Deck 15: Language and Thought Part 1

Question 1

Our ability to reason constitutes primarily

A) a behavioral activity.
B) a cognitive activity.
C) a learned activity.
D) an objective activity.

Answer 1

a cognitive activity.

Question 2

The 1950s brought a "cognitive revolution" in psychology because

A) some theorists recognized that an exclusive focus on observable behavior would yield an incomplete picture of human functioning.
B) it was finally recognized that cognition is a uniquely human capability.
C) introspection became more objective and reliable as a research tool.
D) behaviorists recognized that language could not be studied objectively.

Answer 2

some theorists recognized that an exclusive focus on observable behavior would yield an incomplete picture of human functioning.

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a cognitive activity?

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

Answer 3

blinking at something

Question 4

When the word "jar" is changed to the word "jars," the number of

A) phonemes increases, but the number of morphemes stays the same.
B) phonemes stays the same, but the number of morphemes is increased.
C) phonemes and morphemes are both increased.
D) phonemes decreases, but the number of morphemes increases.

Question 5

Cognition refers to

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

Question 6

The ability of language to allow a person to express new ideas refers to

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

Question 7

The three essential characteristics of language are that it must be

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

Question 8

The word "unchangeable" consists of

A) nine morphemes, one for each letter of the alphabet used.
B) one morpheme, for the entire word.
C) four morphemes, one for each syllable.
D) three morphemes: "un," "change," and "able."

Question 9

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. Their communications would

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

Question 10

The symbols used in a language are arbitrary. In other words,

A) there is a built-in relationship between the look of the symbols and the concepts they stand for.
B) there is a built-in relationship between the sound of the symbols and the concepts they stand for.
C) the symbols have the same meaning to everyone.
D) there is no built-in relationship between the symbols and the concepts they stand for.

Question 11

The topics of memory, problem solving, decision making, and language are studied by

A) clinical psychologists.
B) cognitive psychologists.
C) social psychologists.
D) physiological psychologists.

Question 12

When we say that language is generative, we mean that

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

Question 13

The fact that language has rules that govern the arrangement of words into phrases and sentences refers to the

A) generative aspect of language.
B) phonemic aspect of language.
C) continuity aspect of language.
D) structured aspect of language.

Question 14

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. Their communications would

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

Question 15

Symbols that convey meaning, plus rules for combining those symbols that can be used to generate an infinite variety of messages are known as

A) language.
B) telegraphic speech.
C) an overextention.
D) semantics.

Question 16

The area of psychology that refers broadly to mental processes or thinking is

A) introspection.
B) cognition.
C) mentalism.
D) intelligence.

Question 17

When the word "oat" is changed to the word "boat," the number of

A) phonemes and morphemes are both increased.
B) phonemes stays the same, but the number of morphemes is increased.
C) phonemes increases, but the number of morphemes stays the same.
D) phonemes decreases, but the number of morphemes increases.

Question 18

The cognitive revolution in psychology occurred in

A) the 1880s.
B) the 1920s.
C) the 1950s.
D) the 1980s.

Question 19

During the first half of the 20th century, the study of cognition was discouraged because

A) earlier studies using the method of introspection had reliably mapped the structure of consciousness.
B) of the theoretical dominance of behaviorism.
C) cognition was not considered to be a psychological function.
D) language acquisition was viewed as an innate process that could not be studied empirically.

Question 20

During the first half of the 20th century, the study of cognition was discouraged because

A) earlier studies using the method of introspection had yielded unreliable results.
B) of the theoretical dominance of psychodynamic theories.
C) cognition was not considered to be a psychological function.
D) language acquisition was viewed as an innate process that could not be studied empirically.

Question 21

Last year, 5-year-old Alonda would say "No he 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." This example illustrates that Alonda has made gains in her use of

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

Question 22

The denotation of a word consists of

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

Question 23

Last Halloween, 4-year-old Jillian called the decorations at her house "punkins." This year she is able to say "pumpkins" when she describes them. In this instance, Jillian has made a gain in her use of

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

Question 24

The word "psychology" consists of

A) ten morphemes, one for each letter of the alphabet used.
B) one morpheme, for the entire word.
C) three morphemes, one for each syllable.
D) two morphemes: "psych," and "ology."

Question 25

Phonemes are the smallest units of ____ in a spoken language; morphemes are the smallest units of ____ in a language.

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

Question 26

The component of language that would be evident if an individual recognizes that "give" and "take" have opposite meanings is

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

Question 27

The connotation of a word consists of

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

Question 28

Two of the critical properties of language are language is

A) structured and orderly.
B) symbolic and generative.
C) generative and practical.
D) orderly and symbolic.

Question 29

Which of the following statements is LEAST accurate?

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

Question 30

Syntax refers to rules for

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

Question 31

Semantics is the component of language concerned with

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

Question 32

Which of the following statements is MOST accurate?

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

Question 33

The English language uses

A) 26 phonemes, one for each letter of the alphabet.
B) approximately 450,000 phonemes, one for each word.
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 34

The requirement that a declarative sentence have both a noun phrase and a verb phrase is an example of a

A) rule of syntax.
B) transformational rule.
C) morpheme.
D) heuristic.

Question 35

The smallest unit of meaning in a language is

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

Question 36

Three-year-old Johnny used to say "mikk" when he wanted a drink of milk. Now he is able to say "milk" quite clearly. In this instance, Johnny has made a gain in his use of

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

Question 37

The sentence, "The nervous the stared thick at exam student" would be virtually impossible for an English speaker to understand because the sentence violates the rules of English

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

Question 38

Phonemes are

A) the same across all languages.
B) the smallest units of sound in a spoken language.
C) the smallest units of meaning in a spoken language.
D) rules for combining sounds to form meaning.

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT a critical property of language?

A) language is structured
B) language is orderly
C) language is symbolic
D) language is generative

Question 40

The word "cool" has a dictionary definition, or ____, of "lacking in warmth" and a ____ that implies that something is extraordinarily good.

A) semantic; morpheme
B) morpheme; sematic
C) connotation; denotation
D) denotation; connotation

Question 41

Rules exist that govern how words may be combined into phrases and sentences. This describes the critical property that language is

A) structured.
B) generative.
C) symbolic.
D) orderly.

Question 42

Ashley is just starting to show signs of understanding the meanings of familiar words. Based on research that has investigated milestones in language development, you should expect that Ashley is approximately

A) 6 weeks old.
B) 3 months old.
C) 8 months old.
D) 14 months old.

Question 43

If you were to compare adult speech with the speech of infants under 6 months of age you should expect to find that

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

Question 44

Which of the following statements is LEAST accurate?

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

Question 45

In the sentence "First the oven was preheated to 350 degrees," the word preheated consists of ____ morphemes.

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) nine

Question 46

In a language, the smallest units of meaning are

A) morphemes.
B) phonemes.
C) sounds.
D) words.

Question 47

Which of the following statements is MOST accurate?

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

Question 48

The fact that a limited number of words may be combined into an infinite number of sentences illustrates that language is

A) structured.
B) orderly.
C) generative.
D) symbolic.

Question 49

Babies start babbling at about what age?

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

Question 50

If your psychology professor gives students two separate grades on their essay questions on exams, one for content or meaning and the other for grammar, the first grade can be said to refer to the ____ and the second grade to the ____ of the essays.

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

Question 51

Three month old infants can

A) distinguish phonemes from all languages; including those they do not hear in their own languages.
B) readily discriminate between phonemes in their native language, but not in other languages.
C) recognize common word forms.
D) produce but not understand simple words like "mama" and "papa."

Question 52

The smallest speech units in a language that can be distinguished perceptually are

A) morphemes.
B) phonemes.
C) sounds.
D) words.

Question 53

In language development, babbling refers to producing

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 54

The English language contains approximately

A) 100 morphemes.
B) 40 morphemes.
C) 100 phonemes.
D) 40 phonemes.

Question 55

The two sentences "Tom hit John" and "John hit Tom" are the same in regard to

A) syntax.
B) symbolic structure.
C) morpheme structure.
D) semantics.

Question 56

The two sentences "The boy hit the ball" and "The ball was hit by the boy" are the same in regard to

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

Question 57

When your classmate Sam says, "I never thought I'd say this, but I really enjoyed taking that psychology exam," his statement best illustrates the critical property that language is

A) practical.
B) symbolic.
C) generative.
D) structured.

Question 58

The system of rules that specify how words can be arranged into sentences in a language refers to

A) syntax.
B) symbolic structure.
C) morpheme structure.
D) semantics.

Question 59

The area of language concerned with understanding the meaning of words and word combinations is

A) vocabulary.
B) syntax.
C) grammar.
D) semantics.

Question 60

When your psychology professor used the word "experiment" to refer to the scientific method described in Chapter 2, the term "experiment" best reflected the ____ property of language.

A) generative
B) orderly
C) structured
D) symbolic

Question 61

You are at a daycare center and you hear three 12-month-old babies babbling, each baby from a different ethnic/linguistic background (Asian, Hispanic, and Caucasian). The babbling of each of these infants

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

Question 62

Fast mapping in children's language skills has been suggested to be related to all of the following EXCEPT children's

A) development of a mental representation of one's environment.
B) improve articulation skills.
C) improved understanding of syntax.
D) underlying cognitive development.

Question 63

Which of the following best describes the capabilities of three-month-old infants. They can distinguish

A) all the phonemes in their native language.
B) all the morphemes in their native language.
C) all the phonemes in all the worlds' languages.
D) all the morphemes in all the worlds' languages.

Question 64

Fast mapping is

A) the development of a mental representation of one's environment.
B) the pacing activity associated with genetics, allowing for anticipation of motivational events.
C) the type of play a child engages in at an early age.
D) mapping words to underlying concepts after only one exposure.

Question 65

Infants typically say their first word between ____ months of age.

A) 6 and 9
B) 10 and 13
C) 14 and 17
D) 18 and 21

Question 66

In general, toddlers can

A) say more words than they understand.
B) understand more words than they can say.
C) understand and say about the same number of words.
D) use more "action" words than "object" words.

Question 67

Robert knows how to say "red," but when his cousin asks him to name the colors of the cars that drive past their house, he says red for the red cars, the blue cars, the green cars, and the black cars. Robert's use of this word illustrates

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

Question 68

After the first word is spoken,

A) vocabulary immediately grows at an extremely rapid pace.
B) further increases in vocabulary occur very slowly and steadily.
C) vocabulary growth is slow for several months and then speeds up dramatically.
D) no further vocabulary growth takes place until around 18 months.

Question 69

When a child incorrectly uses a word to describe a narrower set of objects or actions than it is meant to, that child is showing evidence of

A) overextension.
B) underextension.
C) fast mapping.
D) telegraphic speech.

Question 70

Kailee has learned the word "kitty," but she uses this word when she is referring to cats, bunnies, squirrels, and other small furry animals. Kailee's use of this word illustrates

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

Question 71

If you were to compare adult speech with the speech of infants under 4 months of age you should expect to find that

A) infants produce more morphemes than adults do.
B) adults are capable of producing more phonemes than infants are.
C) infants distinguish more phonemes than adults do.
D) adults and infants both use the same number of phonemes.

Question 72

If Beth is a typical infant, she will first show signs of understanding the meaning of familiar words such as Beth, milk, and Mommy at about ____ months of age.

A) 5
B) 8
C) 10
D) 12

Question 73

Which of the following situations would lead you to suspect that the child has a language development problem?

A) A one-year-old child understands a few words and can say a few words.
B) A two-year-old child babbles and uses a few words.
C) A three-year-old child uses grammar correctly around 75% to 80% of the time.
D) A five-year-old child can use language much better than a chimpanzee.

Question 74

Valerie is 18 months old. Her productive vocabulary probably consists of

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

Question 75

Jenna is 14 months old and uses only "bottle, no, up, bye-bye, mama, and dada" when she talks. However, when the family is on their way to visit Jenna's grandmother, and her father tells Jenna to get her blue bunny from the bedroom and bring it with her, Jenna quickly runs to get the bunny. This episode demonstrates that

A) toddlers' receptive vocabularies are larger than their productive vocabularies.
B) toddlers' productive vocabularies are larger than their receptive vocabularies.
C) infants have difficulty pronouncing phonemes they have never heard.
D) Jenna is able to overextend her current vocabulary.

Question 76

Dean ate ice cream for the first time yesterday. All day today he has been asking for ice cream. This would be an example of

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

Question 77

When an infant produces repetitive consonant-vowel combinations such as "babababa," the infant is

A) using baby talk.
B) cooing.
C) babbling.
D) speaking.

Question 78

The child's first words are generally spoken at about what age?

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

Question 79

The fact that overextensions are more common in children's production of words than in their comprehension of words implies that overextensions occur because

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

Question 80

Overextension occurs when

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