Practice test for Cognition: thinking, intelligence, and language
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Use these sample questions to test yourself & to practice for the test.
1. Kahnerman describes System 1 process as
mental actions that are completely involuntary.
mental actions that require conscious focus.
mental actions that result from unconscious forces.
mental actions that are based off internal biological changes.
2. Research suggests we engage mental images in our mind __________
the way we engage or interact with physical objects.
a little like
much like
not at all like
randomly and completely different than
3. A psychologist asks people to envision a circle. Next he asks them to draw the circle
they envisioned. When comparing the pictures almost all the circles look identical. The
fact that a circle typically fits a specific and rigid set of rules is an example of a
formal concept.
natural concept.
fuzzy concept.
prototype.
5. A rule of thumb that is derived from experience and used in decision making and
problem solving, even though there is no guarantee of its accuracy or usefulness is a(n)
heuristic.
norm.
algorithm.
pragmatic approach.
6. The tendency to apply a familiar strategy to the solution of a problem without carefully
considering the special requirements of that problem is a(n)
prototype.
concept.
morpheme.
mental set.
7. John and Karen bought a new house with an unfinished basement. To determine how they
want to finish it, they lay down tape on the floor showing where the walls will go and rooms will
be. This process of problem solving is known as
representativeness heuristic.
trial and error.
working backward from the goal.
algorithms.
8. One day at work, Pauline's earing fell on the floor and she was unable to find the back.
To keep from losing her earing, Pauline reinserted it and used part of a pencil eraser to
keep her earing in place. Using a pencil eraser as a temporary earing back showed that
Pauline overcame
a mental set.
functional fixedness.
confirmation bias.
transformational bias.
9. _________________ are concepts that people form not as a result of the application of
strict rules, but as the result of their experiences with concepts in the real world.
Super-ordinate concepts
Basic level type concepts
Formal concepts
Natural concepts
Prototypes
10. ____________ is the method of problem solving in which a person uses a rule of thumb
or a simple rule or principle to solve a problem that they may apply to many situations.
Mechanical solution
Algorithm
Insight
Means-ends analysis
Heuristic
11. Which of the following questions would be more likely to produce divergent thinking?
"What is a clothes hanger?"
"How do you spell clothes hanger?"
"How many uses can you think of for a clothes hanger?"
"What does a clothes hanger typically look like?"
12. The process of stimulating divergent thinking that involves starting with a central idea
(e.g., animals) and drawing lines to other related ideas (e.g., bird, horse) to form a mental
image of the concepts and their connections is called_____________________.
brainstorming
journal
mind mapping
free-writing
creativity
13. Which type of intelligence, according to Howard Gardner, would most likely be present
in farmers, landscapers, and biologists?
naturalist
visual/spatial
existentialist
movement
14. According to Sternburg, "book smarts" is another way of talking about which kind
of intelligence?
analytical
creative
practical
emotional
15. According to Gardners multiple intelligence theory, ____________ intelligence consists
of the ability to see the big picture of the world by asking questions about life, death, and
other major issues.
naturalistic
logical/mathematical
interpersonal
intrapersonal
existentialist
16. Which of the following tests came first?
the Wechsler tests
the Standford Binet
the ACT
Binet's mental ability test
17. Dr Davenport gives all her classes 45 minutes to complete their psychology test
regardless of if the class meets for 50 minutes, 75 minutes, or even 3 hours. Such a
technique ensures test
reliability
validity
norms
standardization
18. In contrast to comparing mental age to chronological age, most modern tests of
intelligence use __________.
Stern's formula
age-group comparison norms
creative assessments
emotional assessments
19. The goal of all test developers is to __________ cultural bias in their intelligence tests.
maximize
eliminate
minimize
hide
20. ______________ refers to the degree to which a test actually measures what it is
supposed to measure.
Reliability
Validity
Standardization
Norms
Consistency
21. Dr. Miller works with children who grew up in poor socioeconomic conditions. Many of
her clients come from homes that do not emphasize education or social involvement, and
opportunities for advancement are practically nonexistent. Many are malnourished, have
been exposed to a variety of environmental toxins, and have multiple infections without
adequate or timely health care. What might these children be at risk for?
intellectual disability
genetic inhibition
organically induced deprivation
increased emotional intelligence
22. Dr. Thomas has found that William, her patient, has a defect in a gene on the X
chromosome of his 23rd pair, which has resulted in a deficiency of a protein needed
for William's brain development. William most likely suffers from
Down syndrome
cretinism
fragile X syndrome
fetal alcohol syndrome
23. All of the following are potential causes of mental retardation EXCEPT
Fragile X syndrome
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Lack of oxygen at birth
Maternal disease or drug use
Immunizations
24. In Terman's study of gived children, mental health issues and relationship problems
only occurred in those with IQs of
150 or higher.
180 or higher.
100 or lower.
45 or lower.
25. At an IQ ranging from 40-55, a person
can reach a 6th grade skill level and can be capable of living independently with
some training.
can reach a 2nd grade skill level and can live and work in supervised environments.
can learn to talk and perform basic self care.
has a very limited ability to learn, and may only be able to perform very simple tasks.
can reach a 9th grade skill level and can learn to live independently on their own
without special training.
26. What may be the best predictor of why some people do not excel in school but
essentially succeed in their life and career choices?
cretinism
phonemes
one's intelligence quotient
emotional intelligence
27. What does the Flynn effect theorize?
Intelligence scores are steadily increasing in modernized countries.
Intelligence scores are decreasing due to an overreliance on technology.
Intelligence scores are relatively stable in contrast to improvement in
our educational system.
Intelligence scores are meaningless and should be abandoned.
28. Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf theorized that __________, a concept reflected
in their linguistic relativity hypothesis.
language shapes thoughts
thoughts shape language
language and thoughts develop independently
language and thoughts influence each other
29. Cognitive universalism tends to __________ the linguistic relativity hypothesis.
contradict
support
add further proof to
mildly downplay
30. _______________ involves knowing things like how to take turns in a conversation, the
use of gestures to emphasize a point, and the different ways that one speaks to different people.
Syntax
Grammar
Pragmatics
Morphemes
Semantics
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Robert C. Gates