thought and language (chapter 8)

Question 1

concepts

Answer 1

the mental representation of an object, event or idea
-can be grouped through categorization

Question 2

categories

Answer 2

clusters of interrelated concepts

Question 3

prototypes

Answer 3

mental representations of an average category member

Question 4

categorization is based on experience

Answer 4

quick and accurate process

Question 5

linguistic relativity (whorfian hypothesis)

Answer 5

the theory that the language we use determines how we understand and categorize the world

Question 6

networks and hierarchies

Answer 6

Nodes include
basic-level categories; bird and fish
broader category; animal
lowest three nodes, specific categories; robin, emu, trout

Question 7

priming;

Answer 7

Semantic networks
a technique in which previous exposure to a stimulus can influence that individuals later responses either to the same stimulus or to one that is related to it

Question 8

How can you explain priming effects?

Answer 8

lexical decision task; participants must determine if a string of letters forms a word

Question 9

bargh, chen and burrows

Answer 9

priming participants with concepts related to the elderly stereotype caused them to walk more slowly at the end of the experiment

Question 10

bounded rationality

Answer 10

there are limits to human processing, due to available information and time

Question 11

satisficing

Answer 11

decisions are often a combination of satisfying and sufficing, rather than optimizing

Question 12

maximizers

Answer 12

are those who attempt to evaluate every option for every choice until they find the perfect fit

Question 13

problem solving

Answer 13

the process of finding solutions to problems encountered in life

Question 14

algorithms

Answer 14

problem-solving strategies based on a series of rules
-more objective, logical and slower

Question 15

heuristics

Answer 15

problem solving-strategies that stem from prior experiences and provide an educated guess as to what is more likely solution

Question 16

representativeness heuristic

Answer 16

the degree to which an event is similar in essential characteristics to its parent population

Question 17

availability heuristic

Answer 17

assessing the probability of an event by the ease with which instances or occurrences can be brought to mind
“if you can think of it, it must be important”

Question 18

adjustment and anchoring effect

Answer 18

the individual uses a specific target number as a starting point (the anchor) and then adjusts to final answer according to that value

Question 19

framing effects

Answer 19

decision making can be influenced by how a problem is worded or framed

Question 20

belief perseverance

Answer 20

occurs when an individual remains committed to their decision or belief even in the face of evidence against it

Question 21

confirmation bias

Answer 21

occurs when an individual searches for only evidence that will confirm his or hers beliefs instead of evidence that might disconfirm them

Question 22

language

Answer 22

a form of communication that involves the use of spoken, written or gestural symbols that are combined in a rule-based form

Question 23

aphasia

Answer 23

a language disorder caused by damage to the brain structures that support using and understanding language

Question 24

wernickes area

Answer 24

the area of the brain most associated with finding the meaning of words

Question 25

wernickes aphasia

Answer 25

damage to the wernickes area results
language disorder in which a person has difficulty understand the words he or she hears

Question 26

brocoas area

Answer 26

helps physically produce speech, but also in syntax processing musical notes

Question 27

brocas asphasia

Answer 27

damage to the brooks area
an individual can still speak but it is very difficult and consist of limited single words filed with pauses. even gesturing with speech can be affected

Question 28

fast mapping

Answer 28

the ability to map words onto concepts or objects after only a single exposure

Question 29

sensitive period

Answer 29

brains are primed to develop language skills
ability fades starting around 7

Question 30

the bilingual brain

Answer 30

cost; children smaller vocabulary
adults; bilingual adults are slower at accessing words
benefits; better executive functions: people who speak more than one language to inhibit one language while speaking and listening to another

Question 31

genetic basis of language: FOXP2 gene

Answer 31

the physical and chemical processes this gene codes for are related to language
-FOXP2 gene is shared with other species, but only humans have language

Question 32

chimpanzee Viki (1950s)

Answer 32

cross-fostered
four words

Question 33

chimpanzee Washoe (1960s)

Answer 33

ASL
-200 signs
-generalized words

Question 34

Bonobo Kanzi

Answer 34

lexigrams
-350 symbols
-3,000 spoken words

Question 35

sentence-rerifcation technique

Answer 35

volunteers wait for a sentence to appear in front of them on a computer screen and respond as quickly as they can to yes or no statements

Question 36

mental set

Answer 36

a cognitive obstacle that occurs when an individual attempts to apply a routine solution to what is actually a new type of problem

Question 37

functional fixedness

Answer 37

which occurs when an individual identifies an object a technique that could potentially solve a problem

Question 38

anchoring effect

Answer 38

occurs when an individual attempts to solve a problem involving numbers and uses previous knowledge to keep the responses within a limited range.

Question 39

morphemes

Answer 39

the smallest meaningful units of a language.
“pig” cant be broken down into smaller units

Question 40

semantics

Answer 40

the study of how people come to understand meaning from words

Question 41

syntax

Answer 41

the rules for combining words and morphemes into meaningful phrases and sentences
-the recipe for language

Question 42

cross-fostered

Answer 42

animal was raised as a member of a family that she was not of the same species

Question 43

two biological explanations of children having superior fast mapping

Answer 43

1. the development of brain beings to form language-related functions in the left hemisphere
2. increased in amount of myelin on the brains axon terminals, a change that would increase the speed of communication between neurons