Question 1

According to your text, language has been called ________.
A)the jewel in the crown of cognition only
B)the human essence only
C)both the jewel in the crown of cognition and the human essence
D)the star in the human constellation only

Accepted Answer

Language has been referred to as both "the jewel in the crown of cognition" and "the human essence," highlighting its central role in human cognitive abilities and its fundamental importance to human identity and culture.

Question 2

The rules that govern the organization of the surface structure of a language are called __________, whereas the rules that determine how symbols are connected to what they represent are called __________________.
A)syntax; heuristics
B)syntax; semantics
C)semantics; heuristics
D)semantics; syntax

Accepted Answer

Syntax governs the structure of sentences, while semantics deals with the meanings of words and sentences.

Question 3

__________ is symbolic, has structure, meaning, and is generative.
A)Language
B)A prototype
C)Intelligence
D)Cognition

Accepted Answer

Language is symbolic because it uses symbols (words or signs) to represent ideas, objects, or thoughts. It has structure, as seen in the rules of grammar and syntax. Language is meaningful because the symbols convey specific meanings. Additionally, it is generative, meaning it allows for the creation of an infinite number of new and unique sentences.

Question 4

Collecting factual information is the foundation of deductive reasoning?

Accepted Answer

Deductive reasoning starts with a general statement or hypothesis and examines the possibilities to reach a specific, logical conclusion, rather than collecting factual information as its foundation.

Question 5

Believing what we want to believe such as believing that the exam was very hard even though the class average was high is a type of a confirmation bias?

Accepted Answer

Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses, even when presented with evidence to the contrary.

Question 6

The set of rules that dictate how symbols can be combined to create meaningful units of communication is called __________.
A)heuristic
B)linguistic structure
C)grammar
D)syntax

Accepted Answer

Grammar is the set of rules that dictate how symbols can be combined to create meaningful units of communication.

Question 7

According to the text, the development of language made it easier for humans to adapt to the ________.
A)increasingly complex social environmental demands
B)increasing needs for more intelligent offspring
C)environmental challenges that followed significant climate changes
D)greater pressure for accurate memory

Accepted Answer

The development of language facilitated better communication and coordination among humans, which was crucial for navigating and managing increasingly complex social environments.

Question 8

The fact that language is ___________ specifically means that it can be used to create an infinite number of messages that can have novel or new meanings.
A)symbolic
B)propositional
C)structural
D)generative

Accepted Answer

The term "generative" refers to the capacity of language to generate an infinite number of sentences and ideas, including those that are novel or have never been expressed before. This characteristic allows for endless creativity and expression in communication.

Question 9

The term for the meaning of words is __________.
A)linguistics
B)phonics
C)semantics
D)syntax

Accepted Answer

Semantics is the study of meaning in language, including the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences.

Question 10

Relying on familiar things when making decisions such as buying our usual desired tooth paste is a form of relying on a heuristic?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of the familiarity heuristic, where people tend to prefer options that are familiar to them when making decisions.

Question 11

__________ is the field of science that studies the psychological aspects of language.
A)Mnemonics
B)Psycholinguistics
C)Psychosemantics
D)Morphology

Accepted Answer

Psycholinguistics is the field of science that focuses on the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend, and produce language.

Question 12

The work of the founding father of behavioural economics, Dr. Daniel Kahneman was crucial in demonstrating how people usually confuse representativeness with probability?

Accepted Answer

Dr. Daniel Kahneman, along with his colleague Amos Tversky, introduced the concept of the representativeness heuristic, which shows how people often judge the probability of an event by how much it resembles typical cases, leading to systematic errors in decision making.

Question 13

The concept that symbols can be combined to generate an infinite number of messages that have novel meaning demonstrates the _________ concept.
A)generativity
B)displacement
C)generality
D)replacement

Accepted Answer

The concept of generativity in language refers to the ability to use a finite set of symbols (such as words or letters) to produce an infinite number of sentences and ideas, demonstrating the creative and limitless potential of human language.

Question 14

Symbols used in any given language are ________.
A)arbitrary
B)structured
C)syntactic
D)fixed

Accepted Answer

Symbols in language are arbitrary because there is no inherent connection between the symbol and its meaning; the relationship is based on convention.

Question 15

If the human brain achieved its present form 50,000 years ago, but realistic cave paintings did not appear for another 35,000 years and written language was not developed until 3,000 years ago, we can conclude that ________.
A)human thought and behaviour are completely determined by the structure of the brain
B)human cognitive and linguistic skills have continued to develop even though the structure of the brain has remained basically the same
C)the human brain has evolved significantly over the past 50,000 years
D)cognitive and linguistic skills are unrelated to the specialized characteristics of the human brain

Accepted Answer

The fact that significant cultural and cognitive developments (like realistic cave paintings and written language) occurred long after the human brain reached its present form suggests that cognitive and linguistic skills have continued to evolve or develop even without further changes to the brain's basic structure.

Question 16

According to the text, images, ideas, concepts, and principles are all examples of ________.
A)heuristics
B)prototypes
C)morphemes
D)mental representations

Accepted Answer

Images, ideas, concepts, and principles are all examples of mental representations, which are internal depictions in the mind that stand in for objects or events and have a picture-like quality.

Question 17

Rules that govern the order of words are called ________.
A)linguistics
B)phonics
C)semantics
D)syntax

Accepted Answer

Syntax refers to the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences in a given language, specifically the order of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences.

Question 18

The sentence, "Psychology test taking I am" demonstrates incorrect ________.
A)phonics
B)structure
C)semantics
D)syntax

Accepted Answer

The sentence "Psychology test taking I am" demonstrates incorrect syntax, which refers to the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. The correct syntax for this sentence in English would be "I am taking a psychology test."

Question 19

The fact that language allows us to communicate about events and objects that are not physically present is referred to as ________________.
A)generativity
B)displacement
C)semantics
D)linguistics

Accepted Answer

Displacement is a feature of language that allows us to talk about things that are not present in the immediate physical environment, including events that happened in the past or might happen in the future, and objects that are not currently visible or tangible.

Question 20

A friend is trying to solve a problem and you have an idea about how to solve it. Using language, you translate your idea into words, thus effectively transferring your idea from your mind to your friend's mind. In this example, your idea is best considered as an example of a(n) ________.
A)algorithm
B)mental representation
C)morpheme
D)phoneme

Accepted Answer

Your idea, in this context, is best considered as a mental representation. This is because mental representations are cognitive symbols that represent external reality or internal thoughts, allowing individuals to think about and navigate the world. When you translate your idea into words to share with your friend, you are converting this internal representation into language, making it understandable to others.

Quiz 9: Language and Thinking

According to your text, language has been called ________.

The rules that govern the organization of the surface structure of a language are called , whereas the rules that determine how symbols are connected to what they represent are called ________.

__________ is symbolic, has structure, meaning, and is generative.

Collecting factual information is the foundation of deductive reasoning?

Believing what we want to believe such as believing that the exam was very hard even though the class average was high is a type of a confirmation bias?

The set of rules that dictate how symbols can be combined to create meaningful units of communication is called __________.

According to the text, the development of language made it easier for humans to adapt to the ________.

The fact that language is ___________ specifically means that it can be used to create an infinite number of messages that can have novel or new meanings.

The term for the meaning of words is __________.

Relying on familiar things when making decisions such as buying our usual desired tooth paste is a form of relying on a heuristic?

__________ is the field of science that studies the psychological aspects of language.

The work of the founding father of behavioural economics, Dr. Daniel Kahneman was crucial in demonstrating how people usually confuse representativeness with probability?

The concept that symbols can be combined to generate an infinite number of messages that have novel meaning demonstrates the _________ concept.

Symbols used in any given language are ________.

If the human brain achieved its present form 50,000 years ago, but realistic cave paintings did not appear for another 35,000 years and written language was not developed until 3,000 years ago, we can conclude that ________.

According to the text, images, ideas, concepts, and principles are all examples of ________.

Rules that govern the order of words are called ________.

The sentence, "Psychology test taking I am" demonstrates incorrect ________.

The fact that language allows us to communicate about events and objects that are not physically present is referred to as ________________.

A friend is trying to solve a problem and you have an idea about how to solve it. Using language, you translate your idea into words, thus effectively transferring your idea from your mind to your friend's mind. In this example, your idea is best considered as an example of a(n) ________.