Psychology 105 Quiz Questions and Graded Answers.
When people rely on mental shortcuts to reach a conclusion or make a decision, they often fail to
take into account how common a behaviour or characteristic is in general. This kind of
information is called the __________ by psychological scientists.
a) schematome
b) base rate
c) ground level
d) prototype - b) base rate
Humans have developed strategies that keep our decision-making to a manageable minimum by
relying on "fast and frugal" thinking. This kind of frugality is more generally known as
__________.
a) judicious completeness
b) cognitive economy
c) mental savings
d) fiscal conservatism - b) cognitive economy
Which of the following terms refers to the grammatical rules that govern how we put words
together into meaningful groups?
a) morpheme
b) syntax
c) language
d) phoneme - b) syntax
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) sequential
b) natavist
c) pragmatic
d) generative - d) generative
Which term means a certain window of time in which a particular ability, such as language, must
be learned in order for it to be learned at all?
a) cognitive opportunity
b) critical period
c) essential span
d) learning window - b) critical period
In a study on decision making, Timothy Wilson and his colleagues gave female college students
a choice of five art posters to take home but gave them different directions about how to make
their choice. Which group of students was happier with their poster choice after a few weeks had
passed?
a) the students who "went with their gut" and took the posters they liked without thinking it over.
b) the students who consulted with a friend before deciding.
c) the students who already knew which poster they liked before the study began.
d) the students who carefully listed the pros and cons of each poster before deciding. - a)
the students who "went with their gut" and took the posters they liked without thinking it over
Many scientific breakthroughs have come by way of __________, which involves recognizing
similarities between two unrelated subjects. This type of problem-solving allows us to look at
things in a new way.
a) heuristics
,b) framing
c) analogies
d) algorithms - c) analogies
Which of the following refers to a theory that argues that characteristics of language shape our
thoughts, but does not go so far as saying that language actually defines our thinking?
a) linguistic literalism
b) linguistic determinism
c) linguistic relativity
d) language acquisition theory - c) linguistic relativity
Controlled studies of speed reading show that after a person is reading more than 400 words per
minute __________.
a) comprehension is cut in half
b) comprehension improves slightly
c) comprehension improves dramatically
d) further speed gains are impossible - a) comprehension is cut in half
The model of the mind that takes into account the human ability to mentally simulate
experiences is called the __________ model.
a) cognitive
b) embodiment
c) imaginative
d) simulations - b) embodiment
, Experimental evidence shows that the most effective way to teach reading is for learners to be
made aware of correspondences between sounds and printed letters. This method is called
__________.
a) word recognition
b) speed reading
c) lexical distribution
d) phonetic decomposition - d) phonetic decomposition
When we judge the likelihood of an event based on how prevalent that event has been in our past
experience, we are relying on the __________ heuristic.
a) hindsight
b) functionality
c) availability
d) representativeness - d) representativeness
One of the difficulties that animals such as bonobos or chimpanzees have when learning
language is mastering __________.
a) punctuation
b) prepositions
c) syntax
d) analogies - c) syntax
Which of the following is true of the early stages in the way children learn language?
a) production supersedes comprehension
b) production precedes comprehension
When people rely on mental shortcuts to reach a conclusion or make a decision, they often fail to
take into account how common a behaviour or characteristic is in general. This kind of
information is called the __________ by psychological scientists.
a) schematome
b) base rate
c) ground level
d) prototype - b) base rate
Humans have developed strategies that keep our decision-making to a manageable minimum by
relying on "fast and frugal" thinking. This kind of frugality is more generally known as
__________.
a) judicious completeness
b) cognitive economy
c) mental savings
d) fiscal conservatism - b) cognitive economy
Which of the following terms refers to the grammatical rules that govern how we put words
together into meaningful groups?
a) morpheme
b) syntax
c) language
d) phoneme - b) syntax
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) sequential
b) natavist
c) pragmatic
d) generative - d) generative
Which term means a certain window of time in which a particular ability, such as language, must
be learned in order for it to be learned at all?
a) cognitive opportunity
b) critical period
c) essential span
d) learning window - b) critical period
In a study on decision making, Timothy Wilson and his colleagues gave female college students
a choice of five art posters to take home but gave them different directions about how to make
their choice. Which group of students was happier with their poster choice after a few weeks had
passed?
a) the students who "went with their gut" and took the posters they liked without thinking it over.
b) the students who consulted with a friend before deciding.
c) the students who already knew which poster they liked before the study began.
d) the students who carefully listed the pros and cons of each poster before deciding. - a)
the students who "went with their gut" and took the posters they liked without thinking it over
Many scientific breakthroughs have come by way of __________, which involves recognizing
similarities between two unrelated subjects. This type of problem-solving allows us to look at
things in a new way.
a) heuristics
,b) framing
c) analogies
d) algorithms - c) analogies
Which of the following refers to a theory that argues that characteristics of language shape our
thoughts, but does not go so far as saying that language actually defines our thinking?
a) linguistic literalism
b) linguistic determinism
c) linguistic relativity
d) language acquisition theory - c) linguistic relativity
Controlled studies of speed reading show that after a person is reading more than 400 words per
minute __________.
a) comprehension is cut in half
b) comprehension improves slightly
c) comprehension improves dramatically
d) further speed gains are impossible - a) comprehension is cut in half
The model of the mind that takes into account the human ability to mentally simulate
experiences is called the __________ model.
a) cognitive
b) embodiment
c) imaginative
d) simulations - b) embodiment
, Experimental evidence shows that the most effective way to teach reading is for learners to be
made aware of correspondences between sounds and printed letters. This method is called
__________.
a) word recognition
b) speed reading
c) lexical distribution
d) phonetic decomposition - d) phonetic decomposition
When we judge the likelihood of an event based on how prevalent that event has been in our past
experience, we are relying on the __________ heuristic.
a) hindsight
b) functionality
c) availability
d) representativeness - d) representativeness
One of the difficulties that animals such as bonobos or chimpanzees have when learning
language is mastering __________.
a) punctuation
b) prepositions
c) syntax
d) analogies - c) syntax
Which of the following is true of the early stages in the way children learn language?
a) production supersedes comprehension
b) production precedes comprehension
