Question 1

While researchers have long debated whether animals can acquire language, more recent research has clearly demonstrated that at least chimps are capable of acquiring it like humans.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

The 2-year old will speak using a sentence consisting of just a noun and a verb. This is referred to as

Accepted Answer

A) a sensitive period 
B) babbling 
C) motherese 
D) a LAD 
E) telegraphic speech

Question 3

Part of what makes human beings unique is that we are able to think better and communicate more effectively than other animals do. The images, ideas, concepts, and principles that we use to transfer ideas and skills to one another are called

Accepted Answer

A) surface structures. 
B) deep structures. 
C) mental representations. 
D) syntax. 
E) phonemic restoration.

Question 4

Which of the following aspects of human language has the strongest support in primates?

Accepted Answer

A) Symbolism 
B) Structure 
C) Generativity 
D) Displacement

Question 5

Damage to brain regions involved in perception usually also disrupts people's ability to form mental images. This evidence supports the idea that mental imagery is based ________.

Accepted Answer

A) on language 
B) on perception 
C) in the left hemisphere 
D) in the right hemisphere

Question 6

As an English speaker, you recognize that if you want to put a verb into the past tense you can add an 'ed' to it, such as changing 'walk' to 'walked'. The rules governing this type of transformation are known as

Accepted Answer

A) syntax 
B) semantics 
C) phonemics 
D) pragmatics

Question 7

Your knowledge of what to expect when you go to the dentist is an example of a(n) __________.

Accepted Answer

A) heuristic 
B) expertise 
C) script 
D) algorithm

Question 8

Kirima moved to Germany with her parents and little brother Leif when she was 13 and Leif was 4. Ten years later, both Kirima and Leif speak German and English, but Leif is more fluent with German than is Kirima and he has no accent in either language. This

Accepted Answer

A) suggests that Chomsky's theory about a language acquisition device is wrong. 
B) suggests that males are better with foreign languages than females. 
C) would have been unlikely to happen unless Leif's elementary education was better than Kirima's. 
D) suggests that children have a sensitive period for language acquisition. 
E) is likely related to individual difference in proficiency with language.

Question 9

All of the following were discussed as factors that can interfere with the correct application of deductive reasoning EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A) distraction by irrelevant information 
B) the belief bias 
C) how information is framed 
D) means-ends analysis

Question 10

Phoneme is to morpheme as ________.

Accepted Answer

A) displacement is to discourse 
B) semantics are to syntax 
C) sound is to meaning 
D) deep structure is to shallow structure

Question 11

Which of the following does NOT aid students in judging metacomprehension and enhancing academic performance?

Accepted Answer

A) doing practice quizzes like those found in study guides 
B) writing delayed summaries of material read 
C) memorizing specific questions and their answers on practice quizzes 
D) using review questions to help write summarizes

Question 12

Evidence for structure when primates use human language is ________.

Accepted Answer

A) conclusive 
B) very strong 
C) controversial 
D) nonexistent

Question 13

"If all birds are warm-blooded, and if all canaries are birds, then all canaries are warm-blooded." This is an example of a(n) __________, which is a(n) __________ argument.

Accepted Answer

A) syllogism; inductive 
B) analogy; heuristic 
C) syllogism; deductive 
D) algorithm; inductive

Question 14

Researchers have found that _________ in many different areas all rely heavily on the use of __________ to guide problem solving in their fields.

Accepted Answer

A) experts; the availability heuristic 
B) experts; schemas 
C) novices; mental sets 
D) novices; the representativeness heuristic

Question 15

Following a car accident, Mr. Jones had severe damage to Broca's area. At the hospital, the brain scan is most likely to show damage to ______ and he will have ______.

Accepted Answer

A) the right temporal lobe; difficulty understanding speech 
B) the left frontal lobe; difficulty speaking 
C) the right temporal lobe; telegraphic speech 
D) the left temporal lobe; difficulty with deep structure 
E) the left frontal lobe; difficulty understanding speech

Question 16

Which of the following is a hallmark of creativity?

Accepted Answer

A) Problem-solving schemas 
B) Functional fixedness 
C) Framing 
D) Divergent thinking

Question 17

According to Tversky and Kahneman, the errors in logic that occurred in response to the "Linda the feminist bank teller" problem (where participants think it is more likely that Linda is a feminist bank teller than simply a bank teller) are due to the fact that they confused

Accepted Answer

A) representativeness with availability 
B) representativeness with probability 
C) availability with confirmation bias 
D) availability with probability

Question 18

When we reason from general principles to a conclusion about a specific case, we are engaging in

Accepted Answer

A) heuristic reasoning 
B) problem-solving 
C) deductive reasoning 
D) inductive reasoning

Question 19

The fact that language-deprived children are generally unable to acquire normal language skills when they are found past puberty was presented as evidence of

Accepted Answer

A) how brain damage can impact language acquisition 
B) a sensitive period in the development of language 
C) how fluid intelligence is more important than crystallized intelligence 
D) how experiences have little impact on language development

Question 20

Suppose there was a language that had only two words for precipitation, and that one of those words was for rain and the other for snow. If it was found that people who spoke only that language had difficulty discriminating among mist, drizzle, rain, freezing rain, hail, ice pellets, snow, and other forms of precipitation, then that finding would support the

Accepted Answer

A) sensitive period hypothesis 
B) divergent thinking hypothesis 
C) functional fixedness hypothesis 
D) linguistic relativity hypothesis

Exam 9: Language and Thinking