Question 1

The linguistic relativity hypothesis:
A) contends that American Sign Language lacks the formal requirements for language and is relatively impoverished linguistically.
B) is the notion that thoughts and perceptions are influenced by the particular language that is used.
C) proposes that the formal characteristics of a language are relative and not absolute.
D) suggests that the way people think and perceive the world in different linguistic groups influences the formal language that they develop and use.

Accepted Answer

The linguistic relativity hypothesis states that the language people use influences their thoughts and perceptions. Therefore, option B is the correct choice. Option A is incorrect because American Sign Language is a fully developed language with all necessary formal requirements. Option C is incorrect because the formal characteristics of a language are not relative but rather absolute. Option D is incorrect because it suggests a reverse causality where language development and use influence thinking and perception, which contradicts the linguistic relativity hypothesis.

Question 2

Who translated and revised Binet's intelligence test for use in the United States?
A) David Wechsler
B) Charles Spearman
C) Louis Thurstone
D) Lewis Terman

Accepted Answer

Lewis Terman revised and translated Alfred Binet's intelligence test for use in the United States, known as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.

Question 3

Cross-cultural research on group differences in IQ scores has shown that:
A) stereotype threat is not a cross-cultural phenomenon.
B) standard IQ tests can be translated and used in any cultural setting.
C) minority groups who are discriminated against tend to have lower average IQ scores than the dominant group, whatever their racial or ethnic identity.
D) test-taking behavior does not vary from one culture or society to another.

Accepted Answer

Cross-cultural research has shown that minority groups who experience discrimination tend to have lower average IQ scores compared to the dominant group, regardless of their racial or ethnic identity. This suggests that environment and experience play a significant role in shaping IQ performance, rather than just inherent cognitive ability. Stereotype threat, which is the fear of being judged and potentially confirming negative stereotypes about one's group, has been found to influence IQ scores across cultures. Moreover, standard IQ tests may not accurately measure intelligence in different cultural contexts, as they may contain culturally specific biases or be based on knowledge and experiences that are not universal. Test-taking behavior may also vary across cultures due to differing attitudes towards academic achievement and different approaches to problem-solving.

Question 4

Concepts provide a kind of mental shorthand, economizing the cognitive effort required for thinking and communication.

Accepted Answer

Concepts serve as mental shortcuts that reduce the cognitive effort needed for communication and thinking.

Question 5

The more closely an item matches our prototype of a natural concept, the more quickly we can classify it as an example of that concept.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true according to research on prototype theory, which suggests that people categorize objects and concepts based on how closely they match their mental prototype of that category. The prototype is typically a typical or average representation of the category, and items that closely match that prototype are classified more quickly than those that do not.

Question 6

When people need to make a decision involving a high degree of uncertainty, what techniques do they often use to estimate the probability of an event occurring?
A) the trial-and-error strategy and the additive model
B) the elimination by aspects model and the single-feature model
C) the availability heuristic and the representativeness heuristic
D) insight, intuition, mental sets, and pure guesswork

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic and the representativeness heuristic are two common techniques people use to estimate the probability of uncertain events. The availability heuristic involves estimating the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind. The representativeness heuristic involves estimating the likelihood of an event based on how well it matches our expectations or stereotypes of what that event should look like. These heuristics can be useful, but they can also lead to biases and errors in judgment.

Question 7

According to the Enhancing Well-Being with Psychology section "A Workshop on Creativity," creativity can be enhanced if you:
A) ignore everyday hassles and focus on the big picture.
B) try to avoid learning too much about the area in which you wish to be creative, so as to guarantee a fresh approach.
C) focus all your efforts on refining a single promising approach, rather than being distracted by too many possibilities.
D) are flexible and persist in the face of obstacles and setbacks.

Accepted Answer

According to the section, creativity can be enhanced if one is flexible and persists in the face of obstacles and setbacks. This is because creativity often involves taking risks and trying new things, which can lead to setbacks and failures. Therefore, being flexible and persistent can help individuals overcome these obstacles and continue to generate creative ideas. The other choices (A, B, and C) are not supported by the section and may even hinder creativity.

Question 8

Kosslyn and his colleagues (1978) found that the amount of time it took subjects to scan a mental image of a map of a fictitious island was not affected by the actual distances on the island that they had to scan.

Accepted Answer

Kosslyn and his colleagues found that the time it took to scan a mental image was proportional to the distance on the map, indicating that mental imagery preserves spatial properties.

Question 9

Forming a mental image of a face or a place activates a brain area called the fusiform facial area, whereas actually perceiving a face or a place activates a brain area called the parahippocampal place area.

Accepted Answer

The fusiform face area is involved in face perception, while the parahippocampal place area is involved in place perception. Both areas are activated during actual perception, not just mental imagery.

Question 10

Forming a mental image of a face or place involves activity in the same brain areas that are activated when people actually perceive a face or a place.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Neuroimaging studies have shown that when people form a mental image of a face or place, the same brain areas are activated as when they actually perceive the face or place. This includes regions of the visual cortex and areas involved in processing and recognizing faces or places.

Question 11

According to psychologist _____, there are multiple, independent forms of intelligence, such as linguistic intelligence, spatial intelligence, or interpersonal intelligence.
A) Charles Spearman
B) David Wechsler
C) Howard Gardner
D) Lewis Terman

Accepted Answer

Howard Gardner proposed the theory of multiple intelligences, which suggests that intelligence is not a single, unified entity, but is composed of multiple, independent forms of intelligence. Gardner identified at least eight different intelligences, including linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence, musical intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, and naturalistic intelligence.

Question 12

A formal concept is a mental category that is formed as a result of everyday experience.

Accepted Answer

A formal concept is defined by a specific set of rules or features, not by everyday experience. Everyday experiences form natural concepts.

Question 13

Cindi and Beth are participants in a research study that involves taking a difficult math test. Cindi is told that scores on the math test usually reflect gender differences, while Beth is told that scores on the math test usually do not reflect gender differences. Cindi and Beth's math scores will be compared to the scores of male students taking the same test. Based on Claude Steele's research, what would you predict about Cindi and Beth's scores on the math test?
A) Because of stereotype threat, Cindi will score lower than the male students, but Beth's score will score about the same as the male students.
B) Because of stereotype lift, Beth will score lower than the male students, but Cindi will score about the same as the male students.
C) Because of stereotype lift, Beth's and Cindi's scores will be about the same as the male students'.
D) Because of stereotype threat, Cindi will score higher than the male students, but Beth will score lower than the male students.

Accepted Answer

According to Claude Steele's research on stereotype threat, Cindi is likely to experience stereotype threat and underperform on the math test compared to male students, while Beth, who was told that gender differences do not impact math scores, is less likely to be affected by stereotype threat and may perform similarly to male students. Therefore, Cindi's scores are predicted to be lower than the male students, while Beth's scores are predicted to be about the same as the male students.

Question 14

A mental representation of objects or events that are not physically present is called a mental image.

Accepted Answer

A mental image refers to the ability to form a sensory experience in the mind that does not require the presence of an actual object or event. This can involve visual, auditory, olfactory, or other sensory modalities.

Question 15

Scientific research on mental images suggests that we manipulate mental images in much the same way as we manipulate the actual objects that the images represent.

Accepted Answer

Studies have shown that mental images are subject to similar spatial and temporal constraints as actual objects, and that we use similar mechanisms to mentally rotate, transform, and manipulate them.

Question 16

When a psychological test is administered to the same group of people on different occasions and it produces very similar scores for each of the participants, it is said to be:
A) reliable.
B) standardized.
C) a culture-free test.
D) valid.

Accepted Answer

When a test consistently produces similar scores for the same group of people on different occasions, it is considered reliable. This means that the test is measuring what it is intended to measure consistently, which is an important aspect of a good psychological test.

Question 17

Cognition refers to the mental activities involved in acquiring, retaining, and using knowledge.

Accepted Answer

Cognition is commonly defined as mental processes such as thinking, perception, memory, and problem-solving, all of which involve acquiring, retaining, and using knowledge.

Question 18

Thinking involves manipulating mental representations of information in order to draw inferences and conclusions.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Thinking involves using mental representations to reason, make decisions, and solve problems. These mental representations may include images, concepts, rules, or symbols, and can be manipulated to generate new insights or ideas.

Question 19

The term _____ refers to the rules for combining words in a particular language.
A) generative
B) displacement
C) syntax
D) exemplar

Accepted Answer

Syntax refers to the rules governing how words are combined to form grammatically correct sentences in a language. Generative refers to the capacity of our language abilities to generate novel sentences that we may have never heard before. Displacement refers to the ability of our language to communicate about things that are not present in the immediate environment or time. Exemplar refers to a specific instance of something that is used as an example or model.

Question 20

ESP believers and ESP disbelievers participated in a study in which they watched two attempts to demonstrate telepathic communication. Although the participants didn't know it, one attempt was rigged to appear successful, and the other attempt was rigged to fail. Following the demonstration:
A) all of the participants incorrectly remembered both attempts as being unsuccessful.
B) the ESP disbelievers thought that ESP did not occur in either demonstration.
C) only the ESP believers said that ESP had taken place in the unsuccessful attempt, thus demonstrating the belief-bias effect.
D) only the ESP disbelievers said that ESP had taken place in the unsuccessful attempt, thus demonstrating the fallacy of positive instances.

Accepted Answer

This choice reflects the belief-bias effect, where individuals' pre-existing beliefs can influence their decision-making, in this case, their interpretation of the demonstration. The ESP believers were more likely to attribute success to the unsuccessful attempt, despite the fact that it was rigged to fail.

Quiz 7: Thinking, Language, and Intelligence

The linguistic relativity hypothesis:

Who translated and revised Binet's intelligence test for use in the United States?

Cross-cultural research on group differences in IQ scores has shown that:

Concepts provide a kind of mental shorthand, economizing the cognitive effort required for thinking and communication.

The more closely an item matches our prototype of a natural concept, the more quickly we can classify it as an example of that concept.

When people need to make a decision involving a high degree of uncertainty, what techniques do they often use to estimate the probability of an event occurring?

According to the Enhancing Well-Being with Psychology section "A Workshop on Creativity," creativity can be enhanced if you:

Kosslyn and his colleagues (1978) found that the amount of time it took subjects to scan a mental image of a map of a fictitious island was not affected by the actual distances on the island that they had to scan.

Forming a mental image of a face or a place activates a brain area called the fusiform facial area, whereas actually perceiving a face or a place activates a brain area called the parahippocampal place area.

Forming a mental image of a face or place involves activity in the same brain areas that are activated when people actually perceive a face or a place.

According to psychologist _____, there are multiple, independent forms of intelligence, such as linguistic intelligence, spatial intelligence, or interpersonal intelligence.

A formal concept is a mental category that is formed as a result of everyday experience.

A mental representation of objects or events that are not physically present is called a mental image.

Scientific research on mental images suggests that we manipulate mental images in much the same way as we manipulate the actual objects that the images represent.

When a psychological test is administered to the same group of people on different occasions and it produces very similar scores for each of the participants, it is said to be:

Cognition refers to the mental activities involved in acquiring, retaining, and using knowledge.

Thinking involves manipulating mental representations of information in order to draw inferences and conclusions.

The term _____ refers to the rules for combining words in a particular language.

ESP believers and ESP disbelievers participated in a study in which they watched two attempts to demonstrate telepathic communication. Although the participants didn't know it, one attempt was rigged to appear successful, and the other attempt was rigged to fail. Following the demonstration: