Question 1

"The global capacity to think rationally, act purposefully, and deal effectively with the environment" is:

Accepted Answer

This definition aligns with Wechsler's view of intelligence as the global capacity to understand complex ideas, adapt effectively to the environment, think abstractly, learn quickly, and engage in various forms of reasoning.

Question 2

Several problems have been assigned as part of your physics homework. One problem asks you to determine the relative velocity of a variety of moving objects. To answer the question, you solve a complex mathematical equation. Which problem-solving strategy are you using?

Accepted Answer

An algorithm is a step-by-step problem-solving strategy that guarantees a correct solution to a specific type of problem. In this case, the use of a mathematical equation to determine the relative velocity of moving objects requires following a specific set of steps, making it an algorithmic problem-solving strategy.

Question 3

The term "heritability" refers to the:

Accepted Answer

Heritability refers to the degree to which variation in a particular trait or characteristic within a population is due to genetic factors. It is usually expressed as a percentage, with higher values indicating that a larger proportion of the variation is due to genetics. It is important to note that heritability does not refer to the degree to which an individual's traits are determined by genetics, but rather the extent to which genetics contribute to variation within a population.

Question 4

The study of animal cognition focuses on:

Accepted Answer

The study of animal cognition encompasses a wide range of cognitive abilities, which includes memory, problem-solving, planning, cooperation, and deception. It is not limited to comparing animal intelligence to humans, studying reproductive goals or genetic influences on intelligence.

Question 5

A new friend asks you to describe the house you grew up in. You pause and think for a moment. You will need to use _____ to answer her question.

Accepted Answer

Mental images are the best choice to describe the house you grew up in. Mental images are representations of sensory information stored in the brain that can be used to recall past experiences, such as the layout and appearance of a childhood home. Intuition relies on gut feelings and instinct, while exemplars and prototypes are used to categorize objects or concepts and not to provide specific descriptions.

Question 6

In Lewis Terman's study of 1,500 California children between the ages of 8 and 12 who had IQs above 140, findings revealed that:

Accepted Answer

Terman's study found that the highly intelligent children tended to be socially well adjusted, healthier, and taller than other children their age.

Question 7

A concept can BEST be described as a(n):

Accepted Answer

A concept is a mental category that is formed by learning the rules or features that define it the most. It is a way of organizing and making sense of information in our minds.

Question 8

In the model of intuition described in your text, Stage _____, the _____ stage, involves conscious, analytic thinking.

Accepted Answer

According to the model of intuition described in the text, Stage 2, the integrative stage involves conscious, analytic thinking. Therefore, the correct answer is B. Option A) 1, guiding, refers to the stage in which the problem or decision is identified. Option C) 3, mental set, refers to the stage in which assumptions and biases are brought to the problem. Option D) 4, logical-mathematical intelligence, is not directly related to the stages of intuition described in the text.

Question 9

A well-designed psychological test has which of the following characteristics?

Accepted Answer

A well-designed psychological test should have reliability, meaning that it yields consistent results; standardization, meaning that the test is administered and scored the same way every time; and validity, meaning that the test accurately measures what it is intended to measure. Variability is not a necessary characteristic of a well-designed psychological test. Therefore, option C is the best choice as it includes all three important characteristics.

Question 10

Your text describes research with participants who lived in remote Amazon tribes and spoke languages that lacked a counting system or specific words for numbers. What conclusion did the researchers reach?

Accepted Answer

The researchers concluded that language categories, specifically the lack of a number concept, affected how the indigenous people thought about quantities. They were only able to use relative terms like "few," "some," and "many" instead of exact numbers to describe quantities.

Question 11

Dividing a person's mental age by her chronological age and multiplying the answer by 100 is:

Accepted Answer

Dividing a person's mental age by their chronological age and multiplying the answer by 100 is Louis Terman's formula for the IQ score as measured by the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. This formula was created to standardize the intelligence testing process and provide a numerical score that could be compared across individuals.

Question 12

_____ is defined as the tendency to view objects as functioning only in their usual or customary way.

Accepted Answer

Functional fixedness is the cognitive bias that limits a person's ability to use an object in a novel way or to see its potential other than its traditional or expected use. Therefore, it is the tendency to view objects as functioning only in their usual or customary way, and it can lead to a lack of creativity and problem-solving skills. Choices B, C, and D are not related to this cognitive bias.

Question 13

In psychology, twin studies are typically used to:

Accepted Answer

Twin studies are often used in psychology to determine the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors to different characteristics, including intelligence, personality, and behavior. By comparing the similarities and differences between identical twins (who share 100% of their genes) and fraternal twins (who share roughly 50% of their genes), researchers can estimate the extent to which genetic and environmental factors contribute to different traits. This method has been used to study a wide range of characteristics, including intelligence, personality disorders, addiction, and more.

Question 14

After his imported, top-rated fifteen-speed mountain bike was stolen, Jason decides to replace it with the least expensive ten-speed he can find so that he won't have to worry about it. Which decision-making strategy is Jason using?

Accepted Answer

Jason is using the single-feature model, as he is only considering the price of the ten-speed bike and not taking into account any other features or factors.

Question 15

Research indicates that bilingualism may serve as a protective factor against:

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that bilingualism may delay the onset and mitigate the severity of Alzheimer's disease. Bilingual individuals with Alzheimer's also tend to exhibit better cognitive functioning and have more preserved brain tissue compared to monolingual individuals with Alzheimer's. Bilingualism has not been found to have a protective effect against Parkinson's disease, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.

Question 16

Crissy likes to drive fast, counting on her matronly appearance and southern charm to avoid getting a speeding ticket. She believes that most speeders who get tickets are young males driving high-performance cars, so she was surprised when an officer pulled her over and gave her a $200 speeding ticket despite the fact that she had three kids with soccer balls and uniforms in the back of her SUV. Crissy was misled by the _____ in her belief that she was highly unlikely to get a speeding ticket.

Accepted Answer

Crissy's belief that most speeders who get tickets are young males driving high-performance cars is an example of representativeness heuristic, where she is relying on stereotypes and generalizations to make judgments about a group of people. This led her to underestimate the probability of getting a ticket herself.

Question 17

Psychologist _____ strongly believed that all mental abilities were related to a single common factor called the _____ factor.

Accepted Answer

Charles Spearman proposed the concept of general intelligence, or g, which suggests that all mental abilities are related to a single common factor. This concept is still widely accepted in modern psychology. Louis L. Thurstone, Benjamin Whorf, and Robert Sternberg have proposed different theories of intelligence, but none of them is based on the concept of a general factor tying all mental abilities together.

Question 18

A friend asks you which three books you would take if you knew you were going to be marooned on a desert island for a year. Because language has the characteristic of _____, you are able to have a meaningful conversation about the topic, even though you're not really marooned on a desert island.

Accepted Answer

Displacement allows language to refer to things and events that are not present in the immediate environment, including hypothetical or imaginary situations, like being marooned on a desert island. This characteristic enables people to discuss things that are not happening at the moment.

Question 19

Hannah is writing a research paper on autism spectrum disorder. She is particularly interested in individuals who are called "autistic savants." According to the In Focus box Neurodiversity: Beyond IQ, about _____ percent of people with autism spectrum disorder are considered to be autistic savants.

Accepted Answer

About 10 percent of people with autism spectrum disorder are considered to be autistic savants. This relatively small percentage of individuals with autism exhibit remarkable abilities or skills in specific areas, despite potential challenges in other areas of functioning.

Question 20

One day, Ethan had "a feeling" that he was going to get a phone call from a long-lost friend. That evening, an old high school classmate called, inviting him to attend a class reunion. Now Ethan is telling everyone that he is psychic. According to your textbook, which cognitive bias provides the BEST explanation for Ethan's belief?

Accepted Answer

Ethan's belief that he is psychic is best explained by the fallacy of positive instances, where he remembers the times his predictions were correct but likely forgets all the times they were not. This bias leads individuals to pay more attention to occurrences that confirm their beliefs and overlook those that do not.

Quiz 7: Section 5: Thinking, Language, and Intelligence