8. Thinking, Reasoning, and Language
In a research study in which people were asked to figure out how to mount a candle on the wall when they were given only a candle, a book of matches, and a box of tacks, what concept was being tested? a) Mental set b) Functional fixedness c) Availability heuristic d) Parallel distributed processing
b) Functional fixedness
Which of the following is a term that describes the age corresponding to the average individual's performance on an intelligence test? a) Age group b) Intelligence quotient c) Mental age d) Intellectual age
c) Mental age
Which parenting style combines the best features of authoritarian and permissive approaches? a) Authoritative b) Incisive c) Decisive d) Uninvolved
a) Authoritative
Which hormone plays a key role in love and emotional bonding and helps reduce stress? a) Serotonin b) Corticosteroid c) Oxytocin d) Adrenalin
c) Oxytocin
Which term describes a step-by-step process of learned procedures we can use to solve particular problems? a) Algorithms b) Mental sets c) Salience of surface similarities d) Functional fixedness
a) Algorithms
Language is a system that allows us to create an infinite number of meaningful combinations of words and to communicate new ideas. This is because language is ______. a) Generative b) Nativist c) Pragmatic d) Sequential
a) Generative
Which test is most commonly administered to assess intelligence in adults? a) WPPSI b) WAIS c) Stanford-Binet d) WISC
b) WAIS
The activation or deactivation of particular genes is called ______ and can be influenced by environmental factors. a) Gene-environment influence b) Genetic heritage c) Gene expression d) Gene-environment interaction
c) Gene expression
When we are able to think differently about the negative emotions that come up during a stressful incident, we are exerting ______. a) Decisional control b) Informational control c) Behavioural control d) Cognitive control
d) Cognitive control
What part of the brain did investigators note was "highly g-loaded" for reasoning tasks? a) Prefrontal cortex b) Right parietal lobe c) Left parietal lobe d) Hypothalamus
a) Prefrontal cortex
Bilingual people have greater awareness of how language is structured and used than do people who speak only one language. This awareness is called ______ insight. a) Multilinguistic b) Hierarchical linguistic c) Metalinguistic d) Linguistically dominant
c) Metalinguistic
Which of the following terms refers to the capacity to learn new ways to solve problems, a capacity that tends to decline with age? a) Specific abilities b) Fluid intelligence c) General intelligence d) Crystallized intelligence
b) Fluid intelligence
At which of Jean Piaget's four stages of cognitive development does a child develop the ability to perform hypothetical and abstract reasoning? a) Sensorimotor b) Formal operations c) Pre-operational d) Concrete operations
b) Formal operations
What aspect of the body can be negatively affected by stress but strengthened by positive emotions and social support? a) Musculoskeletal system b) Immune system c) Cognitive abilities d) Central nervous system
b) Immune system
In the ______ stage of prenatal development, the zygote begins to divide and double, forming a blastocyst. a) Embryonic b) Germinal c) Preliminary d) Fetal
b) Germinal
The two basic paths children take to learn how to read are ______ and ______. a) Phonetic structuring; phonemic structuring b) Whole-part analysis; phonemic rendering c) Word-choice learning; word-path learning d) Whole word recognition; phonetic decomposition
d) Whole word recognition; phonetic decomposition
The extent to which genetics influences the variability of a trait for members of a particular group is called ______ heritability. a) Total group b) Group membership c) Within-group d) Between-group
c) Within-group
What part of the brain does not mature until late adolescence or early adulthood and is responsible for planning, decision making, and impulse control? a) Frontal lobes b) Parietal lobe c) Cerebellum d) Broca's area
a) Frontal lobes
Of the different Type A personality traits identified as a risk factor in coronary heart disease (CHD), which trait have researchers found to be most predictive of developing CHD? a) Hostility b) Competitiveness c) Perfectionism d) Cynicism
a) Hostility
An alternative approach to medical treatment based on the notion that "like cures like" is called ______. a) Meditation b) Acupuncture c) Acupressure d) Homeopathy
d) Homeopathy
Although we do not fully understand why it is easier for younger children to learn new languages than for older children and adults, learning a language does appear to have what psychologists call a(n) ______, an interval when people are receptive to learning and can acquire new knowledge more easily. a) Critical mass b) Anterior phase c) Exposure point d) Sensitive period
d) Sensitive period
How many uses can you think of for a brick? If you were able to compile a long, creative list of tasks that a brick could be used for, you would be engaged in ______. a) Expansive awareness b) Ideo-motor action c) Divergent thinking d) Convergent thinking
c) Divergent thinking
Lev Vygotsky developed a comprehensive theory of cognitive development that included ______, the notion that parents provide structure to help their children learn, then gradually remove structure when the children can manage the task on their own. a) Modular construction of learning b) Structuralism c) Scaffolding d) Zone of proximal development
c) Scaffolding
Simply counting up the number of stressful events in a person's life is not a predictor of who will become physically or psychologically ill. In part, it does not account for ______, such as feeling discriminated against. a) Self-inflicted stressors b) Chronic stressors c) Nocebo effects d) Daily hassles
b) Chronic stressors
Phagocytes, T cells, and B cells are all types of ______ found in the immune system. a) White blood cells b) Hormones c) Assistant cells d) Red blood cells
a) White blood cells