Question 1

Which scenario challenges the Whorfian hypothesis?&#10;A)Some non-western cultures have few basic colour terms,yet they can distinguish among many shades of colour.&#10;B)Bilingual Japanese immigrants recall events that happened in Japan more accurately when speaking their native language.&#10;C)Koreans have terms for &#34;tight fit&#34; versus &#34;loose fit,&#34; which allows them to better discriminate between the two.&#10;D)The Inuit have a greater number of words for snow,which allows them to perceive many more distinctions among types of snow.

Accepted Answer

This scenario challenges the Whorfian hypothesis that language determines thought because even though these cultures have fewer words for colors, they are still able to distinguish among many shades of color. This suggests that language may not be the only factor influencing perception and cognition.

Question 2

Rules of thumb that do not guarantee a solution but may help bring one within reach are called&#10;A)functional sets.&#10;B)heuristics.&#10;C)algorithms.&#10;D)problem states.

Accepted Answer

Heuristics are problem-solving strategies or rules of thumb that are not guaranteed to provide a solution, but can be helpful in finding one. Algorithms, on the other hand, are step-by-step procedures that are guaranteed to produce a solution if followed correctly. Functional sets and problem states are not terms commonly used in problem-solving strategies.

Question 3

A baby's language that consists of repetition of consonant-vowel combinations is called&#10;A)cooing.&#10;B)telegraphic speech.&#10;C)holophrasing.&#10;D)babbling.

Accepted Answer

Babbling is when babies repeat consonant-vowel combinations, such as "babababa" or "dadada." Cooing refers to the vowel sounds babies make, such as "oooo" or "aaaa." Telegraphic speech and holophrasing refer to early stages of language development in toddlers and young children, but not to the babbling of infants.

Question 4

Dean experienced a seizure during which he was unable to recognize faces.Which term best characterizes Dean's experience?&#10;A)aphasia&#10;B)agnosia&#10;C)anomia&#10;D)prosopagnosia

Accepted Answer

Prosopagnosia is a condition in which someone has difficulty recognizing faces, and it can be caused by neurological disorders such as seizures. Aphasia, anomia, and agnosia all involve language deficits and are not directly related to face recognition.

Question 5

Which scenario provides the strongest support for both the nature and nurture aspects of language acquisition?&#10;A)All babies have the innate capacity for language in the brain but are dependent on the environment to be able to express and produce any speech sounds or words.&#10;B)Without attention and reinforcement from their parents,babies would fail to develop language past the point of non-specific babbling sounds.&#10;C)All babies initially share the same basic phoneme categories but only use phonemes specific to the language they have heard by about 10 months of age.&#10;D)Babies cannot process speech sounds and noise until approximately 5 months of age as their temporal lobes and auditory cortices are still forming and developing neural connections.

Accepted Answer

This scenario supports both the nature aspect of language acquisition (all babies initially share the same basic phoneme categories) and the nurture aspect (babies only use phonemes specific to the language they have heard by about 10 months of age). It shows that there is a basic innate language capability in babies, but that it must be developed through exposure to a specific language.

Question 6

Julie is fairly quiet and shy.She enjoys reading in her spare time and loves researching the background information on many topics.She belongs to a social club that includes three librarians,nine business people,and eight social workers.A tendency to conclude that Julie must be one of the three librarians would illustrate the powerful influence of

A)confirmation bias.
B)the framing effect.
C)the representativeness heuristic.
D)the belief perseverance phenomenon.

Accepted Answer

The tendency to conclude that Julie must be one of the three librarians based on her interest in reading and researching reflects the representativeness heuristic. This heuristic involves making judgments based on how closely an individual or situation resembles our prototype or stereotype of a particular category or group. In this case, the prototype or stereotype of a librarian may include characteristics such as being quiet, enjoying reading, and having a strong interest in learning and research, leading to the conclusion that Julie must be a librarian. This type of thinking can lead to errors in judgment when we ignore other relevant information and rely too heavily on prototypical features.

Question 7

Ivan is a consultant who has been asked to solve a technical problem for an electronics firm.When he arrives at the firm,he finds that the problem is exactly like a problem he has solved before.The first time he solved the problem,it took him 37 hours.This time,it takes him 26 hours.The MOST likely reason for his faster solution this time is

A)means-end analysis.
B)hill-climbing.
C)mental set.
D)creating subgoals.

Accepted Answer

The most likely reason for Ivan solving the problem faster this time is "mental set," which refers to the tendency to approach situations in a certain way because that method worked in the past. Since Ivan had already solved a similar problem, he likely applied the same strategies and knowledge, allowing him to solve the problem more efficiently.

Question 8

Which individual would most likely be able to learn a second language more easily than the others?&#10;A)27-year-old Zeke speaks Italian and is trying to learn Spanish.&#10;B)14-year-old Carlos is trying to learn English and has only spoken Spanish until now.&#10;C)9-year-old Chantelle speaks French and needs to learn Japanese because her family is moving to Japan.&#10;D)5-year-old Luca speaks English and is trying to learn German.

Accepted Answer

Younger children, like 5-year-old Luca, have more neural plasticity, making it easier for them to learn new languages compared to older individuals.

Question 9

Why do individuals from Mexico easily categorize avocados as a fruit whereas western Europeans do not?&#10;A)What is considered to be typical of a category depends on cultural and social experience.&#10;B)Categorizations are somewhat independent of previous knowledge and experience.&#10;C)Familiarity with an item increases use of cognitive schemas and mental shortcuts.&#10;D)Taxonomic hierarchies are dependent on basic features of a category and may result in miscategorization.

Accepted Answer

Cultural and social experience heavily influences how individuals categorize items. In the case of avocados being considered a fruit, this likely stems from traditions and common usage in Mexican cuisine. Western Europeans may not have the same cultural associations with avocados, leading them to categorize them differently.

Question 10

By encouraging people to imagine their homes being destroyed by a fire,insurance salespeople are especially successful at selling large homeowners' policies.They are most clearly exploiting the influence of

A)belief perseverance.
B)the representativeness heuristic.
C)overconfidence.
D)the availability heuristic.

Accepted Answer

The salespeople are exploiting the availability heuristic, which is the tendency to judge the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind. By asking people to imagine their homes being destroyed by a fire, they are making this scenario more salient and easily accessible in the person's mind, which can lead them to overestimate the likelihood of such an event and therefore purchase a larger insurance policy.

Deck 8: B: Thought and Language