Deck 8: D: Language,thinking,and Reasoning

Question 1

People are more likely to fear motor vehicle accidents than digestive cancer,even though digestive cancer is almost twice as common.This error is produced because of the

A)representativeness heuristic.
B)availability heuristic.
C)hindsight bias.
D)confirmation bias.

Answer 1

availability heuristic.

Question 2

When we use the __________ heuristic,we compare a particular person and their behaviour to some model or prototype.

A)attitude
B)simulation
C)availability
D)representativeness

Answer 2

representativeness

Question 3

June is trying to read her psychology text and finds that she cannot tune out background noise of the library,the way the chair is uncomfortable on various parts of her body,the hum of the heating vents,pencil scribbles on the desk,the light on the computer plug that flashes,the whir of her laptop fan,and her own breathing.It could be said that June lacks __________ that would allow her to only attend to the information she needs for decision making and minimize the rest.

A)bottom-up processing
B)schemas
C)cognitive economy
D)disconfirmation strategies

Answer 3

cognitive economy

Question 4

People are more likely to fear AIDS than heart disease,even though heart disease is far more common.This is because of the

A)representativeness heuristic.
B)availability heuristic.
C)hindsight bias.
D)confirmation bias.

Question 5

Because our snap judgments are probably "good bets," the tendency to use heuristics and intuition might be considered

A)a maladaptation.
B)a failure of cognitive miserliness.
C)adaptive.
D)too risky to use.

Question 6

If we know that Ashley is 25 years old,outspoken on environmental and human rights issues,and presently on her way to an anti-nuclear weapons demonstration,we might come to the quick conclusion that she is also a feminist,because is many ways she shares similar interests.This mental shortcut demonstrates the

A)attitude heuristic.
B)simulation heuristic.
C)availability heuristic.
D)representativeness heuristic.

Question 7

By ignoring base rate information,the representative heuristic suggests that we prefer

A)inferential information over statistical information.
B)descriptive information over inferential information.
C)descriptive information over statistical information.
D)statistical information over descriptive information.

Question 8

Dr.Fortner is discussing cognitive psychology with his introductory psychology class and says that we act as cognitive misers when making judgments about others or making decisions.What does Dr.Fortner mean with this statement?

A)We will use heuristics only as long as they give us the correct answer.
B)We value accuracy in our judgments and decisions.
C)We value simplicity in understanding our social world.
D)We are frequently incorrect in our judgments and decision making.

Question 9

Behaviourists attempted to explain thinking in the narrow terms of

A)remembering and feeling.
B)believing and deciding.
C)feeling and perceiving.
D)stimulus and response.

Question 10

Larry is out at a local market canvassing people to contribute to an environmental cause.He comes across a woman who looks very aggravated and stressed-out and decides not to approach her.According to the types of cognitive economies we use,Larry would be engaging in __________ to make his decision.

A)ad hoc categories
B)fast and frugal thinking
C)taxonomic hierarchies
D)scripts

Question 11

__________ allows us to simplify what we attend to and keep the information we need for decision making to a manageable minimum.

A)Cognitive overload
B)Cognitive economy
C)Cognitive bias
D)Cognitive restructuring

Question 12

John Gottman and his colleagues were able to predict divorce rates of couples with startling accuracy using techniques related to the concept of

A)linear regression.
B)the availability heuristic.
C)cognitive load.
D)thin slicing.

Question 13

If you polled some friends from Edmonton about the number of murders in this capital city,and other friends about the number of murders in the entire province of Alberta,you'd likely find that the average number of murders estimated for Edmonton is more than for the entire province.This impossible finding is best explained by the

A)representativeness heuristic.
B)availability heuristic.
C)hindsight bias.
D)confirmation bias.

Question 14

If we know that Ashley (a 25-year-old outspoken nuclear-weapons protester)is a feminist,we are likely to also guess she is a lawyer rather than a bank teller.However,this ignores __________,because there are many more female bank tellers in the population.

A)prior personal information
B)personality factors
C)the base rates
D)Ashley's relative education

Question 15

One reason that we are susceptible to the representativeness heuristic is that we

A)mistake confidence for certainty.
B)are fooled by information that comes to our mind most easily.
C)fail to consider how probable an outcome is within the general population.
D)overestimate our cognitive abilities and processes.

Question 16

Our ability to extract useful information from observations of only small bits of behaviour is known as

A)being a cognitive miser.
B)the hindsight bias.
C)thin slicing.
D)inferential intelligence.

Question 17

__________ are a great way,in the case of real-world or social processes,to save time and effort at the expense of some accuracy.

A)Statistics
B)Prototypes
C)Algorithms
D)Heuristics

Question 18

Successful communication

A)rarely requires nonverbal information from the speaker.
B)depends mainly on the literal and accurate interpretation of words.
C)depends exclusively on language content.
D)depends on the reasoning abilities of the listener.

Question 19

One explanation for schizophrenia holds that persons with schizophrenia have difficulty in filtering their attention.This is related to the concept of

A)chunking.
B)cognitive economy.
C)schema development.
D)top-down processing.

Question 20

Judith is a third-year undergraduate student who lists her interests as computer gaming,programming,and helping others.Based on this description,you might assume that Judith is more likely to be a computer science major than a psychology major.Your judgment is likely based on the __________ heuristic but might be wrong due to the __________.

A)availability;base rate fallacy
B)representative;overconfidence bias
C)availability;overconfidence bias
D)representative;base rate fallacy

Question 21

An important danger of the heuristics and cognitive biases discussed in your text is that they lead us

A)to become anxious or depressed about our place in the world.
B)to doubt our intuition and gut feelings in important real-life circumstances.
C)to believe in observations about our world that are not true.
D)to underestimate our general levels of cognitive abilities and skills.

Question 22

Days following the championship football game,many "armchair quarterbacks" explain how they knew all along that the losing team would not be victorious.This example illustrates

A)confirmation bias.
B)hindsight bias.
C)the representativeness heuristic.
D)the availability heuristic.

Question 23

Following a severe bus accident in British Columbia where all passengers and the driver were killed,Dwayne decides that it would be safer to drive than take the bus on his next several trips through the mountains.Dwayne is basing his decision on the

A)representativeness heuristic.
B)hindsight bias.
C)confirmation bias.
D)availability heuristic.

Question 24

Many people drew faulty conclusions about the relative safety of air travel compared to automobile travel in the wake of the September 11,2001,terrorist attacks.Such poor reasoning was the result of

A)hindsight bias.
B)mental sets.
C)the availability heuristic.
D)thin slicing.

Question 25

__________ refers to the process of selecting among a set of possible alternatives.

A)Mental set
B)Decision making
C)Heuristics
D)Thin slicing

Question 26

Which of the following is considered an example of higher-order cognition?

A)Decision making
B)Language
C)Memory
D)Perception

Question 27

Understanding how the brain works while individuals make financial decisions is referred to as

A)neuroeconomics.
B)decision management.
C)psychoheuristics.
D)business reasoning.

Question 28

Tom is baking banana bread,and the recipe calls for half a cup of margarine.When he realizes that he does not have any margarine,he gives up baking rather than using a substitute.His method of thinking reflects

A)an algorithm.
B)mental set.
C)surface salience.
D)functional fixedness.

Question 29

When Lonnie and Burt were married,their friends were unsure of whether the marriage would last or end in divorce.However,after the two divorced,many of their friends commented to each other about how certain they had been that things would not work out from the beginning.This is an example of the

A)confirmation bias.
B)hindsight bias.
C)representativeness heuristic.
D)availability heuristic.

Question 30

The tendency to overestimate how well we could have successfully forecast known outcomes is called the

A)confirmation bias.
B)hindsight bias.
C)representativeness heuristic.
D)availability heuristic.

Question 31

If a person makes a judgment based on how easy it is for an instance to come to mind,he or she may fall victim to the

A)belief perseverance effect.
B)representativeness heuristic.
C)hindsight bias.
D)availability heuristic.

Question 32

The __________ bias refers to our tendency to overestimate our ability to predict known outcomes,whereas the __________ bias reflects the overestimation of our ability to make correct predictions.

A)hindsight;representative
B)hindsight;overconfidence
C)overconfidence;representative
D)overconfidence;hindsight

Question 33

Amanda asks a group of research participants to estimate the number of deaths each year due to homicide and diabetes.She finds that higher numbers report homicide,because they are more vivid examples,though over twice as many die from complications related to diabetes.This is one example of the dangers of the __________ in our judgments and decision making.

A)representativeness heuristic
B)hindsight bias
C)availability heuristic
D)confirmation bias

Question 34

Allan is a birdwatcher,and when he sees a new flying creature one day while on a walk,he does not need to discover that it flies,chirps,and eats worms and bugs to recognize that it is a bird.Allan is using __________ to help him achieve cognitive economy and categorize his world.

A)top-down processing
B)schemas
C)taxonomic hierarchies
D)ad hoc reasoning

Question 35

Research has demonstrated that when it comes to making decisions based on our emotional preferences (such as what we find attractive or appealing),

A)careful thought and weighing the pros and cons leads to the highest satisfaction in the decision.
B)use of heuristics is particularly prevalent as it is not cognitively efficient to be bogged down by emotion.
C)thinking too much can lead us to become overwhelmed and ultimately dissatisfied with our choice.
D)we are distracted by our emotions,which leads to faulty reasoning and poor decisions.

Question 36

Which of the following is an example of top-down processing?

A)Habituation
B)Sensation
C)Transduction
D)Chunking information

Question 37

The new field of __________ attempts to bring scientific evidence into the business world to help organizations prosper through sound decision making and avoiding bias.

A)neuroeconomics
B)decision management
C)psychoheuristics
D)business reasoning

Question 38

Jerome was uncertain of the correctness of his answers to many of the questions on his psychology exam.After seeing his score-an A-he subsequently told his friends about how he knew he aced the exam.This demonstrates the influence of __________ on our judgments.

A)the hindsight bias
B)belief perseverance
C)confirmation bias
D)the availability heuristic

Question 39

The brain's tendency to streamline our thinking processes by use of preexisting knowledge is referred to as

A)top-down processing.
B)taxonomic construction.
C)inductive reasoning.
D)bottom-up processing.

Question 40

Following Stephen Harper's defeat by the Liberal candidate,Justin Trudeau,many people looked back over the Conservative campaign and claimed they knew all along that Harper would lose.This example illustrates the

A)confirmation bias.
B)hindsight bias.
C)representativeness heuristic.
D)availability heuristic.

Question 41

Imagine that you see an advertisement for a new cell phone that gives you coverage across 80 percent of Canada.However,if you reword the offer,you realize that you would have no cellular coverage in 20 percent of Canada.This example highlights how __________ influence(s)our decision making.

A)mental set
B)heuristics
C)framing
D)algorithms

Question 42

My exposure to the typical use of objects in my culture may render me less able to find novel solutions to problems.This is referred to as

A)availability heuristic.
B)mental sets.
C)functional fixedness.
D)salience of surface characteristics.

Question 43

Charles is a mechanic,and he thinks through a series of procedures he must complete in order to change the radiator on his client's car.This method of thinking reflects

A)mental set.
B)surface salience.
C)an algorithm.
D)functional fixedness.

Question 44

__________ are step-by-step learned procedures that are useful for problem solving but are not flexible to adaptation.

A)Algorithms
B)Mental sets
C)Frames
D)Schemas

Question 45

Brain activation in the frontal and parietal lobes may help us to break free of mental sets because these regions help us to

A)remember problem-solving techniques we have used in the past and apply them to a new problem.
B)coordinate our visual and sensory inputs to "see" problems in a new light.
C)alter our conscious awareness such that the solution can be generated in an unburdened mind.
D)inhibit previous responses and allow us to generate new strategies.

Question 46

Tessa is writing an algebra exam and tries to solve two separate questions in the same way given that both involve calculations concerning the speed of a jet plane.The second problem,however,requires a different form of reasoning to solve the problem.Tessa is experiencing which obstacle to problem solving?

A)Functional fixedness
B)The salience of surface properties
C)A mental set
D)The hindsight bias

Question 47

Susan's car gets stuck in the snow,and no matter what she tries,her tires just keep spinning as she can't get any traction underneath her tires.She looks at the items in her trunk (crackers,her school books,some windshield washer fluid,and some kitty litter)and is frustrated because she doesn't seem to have anything to help her out of her situation.Susan is displaying __________ as she did not think of using kitty litter to sprinkle under her tires to help with traction.

A)a mental set
B)functional fixedness
C)the availability heuristic
D)the hindsight bias

Question 48

Which of the following is a hurdle to solving problems?

A)Subproblems
B)Functional fixedness
C)Analogies
D)Algorithms

Question 49

As symbol systems of communication,most languages

A)are arbitrary in the relationship between words and meaning.
B)do not have concepts that are unique to just one particular language.
C)can be translated to another without impaired meanings of complex concepts.
D)generally match sounds to the meaning of words.

Question 50

Breaking down tasks into more manageable bits refers to using __________ to solve a problem.

A)mental sets
B)subproblems
C)algorithms
D)heuristics

Question 51

Cassandra has five chapters to read for her upcoming midterm,and she finds the thought of sitting down and reading hundreds of pages at once overwhelming.She decides to use the breaks in between her classes to read and take notes from 15 pages at a time to make the task seem more manageable.Cassandra is using what approach to solve her problem?

A)Mental sets
B)Subproblems
C)Algorithms
D)Heuristics

Question 52

If I am given 10 math problems,and I can and do solve the first nine in the same way,I may struggle with the tenth problem if it requires a different method to solve it.This best illustrates the concept of

A)the salience of surface properties.
B)mental sets.
C)thin slicing.
D)hindsight bias.

Question 53

Language is

A)a communication system that requires little implicit processing.
B)rarely ambiguous.
C)a symbol system of communication.
D)a communication system that includes words but not gestures.

Question 54

According to __________,our knowledge is organized and accessed in a manner that enables us to simulate our actual experiences.

A)artificial intelligence models
B)schema models
C)general cognitive processing models
D)embodiment models

Question 55

Carl is reading the newspaper and laughs when he sees the headline "Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case." From the perspective of language,Carl most likely finds this humorous because the phrase or headline

A)lacks subject-verb agreement.
B)has ambiguous syntax.
C)has no literal interpretation.
D)has ambiguous word interpretations.

Question 56

Much of our language use serves non-informational purposes,such as

A)maintaining social relationships.
B)telling the barista that we want a skim latte.
C)providing directions to an event.
D)advising a friend what time to show up at a party.

Question 57

When attempting to solve a problem,we are often distracted by __________ rather than focusing on the underlying reasoning needed to solve the problem.

A)the hindsight bias
B)thin slicing
C)mental sets
D)the salience of surface properties

Question 58

Newspaper headlines such as "Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years" may strike us as funny.From the perspective of language,this is because the phrase or headline

A)lacks subject-verb agreement.
B)has no literal interpretation.
C)has ambiguous syntax.
D)is impossible to interpret.

Question 59

Research has found that brain activation in the __________ has been linked to the ability to break free of a mental set.

A)frontal and parietal lobes
B)orbitofrontal cortex
C)temporal lobe
D)limbic system

Question 60

The tendency to perceive and approach problems in the same ways that have worked in the past is called

A)the salience of surface properties.
B)mental sets.
C)thin slicing.
D)hindsight bias.

Question 61

Up until recently,the most widely used analogy for our mind's ability to process information,fill in gaps,and draw inferences has been the

A)wax seal model.
B)subterranean cavern model.
C)language acquisition device.
D)computer model.

Question 62

Syntax is the study of

A)the meanings of words and phrases.
B)the basic sounds of a language.
C)how words are combined into sentences.
D)developing more effective computer languages.

Question 63

Mado is sad that she has lost the French-Canadian that her French-Canadian parents spoke in her childhood.She knows many French-Canadian words,but she has forgotten how to put them together into real French-Canadian sentences.Mado seems to have a problem with French-Canadian

A)morphemes.
B)phonemes.
C)syntax.
D)extralinguistic information.

Question 64

The level of analysis of language that focuses on how words are combined to form sentences is called

A)morphemes.
B)phonemes.
C)syntax.
D)extralinguistic.

Question 65

Phonemes are

A)the basic rules of grammar.
B)the basic brain structures.
C)the basic units of meaning.
D)the basic units of sound.

Question 66

The analysis of how words are combined together to form grammatical sentences and phrases is at the level of

A)morphemes.
B)phonemes.
C)syntax.
D)semantics.

Question 67

Consider the English word "rereading." Which of these is one phoneme in that word?

A)"read"
B)"re"
C)"r"
D)"rea"

Question 68

Consider the English word "rereading." Which of these is one morpheme in that word?

A)"reading"
B)"re"
C)"r"
D)"rea"

Question 69

In most cases,the rules of syntax

A)are the same across different languages.
B)are rarely followed in real-world language.
C)are perfectly applied in conversation.
D)are the same across different dialects.

Question 70

Dr.Doolittle is studying the order in which children around the world learn to make the speech sounds used in their native languages,to see if there are common patterns.Dr.Doolittle's approach to the analysis of language is at the level of

A)morphemes.
B)phonemes.
C)syntax.
D)extralinguistic.

Question 71

Which of the following is not one of the four levels of analysis that we use in producing language?

A)Phonemes
B)Morphemes
C)Semantics
D)Syntax

Question 72

What are the basic units of sound that compose the words in a language?

A)Lingmemes
B)Morphemes
C)Phonemes
D)Anomias

Question 73

Basic units of sound are called __________;basic units of meaning are called __________.

A)phonemes;syntax
B)phonemes;morphemes
C)morphemes;phonemes
D)morphemes;syntax

Question 74

The level of analysis of language that focuses on the smallest units of meaningful speech is called

A)morphemes.
B)phonemes.
C)syntax.
D)extralinguistic.

Question 75

The level of analysis of language that focuses on the sounds people use when then speak and listen is called

A)morphemes.
B)phonemes.
C)syntax.
D)semantics.

Question 76

Which of these levels of analysis is most directly related to the fact that "the boy ate the chicken" and "the chicken ate the boy" mean very different things?

A)Morphemes
B)Phonemes
C)Syntax
D)Extralinguistic information

Question 77

The English language has __________ phonemes.

A)no more than 15
B)more than 100
C)between 60 and 75
D)between 40 and 45

Question 78

The smallest units of speech that contain meaning are called

A)lingmemes.
B)morphemes.
C)phonemes.
D)anomias.

Question 79

Language is based on universal sound units called

A)phonemes.
B)morphemes.
C)semantics.
D)registers.

Question 80

We often do not consider the complexity of language.This is in part because

A)our use of language is generally automatic.
B)language acquisition requires little practice.
C)language acquisition is easy.
D)humans do not often consider complex phenomena.