Deck 7: Thinking, Intelligence, and Language

Question 1

_____ are mental categories used to group objects, events, and characteristics.

A)Algorithms
B)Concepts
C)Semantics
D)Matrices

Answer 1

Concepts

Question 2

Sam manages a fast-food restaurant.He is frustrated because employees often call in sick at the last minute before the start of their shift.Given that Sam recognizes this problem, which of the following is the next immediate step that he should take to solve this problem?

A)Sam should rethink and redefine the problem and its solution over time.
B)Sam should implement the solution that has been identified.
C)Sam should evaluate solutions offered by his employees.
D)Sam should define the problem and develop strategies to solve it.

Answer 2

Sam should define the problem and develop strategies to solve it.

Question 3

Why are computers considered to be an oversimplified model of the mind's processing of information?

A)Computer input information is pre-coded and ambiguities are removed before processing.
B)Computer information is far too complex for such a comparison to be accurate.
C)Computer information is too mathematically based for such a comparison to be accurate.
D)Computers are currently unable to perform tasks better than humans.

Answer 3

Computer input information is pre-coded and ambiguities are removed before processing.

Question 4

You have to cook dinner for 30 people on Saturday.Your apartment is a mess and you have nothing to wear.You decide to do your laundry Thursday night, buy the groceries on Friday, clean the apartment Saturday morning, and cook the dinner Saturday evening.Preparing for the dinner party in this way is an example of

A)subgoaling.
B)using algorithms.
C)using heuristics.
D)prototyping.

Question 5

You have to study four chapters of information for your next test.If you decide to use the problem-solving strategy of subgoaling, which of the following would you most likely do?

A)You would cram the night before the test.
B)You would break the topics to be studied into smaller areas and focus on each in an organized sequence.
C)You would decide who should be your study partner.
D)You would study the learning objectives for each chapter instead of reading the chapters.

Question 6

According to _____, when people evaluate whether a particular object reflects a certain concept, they compare the most typical item(s) in that category and look for a "family resemblance" with that item's properties.

A)the prototype model
B)the availability heuristic model
C)Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence
D)Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences

Question 7

Cognitive psychology studies all of the following EXCEPT

A)problem solving.
B)reasoning.
C)telepathy.
D)decision making.

Question 8

In everyday situations, finding and framing problems can be difficult because many real-life problems

A)are ill defined or vague.
B)suggest obvious operations.
C)provide clear definitions.
D)are beyond the average person's ability to solve.

Question 9

_____ may help us to generalize, whereas _____ may help us accomplish a goal.

A)Problem solving/concepts
B)Concepts/problem solving
C)Algorithms/artificial intelligence (AI)
D)Artificial intelligence (AI)/algorithms

Question 10

Which of the following is the first step in the problem-solving process?

A)evaluate solutions
B)find and frame problems
C)develop good problem-solving strategies
D)rethink and redefine problems and solutions over time

Question 11

A prototype is a

A)strategy that guarantees a solution to a problem.
B)representation of the average or ideal member of a concept.
C)tendency to search for and use information that supports our ideas rather than refutes them.
D)way in which information is processed and manipulated in the decision-making process.

Question 12

Your roommate argues that computers can perform several complex tasks better and more accurately than humans.You counter her argument by mentioning that computers cannot _____, a task that only humans have the means to perform.

A)develop new learning goals
B)assist in prescribing medical treatments
C)evaluate loan applications
D)assist in diagnosing medical illnesses

Question 13

Which of the following is true of concepts?

A)Concepts prevent us from generalizing.
B)Concepts are independent of experiences and objects.
C)Concepts complicate the memory process.
D)Concepts provide clues about how to react to a particular object or experience.

Question 14

Dan is at an international food fest with his brother Jude.When Dan is served a dish of Mopane worm stew, Jude tells him reassuringly, "That's food!" and Dan comprehends his statement regarding the concept of food.Which of the following characteristics of concepts has been illustrated in this scenario?

A)Concepts facilitate generalization.
B)Concepts facilitate association between experiences and objects.
C)Concepts aid memory.
D)Concepts provide clues about how to react to a particular object.

Question 15

Cognitive psychology is the study of

A)emotions and sensations.
B)mental processes.
C)abnormal functioning of one's physiology.
D)social relationships.

Question 16

When using the computer as an analogy to explain the relationship between cognition and the brain, the brain is described as the computer's _____ and cognition is described as its _____.

A)hardware/software
B)software/hardware
C)hardware/hard drive
D)software/random-access memory (RAM)

Question 17

The last step in the problem-solving process is _____.

A)developing good problem-solving strategies
B)evaluating solutions
C)rethinking and redefining problems and solutions over time
D)finding and framing the problem

Question 18

Basketball, football, baseball, and soccer all fit into the _____ of sports.

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

Question 19

Approaches that attempt to explain observable behavior by investigating mental processes and structures that cannot be directly observed by individuals fall under _____ psychology.

A)forensic
B)behavioral
C)cognitive
D)biological

Question 20

Recognizing problems involves

A)being aware of and open to experiences.
B)functional fixedness.
C)artificial intelligence.
D)using heuristics.

Question 21

Heuristics and algorithms differ in terms of their

A)speed of processing.
B)information-processing capacity.
C)creativity.
D)scope.

Question 22

Carlos believes that all of the people from another part of his town are snobs.He believes that the students from this area are rich and drive expensive sports cars to school.He is scheduled to perform with a few of these students in an all-county musical presentation.If he assumes that these particular students will also be rich and snobby, he is using

A)inductive reasoning.
B)deductive reasoning.
C)abductive reasoning.
D)retroductive reasoning.

Question 23

The good strategy for subgoaling is to

A)work forward in your planning by first creating a subgoal closest to the start and finally creating a subgoal that is closest to the final goal of the problem-solving effort.
B)not create more than two subgoals.
C)not create fewer than ten subgoals.
D)work backward in your planning by first creating a subgoal that is closest to the final goal, and then work backward to the subgoal that is closest to the beginning of the problemsolving effort.

Question 24

Heuristics differ from algorithms in that heuristics

A)are slow.
B)come in different forms.
C)are complex strategies that suggest a solution to a problem.
D)do not guarantee an answer.

Question 25

Which of the following statements is true of subgoals?

A)Working backward in establishing subgoals should be typically avoided.
B)They are initial goals that put the individual in a better position for reaching a final solution.
C)They are devised while developing problem-solving strategies.
D)They are used to evaluate the solutions.

Question 26

What is the primary disadvantage of using algorithms?

A)They only work for large problems.
B)They are very similar to trial-and-error.
C)Correct solutions are not guaranteed.
D)Solutions may take a long time.

Question 27

People often form general rules and concepts based on specific experiences and examples.This type of reasoning is known as

A)deductive reasoning.
B)subgoaling.
C)inductive reasoning.
D)problem spacing.

Question 28

Which of the following is the main difference between algorithms and heuristics?

A)Unlike heuristics, algorithms lead to different answers to a given problem.
B)Heuristics take more time than algorithms.
C)Unlike heuristics, algorithms provide a definite solution to problem.
D)Unlike heuristics, algorithms are shortcut strategies that suggest a solution to a problem.

Question 29

Which of the following statements is true of inductive reasoning?

A)It involves drawing conclusions based on facts.
B)It refers to reasoning from a general principle that individuals know to be true to a specific instance.
C)It is illustrated when psychologists and other scientists use theories to make predictions and then evaluate their predictions by making further observations.
D)It involves forming opinions based on prior experiences.

Question 30

Claudia is trying to cook her mother's famous lasagna.She carefully follows her mother's recipe to ensure that the dish turns out correctly.In this case, Claudia is using a(n)

A)heuristic.
B)subgoal.
C)algorithm.
D)category.

Question 31

Monique routinely uses a shredder to shred her junk-mail into confetti-sized pieces of paper, which she then just throws away.When packing her glassware to move into a new apartment, she runs out of protective styrofoam packing material.Suddenly Monique gets the idea to empty her shredder and use the shredded junk mail confetti for packing material.In this case, Monique has

A)overcome functional fixedness.
B)used a heuristic to solve her packing problem.
C)used an algorithm to solve her packing problem.
D)followed the fixation technique to solve the problem.

Question 32

Psychological research involves studying a sample of participants in order to draw conclusions about the population from which the sample is drawn.This is an example of

A)inductive reasoning.
B)deductive reasoning.
C)algorithms.
D)artificial intelligence.

Question 33

Bertha met two students from another school at a convention.She enjoyed their company a great deal and was very impressed with how nice they were.Bertha now believes that all of the students from that school must also be nice and is considering transferring there.Bertha is using

A)inductive reasoning.
B)deductive reasoning.
C)top-down reasoning.
D)descriptive reasoning.

Question 34

A(n) _____ is a strategy that guarantees a solution to a problem.

A)subgoal
B)algorithm
C)heuristic
D)fixation

Question 35

Which of the following is true of algorithms and heuristics for solving real-life problems?

A)Heuristics are shortcut strategies.
B)Algorithms lead to different answers to a given problem.
C)Heuristics guarantee a solution to a problem.
D)Algorithms are faster than heuristics.

Question 36

When comparing algorithms and heuristics, what is the advantage of using heuristics for solving real-life problems?

A)speed and efficiency
B)mental set
C)accuracy
D)precision

Question 37

Carla is a first-semester freshman at State University.She succeeded in high school by cramming for exams and relying on parental pressure to get homework done.Now, however, she is finding that these strategies are no longer viable ways to succeed.In this case, Carla should

A)"think outside the box" in order to succeed in college.
B)move back home with her parents and commute to college.
C)drop out of college.
D)indulge in fixations.

Question 38

_____ is a characteristic of good problem solvers.

A)Pessimism
B)Humility
C)Egocentrism
D)Fixation

Question 39

Jacob received his score on his math paper and realized that he performed poorly.According to the steps in problem solving, the next step that must be taken by him is to

A)ignore all the subgoals created by him during the problem-solving process.
B)rethink and redefine his problem.
C)employ heuristics rather than algorithms as the problem-solving strategy.
D)merely frame the problem in a vague way.

Question 40

Developing a criterion for determining the effectiveness of the solution occurs during which step of the problem-solving process?

A)finding and framing the problem
B)developing problem-solving strategies
C)evaluation of solutions
D)redefining problems over time

Question 41

The tendency to search for and use information that supports our ideas rather than refutes them is known as

A)hindsight bias.
B)confirmation bias.
C)intervention bias.
D)selection bias.

Question 42

The fact that we hear about airplane crashes on the news more often than we hear about automobile crashes may lead us to believe that we are more likely to die in a plane than a car.This is an example of a(n)

A)attention bias.
B)simulation heuristic.
C)availability heuristic.
D)representativeness heuristic.

Question 43

In the context of creative thinking, _____ produces many solutions to the same problem.

A)deductive reasoning
B)convergent thinking
C)divergent thinking
D)inductive reasoning

Question 44

Cathy just got transferred to a new department, but she has long believed that her new supervisor is a cranky, disagreeable, critical person.According to the confirmation bias, what will Cathy most likely do on her first day in the new supervisor's department?

A)She will forget about the things she has thought about her new supervisor.
B)She will look for positive behaviors on the part of her supervisor.
C)She will tell the new supervisor what she has thought.
D)She will look for negative behaviors on the part of the supervisor.

Question 45

Which of the following characteristics is essential to the process of critical thinking?

A)mindfulness and open-mindedness
B)fixedness and divergent thinking
C)heuristics and creativity
D)inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning

Question 46

In the context of loss aversion, identify the true statement about sunk-cost fallacy.

A)People ascribe greater value to things they already own when compared with objects owned by someone else.
B)People disregard prior experiences or failures when making predictions about the possibility of an outcome.
C)People are reluctant to give up on a venture because of past investment.
D)People tend to report falsely, after the fact, that they accurately predicted an outcome.

Question 47

_____ is the tendency to report falsely, after the fact, that we accurately predicted an outcome.It is sometimes referred to as the "I-knew-it-all-along effect."

A)Hindsight bias
B)Confirmation bias
C)Selection bias
D)Intervention bias

Question 48

Open-mindedness involves

A)being alert and mentally present for one's everyday activities.
B)being receptive to other ways of looking at things.
C)the tendency to ignore information about general principles in favor of very specific but vivid information.
D)the tendency to predict about the probability of an event based on the ease of recalling similar events.

Question 49

_____ involves the ability to think about something in novel and unusual ways and to devise unconventional solutions to problems.

A)An algorithm
B)Creativity
C)A heuristic
D)Fixedness

Question 50

_____ is the tendency to make judgments about group membership based on physical appearances or the match between a person and one's stereotype of a group rather than on available base rate information.

A)Hindsight bias
B)Confirmation bias
C)The availability heuristic
D)The representativeness heuristic

Question 51

Hillary meets her brother's friend Drake, who is a tall, lanky man.She concludes that Drake might be a basketball player for his college team.According to the biases and heuristics in decision making, it can be concluded that Hillary mirrors _____ in this scenario.

A)the representativeness heuristic
B)the availability heuristic
C)confirmation bias
D)hindsight bias

Question 52

Dan, who often travels in airplanes, experiences sudden fear of flying after he hears the news about an airplane crash.In this case, Dan's experience demonstrates

A)confirmation bias.
B)the availability heuristic.
C)hindsight bias.
D)timing bias.

Question 53

The tendency to ignore information about general principles in favor of very specific but vivid information is known as

A)Bonferroni inequalities.
B)false discovery rate.
C)Boole's inequality.
D)base rate neglect.

Question 54

Every week during football season, Fred and his friends have fun following the local high-school teams.Before the games, Fred never really talks too much about how the games will turn out.On Monday, however, it is a different scenario altogether.Fred is more than happy to share with his friends that the games came out exactly as he thought they would and why.Fred seems to be demonstrating

A)overconfidence bias.
B)hindsight bias.
C)selection bias.
D)deductive reasoning.

Question 55

_____ involves reasoning from a general case that we know to be true to a specific instance.

A)Inductive reasoning
B)Deductive reasoning
C)Abductive reasoning
D)Retroductive reasoning

Question 56

Which of the following describes the trait of a critical thinker?

A)grasping the deeper meaning of ideas
B)providing a single accurate solution to any problem
C)relying on the opinions of others
D)practicing groupthink

Question 57

Mindfulness means

A)being alert and mentally present for one's everyday activities.
B)being receptive to other ways of looking at things.
C)having a strong ability to think about something in novel and unusual ways.
D)having the tendency to ignore information about general principles.

Question 58

_____ uses established rules to draw conclusions, whereas in _____, such rules are not established, and we may not know the consequences of evaluating and choosing alternatives.

A)Reasoning/decision making
B)Heuristics/algorithms
C)Creativity/reasoning
D)Heuristics/reasoning

Question 59

Maria is extremely active in politics.She has strong conservative beliefs about what is correct and what is not.Each day when she reads the newspaper, she pays close attention to the editorial section in particular.According to the confirmation bias, what will she do when she reads them?

A)She will read both the editorials that she agrees with and those that she doesn't to get a balanced view of issues.
B)She will read the editorials that she agrees with, but not the ones that she disagrees with.
C)She will read the editorials that she disagrees with to get an idea of what the other perspectives on issues may be.
D)She will not read any of the editorials.

Question 60

In the context of loss aversion, which of the following statements is true of endowment effect?

A)People ascribe greater value to things they already own when compared with objects owned by someone else.
B)People tend to make more losses than gains when making investments based on the suggestions of their peers.
C)People are reluctant to give up on a venture because of past investment.
D)People tend to report falsely, after the fact, that they accurately predicted an outcome.

Question 61

_____ produces the single best solution to a problem.

A)Deductive reasoning
B)Convergent thinking
C)Divergent thinking
D)Inductive reasoning

Question 62

Creative people engage in

A)divergent thinking but not in convergent thinking.
B)deductive thinking.
C)both convergent thinking and divergent thinking.
D)functional fixedness.

Question 63

Standardization

A)refers to the ability to yield a consistent result to what it is intended to measure.
B)refers to the extent to which a test measures what it is intended to measure.
C)is the extent to which a test yields a consistent, reproducible measure of performance.
D)involves developing uniform procedures for administering and scoring a test, as well as creating norms, or performance standards, for the test.

Question 64

Identify a fact related to creative thinkers.

A)They are usually superficial in their approach.
B)They are usually convergent in their approach.
C)They are engaged in objective evaluation of their work.
D)They tend to avoid taking risks in their decision-making process.

Question 65

A high-school football coach decides to use the time taken to run up 100 stairs as a test for running endurance.He tests every team member on three consecutive days and finds that the times for each person are similar on all three trials.His test for endurance appears to have good

A)generativity.
B)generalization.
C)reliability.
D)standardization.

Question 66

Which of the following is true of individuals who think creatively?

A)Creative people make fewer mistakes than their less-imaginative counterparts.
B)Creative thinkers are flexible and play with problems.
C)Creative thinkers tend to be more inspired than less creative people by grades, money, or favorable feedback from others.
D)Creative thinkers feel that being wrong is a failure.

Question 67

In the U.S., intelligence is defined as

A)a trait that is shaped entirely by genetics.
B)an all-purpose ability to do well on cognitive tasks, to solve problems, and to learn from experience.
C)the ability to know what to do and follow through with appropriate action, under most circumstances.
D)the ability to participate responsibly in family and social life.

Question 68

_____ refers to the tendency for two vivid stimuli, when they occur together, to become linked erroneously in memory.

A)Sunk fallacy
B)Illusory correlation
C)Endowment effect
D)Functional fixedness

Question 69

If a child's mental age is higher than her chronological age, this means that

A)the child's IQ is above average.
B)the child's IQ is average.
C)the child's IQ is lower than average.
D)the child's IQ is deteriorating.

Question 70

Lionel is a CEO of a company that is in financial crisis.He asks his employees to brainstorm and create a list of all possible solutions to keeping the company in business.Lionel is asking his employees to engage in

A)convergent thinking.
B)divergent thinking.
C)heuristic thinking.
D)functional fixedness.

Question 71

Flexibility, inner motivation, and willingness to face risk are characteristics of people who

A)use algorithms.
B)prefer to use convergent thinking rather than divergent thinking.
C)think creatively.
D)use inductive reasoning.

Question 72

Jessica has been searching for a new apartment.She has looked at several different possibilities and now must select which apartment best suits her needs.Choosing which apartment is best is an example of

A)convergent thinking.
B)divergent thinking.
C)inductive reasoning.
D)functional fixedness.

Question 73

_____ is an individual's level of intellectual development relative to that of others.

A)Chronological age
B)Mental age
C)Psychological quotient
D)Cerebral quotient

Question 74

When the scores on a measure relate to important outcomes, we say the test has high

A)reliability.
B)criterion validity.
C)standardization.
D)distribution.

Question 75

Which of the following is true of creative thinkers?

A)They may use established criteria to make judgments.
B)They make fewer mistakes than their less-imaginative counterparts.
C)They strive to evaluate their work subjectively.
D)They are motivated more externally than internally.

Question 76

Which of the following statements is true of convergent thinking?

A)It is best when a problem has only one right answer.
B)It occurs during brainstorming.
C)It produces many solutions to the same problem.
D)It is predominantly avoided by creative people.

Question 77

If an intelligence test produces the same score over multiple administrations but it doesn't accurately measure intelligence, then the test is _____ but not _____.

A)reliable; valid
B)valid; reliable
C)inductive; deductive
D)divergent; convergent

Question 78

To find out a simple, yet accurate, way of measuring customer satisfaction, Carl, the human resource manager of a company, conducts a meeting and requires all employees to openly give their ideas and suggestions.He encourages them to think creatively and come up with as many ideas as possible, from which one will be chosen.Which of the following concepts related to creative thinking does this scenario exemplify?

A)deductive reasoning
B)brainstorming
C)semantic networking
D)mind mapping

Question 79

Brainstorming is an example of

A)convergent thinking.
B)divergent thinking.
C)deductive reasoning.
D)functional fixedness.

Question 80

Which of the following is usually a trait of creative thinkers?

A)dogmatic thinking
B)categorical thinking
C)risk avoidance
D)inner motivation