1. iClicker Questions for
Psychology, 9th Edition by David G. Myers
Karla Gingerich, Colorado State University
Chapter 9: Thinking and Language

2. While working on a word problem, Jenae has an “aha
While working on a word problem, Jenae has an “aha!” moment of sudden insight about how to solve the problem. If you were mapping her brain activity on an EEG at that moment, you would expect to observe a burst of activity in her:
A. left frontal lobe.
B. right frontal lobe.
C. left temporal lobe.
D. right temporal lobe.
Answer: D

3. To find Tabasco sauce in a large grocery store, you could systematically search every shelf in every store aisle. This best illustrates problem solving by means of:
A. the availability heuristic.
B. functional fixedness.
C. an algorithm.
D. the representativeness heuristic.
Answer: C

4. Pablo vainly searches for a screwdriver while failing to recognize that a readily available coin in his pocket would turn the screw. His oversight best illustrates:
A. functional fixedness.
B. the availability heuristic.
C. belief perseverance.
D. the representativeness heuristic.
Answer: A

5. A defense attorney emphasizes to a jury that her client works full-time, supports his family, and enjoys leisure-time hobbies. Although none of this information is relevant to the trial, it is designed to make the defendant appear to be a typical member of the local community. The lawyer is most clearly attempting to take advantage of:
A. confirmation bias.
B. functional fixedness.
C. belief perseverance.
D. the representativeness heuristic.
Answer: D

6. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. People underestimate the accuracy of their judgments.
B. People pay closest attention to information that disconfirms what they believe.
C. It is difficult for most people to explain away their failures.
D. People are overconfident about how they will perform on various tasks.
Answer: D

7. Advertisers know that a thirty-three percent discount sounds like a better deal than a discount of one third. This best illustrates:
A. framing.
B. belief bias.
C. representativeness heuristics.
D. confirmation bias.
Answer: A

8. Maintaining one's conceptions even after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited is known as:
A. the representativeness heuristic.
B. belief perseverance.
C. confirmation bias.
D. functional fixedness.
Answer: B

9. Due to an automobile accident, Jenny suffered damage to her cerebral cortex in Broca's area. Jenny is most likely to experience:
A. auditory hallucinations.
B. aphasia.
C. memory loss.
D. paralysis of her left limbs.
Answer: B

10. In which of the following parts of the brain would a lesion most likely result in aphasia?
A. corpus callosum
B. amygdala
C. hypothalamus
D. Wernicke's area
Answer: D

11. In English, it is appropriate to refer to “a pretty bird,” but not to “a bird pretty.” This best illustrates the importance of:
A. syntax.
B. semantics.
C. morphemes.
D. phonemes.
Answer: A

12. Using different words for two very similar objects enables people to recognize conceptual distinctions between the objects. This illustrates:
A. telegraphic speech.
B. linguistic determinism.
C. functional fixedness.
D. the representativeness heuristic.
Answer: B

13. Which language theorist would have been most likely to emphasize that children master the rule for forming the past tense of regular verbs like "push" before they learn common past tense constructions of irregular verbs like "go"?
A. B. F. Skinner
B. Benjamin Lee Whorf
C. Noam Chomsky
D. Beatrix Gardner
Answer: C

14. Critical Thinking Questions

15. Problem solving is one type of cognitive activity in which we all engage. Which of the following cognitive tendencies is seen to be an obstacle to problem solving?
A. availability heuristic
B. insight
C. prototype confusion
D. confirmation bias
Answer: D

16. A typical one-year-old child:
A. uses telegraphic speech.
B. imitates two-word phases.
C. is in the cooing stage.
D. has lost the ability to discriminate phoneme sounds outside her native language.
Answer: D

17. Noam Chomsky’s theory of language acquisition holds that people have an inborn universal grammar that makes learning of language easy for children. Which of the following statements is used as support for this theory?
A. Children repeat words that they hear frequently.
B. Regardless of the language learned, children tend to make similar errors of grammar when they first begin to learn language.
C. Chimpanzees and other apes can easily learn language.
D. Some children’s vocabularies are extensive, despite the fact that they may live in poor environments.
Answer: B

18. Which of these findings have been cited as evidence supporting the viewpoint that animals have capacity for language?
A. Washoe, a language trained chimp has been observed trying to teach other chimps to use language without trainer intervention.
B. Chimpanzees’ and other apes’ use of language is seemingly unlimited.
C. Chimps simply imitate the gestures of the trainers.
D. Language behaviors are strongly reinforced by the trainers.
Answer: A