Deck 5: Cognitive Processes

Question 1

The capacity of short-term memory-how many items can be held in mind and recalled immediately-is basically the same in all ethnic and cultural groups.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

An unpackaging study is designed to identify specific features of culture that can explain an observed difference between two or more nationalities or cultural groups.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

According to studies conducted by Gerd Lüer and his colleagues, why can Chinese students, as a group, retain more items in short-term memory than German students can?

A) Chinese students, on average, are more intelligent than German students.
B) Chinese students have more practice memorizing information than German students do.
C) Mandarin Chinese words often have fewer speech syllables than German words.
D) none of the above

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In 1897, an American anthropologist tested the memory capabilities of 500 Black and 500 White schoolchildren. What did he do when he saw that the Black students outperformed the White students?

A) He decided that the memory test was not a valid measure of intelligence.
B) He taught White children to use memory tricks used by Black children.
C) He tried to share his findings, but academic journals refused to publish them.
D) He repeated the study with a new set of test materials and found no differences between Black and White schoolchildren.

Question 5

Why will a person who can speak quickly probably have a larger memory span than a person who cannot speak quickly?

Question 6

When designing a culture-fair test of intelligence, why should the test maker avoid using a task that requires test takers to memorize a series of words or numbers?

Question 7

Compared to holistic thinkers, analytic thinkers are more likely to commit the fundamental attribution error.

Question 8

In a study that used the Framed-Line Test, Japanese students performed better on the absolute-length version of the test, but American students performed better on the relative-length version.

Question 9

Which of these is NOT characteristic of holistic thinking?

A) a tendency to focus on background elements in the visual field
B) a tendency to believe that a trend will persist and not reverse direction
C) a tendency to struggle to position the rod vertically in the Rod-and-Frame Test
D) a tendency to believe that events are the products of external forces

Question 10

The social orientation hypothesis states that _____________________.

A) securely attached individuals tend to think holistically, and insecurely attached individuals tend to think analytically
B) extraverted persons tend to think analytically, and introverted persons tend to think holistically
C) interdependent persons tend to think holistically, and independent persons tend to think analytically
D) monocultural individuals tend to think analytically, and multicultural individuals tend to think holistically

Question 11

Describe a hypothetical study that would determine if individuals can shift between culturally conditioned ways of thinking.

Question 12

Compare and contrast analytic thinking and holistic thinking. How are they similar? How are they different?

Question 13

Most Americans and Arabs think of time as moving from left to right, but Arabs also think of time as moving up and down.

Question 14

In a series of studies, Moroccans were more likely than Spaniards to locate future events behind their body and past events in front of their body.

Question 15

The temporal focus hypothesis states that _________________________________.

A) persons who think a lot about the passage of time are more likely to be future-oriented
B) persons who think a lot about the passage of time are more likely to be present-oriented
C) persons who think a lot about the passage of time are more likely to be past-oriented
D) none of the above

Question 16

What did aboriginal Pormpuraawans in Australia do when a researcher asked them to arrange a set of picture cards in chronological order, from beginning to end?

A) When facing north, they indicated that time moved from left to right.
B) When facing north, they indicated that time moved from right to left.
C) When facing north, they indicated that time moved toward them.
D) When facing north, they indicated that time moved away from them.

Question 17

List three examples of how culture and language shape the way people think about the relationship between time and space.

Question 18

According to researcher Daniel Casasanto and his colleagues, why do Moroccans typically place the past in front of them and Spaniards do it the other way around?

Question 19

In one study, Asian students were more likely than White students to report first-person memories, but only when they were the center of attention in the remembered event.

Question 20

In one study, Chinese students were, on average, less skilled than American students at taking the perspective of another person because they failed to separate their own perspective from their partner's perspective.

Question 21

According to studies, Asians are more likely than Westerners to ___________________, and Westerners are more likely than Asians to ___________________.

A) report first-person memories; report third-person memories
B) commit the fundamental attribution error; be a victim of self-serving bias
C) adopt a prevention orientation; adopt a promotion orientation
D) all of the above

Question 22

In studies of perspective taking, the attentional hypothesis states that _______________.

A) people with interdependent selves will make fewer errors because they focus their attention on others and away from themselves.
B) people with interdependent selves will make more errors because they mistakenly believe that their friend or partner knows what they know
C) people with interdependent selves will make more errors because they are strongly motivated to not lose face
D) none of the above

Question 23

What is a promotion orientation? What is a prevention orientation? Why are Asians more likely than Westerners to adopt a prevention orientation?

Question 24

Everyone has the ability to take the perspective of another person. In all countries and cultures, adults and children can reflect upon the mental states of other people. Nevertheless, people in some cultural groups use that ability more often and more naturally. Why?

Question 25

To reduce cognitive dissonance, a person must change one of the contradictory cognitions.

Question 26

According to expert Joel Cooper, cognitive dissonance is a general phenomenon experienced by people everywhere.

Question 27

Imagine a young girl who does not like the taste of broccoli. Her parents tell her that she will be eating a lot of broccoli in the weeks to come. The girl comes to believe that she likes the taste of broccoli more than she did before. This vignette illustrates a principle derived from cognitive dissonance theory. Which one?

A) post-decision dissonance reduction
B) the principle of inevitability
C) the justification of effort
D) none of the above

Question 28

Given what you learned in Briefing 22, in which situation will an Asian Canadian probably experience more cognitive dissonance than a European Canadian?

A) When choosing a gift for her friend.
B) When choosing a gift for her teacher.
C) When choosing a gift for her son.
D) all of the above

Question 29

What are the essential elements of Leon Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance?

Question 30

Can different cultural values trigger different kinds of dissonance experiences? If so, how so? If not, why not?