Chapter 8 - Thinking and Language

Question 1

Restructuring a problem often reveals a new and more successful approach to solving the problem. This fact suggests that a critical step in problem solving is

Answer 1

formulating the problem.

Question 2

Jack and Kate, a married couple, have demanding jobs and too little time for their relationship. They decide that one of them needs to step down in his or her career, but they cannot agree on who should do it. Their marriage counselor is trying to get them to see that other solutions are possible. In doing this, the counselor is encouraging them to ________ their problem.

Answer 2

restructure

Question 3

At what age would you expect dyslexia to be diagnosed most frequently?

Answer 3

around age 10, when reading should start to become automatic

Question 4

The expectation that someone will sell you nails in a hardware store, whereas someone will sell you dresses in a boutique, comes from which of the following properties of schemas?

Answer 4

Situations have consistent attributes.

Question 5

When a friend asks you to recommend a restaurant, you send her to the place where you ate last Saturday because it comes most quickly to mind. This way of thinking is an example of

Answer 5

the availability heuristic.

Question 6

When David first moved to Austin, he had to rely on the GPS in his car. Over time, David found that he could navigate the city without using his GPS because he knew information about sections of the city and had a rough idea of its shape. David must have developed a ________ of the city.

Answer 6

mental map

Question 7

In attempting to teach sign language to nonhuman primates, researchers have confirmed

Answer 7

Chomsky’s view that spoken language, as currently defined, is a uniquely human capacity.

Question 8

Analogical representations ________ correspond to characteristics of the object that they represent. Symbolic representations ________ correspond to characteristics of the object that they represent.

Answer 8

do; do not

Question 9

Shannon and Sayid go out for coffee. He holds the door for her, pulls out her chair, and takes the check. He is very confused when she becomes irritable with him for doing these things. You could help him understand Shannon’s reactions by explaining that they probably have conflicting ________ for a man and woman going out.

Answer 9

scripts

Question 10

Scripts are good because they ________, but can be bad because they ________.

Answer 10

provide a guide to behavior in a given situation; reinforce stereotypical behaviors

Question 11

Lakshmi has been trying to work out her class schedules for the fall and spring semesters. No matter what she tries, she cannot seem to work in all the classes she needs to take. She suddenly realizes that she could also take some classes during the summer session, and she is able to quickly work out her schedules. Lakshmi solved the problem by using

Answer 11

restructuring.

Question 12

The system of rules that determines how words are combined into phrases and how phrases are used to make sentences is called

Answer 12

syntax.

Question 13

Across individuals, language development is characterized by

Answer 13

similar stages but variations in the rate of acquisition.

Question 14

When Mandy and Joe meet, Joe tells her that he loves math and computers and his favorite hobbies have always involved building things. Mandy concludes that Joe must be an engineering student rather than a liberal arts student, even though there are many more liberal arts than engineering students at their school. Mandy is using the ________ heuristic and ignoring ________.

Answer 14

representativeness; base rates

Question 15

In New York City, it might be a dress shoe. In Texas, it could be a cowboy boot. In Florida, it might be a sandal. In Montana, it could be a hiking boot. Each of these is a(n) ________ of the shoe category for the culture of that city.

Answer 15

prototype

Question 16

A critical property of insight is that the solution to the problem

Answer 16

emerges in a single step.

Question 17

Lucia won the bronze medal in gymnastics. What might you expect her to say to reporters after the ceremony about her feelings?

Answer 17

“I am glad that at least I won a medal. . . .”

Question 18

If you observed babies in many different cultures just as they were beginning to use language, you would find that

Answer 18

their first words identify objects or are simple action words.

Question 19

The main difference between the exemplar model and the prototype model is that the prototype model is defined by ________ of the category and the exemplar model is defined by ________ of the category.

Answer 19

the best example; all the examples

Question 20

Jack and Kate, a married couple, have demanding jobs and too little time for their relationship. They decide that one of them needs to step down in his or her career, but they cannot agree on who should do it. Their marriage counselor is trying to get them to see that other solutions are possible. In doing this, the counselor is encouraging them to ________ their problem.

Answer 20

restructure

Question 21

Your neighbor is upset because you borrowed his car without asking him. He is distressed because borrowing a car without asking is a violation of our social

Answer 21

schema.

Question 22

Elna prefers to drive instead of flying because she is afraid that the plane might crash. However, she is not worried about the possibility of a car crash. Elna is falling victim to

Answer 22

the availability heuristic.

Question 23

A picture of a carrot is an example of a(n) ________ representation; the word carrot is a(n) ________ representation.

Answer 23

analogical; symbolic

Question 24

A(n) ________ is a(n) ________ of a sequence of events.

Answer 24

script; schema

Question 25

Your best strategy would be to use a heuristic if ________ is most important; your best strategy would be to use an algorithm if ________ is most important.

Answer 25

time; being right

Question 26

Vernon is most likely to agree to pay extra to upgrade his hotel room if he has just booked ________, because of the phenomenon known as ________.

Answer 26

an expensive vacation; anchoring

Question 27

The word tree is an example of a(n) ________, whereas a picture of a tree is an example of a(n) ____

Answer 27

symbolic representation; analogical representation

Question 28

A surgical team was operating in a rural hospital without a backup electrical generator. The power went out. To provide light for the surgery, they collected all the cell phones in the hospital and turned them on. The operation was able to proceed because the surgical team avoided ________ and ________ the problem.

Answer 28

functional fixedness; restructured

Question 29

Itzhak is trying to decide whether to take art history from Professor Nguyen or from Professor Molyneaux. When he looks into the professors’ past grading distributions, he discovers that Professor Nguyen gives 20 percent As, and Professor Molyneaux gives 30 percent Bs. If ________ influences Itzhak’s reasoning, Itzhak will take the class from Professor

Answer 29

the framing effect; Nguyen

Question 30

If people cannot restructure a problem that they are having trouble solving, they could try the easier approach of finding a(n)

Answer 30

appropriate analogy.

Question 31

Scripts are good because they ________, but can be bad because they ________.

Answer 31

provide a guide to behavior in a given situation; reinforce stereotypical behaviors