Deck 8: Thinking, Reasoning, and Language

Question 1

What is the purpose of the 'cognitive economy' that our brains impose on the world?

A) to record events accurately
B) to connect stimuli and responses
C) to avoid uncomfortable experiences
D) to save time and energy

Answer 1

to save time and energy

Question 2

June is trying to decide on which car to buy. She is overwhelmed by all of the information about various aspects of all of the different makes and models and she can't even create a short list of her top preferences. It could be said that June lacks __________ that would allow her to only attend to the information she needs for decision making and minimize the rest.

A) bottom-up processing
B) schemas
C) cognitive economy
D) disconfirmation strategies

Answer 2

cognitive economy

Question 3

If people make a judgment based on how easy it is for an instance to come to mind, they may fall victim to the

A) belief perseverance effect.
B) representativeness heuristic.
C) hindsight bias.
D) availability heuristic.

Answer 3

availability heuristic.

Question 4

There are more publicity campaigns for breast cancer, and the 'pink ribbon' associated with breast cancer research is a very well-known brand. Women are more likely to worry about breast cancer than heart disease, even though heart disease is far more common. This is because of the

A) representativeness heuristic.
B) availability heuristic.
C) hindsight bias.
D) confirmation bias.

Question 5

Most organic food stores sell vegan snacks, and about half of all coffee shops sell vegan snacks. There are only a few organic food stores but there are hundreds of coffee shops in the city. If you assume that you should go to an organic food store to find a vegan snack, what type of error have you made?

A) hindsight bias
B) an algorithm
C) ignoring base rates
D) thin-slicing

Question 6

Dr. Fortner is discussing cognitive psychology with his introductory psychology class and says that we act as 'cognitive misers' when making judgments about others or making decisions. What does Dr. Fortner mean by this statement?

A) We will use heuristics only as long as they give us the correct answer.
B) We value accuracy in our judgments and decisions.
C) We value simplicity in understanding our social world.
D) We are frequently incorrect in our judgments and decision making.

Question 7

Judith is a third-year undergraduate student who lists her interests as computer gaming, and online communities. Based on this description, you might assume that Judith is more likely to be a computer science major than a psychology major because you think those interests are more common among computer science majors. On your campus, there are very few computer science majors, and a lot of psychology majors. Your judgment is likely based on the __________ heuristic but might be wrong due to the __________.

A) availability; base rate fallacy
B) representative; overconfidence bias
C) availability; overconfidence bias
D) representative; base rate fallacy

Question 8

Our ability to extract useful information from observations of only small bits of behaviour is known as

A) a schema.
B) the hindsight bias.
C) thin slicing.
D) a representativeness heuristic.

Question 9

If you polled some friends from Edmonton, who read the local news on a regular basis, about the number of murders in their city, and you poll friends in other areas of the country about the number of murders in the entire province of Alberta, you'd likely find that the average number of murders estimated for Edmonton is more than for the entire province. This impossible finding is best explained by the

A) representativeness heuristic.
B) availability heuristic.
C) hindsight bias.
D) confirmation bias.

Question 10

In situations where we have limited information, some people tend to assume the worst will happen. This systematic tendency in thinking is known as

A) inferential statistics.
B) a prototype.
C) an algorithm.
D) a cognitive bias.

Question 11

One reason that we are susceptible to the representativeness heuristic is that we

A) mistake confidence for certainty.
B) are fooled by information that comes to our mind most easily.
C) fail to consider how probable an outcome is within the general population.
D) overestimate our cognitive economy.

Question 12

When we use the __________ heuristic, we compare an event to some model or prototype.

A) algorithm
B) simulation
C) availability
D) representativeness

Question 13

Because our snap judgments are accurate enough to be useful, the tendency to use heuristics and intuition might be considered ____________ from an evolutionary perspective.

A) a maladaptation.
B) a mutation.
C) adaptive.
D) too risky to use.

Question 14

People are more likely to fear plane crashes than digestive cancer, even though digestive cancer is almost twice as common. This error is produced because of the

A) representativeness heuristic.
B) availability heuristic.
C) hindsight bias.
D) confirmation bias.

Question 15

If we know that Ashley is 25 years old, outspoken on environmental and human rights issues, and presently on her way to an anti-nuclear weapons demonstration, we might come to the quick conclusion that she is also a feminist, because we associate feminism with other forms of activism. This mental shortcut demonstrates the

A) algorithm.
B) base rate fallacy.
C) availability heuristic.
D) representativeness heuristic.

Question 16

__________ allows us to simplify what we attend to and keep the information we need for decision making to a manageable minimum.

A) Cognitive overload
B) Cognitive economy
C) Cognitive bias
D) Cognitive restructuring

Question 17

The heuristics that we use for decision making don't include all information, and can lead us to make errors. Why, then, do our brains use them?

A) We haven't evolved past this primitive aspect of our cognition.
B) They have more advantages than disadvantages.
C) Our brains revert to these processes when we are fatigued.
D) Our cognitions are simple stimulus-response connections.

Question 18

When we use heuristics and other mental short-cuts to save time and energy in decision-making, what term is used for that process?

A) behaviourism
B) cognitivism
C) comprehension
D) cognitive economy

Question 19

John Gottman and his colleagues were able to predict divorce rates of couples with startling accuracy after observing 15 minutes of interaction. This technique is known as

A) linear regression.
B) the availability heuristic.
C) cognitive load.
D) thin slicing.

Question 20

Which of the following is associated with our tendency to rely on the representativeness and availability heuristics?

A) thin-slicing
B) use of algorithms
C) ignoring base rates
D) emphasis on inferential statistics

Question 21

The __________ bias refers to our tendency to overestimate our ability to predict known outcomes, whereas the __________ bias reflects the overestimation of our ability to make correct predictions.

A) hindsight; representative
B) hindsight; overconfidence
C) overconfidence; representative
D) overconfidence; hindsight

Question 22

__________ refers to the process of selecting among a set of possible alternatives.

A) Mental set
B) Decision making
C) Heuristics
D) Thin slicing

Question 23

Lottery ads tend to emphasize the odds of winning, to encourage people to buy tickets. Treatments for gambling addictions tend to emphasize the odds of losing, in order to make gambling seem less appealing. What differs between these two approaches?

A) mental set
B) heuristics
C) framing
D) algorithms

Question 24

When students read about some research projects, they sometimes think "Why did they need to do a study to show that? Everyone should know that the study would turn out that way." This reaction is based on the

A) confirmation bias.
B) hindsight bias.
C) representativeness heuristic.
D) availability heuristic.

Question 25

Which of the following decisions would most likely rely on System 1 thinking, rather than System 2 thinking?

A) what to have for lunch
B) what classes to take next term
C) which bus route to take to a new location
D) what to wear to an important interview

Question 26

When Jerome was in the middle of his midterm exam, he was very uncertain about his answers. After seeing his score-an A-he subsequently told his friends that he never doubted that he would get a good mark. This demonstrates the influence of __________ on our judgments.

A) the hindsight bias
B) belief perseverance
C) confirmation bias
D) the availability heuristic

Question 27

Which of the following is a common source of top-down processing?

A) concepts and schemas
B) sensory receptors
C) stimulus-response learning
D) perceptual biases

Question 28

When Lonnie and Burt were married, their friends were unsure of whether the marriage would last or end in divorce. However, after the two divorced, many of their friends commented to each other about how they knew that things would not work out from the beginning. This is an example of the

A) confirmation bias.
B) hindsight bias.
C) representativeness heuristic.
D) availability heuristic.

Question 29

The brain's tendency to streamline our thinking processes by use of preexisting knowledge is referred to as

A) top-down processing.
B) taxonomic construction.
C) inductive reasoning.
D) bottom-up processing.

Question 30

We know that various different breeds of dog tend to have similar behaviours and physical features, so when we think of a dog our thoughts tend to include those traits that dogs share. This broad idea of 'dog' is known as

A) an algorithm
B) a heuristic
C) a concept
D) a decision.

Question 31

People often cancel their plane tickets when there is a news report about a plane crash, even though crashes are very rare. This behaviour is based on

A) hindsight bias.
B) mental sets.
C) the availability heuristic.
D) thin slicing.

Question 32

Allan is a birdwatcher, and when he sees a new flying creature one day while on a walk, he does not need to discover that it flies, chirps, and eats worms and bugs to recognize that it is a bird. Allan is using __________ to help him achieve cognitive economy and categorize his world.

A) top-down processing
B) schemas
C) taxonomic hierarchies
D) ad hoc reasoning

Question 33

Which of the following is an example of top-down processing?

A) Habituation
B) Sensation
C) Transduction
D) Chunking

Question 34

Imagine that you see an advertisement for a new cell phone that gives you coverage across 80 percent of Canada. However, if you reword the offer, you realize that you would have no cellular coverage in 20 percent of Canada. This example highlights how __________ influence(s) our decision making.

A) mental set
B) heuristics
C) framing
D) algorithms

Question 35

Days following the championship football game, many "armchair quarterbacks" explain how they knew all along what the final result would be. This example illustrates

A) confirmation bias.
B) hindsight bias.
C) the representativeness heuristic.
D) the availability heuristic.

Question 36

Amanda asks a group of research participants to estimate the number of deaths each year due to homicide and diabetes. She finds that higher numbers report homicide, because they are more vivid examples, though over twice as many die from complications related to diabetes. This is one example of the dangers of the __________ in our judgments and decision making.

A) representativeness heuristic
B) hindsight bias
C) availability heuristic
D) confirmation bias

Question 37

Following elections, there are generally a lot of people who claim that it was obvious from the beginning that the winning candidate would be successful. This illustrates the

A) confirmation bias.
B) hindsight bias.
C) representativeness heuristic.
D) availability heuristic.

Question 38

Following news reports about a severe bus accident, Dwayne decides that it would be safer to drive than take the bus on his next several trips through the mountains. Dwayne is basing his decision on the

A) representativeness heuristic.
B) hindsight bias.
C) confirmation bias.
D) availability heuristic.

Question 39

News reports often emphasize events that are very rare, like plane crashes or winning the lottery, and that emphasis causes those events to be memorable and pop into our minds easily. Which cognitive bias would be worsened by this sort of media attention?

A) algorithms
B) hindsight bias
C) availability heuristic
D) representativeness heuristic

Question 40

A product seems more appealing when it is advertised as having 90% natural ingredients, than if it were advertised as having 10% synthetic ingredients. Which of the following terms is used for the different ways of describing the same product?

A) mental set
B) framing
C) bottom-up processing
D) algorithms

Question 41

Which of the following is a barrier or obstacle to solving problems?

A) Subproblems
B) Functional fixedness
C) Analogies
D) Algorithms

Question 42

Research has found that brain activation in the __________ has been linked to the ability to break free of a mental set.

A) frontal and parietal lobes
B) orbitofrontal cortex
C) temporal lobe
D) limbic system

Question 43

If I am given 10 math problems, and I can and do solve the first nine in the same way, I may struggle with the tenth problem if it requires a different method to solve it. This best illustrates the concept of

A) availability heuristics.
B) mental sets.
C) thin slicing.
D) hindsight bias.

Question 44

The tendency to perceive and approach problems in the same ways that have worked in the past is called

A) the salience of surface properties.
B) mental sets.
C) thin slicing.
D) hindsight bias.

Question 45

Understanding how the brain works while individuals make financial decisions is a field referred to as

A) neuroeconomics.
B) decision management.
C) psychoheuristics.
D) business reasoning.

Question 46

__________ are step-by-step learned procedures that are useful for problem solving but are not flexible to adaptation.

A) Algorithms
B) Mental sets
C) Frames
D) Schemas

Question 47

Charles is a mechanic, and he thinks through a series of procedures he must complete in order to change the radiator on his client's car. This step-by-step thinking allows him to complete the task without missing anything. This method of thinking reflects

A) mental set.
B) surface salience.
C) an algorithm.
D) functional fixedness.

Question 48

Cassandra has five chapters to read for her upcoming midterm, and she finds the thought of sitting down and reading hundreds of pages at once overwhelming. She decides to use the breaks in between her classes to read and take notes from 15 pages at a time to make the task seem more manageable. Cassandra is using what approach to solve her problem?

A) Mental sets
B) Subproblems
C) Algorithms
D) Heuristics

Question 49

Shelley was picking rocks out of her garden, when she thought about using a strainer to drain spaghetti. She realized that she could use a box with holes in it to 'strain' the rocks out of the dirt. This sort of thinking reflects the use of

A) analogy
B) mental set
C) framing
D) heuristics

Question 50

When attempting to solve a problem, we are often distracted by __________ rather than focusing on the underlying reasoning needed to solve the problem.

A) the hindsight bias
B) thin slicing
C) mental sets
D) the salience of surface properties

Question 51

Tom is baking banana bread, and the recipe calls for half a cup of margarine. When he realizes that he does not have any margarine, he gives up baking rather than using a substitute. His method of thinking reflects

A) an algorithm.
B) mental set.
C) surface salience.
D) functional fixedness.

Question 52

I've spent my whole life thinking of a fork as something used to eat food, so it might be difficult for me to think of it as a tool for removing small bolts. This is referred to as

A) availability heuristic.
B) mental sets.
C) functional fixedness.
D) salience of surface characteristics.

Question 53

George dropped his keys into a grate on the sidewalk in front of his house. He could see them, but couldn't reach them. He went back into his house and noticed that his son was using the vacuum cleaner to pick up some cereal that was spilled on the floor. This gave George the idea to put the long hose of the vacuum into the grate to pick up the keys. This sort of thinking relies on which of the following?

A) mental set
B) functional fixedness
C) algorithms
D) analogies

Question 54

Which of the following provides evidence that our minds don't work exactly like modern computers?

A) depth perception
B) stimulus-response learning
C) syntax in various languages
D) recognizing speech

Question 55

Breaking down tasks into more manageable bits refers to using __________ to solve a problem.

A) mental sets
B) subproblems
C) algorithms
D) heuristics

Question 56

Tessa is writing an algebra exam and tries to solve two separate questions in the same way given that both involve calculations of speed. The second problem, however, requires a different form of reasoning to solve the problem. Tessa is experiencing which obstacle to problem solving?

A) Functional fixedness
B) The salience of surface properties
C) A mental set
D) The hindsight bias

Question 57

Evidence from neuroeconomics studies suggests that we make better decisions when which brain areas are active?

A) areas associated with emotions
B) areas associated with reward
C) areas associated with sensation and perception
D) areas associated with attentional control

Question 58

Which of the following techniques can be useful for reducing our tendency toward functional fixedness?

A) using stimulant drugs
B) practicing heuristics
C) focus on small details of objects rather than your concept of them
D) leaving the problem for a week before returning to it

Question 59

Brain activation in the frontal and parietal lobes may help us to break free of mental sets because these regions help us to

A) remember problem-solving techniques we have used in the past and apply them to a new problem.
B) coordinate our visual and sensory inputs to "see" problems in a new light.
C) alter our conscious awareness such that the solution can be generated in an unburdened mind.
D) inhibit previous responses and allow us to generate new strategies.

Question 60

Susan's car gets stuck in the snow, and no matter what she tries, her tires just keep spinning. She looks at the items in her trunk (her school books, some windshield washer fluid, groceries, and some kitty litter) and is frustrated because she doesn't seem to have anything to help her out of her situation. Susan is displaying __________ because she did not think of using kitty litter to sprinkle under her tires to help with traction.

A) a mental set
B) functional fixedness
C) the availability heuristic
D) the hindsight bias

Question 61

Dr. Doolittle is studying the order in which children around the world learn to make the speech sounds used in their native languages, to see if there are common patterns. Dr. Doolittle's approach to the analysis of language is at the level of

A) morphemes.
B) phonemes.
C) syntax.
D) extralinguistic.

Question 62

The level of analysis of language that focuses on how words are combined to form sentences is called

A) morphemes.
B) phonemes.
C) syntax.
D) extralinguistic.

Question 63

Language is

A) a communication system that requires little implicit processing.
B) rarely ambiguous.
C) a symbolic system of communication.
D) a communication system that includes words but not gestures.

Question 64

The level of analysis of language that focuses on the sounds people use when then speak and listen is called

A) morphemes.
B) phonemes.
C) syntax.
D) semantics.

Question 65

In the English language, we typically add the suffix 'ed' at the end of words to indicate the past tense. What aspect of syntax is this?

A) a morpheme
B) a morphological marker
C) a rule
D) an exception

Question 66

As symbolic systems of communication, most languages

A) are arbitrary in the relationship between words and meaning.
B) focus on tangible items rather than ideas or concepts.
C) can be perfectly translated to another language.
D) generally match sounds to the meaning of words.

Question 67

Much of our language uses arbitrary symbols What does this mean?

A) Language is used for communication.
B) The word that represents an item could be anything.
C) Words don't have clear meanings.
D) Language is more important than other aspects of cognition.

Question 68

Evidence from brain imaging studies reveals that visual areas of the brain are active when we think about objects and motor areas are active when we think about actions. Which model of the mind does this evidence support?

A) embodiment models
B) computational models
C) heuristic models
D) linguistic models

Question 69

Phonemes are

A) the basic rules of grammar.
B) the basic brain structures.
C) the basic units of meaning.
D) the basic units of sound.

Question 70

Carl is reading the newspaper and laughs when he sees the headline "Thief Gets Nine Months in Violin Case." From the perspective of language, Carl most likely finds this humorous because the phrase or headline

A) lacks subject-verb agreement.
B) has ambiguous syntax.
C) has no literal interpretation.
D) has ambiguous word interpretations.

Question 71

What are the basic units of sound that compose the words in a language?

A) Extralinguistic information
B) Morphemes
C) Phonemes
D) Syntax

Question 72

According to __________, our knowledge is organized and accessed in a manner that enables us to simulate our actual experiences.

A) artificial intelligence models
B) schema models
C) general cognitive processing models
D) embodiment models

Question 73

The level of analysis of language that focuses on the smallest units of meaningful speech is called

A) morphemes.
B) phonemes.
C) syntax.
D) extralinguistic.

Question 74

Consider the English word "rereading." Which of these is one phoneme in that word?

A) "ing"
B) "re"
C) "r"
D) "rea"

Question 75

Which term is used for the sounds of our language, which are loosely associated with the letters in our alphabet?

A) phonemes
B) morphemes
C) syntax
D) extralinguistic information

Question 76

Consider the English word "rereading." Which of these is one morpheme in that word?

A) "reading"
B) "re"
C) "r"
D) "rea"

Question 77

Which level of language analysis would focus on body language or facial expression?

A) Phonemes
B) Morphemes
C) Extralinguistic
D) Syntax

Question 78

Camilla is learning French. She knows a lot of French words, but struggles to have a conversation because the word order is different than English and she gets confused. Which aspect of the language is difficult for Camilla?

A) morphemes.
B) phonemes.
C) syntax.
D) extralinguistic information.

Question 79

The smallest units of speech that contain meaning are called

A) syntax.
B) morphemes.
C) phonemes.
D) anomias.

Question 80

Sentences such as "Include children when baking cookies" may strike us as funny. From the perspective of language, this is because the phrase or headline

A) lacks subject-verb agreement.
B) has no literal interpretation.
C) has ambiguous syntax.
D) is impossible to interpret.