Deck 8: A: Language and Thought

Question 1

Phonemes are the smallest units of which component of language

A) meaning 
B) sound 
C) dialect 
D) syntax

Answer 1

 sound 

Question 2

Language has rules that govern the arrangement of words into phrases and sentences.What quality of language does this reflect

A) phonemic 
B) continuity 
C) structured 
D) generative

Answer 2

 structured 

Question 3

What led to the "cognitive revolution" in the 1950s

A) renewed interest in the method of introspection 
B) improved technology for addressing the questions associated with cognition 
C) dissatisfaction with the limitations of behaviourism 
D) rejection of psychoanalytic methods of analysis

Answer 3

 rejection of psychoanalytic methods of analysis

Question 4

Imagine that a race of extraterrestrials came to earth.These extraterrestrials quickly learned to use Earth words to convey meaningful messages,but they never created new combinations of words or learned how to use rules to create meaningful sentences.Which statement best describes their communications

A) They would have all the requirements for language. 
B) They would not be generative or structured but would be symbolic and semantic. 
C) They would lack all the essential elements of language. 
D) They would not be symbolic or semantic but would be generative and structured.

Question 5

Why was the study of cognition discouraged during the first half of the 20th century

A) Cognition was not considered to be a psychological function. 
B) Earlier studies using the method of introspection had yielded unreliable results. 
C) Psychodynamic theories were too dominant in the field. 
D) Language acquisition was viewed as an innate process that could not be studied empirically.

Question 6

What does the term "cognition" refer to

A) focusing awareness of a narrow range of stimuli or events 
B) mental processes involved in acquiring and using knowledge 
C) widely shared beliefs that are transmitted socially across generations 
D) use of language in a social context

Question 7

Imagine that a race of extraterrestrials came to earth.These extraterrestrials quickly learned to use Earth words to convey meaningful messages,and they were able to communicate effectively about unique aspects of their planet in meaningful sentences.Which statement best describes their communications

A) They would not be generative or structured but would be symbolic and semantic. 
B) They would have all the essential requirements for language. 
C) They would not be semantic or generative but would be structured and symbolic. 
D) They would not be symbolic or semantic but would be generative and structured.

Question 8

What do we mean when we say that language is generative

A) The symbols used in the language are arbitrary. 
B) Language is both written and oral. 
C) A limited number of symbols can be combined to produce an infinite variety of messages. 
D) Sentences must be structured in a limited number of ways.

Question 9

What is the smallest unit of meaning in a language

A) phrase 
B) morpheme 
C) phoneme 
D) word

Question 10

Morphemes are the smallest units of which component of language

A) syntax 
B) sound 
C) dialect 
D) meaning

Question 11

Last Halloween,4-year-old Jillian called the decorations at her house "pukkins." This year she can say "pumpkins" when she describes them.What language component has Jillian improved in this instance

A) morphemes 
B) syntax 
C) phonemes 
D) linguistic heuristics

Question 12

Three-year-old Isaiah used to say "mick" when he wanted a drink of milk.Now he can say "milk" quite clearly.What language component has Isaiah improved in this instance

A) morphemes 
B) phonemes 
C) syntax 
D) linguistic heuristics

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a cognitive activity

A) solving a problem 
B) remembering something 
C) blinking at something 
D) making a decision

Question 14

Language allows a person to express new ideas.Which quality of language does this reflect

A) the symbolic dimension of language 
B) the constructive function of language 
C) the generative quality of language 
D) the invention dimension of language

Question 15

There are different sounds across languages that all represent the same thing.Which quality of language does this reflect

A) semantic 
B) generative 
C) cross-cultural 
D) structural

Question 16

What are the adjectives that describe the four essential characteristics of language

A) symbolic, generative, phonemic, and structured 
B) syntactic, symbolic, generative, and semantic 
C) semantic, symbolic, structured, and generative 
D) generative, rule-governed, phonemic, and syntactic

Question 17

If you draw an arrow to indicate where someone should go,what function of language does the arrow serve

A) generative 
B) structural 
C) symbolic 
D) phonemic

Question 18

How many phonemes does the English language use

A) approximately 450,000 phonemes, one for each word 
B) 26 phonemes, one for each letter of the alphabet 
C) about 40 phonemes, corresponding to the letters of the alphabet plus several variations 
D) all of the 100 or so phonemes that humans are capable of producing

Question 19

What occurs when the word "oat" is changed to the word "boat"

A) The number of phonemes increase, but the number of morphemes stays the same. 
B) The number of phonemes and morphemes both increase. 
C) The number of phonemes stay the same, but the number of morphemes increase. 
D) The number of phonemes decrease, but the number of morphemes increase.

Question 20

Which statement does NOT accurately describe phonemes

A) A letter of the alphabet is represented by more than one phoneme if it has more than one pronunciation. 
B) All languages use all of the phonemes of which humans are capable. 
C) Humans can produce about 100 phonemes. 
D) Phonemes are combined into morphemes.

Question 21

What is produced in "babbling"

A) different cries to signify different kinds of discomfort 
B) a wide variety of phonemes and consonant-vowel combinations 
C) sound, by placing the tongue near the back of the mouth 
D) random combinations of words

Question 22

What would change depending on whether you used a word in a literal sentence or a sarcastic sentence

A) denotation 
B) phonemes 
C) connotation 
D) morphemes

Question 23

How many morphemes are in the word "unchangeable"

A) one morpheme, for the entire word 
B) four morphemes, one for each syllable 
C) nine morphemes, one for each letter of the alphabet used 
D) three morphemes, one for each unit of meaning

Question 24

Which statement best describes babbling

A) Babies initially babble the sounds used in many different languages. 
B) Babies babble only sounds that are part of the parents' language. 
C) Babbling simply involves imitation of the parents' speech sounds. 
D) Babbling emerges only in infants who are not exposed to correct speech.

Question 25

For which of the following do we use syntax

A) combining morphemes into words 
B) combining phonemes to form morphemes 
C) arranging words into phrases and sentences 
D) using words symbolically

Question 26

At about what age do babies start babbling

A) birth 
B) 1 month 
C) 3 months 
D) 6 months

Question 27

What occurs when the word "jar" is changed to the word "jars"

A) The numbers of phonemes and morphemes both increase. 
B) The number of phonemes decreases, but the number of morphemes increases. 
C) The number of phonemes increases, but the number of morphemes stays the same. 
D) The number of phonemes stays the same, but the number of morphemes increases.

Question 28

Which statement does NOT accurately describe babbling

A) The sounds babbled by babies from different cultures are different right from the start. 
B) Infants' first words are similar, even in different languages. 
C) Infants' first words are likely to consist of sounds that are easy to produce. 
D) Infants' first words resemble the syllables they babble spontaneously.

Question 29

A declarative sentence must have both a noun phrase and a verb phrase.Which type of rule is this

A) transformational rule 
B) rule of syntax 
C) rule of denotation 
D) semantic rule

Question 30

What is the function of the component of language called semantics

A) understanding the meaning of words and word combinations 
B) creating novel messages from a finite number of symbols 
C) specifying rules for how words can be arranged into sentences 
D) correctly pronouncing the prefixes, suffixes, and root words of a language

Question 31

What is the denotation of a word

A) a complex interaction between the word's phonology and syntax 
B) its dictionary definition 
C) its emotional overtones and secondary implications 
D) the separate sounds that make up the word

Question 32

What is the connotation of a word

A) the separate sounds that make up the word 
B) its emotional overtones and secondary implications 
C) its dictionary definition 
D) a complex interaction between the word's phonology and syntax

Question 33

You are at a day care centre and you hear three 12-month-old babies babbling,each baby from a different racial/ethnic background (Asian,Hispanic,and Caucasian).Which statement should best describe the babbling of each of these infants

A) It will sound very similar, because maturation is the major determinant of language acquisition during the first year. 
B) It will consist mainly of two-word phrases (telegraphic speech). 
C) It will consist mainly of vowel sounds, because consonant sounds don't usually emerge until 14 months of age. 
D) It will sound very different, with each child's babbles sounding quite similar to the parents' native language.

Question 34

What should you expect to find if you were to compare adult speech with the variety of noises made by infants under six months of age

A) Adults can produce more phonemes than are infants. 
B) Adults and infants both use the same number of phonemes. 
C) Infants produce more phonemes than adults do. 
D) Infants produce more morphemes than adults do.

Question 35

Last year,5-year-old Alonda would say "Him no coming" when explaining to her younger sister that their older brother would be staying home.Now Alonda will tell her sister "He's not coming." Which aspect of language does this example illustrate development in

A) linguistic relativity 
B) phonemes 
C) morphemes 
D) syntax

Question 36

Which statement best describes syntax

A) Rules of syntax underlie all language use. 
B) Syntax is the first component of language to be mastered by children. 
C) If speakers can use a rule of syntax, they will also be able to verbalize it. 
D) The process by which we learn the rules of syntax is well understood by psycholinguists.

Question 37

Which component of language allows you to recognize that "give" and "take" have opposite meanings

A) generativity 
B) semantics 
C) syntax 
D) phonology

Question 38

Which word has the same number of morphemes as the word "unbeliever"

A) triangle 
B) silly 
C) privilege 
D) restated

Question 39

What occurs when the word "able" is changed to the word "table"

A) The number of phonemes and morphemes both increase. 
B) The number of phonemes decrease, but the number of morphemes increase. 
C) The number of phonemes stay the same, but the number of morphemes increase. 
D) The number of phonemes increase, but the number of morphemes stay the same.

Question 40

Which type of rule is violated in the following "sentence": "The nervous the stared thick at exam student"

A) syntax 
B) psycholinguistics 
C) heuristic 
D) denotation

Question 41

By what age do children generally master linguistic concepts like past tense or plural

A) 2 years 
B) 3 years 
C) 4 years 
D) 5 years

Question 42

Valerie is 18 months old.What should her productive vocabulary consist of

A) fewer than 3 words 
B) 3 to 50 words 
C) 100 to 200 words 
D) about 500 words

Question 43

Two-year-old Owen rushes into the kitchen and tells his mother: "Baby throw.Baby bad." He wants her to know that his baby brother is bad because he just threw his toys on the floor.What does Owen's communication illustrate

A) overregularization 
B) underextension 
C) semantic slanting 
D) telegraphic speech

Question 44

You are listening to 2-year-old Annie as she says,"No eat.No like." She is trying to let you know that she is not going to eat her broccoli because she doesn't like it.What does Annie's communication illustrate

A) telegraphic speech 
B) overregularization 
C) semantic slanting 
D) underextension

Question 45

Which of the following would constitute underextension,if done by a 3-year-old child

A) using the word "dress" for all items of clothing 
B) only using the word "kitty" to refer to her own cat and not others 
C) forgetting the word "banana" because it was just learned today 
D) leaving words out of sentences, while retaining the basic meaning

Question 46

Jenna is 14 months old and uses only "bottle," "no," "up," "bye-bye," "mama," and "dada" when she talks.However,when her father tells Jenna to get her blue bunny from the bedroom and bring it to him,Jenna quickly runs to get the bunny.What does this example illustrate

A) Children can overextend their vocabulary, when the situation demands it. 
B) Jenna likely has a speech impediment. 
C) Infants have difficulty pronouncing phonemes they have never heard. 
D) Toddlers' receptive vocabularies are larger than their productive vocabularies.

Question 47

Kailee has learned the word "kitty," but she uses this word when she is referring to cats,bunnies,squirrels,and other small furry animals.What does this example illustrate

A) babbling 
B) fast mapping 
C) telegraphic speech 
D) overextension

Question 48

There is a limited time span during which a child is particularly responsive to experiences which impact language development.Which term refers to this optimal period of development for language

A) acquisition period 
B) manual mode period 
C) critical period 
D) sensitive period

Question 49

Which of the following is a case of overextension

A) A word is incorrectly used to describe the opposite of its true meaning. 
B) A child uses a single word to signify an entire phrase or sentence. 
C) A word is incorrectly used for a wider set of objects or actions than it applies to. 
D) A child's vocabulary has become overly large.

Question 50

Dale is in Grade 5 and his sister Alina is in Grade 1.What major difference would you expect in comparing their vocabularies

A) Dale's will contain several hundred more words than Alina's. 
B) Dale's will contain approximately 30,000 more words than Alina's. 
C) Dale's will be only slightly larger than Alina's but will contain very few errors. 
D) Dale's vocabulary will be similar in size, but his syntax will be far superior.

Question 51

At about what age are a child's first words generally spoken

A) 3 to 5 months 
B) 6 to 8 months 
C) 10 to 13 months 
D) 18 to 21 months

Question 52

What can be said about babbling if infants who are learning sign language show evidence of manual babbling (using sign-language-based babbling),but other infants show only vocal babbling

A) It is related to maturation processes that are unrelated to speech. 
B) It is important for development of more than just language and vocal skills. 
C) It is related to language acquisition in general, rather than just vocal speech. 
D) It is related to motor development in general.

Question 53

What is known about the use of telegraphic speech across cultures

A) Telegraphic speech is more prevalent in Western cultures than in non-Western cultures. 
B) The emergence of telegraphic speech is unique to the English language. 
C) The emergence of telegraphic speech is a cross-cultural, universal aspect of language development. 
D) Although telegraphic speech occurs in many languages, it is not a universal aspect of language development.

Question 54

When a child incorrectly uses a word to describe a narrower set of objects or actions than it is meant to,which type of error is a child making

A) underextension 
B) telegraphic speech 
C) overextension 
D) undergeneralization

Question 55

Mischel knows how to say "red," but when his cousin asks him to name the colours of the cars that drive past their house,he says red for every car,no matter what colour it actually is.What does this example illustrate

A) telegraphic speech 
B) overextension 
C) fast mapping 
D) babbling

Question 56

Overextensions are more common in children's production of words than in their comprehension of words.What does this imply about the use of overextensions

A) Toddlers cannot yet combine words into sentences. 
B) Children's vocabulary growth occurs at a very rapid pace. 
C) Toddlers must rely on a very limited vocabulary to express themselves. 
D) Toddlers can't consistently identify objects to which different words apply.

Question 57

Seamus discovered ice cream,dolphins,and trains for the first time yesterday,and has started using those words correctly right away.What does this example illustrate

A) overextension 
B) metalinguistic awareness 
C) semantic slanting 
D) fast mapping

Question 58

In general,which statement best describes toddlers' language abilities

A) They understand more words than they can say. 
B) They can say more words than they understand. 
C) They understand and say about the same number of words. 
D) They say a lot of words, but we have no idea what they actually understand.

Question 59

What is fast mapping

A) pacing of activity associated with gene expression 
B) relating words to underlying concepts after only one exposure 
C) a type of play a child engages in at an early age 
D) development of a mental representation of one's environment

Question 60

Which situation would lead you to suspect that the child has a language development problem

A) A 1-year-old child understands a few words and can say a few words. 
B) A 2-year-old child babbles and uses a few words. 
C) A 3-year-old child uses grammar correctly around 75 percent to 80 percent of the time. 
D) A 5-year-old child can use language much better than a chimpanzee.

Question 61

What type of understanding is illustrated by Kanzi (the famous bonobo)and his ability to distinguish between "Pour the Coke in the lemonade" and "Pour the lemonade in the Coke"

A) syntax, but not semantics 
B) both syntax and semantics 
C) neither syntax nor semantics 
D) semantics, but not syntax

Question 62

What is metalinguistic awareness

A) knowledge of which verbs are irregular 
B) awareness of the role of positive reinforcement in language acquisition 
C) the ability to reflect on the use of language 
D) the tendency to recognize one's own grammatical errors

Question 63

A child says "wented" as the past tense of the verb "to go." What type of common error is this

A) metalinguistic transformation 
B) semantic slanting 
C) motherese 
D) overregularization

Question 64

Pinker and Bloom suggest that language is an evolutionary adaptation.What does language allow us to do,in their theory

A) avoid heuristic fallacies 
B) acquire information about the world second-hand 
C) engage in more efficient introspection 
D) use trial-and-error learning more effectively

Question 65

Which statement best describes bilingualism

A) Bilinguals score higher than monolinguals in metalinguistic awareness. 
B) Bilinguals score lower than monolinguals in selective attention and cognitive flexibility. 
C) Bilinguals are faster than monolinguals in language-processing speed. 
D) Bilingualism has a significant, negative effect on overall language development.

Question 66

What have we learned from studies in which researchers have attempted to teach chimpanzees and bonobos to use nonverbal language (i.e.,sign language or communication boards)

A) Some have appeared to learn many words and have combined words in appropriate ways. 
B) They are capable of learning language to a level equivalent to that seen in 10-year-old children. 
C) They are not capable of acquiring nonverbal communication. 
D) They can use nonverbal methods to communicate with other primates, but not with humans.

Question 67

Why do children learn a language,according to Skinner

A) It is a natural consequence of cognitive maturation, as the quality of thought improves with age. 
B) They imitate, and then parents provide reinforcement and shaping. 
C) It is a natural consequence of a complex and mature brain. 
D) They possess an innate language acquisition device.

Question 68

Why does a child's pronunciation improve over time,according to learning theory

A) The brain matures with age. 
B) The quality of their problem-solving ability improves. 
C) Transformational rules are mastered. 
D) Parents insist on better pronunciation before providing reinforcement.

Question 69

According to Pinker and Bloom,how many generations would it have taken for Neanderthals to become extinct if the acquisition of language produced a 1 percent difference in mortality rates among overlapping Neanderthal and human populations

A) 10 generations 
B) 30 generations 
C) 4,000 generations 
D) 30,000 generations

Question 70

When a child starts using overregularizations,what do these errors reflect

A) The child is learning to apply rules to language. 
B) The child will soon start using telegraphic speech. 
C) The child is fast mapping. 
D) The child has slightly delayed development.

Question 71

What is a criticism of the behaviourist model of language acquisition

A) Children don't seem to learn transformational rules as Skinner said they should. 
B) It is unreasonable to expect children to learn an infinite number of sentences by imitation. 
C) Children don't respond to positive reinforcement until they are in preschool, after language is already established. 
D) Its concepts are extremely vague.

Question 72

Andi says "sawed" instead of "seen" or "saw." What type of common error is this

A) overextension 
B) underextension 
C) overregularization 
D) underregularization

Question 73

In some early studies,researchers attempted to teach chimpanzees to speak.What conclusions led to these studies being discontinued

A) The reinforcement contingencies used in these studies were highly stressful for chimpanzees. 
B) Chimpanzees lack the necessary vocal equipment to produce human speech sounds. 
C) Chimpanzees lack the cognitive capacity to understand and produce language. 
D) Humans are the only species capable of conscious communication.

Question 74

According to Pinker and Bloom,if the acquisition of language was a trait variation that produced just 1 percent more offspring per generation,how long would it take to see an increase in prevalence from 0.1 percent to 99.9 percent

A) 3 generations 
B) 30 generations 
C) 4,000 generations 
D) 40,000 generations

Question 75

Four-year-old Nina says,"I runned all the way home." What does this likely indicate

A) Nina hears improper verb forms spoken in her home. 
B) Nina has forgotten the correct way to form the past tense. 
C) Nina is still relying on telegraphic speech to convey meaning. 
D) Nina is overregularizing a grammatical rule.

Question 76

Dr.Peppard is studying cognitive flexibility and selective attention in bilingual and monolingual adults.What pattern is Dr.Peppard most likely to see in the test scores of bilingual participants,based on the evidence from previous research studies

A) They score higher in cognitive flexibility, but lower in selective attention. 
B) They score lower in cognitive flexibility, but higher in selective attention. 
C) They score lower in both cognitive flexibility and selective attention. 
D) They score higher in both cognitive flexibility and selective attention.

Question 77

Seven-year-old Travis heard a joke in school and asks you,"How could you find a lost dog in the woods " When you are stumped,he tells you,"You stand near a tree and listen for the bark." What is Travis developing,based on this play on words

A) the ability to use linguistic heuristics 
B) psycholinguistic skills 
C) metalinguistic awareness 
D) linguistic relativity

Question 78

If Annette is learning two languages,what will be the impact of bilingualism on the development of her vocabulary

A) The size of her vocabulary will be smaller in each language, but the total of the two will be similar to the vocabulary of a monolingual child. 
B) The size of her vocabulary will be normal in each language. 
C) The size of her vocabulary will be enhanced in each language. 
D) The size of her vocabulary, when both languages are added together, will be smaller than that of a monolingual child.

Question 79

Which of the following is NOT one of the evolutionary advantages that language may have provided

A) reproductive and mating advantages 
B) more rapid classical conditioning 
C) more efficient hunting and gathering 
D) avoidance of predators and other dangers

Question 80

Dr.Prasad believes that experience with reinforcement determines which specific aspects of language an individual will eventually master.Who would be most likely to agree with Dr.Prasad

A) Benjamin Whorf?b. 
B) F. Skinner 
C) Noam Chomsky 
D) Herbert Simon