Module 26. Thinking and Language
Retrieval Practice
RP-1 Why can news be described as “something that hardly ever happens”? How does
knowing this help us assess our fears?
○ If a tragic event such as a plane crash makes the news, it is noteworthy and
unusual, unlike much more common bad events, such as traffic accidents.
Knowing this, we can worry less about unlikely events and think more about
improving the safety of our everyday activities. (For example, we can wear a
seat belt when in a vehicle and use the crosswalk when walking.)
RP-2 Match the process or strategy listed below (i–xi) with its description (a–k).
○ Algorithm: Methodological rule or procedure that guarantees a solution but
requires time and effort
○ Intuition: Your fast, automatic, effortless feelings and thoughts based on your
experience; huge and adaptive but can lead you to overfeel and underthink
○ Insight: Sudden Aha! reaction that instantly reveals the solution
○ Heuristic: Simple thinking shortcut that lets you act quickly and efficiently but puts
you at risk for errors
○ Fixation: Inability to view problems from a new angle; focuses thinking but
hinders creative problem solving
○ Confirmation Bias: Tendency to search for support for your own views and to
ignore contradictory evidence
○ Overconfidence: Overestimating the accuracy of your beliefs and judgments;
allows you to be happier and to make decisions more easily, but puts you at risk
for errors
○ Creativity: The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas
○ Framing: Wording a question or statement so that it evokes a desired response;
can mislead people and influence their decisions
○ Belief Perseverance: Holding on to your beliefs even after they are proven
wrong; closing your mind to new ideas
○ Nudge: Framing choices to encourage good decisions
Master the Material
1. A mental grouping of similar things is called a concept.
2. The most systematic procedure for solving a problem is a(n) algorithm.
3. Oscar describes his political beliefs as “strongly liberal,” but he is interested in
exploring opposing viewpoints. How might he be affected by confirmation bias and
belief perseverance?
a. Oscar will need to guard against confirmation bias (searching for support for
his own views and ignoring contradictory evidence) as he seeks out opposing
viewpoints. Even if Oscar encounters new information that disproves his
beliefs, belief perseverance may lead him to cling to these views anyway. It
will take more compelling evidence to change his political beliefs than it took
to create them.
4. A major obstacle to problem solving is fixation, which is a(n)
a. inability to view a problem from a new perspective.
, 5. Terrorist attacks made Americans more fearful of being victimized by terrorism than
of other, greater threats. Such exaggerated fear after dramatic events illustrates the
availability heuristic.
6. When consumers respond more positively to ground beef described as “75 percent
lean” than to the same product labeled “25 percent fat,” they have been influenced by
framing.
7. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a creative person?
a. Expertise
b. Extrinsic motivation
c. A venturesome personality
d. Imaginative thinking skills
8. In the early twentieth century, some psychologists noted that animal consciousness
can be inferred from their behavior. In the early twenty-first century, other scientists
argued that animal consciousness can be inferred from their brain’s neural networks.
Module 28. What is intelligence?
Retrieval Practice
RP-1 How does the existence of savant syndrome support Gardner’s theory of multiple
intelligences?
○ People with savant syndrome have limited mental ability overall but possess
one or more exceptional skills. According to Howard Gardner, this suggests
that our abilities come in separate packages rather than being fully expressed
by one general intelligence that encompasses all of our talents.
RP-2 How does the Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory of intelligence integrate the idea of having
general intelligence as well as specific abilities?
○ Intelligence is composed of both a broad ability factor as well as other
specific abilities, such as reading ability, memory capacity, and processing
speed.
Master the Material
1. Charles Spearman suggested we have one general intelligence underlying success
across a variety of intellectual abilities.
2. The existence of savant syndrome seems to support theories of multiple intelligences.
3. Sternberg’s three types of intelligence are analytical, creative, practical and .
4. Emotionally intelligent people tend to succeed in their careers.
Module 29. Intelligence Assessment and Dynamics
Retrieval Practice
RP-1 What did Binet hope to achieve by establishing a child’s mental age?
○ Binet hoped that determining the child’s mental age (the age that typically
corresponds to a certain level of performance) would help identify appropriate
school placements.
RP-2 What is the IQ score of a 4-year-old with a mental age of 5? 125
Retrieval Practice
RP-1 Why can news be described as “something that hardly ever happens”? How does
knowing this help us assess our fears?
○ If a tragic event such as a plane crash makes the news, it is noteworthy and
unusual, unlike much more common bad events, such as traffic accidents.
Knowing this, we can worry less about unlikely events and think more about
improving the safety of our everyday activities. (For example, we can wear a
seat belt when in a vehicle and use the crosswalk when walking.)
RP-2 Match the process or strategy listed below (i–xi) with its description (a–k).
○ Algorithm: Methodological rule or procedure that guarantees a solution but
requires time and effort
○ Intuition: Your fast, automatic, effortless feelings and thoughts based on your
experience; huge and adaptive but can lead you to overfeel and underthink
○ Insight: Sudden Aha! reaction that instantly reveals the solution
○ Heuristic: Simple thinking shortcut that lets you act quickly and efficiently but puts
you at risk for errors
○ Fixation: Inability to view problems from a new angle; focuses thinking but
hinders creative problem solving
○ Confirmation Bias: Tendency to search for support for your own views and to
ignore contradictory evidence
○ Overconfidence: Overestimating the accuracy of your beliefs and judgments;
allows you to be happier and to make decisions more easily, but puts you at risk
for errors
○ Creativity: The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas
○ Framing: Wording a question or statement so that it evokes a desired response;
can mislead people and influence their decisions
○ Belief Perseverance: Holding on to your beliefs even after they are proven
wrong; closing your mind to new ideas
○ Nudge: Framing choices to encourage good decisions
Master the Material
1. A mental grouping of similar things is called a concept.
2. The most systematic procedure for solving a problem is a(n) algorithm.
3. Oscar describes his political beliefs as “strongly liberal,” but he is interested in
exploring opposing viewpoints. How might he be affected by confirmation bias and
belief perseverance?
a. Oscar will need to guard against confirmation bias (searching for support for
his own views and ignoring contradictory evidence) as he seeks out opposing
viewpoints. Even if Oscar encounters new information that disproves his
beliefs, belief perseverance may lead him to cling to these views anyway. It
will take more compelling evidence to change his political beliefs than it took
to create them.
4. A major obstacle to problem solving is fixation, which is a(n)
a. inability to view a problem from a new perspective.
, 5. Terrorist attacks made Americans more fearful of being victimized by terrorism than
of other, greater threats. Such exaggerated fear after dramatic events illustrates the
availability heuristic.
6. When consumers respond more positively to ground beef described as “75 percent
lean” than to the same product labeled “25 percent fat,” they have been influenced by
framing.
7. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a creative person?
a. Expertise
b. Extrinsic motivation
c. A venturesome personality
d. Imaginative thinking skills
8. In the early twentieth century, some psychologists noted that animal consciousness
can be inferred from their behavior. In the early twenty-first century, other scientists
argued that animal consciousness can be inferred from their brain’s neural networks.
Module 28. What is intelligence?
Retrieval Practice
RP-1 How does the existence of savant syndrome support Gardner’s theory of multiple
intelligences?
○ People with savant syndrome have limited mental ability overall but possess
one or more exceptional skills. According to Howard Gardner, this suggests
that our abilities come in separate packages rather than being fully expressed
by one general intelligence that encompasses all of our talents.
RP-2 How does the Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory of intelligence integrate the idea of having
general intelligence as well as specific abilities?
○ Intelligence is composed of both a broad ability factor as well as other
specific abilities, such as reading ability, memory capacity, and processing
speed.
Master the Material
1. Charles Spearman suggested we have one general intelligence underlying success
across a variety of intellectual abilities.
2. The existence of savant syndrome seems to support theories of multiple intelligences.
3. Sternberg’s three types of intelligence are analytical, creative, practical and .
4. Emotionally intelligent people tend to succeed in their careers.
Module 29. Intelligence Assessment and Dynamics
Retrieval Practice
RP-1 What did Binet hope to achieve by establishing a child’s mental age?
○ Binet hoped that determining the child’s mental age (the age that typically
corresponds to a certain level of performance) would help identify appropriate
school placements.
RP-2 What is the IQ score of a 4-year-old with a mental age of 5? 125
