CIS Psych Chapter 8 (Cognition) – Flashcards
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c. Occam's Razor Occam's Razor suggests that the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is usually the correct explanation. It is sometimes referred to as the rule of parsimony.
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Proponents of the imitation theory of language acquisition suggest that this model is the simplest for explaining the varieties of how children gain language skills. These theorists are banking on which principle of critical thinking to support their views? a. Ruling out rival hypotheses b. Replicability c. Occam's Razor d. Extraordinary claims
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d. Mental set
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The tendency to perceive and approach problems in the same ways that have worked in the past is called ______. This barrier to problem-solving can inhibit one's ability to generate alternative solutions. a. Means-end analysis b. Functional fixedness c. Prototypical idealization d. Mental set
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a. Use only the phonemes of the native language of adult speakers around them.
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By the age of ten months, an infant will generally a. Use only the phonemes of the native language of adult speakers around them. b. Be in the cooing stage of vocalization. c. Have a vocabulary of approximately 100 words. d. Speak in two-word "sentences."
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a. Concept
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The fact that you recognize Great Danes, Dachshunds, Collies and Chihuahuas as being dogs is an example of a __________ a. concept. b. image. c. template. d. cohort.
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b. will have improved metalinguistic ability. People who are bilingual tend to have a better understanding of metalinguistics.
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Henry hears German spoken in his home, but he is exposed only to English in school. It is likely that Henry a. will fail to experience difficulties in either language. b. will have improved metalinguistic ability. c. will show metalinguistic deficits. d. will have difficulties in vocabulary, but not syntax.
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a. John B. Watson
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________ speculated that thinking operates as a form of internal speech. a. John B. Watson b. Noam Chomsky c. Benjamin Whorf d. B.F. Skinner
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b. linguistic relativity. Linguistic relativity proponents believe that language shapes our thought processes.
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Eduardo is from Brazil. He is fluent in both Portuguese and English. When he uses English to speak to you of his home in Brazil, he seems to have trouble remembering details. Yet when he is speaking Portuguese to another Brazilian, he has no trouble remembering. This phenomenon can be best explained by a. linguistic determinism. b. linguistic relativity. c. extralinguistic information. d. cryptophasia.
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d. 400
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It is possible to increase both our reading speed and comprehension, as long as our speed does not exceed ________ words per minute. a. 100 b. 200 c. 300 d. 400
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c. language acquisition device (LAD)
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According to famed linguist Noam Chomsky, humans have an innate ability to understand and produce language through a device he called a. syntax synthesizer (SS) b. grammar grabber (GG) c. language acquisition device (LAD) d. language learning system (LLS)
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d. the critical period theory. A critical period is a window of time in development or in which an organism must learn an ability if it's going to learn it at all.
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The case of Genie and her failure to acquire meaningful language ability best supports a. the nativist approach. b. the limitations of bilingualism. c. metalinguistic deficiency. d. the critical period theory.
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b. Correlation versus causation The assumption that higher reading speed causes higher comprehension is not necessarily accurate. The true causal relationship may be quite different, if not the complete opposite.
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Speed-reading programs are popular because they are based on a scientifically-valid relationship that exists between reading speed and comprehension. When examining this relationship, however, we must remember which conceptual precept? a. Replicability b. Correlation versus causation c. Falsifiability d. Occam's Razor
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c. their mother's native language.
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Newborn infants show a preference for a. the English language. b. the Spanish language. c. their mother's native language. d. any language if it is spoken by a familiar voice.
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c. thinking
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Generally speaking, _______ refers to any mental activity or processing of information, including learning, remembering, perceiving, believing, and deciding. a. psychophysics. b. decision-making c. thinking d. consciousness
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c. Chimpanzees are unable to effectively master syntax. Although some researchers believe that chimpanzees can use human-like language, most believe that they typically learn only through conditioning and never master syntactic rules.
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Which of the following statements refutes the idea that chimpanzees can use language? a. Chimpanzees sometimes use symbols to engage in social interactions. b. Chimpanzees learn better as young animals than as adults. c. Chimpanzees are unable to effectively master syntax. d. Chimpanzees learn new words or signs easily.
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d. computer
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In the 1980s, many psychologists adopted the analogy of a ________ to try to describe and explain the different working processes of the human mind. a. automobile b. television c. kitchen sink d. computer
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a. The culture and environment in which a person is raised impacts the way they communicate linguistically. Because language is at least in part imitative, dialects tend to be transmitted from generation to generation.
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Why do people speak in different dialects? a. The culture and environment in which a person is raised impacts the way they communicate linguistically. b. Dialects represent grammatical errors that are reinforced by one's surroundings. c. People in different areas have genetic variations that impact the way their brains interpret language skills. d. People from different countries naturally speak different languages, and that is all a dialect really is.
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d. analogies
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The use of ________ refers to the process of finding similar structures between two problems and thus finding similarities between their solutions. a. heuristics b. algorithms c. mental sets d. analogies
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c. our use of language is generally automatic.
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We often do not consider the complexity of language. This is in part because a. language acquisition is easy. b. language acquisition requires little practice. c. our use of language is generally automatic. d. humans do not often consider complex phenomena.
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d. a limited number of symbols can be used to create an unlimited number of sentences.
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When psychologists say language is generative, they mean that a. children learn syntax gradually. b. language acquisition is solely a function of nurture. c. language is a function of social pragmatics. d. a limited number of symbols can be used to create an unlimited number of sentences.
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b. high-amplitude sucking
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Using the ________ paradigm, researchers have found that infants can recognize sounds to which they were exposed in utero. a. habituation b. high-amplitude sucking c. auditory cliff d. Cat in the Hat
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a. Ruling out rival hypotheses Remember that it is essential to consider all explanations for a given phenomenon, even if some explanations contradict a theory in which you believe strongly.
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The story of Helen Keller includes an anecdote wherein she states that she recalls having no awareness of her own thought processes prior to acquiring some language skills. The linguistic determinism model suggests that this supports the theory that all thinking is represented linguistically, but other explanations of Keller's remembrance (or lack thereof) posits that most people have poor (or even absent) memories from their early years. This demonstrates which principle of critical thinking? a. Ruling out rival hypotheses b. Extraordinary claims c. Falsifiability d. Correlation vs. causation
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b. morphemes
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The basic meaningful units of any language are called ______. a. phonemes b. morphemes c. semantics d. sound bytes
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b. availability heuristic. The availability heuristic is a rule of thumb that says that the probably of an event or the importance assigned to it is based on its availability in memory.
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Jay, a popular TV show host, made a joke regarding Ford Pintos and the dangers of owning them because of their "perceived" tendency to blow up. Many Pinto owners took issue with Jay's view as presented, in part due to a fear that they could never re-sell their car. Jay's very public joke and its potential to impact peoples' perceptions is an example of a __________ a. representative heuristic. b. availability heuristic. c. exemplar. d. additive strategy.
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b. stimulus and response.
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Behaviorists attempted to explain thinking in the narrow terms of a. feeling and perceiving. b. stimulus and response. c. remembering and feeling. d. believing and deciding.
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b. sensitive
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A _________ period is a time during which people are more receptive to learning and can acquire knowledge more easily. a. critical b. sensitive c. receptive d. potentiated
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b. phonemes
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The sounds t, th, and sh are ______. a. morphemes b. phonemes c. semantics d. sound bytes
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b. one-word
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One-year old Matthew wanders into the kitchen where his father is making dinner for the family. He points to the counter and says, "Nana!" His father looks down and says, "do you want to eat a banana?" Matthew then gets very excited and starts jumping up and down. Matthew is currently in the ________ stage of language development. a. holographic b. one-word c. telegraphic d. fast-mapping
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d. Underextension This narrow application of a word is an example of underextension.
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Marcy is having lunch with her mother when a friend stops by the table to say hello. "Marcy, this is my friend and her name is Marcy too," the mother says. The child looks up and says, "you can't be named Marcy. That is my name." In a linguistic sense this example demonstrates a. Overregulation b. Overextension c. Underregulation d. Underextension
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c. Parrots' use of humanlike language appears to be based primarily on imitation and mimicry. They do not appear to understand the underlying structure of what they "say."
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Parrots seem to talk. They utter words that sound like human language. Thus, can this behavior be thought to be speech? Which statement about parrots is supported by the research? a. Parrots have been shown to be able to master syntax. b. Parrots have the language abilities of a 3-year-old child. c. Parrots' use of humanlike language appears to be based primarily on imitation and mimicry. They do not appear to understand the underlying structure of what they "say." d. When compared to chimpanzees or bonobos, parrots appear to have a much higher capacity for learning the syntax and structure of human language.
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c. twins may be more susceptible to language delays, which appear to some observers as distinct language forms. What some people think is cryptophasia may in fact be a mild case of language delay.
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Some believe that twins often share a secret and distinct language. Research suggests that a. cryptophasia is a true phenomenon for roughly half of all twins studied. b. most twins develop language more quickly than singletons, leaving them free to develop new languages. c. twins may be more susceptible to language delays, which appear to some observers as distinct language forms. d. the secret language of twins is referred to as homesign.
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d. Correlation vs. causation The policy was based on correlational data, and those who shaped the policy incorrectly concluded that the presence of a relationship meant that a causal path existed.
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For some time, U.S. educational policy was based on the research-based belief that teaching children to recognize whole words was the best way to teach reading skills. As it turns out, this was incorrect. The best way to teach reading skills is to teach analysis and recognition of sound-letter relationships. The mistake was a result of incorrect conclusions based on specific types of research. What error of critical thinking took place? a. Ruling out rival hypotheses b. Replicability c. Occam's Razor d. Correlation vs. causation
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c. underextension
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When a child applies a word on a much narrower sense than is needed - for example thinking that the word "house" refers only to their own house - they are engaging in a. overextension b. overregulation c. underextension d. underregulation
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a. miser
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The term cognitive ________ is used to reflect the fact that human beings seek to reduce their mental effort as much as possible, while still being able to make accurate decisions. a. miser b. parsimony c. heuristic d. frugality
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a. developed sign language in much the same way Buck learned to speak. Sign language is a fully productive language with its own phonemes, words, syntax, and extralinguistic information. Though 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents, babies born to fluent signers do not experience significant challenges to learning language.
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Buck has a friend who is deaf and was born to deaf parents who used sign language. It is most likely that his friend a. developed sign language in much the same way Buck learned to speak. b. learned sign language as a whole rather than a series of stages. c. has not learned to sign because he can lip read. d. developed a secret language with his parents that only they can understand.
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d. No, because infants' comprehension of their world precedes their production ability.
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Should Serina be surprised that her 10-month-old infant understands her command to pick up her rattle? a. Yes, because most infants don't develop true comprehension until after their first birthday. b. No, because most infants can comprehend hundreds of words by their first birthday. c. Yes, because although most infants can produce hundreds of words before their first birthday, comprehension usually lags behind. d. No, because infants' comprehension of their world precedes their production ability.
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b. has ambiguous meaning Depending on the emphasis that you put on different words, this headline could have very different meanings.
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Newspaper headlines, such as "Two Convicts Evade Noose, Jury Hung," may strike us as funny. From the perspective of language, this is because the phrase or headline a. is impossible to interpret. b. has ambiguous meaning c. has no literal interpretation. d. lacks subject-verb agreement.
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c. Vocabulary
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According to research, which of the following aspects of language is the least susceptible to the effects of age? Select one: a. Syntax b. Pronunciation c. Vocabulary d. Pragmatics
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b. understand little to nothing about what was being communicated. Sign language is a fully productive language with its own phonemes, words, syntax, and extralinguistic information. ASL has little in common with any spoken language and would not be decipherable to someone who is not fluent.
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If you didn't already know sign language and you observed two deaf persons using signs, you would probably a. have an easy time deciphering their conversation. b. understand little to nothing about what was being communicated. c. have to rely on their facial expressions. d. be able to join in the conversation after a few minutes.
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c. Comprehension of words precedes production. Typically infants will understand words before they start to use them.
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Which of the following represents the most accurate statement about how children learn language? a. Reduplicative babbling precedes the syllables stage of vocalization. b. Children can produce many more words than they can understand. c. Comprehension of words precedes production. d. Most children recognize their own names as early as two months.
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d. are rarely followed in real-world language. Real-world language use tends to be less formal and more casual. The rules of syntax tend to be applied with more lenience.
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In most cases, the rules of syntax a. are the same across different languages. b. are the same across different dialects. c. are perfectly applied in conversation. d. are rarely followed in real-world language.
