Question 1

There are four distinct stages of sleep. Sleepwalking and somniloquy take place during which stage of sleep?

Accepted Answer

Stage N3 sleep, also called deep or slow wave sleep, is the stage during which most parasomnias occur, including night terrors, sleepwalking, somniloquy, and nocturnal enuresis.

Question 2

Studies of memory loss and weakness as it relates to aging tend to focus on which types of memory?

Accepted Answer

Explicit memory is deliberate and conscious recall of information learned at specific times; semantic and episodic memory are both subsets of explicit memory. Implicit memory is unconscious recall of information learned at an earlier time. Research focuses on the differences between explicit and implicit memory over the course of aging; explicit memory loss is much more apparent.

Question 3

There are different types of memory that are responsible for retaining information over varying lengths of time. Which type of memory is responsible for being able to recall names of childhood experiences and the names of family members?

Accepted Answer

Long-term memory refers to knowledge that is permanently stored in the brain and can be recalled on demand. Other types of memory are shorter-term or related to specific triggers.

Question 4

Language is defined as a system of symbols imbued with meaning that permits for communication of innumerable ideas. Which theory regarding the connection between language and culture posits that language structure (concepts and categories) influences or determines cognition?

Accepted Answer

The linguistic relativity principle, also known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, suggests that cultural concepts and categories in different languages affect cognition in such a way that speakers of a specific language think and behave differently than speakers of another language.

Question 5

There are windows of learning during which it is easiest for people to acquire or refine particular abilities. For example, it is commonly accepted that children learn more readily than adults. One of the key windows of learning is:

Accepted Answer

Learning happens more readily while myelination is still occurring. Myelin, or white matter, grows gradually to sheath nerves and facilitate faster travel of nerve impulses. This process starts at birth and is completed by the age of 25 to 30 years. It is thought that additional myelination is triggered by learning at older ages, but the learning process is harder and more synaptic-based.

Question 6

Language development happens gradually over a number of stages of verbalization. Which of those stages is marked by the imitation of sounds without comprehension of them?

Accepted Answer

Echolalia, roughly the fourth stage of language development, is marked by the imitation of sounds without comprehension of them. Although babies start to understand certain words in the earlier word comprehension stage, comprehension is very limited.

Question 7

Language development theories focus on either nature or nurture mechanisms of learning language. What concept is described by the idea that children are born with an innate ability and need only exposure to adult language to develop speech?

Accepted Answer

Chomsky's idea that children are born with a language acquisition device that allows them to develop speech is a nativist view. His argument states that children's brains need only to analyze and figure out the syntax and grammar of the language they hear.

Question 8

A common language-related disorder, dyslexia, expresses itself in different types. Which type of dyslexia does someone who reads the word "slap" as "slit" or "sleep" most likely have?

Accepted Answer

Neglect is a type of dyslexia that involves misreading the first or last half of a word. Other types of dyslexia involve substituting whole words for other words while reading or not being able to recognize vocabulary.

Question 9

A common language-related disorder, dyslexia, expresses itself in different types. What type of dyslexia does someone who sounds words out instead of recognizing them have?

Accepted Answer

Surface dyslexia involves sounding words out when reading because a person cannot recognize them. This type of dyslexia results in mispronunciation of irregular words, like "come" (which is not pronounced the same way as "home" or "gnome").

Question 10

One psychologist posited that social interaction was necessary for cognitive development-that all cognitive functions begin in relationships with others and are later internalized by children. Who proposed this theory?

Accepted Answer

Vygotsky's social development theory of cognition stated that all cognitive functions begin in relationships with others and are later internalized by children. This theory is somewhat contradictory to Piaget's in emphasizing continuous development rather than stage development.

Question 11

Sensory memory is one stage of memory that involves storing information as either a visual image or a sound. What is the time span of echoic memory in this stage?

Accepted Answer

Information in echoic memory (storing sounds) lasts up to 4 seconds in the sensory memory stage. Information in iconic memory (visual images) lasts only about ½ second.

Question 12

Someone trying to remember the phone number 7-1-8-0-5-5-5 remembers it as 71 805 55. What is this technique of memorization known as?

Accepted Answer

Chunking is a strategy for memorization that involves grouping individual items into meaningful units that increases ability to retain information.

Question 13

Pain perception includes both sensory and emotional experiences. In 1965, two researchers proposed that pain sensation is mediated by transmission cells in the spinal cord, rather than being directly related to activated pain receptors. What is this idea known as?

Accepted Answer

Gate control theory proposed that pain sensation is mediated by transmission cells in the spinal cord, rather than being directly related to activated pain receptors. Those cells act as gates that can open and close depending on the activity of connecting fiber signals and inhibition cells. This theory explains why rubbing a hurt area can actually relieve pain.

Question 14

Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences addressed the idea that methods of measuring intelligence may not be accurate or scientific and suggested that the traditional concept of intelligence did not address the wide scope of abilities humans display. Which of the following is not one of the eight types of intelligence suggested in this theory?

Accepted Answer

Intuitive intelligence is not a type of intelligence included in the theory of multiple intelligences. The eight are: spatial-visual, verbal-linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, naturalistic, and existential.

Question 15

Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence (first introduced in 1977) includes three facets of intelligence. The ability to break problems down into component parts describes which of those three facets?

Accepted Answer

The componential subtheory, also known as the analytical facet, involves metacomponents (these are higher-order processes that organize cognitive processes), performance components (these execute strategies developed by metacomponents), and knowledge acquisition components (these are used in the processes of gaining and storing knowledge). Analytical intelligence is much like psychometric intelligence-academic problem solving.

Question 16

Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence (first introduced in 1977) includes three facets of intelligence. The ability to understand and cope with daily tasks describes which of those three subtheories?

Accepted Answer

The contextual subtheory, also known as the practical facet, is the kind of intelligence that interacts with responds to environment. In laymen's terms, this type of intelligence is sometimes called street smarts.

Question 17

Arthur Jensen claimed that roughly eighty percent of human intelligence was the result of heredity and that environmental influence was responsible for the remaining twenty percent. Which environmental factor did he believe was most influential on intelligence?

Accepted Answer

Jensen believed that prenatal factors were the most influential environmental factors of intelligence. He also studied the influence of race on intelligence and presented highly disputed claims about the connection between the two.

Question 18

One critic of Arthur Jensen's claim that eighty percent of intelligence is determined by heredity questioned his use of one type of study. Which of the following studies did Urie Bronfenbrenner claim were excessively used in Jensen's research?

Accepted Answer

Bronfenbrenner claimed that Jensen relied too heavily on twin studies with uncontrolled variables; that is, studies of monozygotic twins raised in different environments. Bronfenbrenner pointed out that there were more cultural similarities than differences even in those separate environments.

Question 19

Francis Galton studied the connections between genetics and abilities and determined that intelligence was largely inherited. Which of the following terms best describes his beliefs about how human ability is best fostered?

Accepted Answer

Galton coined the term eugenics, which refers to selective breeding intended to foster certain abilities and avoid others. He did not believe that existing or changing environmental factors would impact ability to a significant degree.

Question 20

Sherman and Key studied the intellectual abilities of children living in isolated villages and noted that they had inferior intellects when compared with children living in more populated areas. What conclusion did they draw from this?

Accepted Answer

Sherman and Key concluded that children develop intelligence in response to environmental demand. It was noted that intelligence increased as village size increased in this study.

Quiz 3: Cognitive Affective Bases of Behavior