Chapter 8

Question 1

Thinking

Answer 1

Any mental activity or processing of information

Question 2

Cognitive Bias

Answer 2

Systematic error in thinking

Question 3

Representativeness Heuristic

Answer 3

Heuristic that involves judging the probability of an event by its superficial similarity to a prototype

Question 4

Base Rate

Answer 4

How common a characteristic or behaviour is in the general population

Question 5

Availability Heuristic

Answer 5

Heuristic that involves estimating the likelihood of an occurence based on the ease with which it comes to our minds

Question 6

Hindsight Bias

Answer 6

Our tendency to overestimate how well we could have predicted something after it has occured

Question 7

Concept

Answer 7

Our knowledge and ideas about a set of objects, actions and characteristics that share core properties

Question 8

Decision making

Answer 8

The process of selecting among a set of possible alternatives

Question 9

Framing

Answer 9

The way a question is formulated that can influence the decisions people make

Question 10

Problem Solving

Answer 10

Generating a cognitive strategy to accomplish a goal

Question 11

Algorithm

Answer 11

Step-by-step learned procedure used to solve a problem

Question 12

Mental Set

Answer 12

Phenomenon of becoming stuck in a specific problem solving strategy, inhibiting our ability to generate alternatives

Question 13

Functional Fixedness

Answer 13

Difficulty conceptualizing that an object typically used for one purpose can be used for another

Question 14

Language

Answer 14

Largely arbitrary systom of communication that combines symbols in rule based ways to create meaning

Question 15

Phoneme

Answer 15

Category of sounds our vocal apparatus produces

Question 16

Morpheme

Answer 16

Smallest meaningful unit of speech

Question 17

Syntax

Answer 17

Grammatical rules that govern how words are composed into meaningful strings

Question 18

Extralinguistic Information

Answer 18

Elements of communication that aren’t of the content of language but are critical to interpreting its meaning

Question 19

Semantics

Answer 19

Meaning derived from words and sentences

Question 20

Dialect

Answer 20

Language variation used by a group of people who share geographic proximity or ethnic background

Question 21

Babbling

Answer 21

Intentional vocalization that lacks specific meaning

Question 22

One-word stage

Answer 22

Early period of language development when children use single-word phrases only to convey an entire thought

Question 23

Sign Language

Answer 23

Language developed by members of a deaf community that uses visual rather than auditory communication

Question 24

Bilingual

Answer 24

Proficient and fluent at speaking and comprehending two distinct languages

Question 25

Metalinguistic

Answer 25

Awareness of how language is structured and used

Question 26

Homesign

Answer 26

System of signs invented by deaf children of hearing parents who receive no language input

Question 27

Generative

Answer 27

Allowing an infinite number of unique sentences to be created

Question 28

Nativist

Answer 28

Account of language acquisition that suggests children are born with some basic knowledge of how language works

Question 29

Language Acquisition Device

Answer 29

Hypothetical construct in the brain in which nativists believe knowledge of syntax resides

Question 30

Social Pragmatics

Answer 30

Account of language acquisition that proposes that children infer what words and sentences mean from context and social interactions

Question 31

Linguistic Determinism

Answer 31

View that all thought is represented verbally and that, as a result, our language defines our thinking

Question 32

Linguistic Relativity

Answer 32

View that characteristics of language shape our thought processes

Question 33

Whole Word Recognition

Answer 33

Reading strategy that involves identifying common words based on appearance

Question 34

Phonetic Decomposition

Answer 34

Reading strategy that involves sounding out words by drawing correspondences between printed letters and sounds