Question 1

Human language has a hierarchical structure, with the most elementary building blocks being the units of sound that are recognized as separate in any given language. These building blocks are called
A) phonemes.
B) morphemes.
C) syntax.
D) discourse.

Accepted Answer

The elementary building blocks of human language are phonemes, which are the smallest units of sound that have meaning in a language. Morphemes refer to the smallest units of meaning in a language, and syntax refers to the rules governing how words are combined to form sentences. Discourse refers to the larger, overall structure and organization of language beyond the sentence level.

Question 2

Mathias works for an architectural firm that has been asked to build an office building on a particular lot. The lot is accessible from the road on three sides, and the client is unsure which way the building should face. Since the building has already been designed, Mathias is able to imagine it facing in different directions. By doing so, he can evaluate the pros and cons of each direction. Mathias is using
A) incubation.
B) linguistic relativity.
C) mental rotation.
D) applied behavioural analysis.

Accepted Answer

Mathias is mentally rotating the building to evaluate its potential position, which falls under the concept of mental rotation. Incubation refers to taking a break from a problem to help solve it, linguistic relativity deals with how language affects thinking, and applied behavioral analysis is a therapy technique for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Question 3

Charlotte is a jeweller. A friend asks if she knows where violet diamonds come from. Charlotte replies that she has never seen a violet diamond, so they must not exist. Charlotte's _________________ reasoning may be in error.
A) premise
B) comprehension
C) inductive
D) deductive

Accepted Answer

Charlotte's reasoning is inductive because she is using a specific observation (not having seen a violet diamond) to make a generalization (they must not exist). However, this reasoning may be faulty because it is possible that violet diamonds do exist but Charlotte simply has not encountered them.

Question 4

Part of what makes human beings unique is that we are able to think better and communicate more effectively than other animals do. The images, ideas, concepts, and principles that we use to transfer ideas and skills to one another are called
A) surface structures.
B) deep structures.
C) mental representations.
D) syntax.

Accepted Answer

Mental representations are the internal cognitive structures we use to represent and process information, including images, ideas, concepts, and principles. These mental representations allow us to communicate more effectively and transfer skills and ideas to others. Surface structures and syntax refer to specific aspects of language, while deep structures refer to underlying meanings and structures in language.

Question 5

Heather is an Olympic bobsled gold medalist. She and her partner decide to go for another Olympic medal after all of their training runs, she walks through their work in her mind picturing everything she must do for a perfect run down the course. Heather is employing _________ in her preparation for her Olympic trials.
A) imaginal thought
B) visual imagery
C) contextual thought
D) propositional thought

Accepted Answer

Heather is using visual imagery, which involves picturing or visualizing the actions and scenarios in her mind to enhance performance and preparation.

Question 6

Danni is two years old and is able to construct simple sentences with a noun and a verb. For example, when she is playing with her sister and wants the ball she says, "My ball!" This type of sentence is called
A) cooing.
B) two-word utterances.
C) babbling.
D) phoneme.

Accepted Answer

Danni's sentence is an example of a two-word utterance, which is a typical language development milestone at two years old. Cooing and babbling are sounds made by infants before they begin forming words, and a phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in language.

Question 7

This tendency to abandon logical rules in favour of personal beliefs is called
A) inductive reasoning.
B) confirmation bias.
C) deductive reasoning.
D) a discourse.

Accepted Answer

The tendency to abandon logical rules in favour of personal beliefs is called confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the tendency to look for and interpret information in a way that supports our pre-existing beliefs, while ignoring or rejecting information that contradicts them. This can lead to irrational thinking and decision-making.

Question 8

Sasha drives whenever she must travel, because she's terrified that if she were to travel in a plane it would crash. Statistics show that there are 40,000 deaths per year in automobile accidents and only about 200 in air transport, but news programs tend to sensationalize plane crashes and minimize car wrecks. As a result, people like Sasha can easily call to mind examples of plane crashes. They are relying on the
A) representativeness.
B) availability heuristic.
C) base rate analysis.
D) confirmation bias.

Accepted Answer

Sasha is relying on the availability heuristic, which is the cognitive shortcut where people base their judgments on readily available and easily recalled examples. The news programs' constant coverage of plane crashes makes them highly memorable, even though they are statistically rare compared to car accidents.

Question 9

While trying to learn what a dog is, Arash mentally compares every animal to his family's new puppy. If the animal is similar enough, he decides that it is also a dog. Arash's puppy serves as a _______________ for the concept of dog.
A) proposition
B) heuristic
C) concept
D) prototype

Accepted Answer

Arash's puppy serves as a prototype for the concept of dog. A prototype is a mental image or best example that incorporates the features most commonly associated with a concept. Arash is comparing all other animals to his puppy and using it as a standard for what a dog should look and behave like, which is a prototype. Option A is not correct as a proposition is a statement or assertion that expresses a judgment or opinion. Option B is not correct as a heuristic is a mental shortcut or rule of thumb used to simplify decision-making. Option C is not correct as a concept is a mental category used to group objects, events, and characteristics based on shared features.

Question 10

We develop a syllogism which states that all soccer players are men, Alex is a soccer player; therefore, Alex is a man." Is this statement logically correct?
A) We don't know, because we don't know if Alex is really a man or a woman.
B) We don't know, because we don't know if Alex is really a soccer player.
C) The facts are true, but the logic involved may not be correct.
D) The logic is correct, but the facts involved may not be true.

Accepted Answer

The answer of We develop a syllogism which states that...

Question 11

You are able to read this sentence because you understand a system of symbols and rules that create messages and meanings. This system is called
A) representational reasoning.
B) Chomsky's system.
C) species symbolism.
D) language.

Accepted Answer

The system referred to in the sentence is language, which uses symbols and rules to convey messages and meaning. Choice A represents a general concept, but does not specifically refer to the system of symbols and rules used in language. Choice B refers to the work of linguist Noam Chomsky and his theories about language acquisition, but again does not specifically refer to the system used in language. Choice C is not a commonly used term in the study of language and does not accurately describe the concept being discussed. Therefore, the best choice is D, language.

Question 12

Sam enjoys action movies, science fiction novels, weightlifting, and football. One day Sam hopes to become an aerospace engineer or a physics professor. Based on this information, most people will assume that Sam is male due to the _____________ heuristic.
A) divergent
B) base rate
C) representativeness
D) probability

Accepted Answer

The representativeness heuristic is used to judge the likelihood of an event based on how well it matches our prototype or stereotype of that event. In this case, people might assume that Sam is male because his interests and career goals align with traditional masculine stereotypes.

Question 13

Whenever Leslie's father gets home before 6:00 p.m., she knows he finished work early and will probably be in a good mood. The last two times he came home early he took Leslie to dinner. Leslie hears her father's car pull into the garage at 5:30 and thinks, "We're going out to dinner!" Leslie is using
A) deductive reasoning.
B) inductive reasoning.
C) general reasoning.
D) invalid reasoning.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Whenever Leslie's father gets home before 6:00...

Question 14

Kirima moved to Germany with her parents and little brother Leif when she was 13 and Leif was 4. Ten years later, both Kirima and Leif speak German and English, but Leif is more fluent with German than is Kirima and he has no accent in either language. This
A) shows that Chomsky's theory about a language acquisition device is wrong.
B) proves that males are better with foreign languages than females.
C) could have happened only if Leif's elementary education was better than Kirima's.
D) suggests that children have a sensitive period for language acquisition.

Accepted Answer

Leif's greater fluency and lack of accent in both German and English suggest that he acquired the languages during a sensitive period for language acquisition. This is consistent with the idea that younger children have an easier time acquiring language than older individuals.

Question 15

Texting has long been bemoaned as the downfall of the written word. Texting properly isn't writing at all - it's actually more akin to spoken language. And it's a "spoken" language that is getting richer and more complex by the year. The fact that language is constantly changing demonstrates that
A) language can be acquired by animals.
B) based on the shapes of objects in the part of the world where the language developed.
C) based on astrological charts.
D) language is special because it allows for the communication of abstract ideas and new ideas.

Accepted Answer

Option D is the correct answer because it accurately describes the nature of language as something that permits communication of abstract concepts and novel ideas. Options A, B, and C are incorrect as they do not accurately reflect the nature of language or its evolution.

Question 16

In French, the phrase "haven't the police found you yet?" is written "la police, ne t'a pas encore trouvé?" Since French speakers arrange words differently from English speakers, the literal translation is "the police, not you have yet found?" In other words, French and English speakers use different rules, called ________________, to govern word order.
A) morphemes
B) phonemes
C) syntax
D) displacement

Accepted Answer

Syntax refers to the rules that govern the structure of sentences in a language, including word order. Morphemes refer to the smallest unit of meaning within a word, and phonemes refer to the individual sounds that make up words. Displacement refers to the ability to use language to talk about things that are not present in the immediate environment.

Question 17

Bryson's psychology professor asks his students to think about their personal cognitive abilities, then to guesstimate where they would fall on the intelligence scale. In other words, the professor is asking the students to use
A) propositions.
B) metacognitive thinking.
C) mental rotation.
D) overconfidence.

Accepted Answer

The professor is asking the students to engage in metacognitive thinking, which involves thinking about one's own thinking processes and cognitive abilities.

Question 18

Human children begin to master language without any formal instruction, and languages throughout the world have common underlying structural characteristics. These two things suggest an inborn tendency to learn language that is called a
A) Language Acquisition Device (LAD).
B) Syntax Acquisition Adapter (SAA).
C) Morphophonemic tendency (MPT).
D) Language Learning Link (LLL).

Accepted Answer

The inborn tendency to learn language is referred to as the Language Acquisition Device (LAD), which is a concept proposed by Noam Chomsky. The LAD is considered to be a hypothetical mechanism in the brain that allows infants to acquire language naturally without explicit instruction. Therefore, option A is the best choice as it accurately describes this concept. Option B, C, and D are not accurate descriptions of the inborn tendency to learn language.

Question 19

When Allyson and Minka go to the coffee shop at break, Allyson spills coffee on his white shirt. Later in the boardroom, she notices a woman looking in their direction. "Everybody's staring at me!" she says. "Allyson," Minka whispers, "you pick out the one woman in the whole room who's staring, just to prove your point!" By looking for evidence that confirms what she believes rather than evidence that does not, Ingrid is relying on the
A) confirmation bias.
B) representativeness heuristic.
C) availability heuristic.
D) algorithm.

Accepted Answer

The scenario describes Allyson looking for evidence that confirms her belief that everyone is staring at her. This is an example of confirmation bias, where a person seeks out information that confirms their existing beliefs or hypothesis while disregarding information that contradicts it. The representativeness heuristic involves making judgments based on stereotypes or prototypes, the availability heuristic involves making judgments based on the ease of recalling relevant information, and the algorithm involves a step-by-step procedure to solve a problem. None of these concepts apply to the scenario described.

Question 20

Heather and her friend are in a book club and meet monthly to talk about the book they chose to read that month. The process of combining sentences into paragraphs, chapters, books, conversations, and debates is collectively referred to as
A) incubation.
B) morphophonemics.
C) syntax.
D) concept hierarchy.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Heather and her friend are in a...

Quiz 8: Learning

Human language has a hierarchical structure, with the most elementary building blocks being the units of sound that are recognized as separate in any given language. These building blocks are called

Charlotte is a jeweller. A friend asks if she knows where violet diamonds come from. Charlotte replies that she has never seen a violet diamond, so they must not exist. Charlotte's _________________ reasoning may be in error.

Part of what makes human beings unique is that we are able to think better and communicate more effectively than other animals do. The images, ideas, concepts, and principles that we use to transfer ideas and skills to one another are called

Danni is two years old and is able to construct simple sentences with a noun and a verb. For example, when she is playing with her sister and wants the ball she says, "My ball!" This type of sentence is called

This tendency to abandon logical rules in favour of personal beliefs is called

While trying to learn what a dog is, Arash mentally compares every animal to his family's new puppy. If the animal is similar enough, he decides that it is also a dog. Arash's puppy serves as a _______________ for the concept of dog.

We develop a syllogism which states that all soccer players are men, Alex is a soccer player; therefore, Alex is a man." Is this statement logically correct?

You are able to read this sentence because you understand a system of symbols and rules that create messages and meanings. This system is called

Sam enjoys action movies, science fiction novels, weightlifting, and football. One day Sam hopes to become an aerospace engineer or a physics professor. Based on this information, most people will assume that Sam is male due to the _____________ heuristic.

Kirima moved to Germany with her parents and little brother Leif when she was 13 and Leif was 4. Ten years later, both Kirima and Leif speak German and English, but Leif is more fluent with German than is Kirima and he has no accent in either language. This

Texting has long been bemoaned as the downfall of the written word. Texting properly isn't writing at all - it's actually more akin to spoken language. And it's a "spoken" language that is getting richer and more complex by the year. The fact that language is constantly changing demonstrates that

Bryson's psychology professor asks his students to think about their personal cognitive abilities, then to guesstimate where they would fall on the intelligence scale. In other words, the professor is asking the students to use

Human children begin to master language without any formal instruction, and languages throughout the world have common underlying structural characteristics. These two things suggest an inborn tendency to learn language that is called a

Heather and her friend are in a book club and meet monthly to talk about the book they chose to read that month. The process of combining sentences into paragraphs, chapters, books, conversations, and debates is collectively referred to as