Question 1

According to research presented in the text, if you compared the language acquisition patterns of children raised in poverty to those of children raised by middle-income parents, you would expect that the children raised in poverty would:
A) have smaller vocabularies
B) babble about 3 months later
C) utter their first words about 3 months later
D) be much more likely to use telegraphic speech, and for a longer period of time

Accepted Answer

Research cited in the text found that compared to children from middle-income professional families, children from families on welfare were found to develop basic language skills and structures in much the same way and at the same time. However, children from middle-income homes had much larger vocabularies as the result of their parents spending almost twice as much time talking to them.
Changing Perspectives: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Shaken Baby Syndrome

Question 2

A child typically has a vocabulary of about 50 words at which of the following ages?
A) 6 months
B) 12 months
C) 18 months
D) 24 months

Accepted Answer

At around 18 months, children typically have a vocabulary of about 50 words and begin to combine words into simple phrases.

Question 3

Around the world, which of the following words would be most likely to be among the first words that infants would learn (translated into their own language, of course)?
A) "TV"
B) "UhOh"
C) "Perfect"
D) "Yes"

Accepted Answer

"UhOh" is a simple, often repeated sound that is used in many languages to express a mistake or accident, making it one of the first words infants learn.

Question 4

Fiona is 12 months old. Although she is not yet producing words, she appears to understand some of the sentences that her parents say to her. Fiona is displaying ability in which of the following?
A) productive language
B) receptive language
C) holophrastic speech
D) overextension

Accepted Answer

Receptive language refers to the repertoire of words and commands that a child understands, even though she or he may not be able to use them.

Question 5

A child's understanding of the spoken or written word is called:
A) receptive language
B) productive language
C) structural language
D) referential language

Accepted Answer

Receptive language refers to a child's ability to understand and comprehend spoken or written language. Productive language, on the other hand, refers to a child's ability to use language to communicate through speaking or writing. Structural language refers to the grammar and syntax of language, while referential language refers to the ability to use language to refer to objects, people, or ideas.

Question 6

Infants begin cooing at approximately what age?
A) 12 weeks
B) 12 months
C) 18 months
D) 24 months

Accepted Answer

Infants typically begin cooing at around 12 weeks of age, which is about 3 months old. This is an early form of communication where babies make vowel-like sounds and experiment with their vocalizations. As they continue to develop, they will begin babbling and eventually form recognizable words.

Question 7

According to the text, what does the FOXP2 gene appear to do?
A) It allows people to hear "tonal" differences that are important in some languages, such as Chinese and Japanese.
B) It causes developmental speech and language disorders in humans.
C) It produces an acceleration in the rate at which some people can learn vocabulary.
D) It causes deafness.

Accepted Answer

The text states that abnormalities in the FOXP2 gene have been associated with developmental speech and language disorders in humans.

Answer: A
 The text mentions that the FOXP2 gene may play a role in allowing people to hear "tonal" differences that are important in some languages, such as Chinese and Japanese.

Answer: C
 The text suggests that FOXP2 may be involved in an acceleration in the rate at which some people can learn vocabulary.

Answer: D
 The text does not suggest that the FOXP2 gene causes deafness.

Question 8

In Europe and the United States today, the infant mortality rate is about:
A) 3.7%
B) 1. 7%
C) 0.7%
D) 0.07%

Accepted Answer

The text notes that the infant mortality rate in Europe and the United States today is about 7 in every 1000 live births, which yields a mortality rate of 0.7%.

Question 9

The fact that sometimes deaf children begin to "babble" with their hands, making up a sign language even if they have not been taught to do so, emphasizes the basic idea advanced in:
A) deferred imitation
B) assimilation
C) overextension
D) language acquisition device

Accepted Answer

According to Chomsky (1959), children are preprogrammed to learn language because they are born with a cognitive structure, called a language acquisition device (LAD), especially developed for this task. This structure enables children to process linguistic information and "extract" rules with which they create language; that is, when children hear people talk, their brains are prewired to acquire the words and rules of the language to which they are exposed. In early development, deaf babies babble just like hearing babies do, indicating that babbling is not the result of imitation or reinforcement but rather is biologically programmed.

Question 10

According to the text, the "language explosion" begins at about what age?
A) 12 months
B) 15 months
C) 18 months
D) 21 months

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the text, the "language explosion"...

Question 11

When a child produces a single word, such as bottle, it may mean a variety of things, such as "I want the bottle" or "there's the bottle" or "I like the bottle." This type of usage is referred to as:
A) an adaptation
B) holophrastic speech
C) an overextension
D) telegraphic speech

Accepted Answer

Holophrastic speech occurs in the early stages of language acquisition and refers to the young child's use of single words to convey complete thought.

Question 12

Dr. Franklin believes that all humans are born with a biological predisposition to develop language, and that a specific region in the brain is highly adapted for language learning. In this respect, Dr. Franklin's view would emphasize the same central feature as which of the following concepts?
A) deferred imitation
B) language acquisition device
C) overextension
D) telegraphic speech

Accepted Answer

According to Chomsky (1959), children are preprogrammed to learn language because they are born with a cognitive structure, called a language acquisition device, especially developed for this task. This structure enables children to process linguistic information and "extract" rules with which they create language; that is, when children hear people talk, their brains are prewired to acquire the words and rules of the language to which they are exposed.

Question 13

Which of the following statements is the most accurate description about babbling when infants are deaf?
A) Deaf infants do not babble.
B) Deaf infants babble early in infancy, but their babbling lessens significantly after about 6 months of age.
C) Deaf infants babble, but their babbling begins much later than does babbling in babies who can hear at birth.
D) Deaf infants babble in the same ways and at the same ages as do babies who can hear at birth.

Accepted Answer

Deaf infants typically start babbling similarly to hearing infants, but their vocal babbling decreases significantly after about 6 months due to lack of auditory feedback.

Question 14

The leading cause of deaths in infants between the ages of 1 month and 1 year of age in the United States is:
A) shaken baby syndrome
B) protein deficiency
C) respiratory problems
D) sudden infant death syndrome

Accepted Answer

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the leading cause of deaths in infants between the ages of 1 month and 1 year of age in the United States.

Question 15

Noam Chomsky's term for an innate set of mental structures that aid children in language learning is:
A) plasticity
B) receptive language
C) overextension
D) language acquisition device

Accepted Answer

Noam Chomsky's term for an innate set of mental structures that aid children in language learning is the language acquisition device (LAD).

Question 16

The typical child begins to produce repeated syllables, such as "ga-ga-ga," at about what age?
A) 6 weeks
B) 4 months
C) 6 months
D) 12 months

Accepted Answer

The repetition of meaningless syllables, such as "ga-ga-ga," is called babbling, and this emerges in the typical infant about age 6 months.

Question 17

When Sharma learns to speak, she uses the word "Puffie" to describe not only her own cat (whose name is Puffie) but also every cat she sees, including tigers at the zoo. Sharma's language in this case demonstrates the principle of:
A) overextension
B) holophrasic speech
C) telegraphic speech
D) deferred imitation

Accepted Answer

Overextension refers to the young child's tendency to overgeneralize specific words, as when a child uses "Lassie" as the term for all dogs.

Question 18

This term refers to how meaning is derived from words and sentences:
A) semantics
B) morphemes
C) syntax
D) phonemes

Accepted Answer

Semantics is the study of meaning in language, including how words and sentences convey meaning. It involves analyzing the relationships between words, as well as understanding the literal and figurative meanings of words and phrases.

Question 19

This term is used to describe the system of language involving phonemes, morphemes, semantics, and syntax:
A) receptive language
B) grammar
C) productive language
D) schemes

Accepted Answer

The system of language involving phonemes (the smallest units of sound), morphemes (the smallest units of meaning), semantics (the meaning of words and sentences), and syntax (the rules for combining words into sentences) is collectively known as grammar. Receptive language refers to understanding language, while productive language refers to using language to communicate. Schemes refer to cognitive structures used for organizing and processing information.

Question 20

All of the following terms refer to basic units of language EXCEPT:
A) schemas
B) morphemes
C) syntax
D) phonemes

Accepted Answer

Schemas are not basic units of language, but rather mental frameworks or structures that help individuals organize and make sense of information. Morphemes, syntax, and phonemes are all basic units of language.

Quiz 4: Infancy and Toddlerhood: Physical, Cognitive, and Language Development

According to research presented in the text, if you compared the language acquisition patterns of children raised in poverty to those of children raised by middle-income parents, you would expect that the children raised in poverty would:

A child typically has a vocabulary of about 50 words at which of the following ages?

Around the world, which of the following words would be most likely to be among the first words that infants would learn (translated into their own language, of course) ?

Fiona is 12 months old. Although she is not yet producing words, she appears to understand some of the sentences that her parents say to her. Fiona is displaying ability in which of the following?

A child's understanding of the spoken or written word is called:

Infants begin cooing at approximately what age?

According to the text, what does the FOXP2 gene appear to do?

In Europe and the United States today, the infant mortality rate is about:

The fact that sometimes deaf children begin to "babble" with their hands, making up a sign language even if they have not been taught to do so, emphasizes the basic idea advanced in:

According to the text, the "language explosion" begins at about what age?

When a child produces a single word, such as bottle, it may mean a variety of things, such as "I want the bottle" or "there's the bottle" or "I like the bottle." This type of usage is referred to as:

Dr. Franklin believes that all humans are born with a biological predisposition to develop language, and that a specific region in the brain is highly adapted for language learning. In this respect, Dr. Franklin's view would emphasize the same central feature as which of the following concepts?

Which of the following statements is the most accurate description about babbling when infants are deaf?

The leading cause of deaths in infants between the ages of 1 month and 1 year of age in the United States is:

Noam Chomsky's term for an innate set of mental structures that aid children in language learning is:

The typical child begins to produce repeated syllables, such as "ga-ga-ga," at about what age?

When Sharma learns to speak, she uses the word "Puffie" to describe not only her own cat (whose name is Puffie) but also every cat she sees, including tigers at the zoo. Sharma's language in this case demonstrates the principle of:

This term refers to how meaning is derived from words and sentences:

This term is used to describe the system of language involving phonemes, morphemes, semantics, and syntax:

All of the following terms refer to basic units of language EXCEPT: