Deck 13: Comparative Cognition

Question 1

Which of the following statements illustrates the concept of biophilia?

A) Humans like to have plants and pets in their homes.
B) Humans respond better to reinforcement than to punishment.
C) Animals behave more naturally when they have a natural environment to live in.
D) Animals respond best to reinforcers that are appropriate for their species.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Moths that blend in with trees or grasses are:

A) more likely to be eaten by predators.
B) less likely to leave behind more offspring that carry the same genes.
C) less likely to be seen by predators.
D) not well adapted to their environment.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In the context of Tinbergen's "four levels of analysis," which of the following is a question about proximate cause?

A) How does a trait allow an animal to live longer?
B) Is a trait shared among species that live in similar environments?
C) How many offspring are left behind by individuals who have a trait?
D) What brain regions are associated with a trait?

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In order to test the memory of pigeons, Darlene trained them to peck a target in order to earn food. A week later, the trained target was presented among a variety of other novel targets to determine whether the pigeons could remember which target was the right one. Experiments like this demonstrate that the act of remembering can often be thought of as an instance of  _____.

A) generalization
B) spontaneous recovery
C) stimulus discrimination
D) latent inhibition

Question 5

Brodbeck and Shettleworth compared the memory ability of black-capped chickadees to that of dark-eyed juncos using:

A) a modified delayed matching-to-sample task.
B) the biophilia hypothesis.
C) the Monty Hall dilemma.
D) a directed forgetting task.

Question 6

According to Tinbergen, if you are examining a trait in order to determine how it contributes to the survival and reproduction of an organism, what are you studying?

A) Proximate cause
B) Overshadowing
C) Blocking
D) Ultimate cause

Question 7

Brodbeck and Shettleworth's experiment revealed that food-storing birds have far superior _____ memory abilities compared to non-storing birds.

A) episodic
B) spatial
C) social
D) transactive

Question 8

In the context of Tinbergen's "four questions," which of the following would be considered a question about ultimate cause?

A) Is a trait shared among species that live in similar environments?
B) How does a trait develop in an animal, from birth to adulthood?
C) How does a trait emerge as a result of hormone levels?
D) What brain regions are associated with a trait?

Question 9

In order to test the memory of rats, Stacey trained them to press a lever to earn food whenever they heard an 800-Hz tone. A week later, the rats were exposed to a variety of different tones in order to determine whether they would respond preferentially to the correct tone. Experiments like this demonstrate that the act of remembering can often be thought of as an instance of   _____.

A) generalization
B) spontaneous recovery
C) stimulus discrimination
D) latent inhibition

Question 10

In the context of Tinbergen's "four questions," which of the following is a question about ultimate cause?

A) How does a trait allow an animal to live longer?
B) How does a trait develop in an animal, from birth to adulthood?
C) How does a trait emerge as a result of hormone levels?
D) What brain regions are associated with a trait?

Question 11

Which of the following is a topic studied under comparative cognition?

A) Self-awareness
B) Communication skills
C) Physiological disorders
D) Body reflexes

Question 12

In a delayed matching-to-sample task, an animal has to remember a(n) _____ following a(n)   _____.

A) sample stimulus; reward
B) reinforcer: unconditioned stimulus
C) sample stimulus; delay
D) operant response; delay

Question 13

If a pigeon is shown a signal indicating that it can forget a stimulus, then:

A) it is unlikely to forget the stimulus.
B) its memory remains unaffected by the signal.
C) it does indeed tend to forget the stimulus.
D) it begins to display adjunctive behavior.

Question 14

In a directed forgetting procedure, a _____ is presented during the _____ period.

A) forget cue; delay
B) reward; test
C) forget cue; test
D) reward; delay

Question 15

According to Tinbergen, if you are examining a trait in order to determine how it develops in an organism, from birth until adulthood, what are you studying?

A) Proximate cause
B) Latent inhibition
C) Comparative mechanisms
D) Ultimate cause

Question 16

As Jason walks down the street, a large raven starts squawking at him and flapping its wings. Jason thinks to himself, "That bird hates me!" This scenario best illustrates the concept of _____.

A) anthropomorphism
B) anthropocentrism
C) objectivity
D) subjectivity

Question 17

Tara buys little t-shirts and ornaments for her dog because she feels that her dog is a princess, and that the dog likes wearing these things in order to feel pretty. Which of the following concepts is illustrated by this example?

A) Anthropocentrism
B) Anthropomorphism
C) Reductionism
D) Animism

Question 18

In _____, an animal is first shown a sample stimulus and then, following a break, is required to select that stimulus out of a set of alternative stimuli.

A) peak shift
B) delayed matching-to-sample
C) sensory preconditioning
D) sample discrimination

Question 19

If you are conducting research to determine whether cats have better memories than do turtles, which of the following fields are you studying?

A) Depth perception
B) Comparative cognition
C) Moral disengagement
D) Latent inhibition

Question 20

In the context of Tinbergen's "four levels of analysis," which of the following would be considered a question about proximate cause?

A) How does a trait allow an animal to live longer?
B) Is this a trait that is shared by other species that are closely related?
C) Does a trait allow a species to have more offspring?
D) At what age does a trait emerge, and how does it develop?

Question 21

If a species has an understanding of quantity, then it can also be said that the species shows evidence of  _____.

A) fundamental mathematics
B) arithmetic
C) performance intelligence
D) numerosity

Question 22

Betty is about to complete a laboratory task that involves watching the placement of specific numbers of items into a bucket with a false bottom. Some of the items go into the false bottom, and some stay in the main part of the bucket for Betty to find. If Betty is a mongoose lemur, and she sees two items go into the bucket but finds only one item when she reaches in, what will Betty do next?

A) She will do nothing. She will be contented with finding one item.
B) She will do nothing. She cannot tell the difference between one item and two items.
C) She will keep searching, regardless of the number of items she saw.
D) She will keep searching until she finds the second item.

Question 23

During which time of the year would chickadees begin to grow new hippocampal neurons?

A) Spring
B) Summer
C) Winter
D) Fall

Question 24

A mongoose lemur sees two halves of a grape put into a bucket. He is then allowed to retrieve the halves of the grape from the bucket. If he retrieves a whole grape from the bucket instead, the lemur will:

A) continue searching for the two half grapes.
B) continue searching for another whole grape.
C) stop searching because he cannot tell the difference between numbers of items.
D) stop searching because the correct volume of food was found.

Question 25

When would the horse named Clever Hans NOT provide the correct answer to a question?

A) When it was asked by anyone other than his trainer
B) When the questioner did not know the answer
C) When people were watching
D) When Hans did not know the answer

Question 26

Which of the following brain areas is larger in food-storing birds compared to non-storing birds?

A) The brainstem
B) The hippocampus
C) The cortex
D) The amygdala

Question 27

Which of the following pairs of birds would typically have the greatest similarity in spatial memory abilities?

A) Two closely related species that do not store food
B) Two unrelated species that both store food
C) Two closely related species, in which one stores food and the other does not
D) Two unrelated species, in which one stores food and the other does not

Question 28

When mongoose lemurs make discriminations among various amounts of items, they seem to do it based on _____ rather than by   _____.

A) a sense of proportion; counting
B) counting; intuitive understanding of volume
C) intuitive understanding of volume; empirical measurement
D) counting; empirical measurement

Question 29

In the context of the Monty Hall dilemma, what do humans and pigeons do when offered the option between switching or staying with their original choices?

A) Both humans and pigeons tend to switch.
B) Both humans and pigeons tend to stick to their original choices.
C) Humans tend to stick to their original choices, but pigeons switch.
D) Humans tend to switch, but pigeons tend to stick to their original choices.

Question 30

The case of Clever Hans provided an excellent example of the fact that it is often necessary for experimenters to be _____ regarding the purpose of the experiment.

A) blind
B) well-guided
C) well-informed
D) resistant

Question 31

Sally is about to complete a laboratory task that involves watching specific numbers of items being placed into a bucket with a false bottom. The researcher carrying out the task places some of the items into the false bottom, while leaving some in the main part of the bucket for Sally to find. If Sally is a one-year-old infant, and she sees two items go into the bucket but finds only one item when she reaches in, what will she do next?

A) She will do nothing. She will be contented with finding one item.
B) She will do nothing. She cannot tell the difference between one item and two items.
C) She will cry until the researcher helps her find the second item.
D) She will keep searching until she finds the second item.

Question 32

When would the horse named Clever Hans provide the correct answer to a question?

A) When his trainer was present
B) When he was provided with food prior to answering a question
C) When the questioner was visible to him
D) When his trainer asked the question

Question 33

Which of the following birds would have the largest hippocampus ?

A) An experienced food-storing bird
B) An experienced non-storing bird
C) An inexperienced food-storing bird
D) An inexperienced non-storing bird

Question 34

According to the operant conditioning explanation of Clever Hans's mathematical abilities, which of the following could be considered both a reinforcer and a discriminative stimulus?

A) The question posed to the horse
B) The food reward
C) The trainer
D) The subtle change in the questioner's appearance

Question 35

Sally is about to complete a laboratory task that involves watching the placement of specific numbers of items into a bucket with a false bottom. Some of the items are placed in the false bottom, and some stay in the main part of the bucket for Sally to find. If Sally is a ten-month-old infant, and she sees five items go into the bucket but finds only four items when she reaches in, what is Sally likely to do next?

A) She will cry until somebody helps her find the fifth item.
B) She will do nothing. She is unable to tell the difference between four items and five items.
C) She will keep searching, regardless of the number of items she saw.
D) She will keep searching until she finds the fifth item.

Question 36

A delayed matching-to-sample task is generally used to test memory, whereas a direct matching-to-sample task is used to assess   _____.

A) speed
B) reference
C) categorization
D) syntax

Question 37

According to the operant conditioning explanation of Clever Hans's mathematical abilities, which of the following terms best describes the subtle change in facial expression that the horse observes in the questioner?

A) Discriminative stimulus
B) Reinforcer
C) Both a and b are correct.
D) Neither a nor b is correct.

Question 38

Using a modified delayed matching-to-sample task, Brodbeck and Shettleworth demonstrated that food-storing chickadees were more likely to use _____ rather than _____ to select a target.

A) location; timing
B) color; timing
C) color; location
D) location; color

Question 39

Betty is about to complete a laboratory task that involves watching specific numbers of items being placed into a bucket with a false bottom. Some of the items go into the false bottom, and some stay in the main part of the bucket for Betty to find. If Betty is a mongoose lemur, and she sees eight items go into the bucket but finds only six items when she reaches in, what will Betty do next?

A) She will use gestures to ask for help in finding the seventh and eighth item.
B) She will do nothing. She cannot tell the difference between six items and eight items.
C) She will keep searching, regardless of the number of items she saw.
D) She will keep searching until she finds the seventh and eighth item.

Question 40

In Koehler's direct matching-to-sample tasks on birds, it was found that some birds could match numbers as large as  _____.

A) 2
B) 4
C) 7
D) 10

Question 41

Infant humans tend to pass the mark and mirror test by the age of _____, while many chimpanzees pass it by the age of   _____.

A) 3 years; 4 years
B) 24 months; 28 months
C) 12 months; 24 months
D) 6 months; 4 years

Question 42

Which of the following species has NOT shown evidence of passing the mark and mirror test for self-awareness?

A) Chimpanzees
B) Cats
C) Dolphins
D) Elephants

Question 43

Which of the following is an example of tool use?

A) An otter uses a rock to crack open crab shells.
B) A chimpanzee uses a twig to pull termites out of a nest.
C) A child uses a Frisbee to cover his head when it is raining.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 44

Which of the following processes explains the acquisition of tool use among chimpanzees?

A) Observational learning
B) Classical conditioning
C) Overshadowing
D) Generalization

Question 45

You tell a 3-year-old girl the following story: "Ellen hides her jewelry in an ice-cream container in the freezer so that if burglars break into the house, they will not find these very special pieces." If you ask the 3-year-old girl where a burglar would look for the jewelry, what would she typically say?

A) In the freezer
B) In the jewelry box
C) In the safe
D) In the garbage with the ice cream

Question 46

Alex, a school student, cannot find his classroom. He stops a student in the hallway to ask for directions. Since Alex asked someone else for information that he did not have, we can infer that Alex has  _____.

A) experimental neurosis
B) reference
C) social neurosis
D) a theory of mind

Question 47

Which task is used to assess whether a subject is self-aware?

A) Discrimination learning
B) The mark and mirror task
C) The Monty Hall dilemma
D) Transitive inference generalization

Question 48

Which of the following species has shown exceptional skill in multistep processes that involve harvesting of two different types of plants at different points in time?

A) Octopuses
B) Crows
C) Otters
D) Chimpanzees

Question 49

Which of the following reactions would typically be expected of a 24-month-old human infant who is taking part in the mark and mirror task?

A) Reacting with fear or aggression to the mirror image
B) No reaction to the mirror image
C) Pointing to the mirror image and saying "baby"
D) Touching the mark on its face

Question 50

Which of the following reactions is expected of a 24-month-old chimpanzee who demonstrates a lack of self-recognition while taking part in the mark and mirror task?

A) Exploring himself in the mirror
B) Reacting with fear or aggression to the mirror image
C) Pointing to the mirror image
D) No reaction to the mirror image

Question 51

In MacLean, Merritt, and Brannon's research experiment on lemurs, subjects were given a reinforcer provided they chose the higher ranking item in a pair. Given that A>B, B>C, C>D, D>E, and E>F, then how did a ring-tailed lemur (a social animal) respond when asked to choose between B and F?

A) It chose B.
B) It chose F.
C) It was unable to choose between B and F.
D) It displayed symptoms of experimental neurosis.

Question 52

When making choices in the Monty Hall dilemma, humans tend to use _____ probability, whereas pigeons utilize _____ probability.

A) standard; empirical
B) classical; empirical
C) empirical; classical
D) empirical; standard

Question 53

In order to determine whether animals understand categories, which of the following conditioning procedures would be used?

A) Discrimination training
B) Shaping and reinforcement
C) Heterogeneous chaining
D) Aversive conditioning

Question 54

Jessica is worried that Brian thinks she has no sense of humor. Jessica's concern about Brian's opinion reflects the fact that Jessica has  _____.

A) a theory of mind
B) social neurosis
C) experimental neurosis
D) reference

Question 55

_____ is the tendency to attribute mental states to other individuals.

A) Transitive inference
B) Experimental neurosis
C) Social neurosis
D) Theory of mind

Question 56

According to Herbranson & Schroeder, on which of the following tasks do pigeons outperform humans?

A) Directed forgetting
B) The Monty Hall dilemma
C) A delayed matching-to-sample task
D) A false belief task

Question 57

It was predicted that ring-tailed lemurs would perform well on a transitive inference task because they:

A) live in small unstructured groups.
B) are less social than mongoose lemurs.
C) lack the vocal apparatus required to produce comprehensible speech.
D) are very social and live in large groups with a rigid social hierarchy.

Question 58

In a training procedure, a ring-tailed lemur (a social animal) is given a reinforcer if it chooses the higher ranking item in a pair. If A>B and B>C and C>D, then how would the lemur respond if asked to choose between A and D?

A) It would choose A.
B) It would choose D.
C) It would not be able to choose between A and D.
D) It would show symptoms of experimental neurosis.

Question 59

If you know that it would be a bad idea to insult your supervisor and an even worse idea to insult your supervisor's supervisor, which of the following concepts do you understand?

A) Generalization
B) Transitive inference
C) Categorical learning
D) Rank induction

Question 60

Which of the following cognitive skills is required in order to intentionally deceive others?

A) Tool use
B) Sustained attention
C) Delay of gratification
D) Theory of mind

Question 61

Which of the following is NOT an example of communication?

A) A dog urinates near a tree to mark its territory.
B) A woman tells her friend that her new haircut suits her well.
C) A bird sounds an alarm call when a predator is spotted.
D) An elephant sniffs the air to determine if there is food nearby.

Question 62

The fact that "The dog bit John" means something different from "John bit the dog" is an example of the importance of _____ in language.

A) reference
B) symbols
C) syntax
D) semantics

Question 63

The fact that "Bob likes Sarah" means something different from "Sarah likes Bob" illustrates the importance of _____ in language.

A) productivity
B) syntax
C) symbols
D) semantics

Question 64

A male gorilla pounds his chest and roars, causing other male gorillas to avoid the area or become submissive. This is an example of   _____.

A) language
B) semantics
C) communication
D) symbolism

Question 65

If a species on another planet had a system of communication that involved symbols (in the form of different squeaks) and rules (the order of the squeaks was important), would this information be enough to indicate that the species is using "language"?

A) Yes, because there is evidence of both syntax and semantics.
B) Yes, because there is evidence of the critical feature of reference.
C) No, because there is no evidence of syntax.
D) No, because there is no evidence of semantics.

Question 66

The fact that I can refer to a certain object on the street as either a car or an automobile is an example of   _____.

A) reference
B) semantics
C) grammar
D) syntax

Question 67

The term _____ refers to a cue that is used to represent an experience or object that you can then share with someone else.

A) symbol
B) reference
C) syntax
D) semantics

Question 68

The fact that the word e-mail can be used both as a noun and a verb depending on how words are arranged is an example of   _____.

A) semantics
B) syntax
C) symbolism
D) reference

Question 69

You tell a 5-year-old boy the following story: "Ellen hides her jewelry in an ice-cream container in the freezer, so that if burglars break in to the house they will not find these very special pieces." If you ask the 5-year-old boy where a burglar would look for the jewelry, what would he typically say?

A) In the freezer
B) In the jewelry box
C) In the ice cream
D) In the garbage with the ice cream

Question 70

Which of the following cognitive tasks is most DIFFICULT for adult chimpanzees?

A) Self-awareness as tested in the mark and mirror task
B) Observational learning of tool use
C) Cooperation as tested in the rope task
D) Deception as displayed in the uncooperative trainer task

Question 71

Reference is the ability to:

A) string together a meaningful set of words.
B) generate an infinite number of expressions.
C) use arbitrary symbols to refer to objects and events.
D) refer to objects and events that are not present.

Question 72

The hidden banana task, which is used for chimpanzees, is comparable to the _____, which is used for humans.

A) transitive inference task
B) Monty Hall dilemma
C) delayed matching-to-sample task
D) false belief task

Question 73

Which of the following conclusions can be inferred from the performance of chimpanzees in the hidden banana task?

A) Chimpanzees are able to use information about what could be known by the dominant chimp to their advantage.
B) Chimpanzees have transitive inference.
C) Chimpanzees are inherently deceptive.
D) Chimpanzees are capable of insight that leads to innovative tool-making.

Question 74

When Peter's son refused to eat his potatoes, Peter made up a story about a boy who once disliked potatoes and lost all his energy as a result (following which Peter's son began eating his potatoes). The fact that Peter could generate a new story is an example of the _____ aspect of language.

A) referential
B) syntactical
C) grammatical
D) semantic

Question 75

The fact that a dog can also be called a canine or a pooch is an example of _____.

A) grammar
B) reference
C) syntax
D) semantics

Question 76

Which of the following species performs more POORLY than the others in the rope task for cooperation?

A) Chimpanzees
B) Bonobos
C) Hyenas
D) Rooks

Question 77

Animals that appear to have _____ are sometimes able to cooperate in laboratory settings on novel tasks that require coordinated actions.

A) transitive inference
B) reference
C) social neurosis
D) a theory of mind

Question 78

According to Fitch, what are the three key features of language?

A) Symbols, syntax, and semantics
B) Symbols, systems, and signaling
C) Grammar, spelling, and pronunciation
D) Grammar, syntax, and semantics

Question 79

The term syntax refers to the:

A) ability to generate an infinite number of expressions.
B) use of arbitrary symbols to refer to objects and events.
C) ability to refer to objects and events that are not present.
D) system of grammatical rules by which symbols are arranged.

Question 80

Imagine that among a certain species of bird, a warble signals danger, while a chirp signals food. This is an example of  _____.

A) reference
B) semantics
C) stimulus enhancement
D) syntax