actively being studied by comparative psychologists. For example, the western scrub jay bird can remember the past and anticipate the future since they must survive harsh winters by remembering exactly where they stored their food that they gathered some months earlier. These birds will also steal food stores of other jays, so they are careful in hiding their own food, suggesting that they understand the intentions of other scrub jays. Research on elephants suggests that these highly social animals understand the nature of cooperation, and they will work with one another to access a food reward.

Question 3

Describe the two examples given in your text that help in demonstrating that language influences a person's thinking.

Answer 3

The answer should include the following information: The indigenous people of Brazil, the Pirahã, are an isolated tribe that have no words for specific quantities. Similarly, another tribe in the Amazon has no words for specific numbers. Given specific arithmetic tasks, neither group is able to complete them. These data do not provide specific confirmation of the linguistic relativity hypothesis, but they do demonstrate that language categories can have an impact on how individuals think about specific concepts.

Question 4

Discuss research evidence for and against the linguistic relativity hypothesis.

Question 5

Danica is the parent of 5-year-old Mariah. Mariah will be attending a large charter school in the fall. The school offers many classes that are taught in both English and Spanish. Danica is worried about her daughter being in both types of classes, as she believes bilingualism leads to confusion, delayed language development, learning problems, and lower intelligence. Using research presented in your text, explain why Danica's beliefs are wrong. Be sure to include the benefits of bilingual education in your answer.

Question 6

According to the In Focus box, "Does a High IQ Score Predict Success in Life?" were all of Terman's gifted subjects successful? Explain your answer, comparing outcomes of the A group and the C group.

Question 7

Contrast the ways in which formal concepts and natural concepts are formed, and give an original example of each.

Question 8

How do we use the availability heuristic and the representativeness heuristic to help estimate the probability of an event's occurring?

Question 9

Can nonhuman animals "think"? Do they consciously reason? Such questions may be unanswerable. Describe the approach that contemporary comparative psychologists take today instead.

Question 10

Describe two examples of research investigating the use of symbolic communication in nonhuman animals.

Question 11

Describe the two-stage model of intuition.

Question 12

List the five characteristics of language, and give an example of each.

Question 13

Who was David Wechsler, and what is he famous for?

Question 14

People often cling to beliefs that have been contradicted by empirical evidence. What kinds of obstacles to logical thinking can help explain the persistence of such unwarranted beliefs?

Question 15

Describe and explain the implications of the study by Stephen Kosslyn and his colleagues that involved memorizing locations on a map of a fictitious island.

Question 16

Describe three strategies that can be used to make a decision among several alternatives.

Question 17

How can mental sets and functional fixedness interfere with finding solution to problems?

Question 18

What was Alfred Binet's role in the development of intelligence tests?

Question 19

Describe the experimental procedure and major findings of Kathleen O'Craven and Nancy Kanwisher's fMRI study of mental imagery involving faces and places.

Question 20

Describe the differences between algorithms and heuristics, and give an example of each.

Question 21

Describe and explain the contributions of genetics and environmental factors that influence IQ scores. How do researchers approach questions related to these variables?

Question 22

Contrast the viewpoints of Charles Spearman and Louis L. Thurstone on the nature of intelligence.

Question 23

Imagine that Spearman, Thurstone, Sternberg, and Gardner are engaged in a spirited debate of the following statement: "A person's IQ score is the single best description of his or her overall mental ability." Pick any two of these theorists and explain how they would respond to this contention.

Question 24

Define heritability and explain heritability estimate.

Question 25

Define and discuss creativity.

Question 26

Define stereotype threat, and provide an example of psychological research that has demonstrated its effects on test performance.

Question 27

Describe at least three suggestions that can enhance your ability to think creatively.

Question 28

For individuals who are genetically related, how does similarity in IQ scores vary with degree of genetic relatedness?

Question 29

Define stereotype lift, and explain how psychological research has demonstrated its effects on test performance.

Question 30

Define the concepts of standardization, reliability, and validity, and explain why they are important requirements for any psychological test.

Question 31

Compare and contrast Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences with Robert Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence.

Question 32

Explain what is meant by autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and neurodiversity, from the In Focus Box, "Neurodiversity: Beyond IQ."