Question 1

Cognitive psychologists conduct the majority of their research by asking subjects to describe their own thinking.

Accepted Answer

While cognitive psychologists do study thinking processes, they typically use more objective methods such as experiments, observations, and neuroimaging techniques rather than relying solely on self-report measures.

Question 2

Transformational grammar,is a system for converting a deep structure into a surface structure.

Accepted Answer

Transformational grammar is a system for analyzing and generating sentences by converting a deep structure (underlying meaning) into a surface structure (actual sentence).

Question 3

In general,it is easier to learn a second language at a younger age than at an older age.

Accepted Answer

This is because language learning abilities decline as a person ages, making it easier for children to acquire new languages due to their more flexible and absorbent brains. Research shows that young children have a natural capacity for language acquisition and can learn languages quicker, more effortlessly, and with greater proficiency than adults.

Question 4

Broca's aphasia is a condition marked by impaired recall of nouns and impaired comprehension of language,despite the ability to speak fluently and grammatically.

Accepted Answer

Broca's aphasia is characterized by the ability to comprehend language but difficulty with fluent and grammatical speech, and impairment in recalling verbs and grammatical markers.

Question 5

Research on shifting attention demonstrates that cell phone conversations do NOT distract drivers' attention.

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that cell phone conversations do distract drivers' attention, leading to slower reaction times and decreased situational awareness. While hands-free devices may be less distracting than holding a phone, they still create a cognitive distraction for the driver.

Question 6

The word superiority effect refers to the finding that it is easier to read a word that is part of a sentence than to read the same word in isolation.

Accepted Answer

The word superiority effect refers to the phenomenon where people recognize letters more accurately when they are part of a word than when they are seen in isolation or in a string of random letters.

Question 7

Expert chess players and beginners study a chessboard for five seconds and are then asked to recall the position of the pieces on the board.When the pieces are arranged randomly,experts demonstrate significantly better memory than the beginners.

Accepted Answer

When the pieces are arranged in a way that makes sense according to the rules and strategies of chess (i.e., in meaningful game positions), experts demonstrate significantly better memory than beginners. However, when the pieces are arranged randomly (in positions that would not occur in a real game), the advantage of experts diminishes, and their performance in recalling piece positions is similar to that of beginners. This is because experts' memory advantage is largely due to their ability to chunk information based on patterns and strategies learned from extensive experience, which doesn't apply to random setups.

Question 8

Attention is your tendency to respond to and to remember some stimuli more than others at a given time.

Accepted Answer

Attention refers to the cognitive process of selectively focusing on certain stimuli in the environment, while ignoring others. This means that we are more likely to respond to and remember stimuli that capture our attention, such as a loud noise or a brightly colored object, compared to stimuli that are less noticeable. Therefore, attention plays a crucial role in perception, memory, and decision-making.

Question 9

The tendency to read the words,instead of saying the color of ink,is known as the Stroop effect.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. The Stroop effect refers to the phenomenon of people taking longer to name the color of the ink when the word itself is the name of a different color. For example, the word "red" written in blue ink may take longer to identify the color as blue instead of reading the word "red."

Question 10

Strategies for simplifying a problem or for guiding an investigation are known as heuristics.

Accepted Answer

Heuristics are problem-solving strategies that simplify complex problems or guide investigations.

Question 11

In general,it is easier to learn a second language during high school once you have mastered grammar for your primary language.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In general,it is easier to learn a...

Question 12

Students were asked difficult questions (e.g. ,How long is the Nile River?)and asked to give a range of answers they were 90% confident included the correct answer.On difficult questions,students tend to be more confident than correct.

Accepted Answer

This is based on the statement "On difficult questions,students tend to be more confident than correct."

Question 13

Becoming an expert in a given field (whether playing chess or the violin)takes about ten years of concentrated practice.

Accepted Answer

This is based on the research and theory proposed by Anders Ericsson, who suggests that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to achieve expertise in a given field. This equates to roughly 10 years of consistent and focused effort.

Question 14

Although other species have the ability to communicate,only human languages have the property of productivity.

Accepted Answer

Productivity is a property of human language that allows us to create new and unique combinations of words to express new ideas and concepts. While other species have communication systems, they do not have the same level of complexity and productivity as human language.

Question 15

A penguin is a prototype for the category "bird."

Accepted Answer

Penguins are atypical examples of birds because they cannot fly, which is a characteristic most commonly associated with birds.

Question 16

Maximizing,means thoroughly considering every possibility to find the best one.

Accepted Answer

Maximizing involves considering all possible options and choosing the best one, so it is true that maximizing means thoroughly considering every possibility to find the best one.

Question 17

Thinking about one of the concepts shown in this figure will activate,or prime,the concepts linked to it through a process called spreading activation.

Accepted Answer

This is correct, spreading activation is a process where activation of one concept also activates related or associated concepts.

Question 18

You see the letters "RED" printed in green ink.The difficulty you have in naming the color (instead of reading the word)is known as the Stroop effect.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. The Stroop effect occurs when there is a conflict between the word and the color that the word is written in, causing difficulty in naming the color.

Question 19

Research on the framing effect has demonstrated that people tend to choose the risky strategy when considering gains and avoid taking risks when considering losses.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Research on the framing effect has demonstrated...

Question 20

You wait in line for over an hour to buy a movie ticket for the late show.You then learn there is a strong,unpleasant odor in the theatre and that the movie is long and bad.According to the sunk cost effect,you will cut your losses (the money you spent on the ticket)and avoid the movie.

Accepted Answer

The sunk cost effect suggests that people are more likely to continue investing in something (such as watching the movie) because they have already invested time (waiting in line) and money (buying the ticket) into it, even if it is no longer enjoyable or beneficial. Therefore, the person may continue to watch the movie despite the unpleasant odor and poor quality because of the sunk costs involved.

Quiz 8: Cognition and Language