Question 1

Research on the brain development of mice who are raised in environments offering different degrees of stimulation suggests that the increased intelligence seen in children raised in more stimulating environments is due to:
A) activation of genes involved in forming new neurotransmitters
B) increases in the kinds of neurons formed
C) increases in the number of new neurons formed
D) activation of genes involved in forming new synapses

Accepted Answer

Studies on mice have shown that environmental enrichment leads to the activation of genes involved in forming new synapses, which in turn enhances cognitive abilities. This suggests that the increased intelligence observed in children raised in more stimulating environments could be due to similar mechanisms.

Question 2

The link between working memory and attention is most likely due to:
A) processing speed
B) storage capacity
C) processing strategies
D) selective attention

Accepted Answer

Working memory and attention are closely related because both involve the ability to selectively focus on and prioritize certain information over others. Selective attention is the cognitive process that allows an individual to attend to specific information while ignoring irrelevant or distracting information, which is essential for effective working memory performance. Processing speed, storage capacity, and processing strategies may also contribute to working memory and attention, but selective attention is the most directly linked factor.

Question 3

Peter is very precocious. At four he is already starting to read and has the vocabulary of a ten-year-old. Peter's parents are very academic. Their house is filled with books and intellectual conversation. What is the most reasonable conclusion about the source of Peter's high intelligence?
A) He inherited the genes for high intelligence from his parents.
B) His parents provided the stimulation needed to develop high intelligence.
C) His intelligence resulted from an interaction of genes and environment.
D) Either genes or the environment could be the causal factor.

Accepted Answer

Peter's high intelligence is likely the result of both genetic factors (inherited from his parents) and environmental factors (such as the intellectual stimulation provided by his book-filled home and conversations with his parents). This interaction of both nature and nurture is referred to as the nature-nurture debate in the study of psychology. Therefore, the most reasonable conclusion is that Peter's intelligence resulted from an interaction of genes and environment.

Question 4

Johann has an IQ of 104 and Avi has an IQ of 115. Johann has a much higher level of both interpersonal and kinesthetic intelligence than Avi. They are both trying to listen to their psychology lecture at the same time that someone is sitting outside the room playing an iPod loudly. You might expect that Johann will:
A) pay better attention to the lecture than Avi
B) pay worse attention to the lecture than Avi
C) divide his attention between the lecture and music better than Avi
D) divide his attention between the lecture and music worse than Avi

Accepted Answer

Although Johann has higher levels of interpersonal and kinesthetic intelligence, IQ is not necessarily correlated with the ability to concentrate or filter out distractions. Additionally, it is impossible to predict how a person will react to a distracting stimulus based solely on their intelligence level. Therefore, it is likely that Johann and Avi will be affected similarly by the noise and may both have difficulty paying attention to the lecture.

Question 5

Recent MRI studies have found that about ____________ of the variability among people in intelligence is accounted for by brain volume.
A) 5 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 25 percent
D) 50 percent

Accepted Answer

The answer of Recent MRI studies have found that about...

Question 6

Why are scientists having trouble identifying genes that may code for intelligence?
A) The effects of genes and the environment interact too strongly.
B) There may be thousands of contributing genes, some having small effects.
C) Intelligence cannot be defined sufficiently clearly to look for genetic correlates.
D) There are too many sources of environmental influence to control for.

Accepted Answer

Intelligence is believed to be influenced by multiple genes, and the effects of any single gene may be small. Thus, identifying all the genes involved in intelligence is a challenging task that requires screening a large number of genes.

Question 7

Based on the Flynn effect, what factor has NOT been involved in the increase in IQ scores over the last century?
A) education
B) technology
C) genetics
D) nutrition

Accepted Answer

The Flynn effect suggests that IQ scores have been increasing over the last century due to factors such as improved nutrition, education, and technology. However, genetics is not considered to be a contributing factor to the increase in IQ scores, as genetic factors are believed to change very slowly over time.

Question 8

Which memory system is most closely related to intelligence test scores?
A) sensory
B) working
C) semantic
D) episodic

Accepted Answer

Working memory is most closely related to intelligence test scores. Working memory is an individual's ability to hold and manipulate information in their consciousness for a brief period, such as mental calculation, problem-solving, and decision-making. Intelligence test scores mainly assess a person's ability to think abstractly, reason, solve problems, and adapt to new situations. These abilities require the use of working memory. Therefore, individuals with higher working memory capacity tend to perform better on intelligence tests. Sensory memory, semantic memory, and episodic memory are not directly related to intelligence test scores.

Question 9

Individuals who have minimal intellectual capacities but who demonstrate extraordinary talent in some "intelligent" processes, are known as:
A) synesthetes
B) savants
C) kinesthetics
D) prodigies

Accepted Answer

Individuals who have minimal intellectual capacities but who demonstrate extraordinary talent in some "intelligent" processes are known as savants.

Question 10

Many school systems advocate having children who turn five just before the school entry deadline wait a year so that they will be more socially mature when they start kindergarten. What does the literature on IQ scores suggest about a possible consequence of this approach?
A) The delayed schooling may lower their IQs.
B) They may have higher IQs when they start school.
C) There may be effects on achievement but not on IQ.
D) Added social maturity may facilitate IQ development.

Accepted Answer

Delaying school entry can result in lower IQ scores because IQ tests are age-normed, and older children are compared to younger peers, potentially affecting their relative performance.

Question 11

Which of the following factors are associated with greater longevity?
A) high intelligence and faster reaction time
B) larger memory span and high intelligence
C) faster reaction time and larger memory span
D) faster reaction time

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following factors are associated...

Question 12

John fell off his bike without a helmet and injured his frontal lobes. If he were to take an IQ test, what aspect would be impaired?
A) crystallized intelligence
B) verbal intelligence
C) fluid intelligence
D) spatial intelligence

Accepted Answer

Fluid intelligence, which is the ability to think abstractly and solve problems, is primarily associated with the frontal lobes of the brain. Injuries to this area can result in impairments to fluid intelligence.

Question 13

Which of the following is the best evidence that genetics plays an important role in determining intelligence?
A) Identical twins raised apart have more similar IQs than fraternal twins raised together.
B) Fraternal twins raised together have more similar IQs than non-twin siblings raised together.
C) Children have IQs that are more similar to the IQs of their siblings than to the IQs of their parents.
D) Children adopted from different biological parents but raised by the same adoptive parents have fairly similar IQs as young children.

Accepted Answer

Identical twins have the same genetic makeup, whereas fraternal twins share only 50% of their genes. Therefore, if identical twins raised apart have more similar IQs than fraternal twins raised together, it suggests that genetics play a significant role in determining intelligence. This is because any similarities between the IQs of identical twins raised apart can only be attributed to genetic factors, as their environmental and social experiences are likely to be very different.

Question 14

Kelsey and Andreas are participating in the same two psychology experiments. The first task is to listen to a list of numbers and repeat them back in the same order. The second task is to determine from memory how many prime numbers are on the list. Kelsey has an IQ of 123 and Andreas has an IQ of 111. There ought to be a ____________ difference between Kelsey and Andreas's performance on the repetition task and a ____________ difference between Kelsey and Andreas's performance on the counting primes task.
A) small; small
B) great; great
C) great; small
D) small; great

Accepted Answer

There is no evidence to suggest that IQ is strongly associated with the ability to remember and repeat numbers in order or with the ability to count primes from a list. Therefore, we would expect the differences in performance between Kelsey and Andreas to be relatively small for both tasks. However, it is possible that Kelsey's higher IQ may give her a slight advantage on the prime-counting task, which requires more complex cognitive processing. Thus, we would expect a small difference on the repetition task and a somewhat larger difference on the prime-counting task.

Question 15

Choose the best way to describe the modern version of the nature/nurture question about intelligence:
A) Is intelligence primarily determined by genetics?
B) Is intelligence primarily determined by the environment?
C) To what extent do genes and the environment overlap in their effects?
D) What role do both genes and the environment play in intelligence?

Accepted Answer

The modern view of the nature/nurture question about intelligence considers the interaction and contributions of both genetic and environmental factors, rather than attributing intelligence to one or the other.

Question 16

What is the direction and strength of the correlation between years in school and IQ?
A) weak negative correlation
B) strong positive correlation
C) strong negative correlation
D) weak positive correlation

Accepted Answer

There is generally a strong positive correlation between years in school and IQ, as more education tends to be associated with higher IQ scores.

Question 17

A larger volume of neuronal cell bodies in areas that support attentional control is related to ____________ intelligence, but not ____________ intelligence.
A) general; emotional
B) emotional; general
C) crystallized; fluid
D) fluid; crystallized

Accepted Answer

The question is asking about the relationship between neuronal cell bodies and intelligence. The research described suggests that a larger volume of neuronal cell bodies in areas that support attentional control is related to fluid intelligence, but not crystallized intelligence. Therefore, option D is the best choice as it correctly identifies the specific types of intelligence that are being discussed. Options A and B relate to general and emotional intelligence, which are not mentioned in the question or research. Option C relates to crystallized and fluid intelligence, but it incorrectly links them to the volume of neuronal cell bodies.

Question 18

Dr. LeCap is taking brain scans of people while they do simple cognitive tasks. He notices that the event-related potential waves of 20 of the participants occurred significantly faster than the waves of the other 50 participants. Dr. LeCap could conclude from this finding that the 20 people with faster event-related potential waves were ____________ than the 50 people with the slower waves.
A) more intelligent
B) more highly motivated
C) working harder and more intelligent
D) more highly motivated and working harder

Accepted Answer

The faster event-related potential waves indicate that the 20 participants were processing the cognitive tasks more efficiently, which suggests that they were more intelligent than the 50 participants with the slower waves.

Question 19

All of the following have been shown to negatively affect brain development, EXCEPT:
A) receiving poor nutrition
B) being breastfed
C) having low birth weight
D) maternal smoking

Accepted Answer

Being breastfed has been shown to have numerous benefits for brain development, including providing essential nutrients and promoting bonding between mother and child. The other options listed are all factors that have been linked to negative effects on brain development.

Question 20

Jameisia has always loved numbers. When she starts grade one, she grasps basic math immediately. Her teacher is so impressed that she gives Jameisia more and more complicated work in math. Jameisia goes on to become a superb math student all the way through school. What is the most reasonable conclusion about the source of Jameisia's success in math?
A) Her genetically determined ability made the environment irrelevant.
B) The environment acted as a social multiplier for her innate ability.
C) The environment allowed her innate abilities to become apparent.
D) Her genetically determined ability found a compatible environment.

Accepted Answer

The environment (teacher's encouragement and challenging work) enhanced her innate ability, acting as a social multiplier for her success in math.

Quiz 8: Thinking and Intelligence

Research on the brain development of mice who are raised in environments offering different degrees of stimulation suggests that the increased intelligence seen in children raised in more stimulating environments is due to:

The link between working memory and attention is most likely due to:

Peter is very precocious. At four he is already starting to read and has the vocabulary of a ten-year-old. Peter's parents are very academic. Their house is filled with books and intellectual conversation. What is the most reasonable conclusion about the source of Peter's high intelligence?

Recent MRI studies have found that about ____________ of the variability among people in intelligence is accounted for by brain volume.

Why are scientists having trouble identifying genes that may code for intelligence?

Based on the Flynn effect, what factor has NOT been involved in the increase in IQ scores over the last century?

Which memory system is most closely related to intelligence test scores?

Individuals who have minimal intellectual capacities but who demonstrate extraordinary talent in some "intelligent" processes, are known as:

Many school systems advocate having children who turn five just before the school entry deadline wait a year so that they will be more socially mature when they start kindergarten. What does the literature on IQ scores suggest about a possible consequence of this approach?

Which of the following factors are associated with greater longevity?

John fell off his bike without a helmet and injured his frontal lobes. If he were to take an IQ test, what aspect would be impaired?

Which of the following is the best evidence that genetics plays an important role in determining intelligence?

Choose the best way to describe the modern version of the nature/nurture question about intelligence:

What is the direction and strength of the correlation between years in school and IQ?

A larger volume of neuronal cell bodies in areas that support attentional control is related to intelligence, but not intelligence.

All of the following have been shown to negatively affect brain development, EXCEPT: