Question 1

Dr. Greer believes that children are natural problem solvers and it is from that ability that language is learned. Dr. Greer would probably not agree that children have ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  a Broca's area 
B)  formal concepts 
C)  inductive reasoning 
D)  a language acquisition device

Question 2

When researchers used a keyboard to teach language to a bonobo chimpanzee named Matata, they were surprised to find that ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  Matata was more interested in playing catch with the keyboard than using it to communicate 
B)  Matata's infant stepson Kanzi learned how to use the keyboard far better than Matata simply by observing 
C)  Matata was able to learn the keyboard symbols that were taught, but was unable to create new forms of language on her own 
D)  Matata not only learned the keyboard symbols that she was taught, but she began creating new forms of language that were not taught

Question 3

A child taking the Stanford-Binet test who scores at an "average" level of intelligence would show a ____ that is equal to his or her ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  chronological age; IQ score 
B)  verbal score; performance score 
C)  performance score; mental age 
D)  mental age; chronological age

Question 4

Which statement is TRUE with regard to problem solving?

Accepted Answer

A)  Guessing and trial and error are not types of heuristics. 
B)  Algorithms are always the best way to solve problems. 
C)  Ill-structured problems do not have clear algorithms. 
D)  Culture does not influence the approach we take to solve problems.

Question 5

Timmy's geography teacher gives the class a pop quiz in which he asks the class to draw a map of North America, which they learned about in the previous day's lesson. Knowing what you do about mental representations, how well do you think Timmy would do on this quiz?

Accepted Answer

A)  He will draw a perfect map of North America. 
B)  He will get some of the details correct, but his map will contain many errors. 
C)  His map will be so far off that it will not even resemble North America. 
D)  The U.S. portion of the map will be very accurate, but Canada and Mexico will be distorted.

Question 6

When you are trying to retrieve knowledge from your memory to accomplish some goal, you are ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  thinking 
B)  reasoning 
C)  representing 
D)  imagining

Question 7

Which item is the best example of a prototype for the category fruit?

Accepted Answer

A)  Kiwi 
B)  Tomato 
C)  Apple 
D)  Apricot

Question 8

Concepts are most accurately characterized as ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  problem-solving methods 
B)  mental categories 
C)  mental shortcuts 
D)  cognitive norms

Question 9

Which would NOT qualify as an exemplar for the category fruit?

Accepted Answer

A)  Kiwi 
B)  Apricot 
C)  Corn 
D)  Apple

Question 10

Joanne always attempts to discipline her child through grounding because it has worked in the past. Lately, it has not been working, but she keeps trying because it always worked before. Joanne has encountered which obstacle to problem solving?

Accepted Answer

A)  Functional fixedness 
B)  An algorithm 
C)  A mental set 
D)  Underextension

Question 11

Adrian recently survived a killer tsunami while vacationing in Thailand. Now, Adrian believes that another tsunami is very likely to occur. As a result, he is selling his Florida beach home and moving to Kansas. Which of the following best explains Adrian's behavior?

Accepted Answer

A)  The representativeness heuristic 
B)  The availability heuristic 
C)  Deductive reasoning 
D)  Functional fixedness

Question 12

Bjorn has great reflexes and is very athletic. According to ____, these characteristics indicate that Bjorn is intelligent.

Accepted Answer

A)  Robert Sternberg 
B)  Alfred Binet 
C)  Sir Francis Galton 
D)  David Wechsler

Question 13

In a study conducted by Stephen Kosslyn, subjects memorized a map and then were asked to mentally scan the path of an imaginary dot as it traveled from one point to another point on the map. The results showed that ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  when the distance traveled by the dot was farther, the time it took to scan the distance was longer 
B)  shorter distances were scanned easily, but longer distances could not be scanned 
C)  regardless of the distance traveled by the dot, the scanning time was approximately five seconds 
D)  regardless of the distance traveled by the dot, the scanning time was instantaneous

Question 14

Your two-month-old niece has begun to make a lot of vowel sounds like "ooh" and "ah." She is ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  babbling 
B)  overextending 
C)  cooing 
D)  gesturing

Question 15

Well-structured problems are to ____ as ill-structured problems are to ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  heuristics; algorithms 
B)  natural concepts; formal concepts 
C)  clear solutions; unclear solutions 
D)  inductive reasoning; deductive reasoning

Question 16

Which statement is TRUE of language development?

Accepted Answer

A)  Children typically coo before they babble. 
B)  Cooing consists of consonant and vowel sounds together. 
C)  Babbling consists of vowel sounds. 
D)  Infants begin cooing at around six months of age.

Question 17

Based on your reading, which animal is least likely to show any linguistic abilities?

Accepted Answer

A)  Barney, the Bonobo chimpanzee 
B)  Freddie, the cocker spaniel 
C)  Garfield, the African grey parrot 
D)  Ferdinand, the dolphin

Question 18

Sometimes when making a decision we exhibit loss aversion, which means that we make a decision that reflects a ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  desire to avoid taking a gamble at all costs 
B)  misunderstanding of the entire situation 
C)  focus on the costs associated with a potential gain 
D)  strong motivation to do the thing that will result in the greatest good for all concerned

Question 19

Divergent thinking most specifically involves ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  algorithms 
B)  mental sets 
C)  thinking of many different ideas quickly 
D)  imagining something that most other people do not

Question 20

Jason is playing a computer game and just cannot seem to solve a particular problem. He gets frustrated, so he just keeps guessing over and over and over. Jason is using a(n) ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  construct 
B)  concept 
C)  heuristic 
D)  algorithm

Exam 8: Cognition, Language, and Intelligence