Chapter 9A - 9D
What is the difference between a test that is culturally "biased" and a test that is scientifically biased?
A test may be culturally "biased" unfair if higher scores are achieved by those with certain cultural experiences. That same test is not scientifically biased as long as it has predictive validity - (if it predicts what it is supposed to predict). The SAT may favor those with experience in the U.S. school system, but it does still accurately predict U.S college success; a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.
Researcher A wants to study how intelligence changes over the life span. Researcher B wants to study the intelligence of people who are now at various life stages. Which researcher should use the cross-sectional method, and which the longitudinal method?
A: longitudinal, B: cross-sectional
When and why were intelligence tests created, and how do today's tests differ from early intelligence tests?
Alfred Binet, who tended toward an environmental explanation of intelligence differences, started the modern intelligence-testing movement in France in the early 1900s, when he developed questions to help predict children's future progress in the Paris school system. Binet hoped his test would improve children's education but feared it might be used to label them. During the early twentieth century, Lewis Terman of Stanford University revised Binet's work for use in the United States. Terman thought his Stanford-Binet could help guide people toward appropriate opportunities, but his belief in an intelligence that was fixed at birth and differed among ethnic groups realized Binet's fear that intelligence tests would be used to limit children's opportunities. William Stern contributed the concept of the IQ (intelligence quotient). The most widely used intelligence tests today are the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and Wechsler's tests for children. These tests differ from their predecessors in the way they offer an overall intelligence score as well as scores for verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, working memory, and processing speed.
what is the relationship between thinking and language, and what is the value of thinking in images?
Although Benjamin Lee Whorf's linguistic determinism hypothesis suggested that language determines thought, it is more accurate to say that language influences thought (linguistic relativism). Different languages embody different ways of thinking, and immersion in bilingual education can enhance thinking. We often think in images when we use implicit (nondeclarative, procedural) memory—our automatic memory system for motor and cognitive skills and classically conditioned associations. Thinking in images can increase our skills when we mentally practice upcoming events. Process simulation (focusing on the steps needed to reach a goal) is effective, but outcome simulation (fantasizing about having achieved the goal) does little.
What is an intelligence test, and how do achievement and aptitude tests differ?
An intelligence test assesses an individual's mental aptitudes and compares them with those of others, using numerical scores. Aptitude tests measure the ability to learn, while achievement tests measure what we have already learned.
Why do psychologists NOT diagnose an intellectual disability based solely on a person's intelligence test score?
An intelligence test score is only one measure of a person's ability to function. Other important factors to considered in an overall assessment include conceptual skills, social skills, and practical skills
What are the traits of those at the low and high intelligence extremes?
An intelligence test score of or below 70 is one diagnostic criterion for the diagnosis of intellectual disability; other criteria are limited conceptual, social, and practical skills. People at the high intelligence extreme tend to be healthy and well-adjusted, as well as unusually successful academically.
How do we acquire language, and what is universal grammar?
As our biology and experience interact, we readily learn the specific grammar and vocabulary of language we experience as children. Chomsky proposed that all human languages share a universal grammar and that humans are born with predisposition to learn language.
Susan was born deaf to hearing-impaired parents. She is fluent in sign language and successful in school. How will she perform on a standard intelligence test compared to hearing children her age?
Because the intelligence test is in the culture's dominant language, a language she cannot hear, she will not perform as well.
What did Binet hope to achieve by establishing a child's mental age?
Binet hoped that determining the child's mental age (the age that typically corresponds to a certain level of performance) would help identify appropriate school placement; he feared that it would also be used to label children and limit opportunities
what happens during insight?
Brain scans show bursts of activity associated with sudden flashes of insight. At the instant of discovery, there was a burst of activity in the right temporal lobe, just above the ear.
What brain areas are involved in language processing and speech?
Broca's area controls language expression and wernicke's area control language reception. Language processing is spread across other brain areas as well, with different neural networks handling specific linguistic subtasks.
_________________ is one part of brain that, if damaged, might impair your ability to speak words. Damage to ______________ might impair your ability to understand language.
Broca's area; Wernicke's area
what is the critical period for language?
Children can learn multiple languages without accent and with good grammar, if they are exposed to the languages before puberty. After puberty, it's difficult to learn a second language so well.
What do we know about other species' capacity for language?
Chimpanzees and bonobos have learned to communicate with humans by signing or by pushing buttons. Some have developed vocabularies of nearly 400 words, communicated by stringing these words together, and have demonstrated some understanding of syntax. While only humans communicate in complex sentences, other animals' impressive abilities to think and communicate challenge humans to consider what this means about the moral rights of other species.
How does aging affect crystallized and fluid intelligence?
Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown that fluid intelligence declines in older adults, in part because neural processing slows. However, crystallized intelligence tends to increase.
What is Broca's area?
In left frontal lobe. Its responsible for the production of words and speech. Damage to this area causes Broca's aphasia- speech thats slow, lacking fluency. Can understand others speech though.
what is bilingual advantage?
People who are bilingual have numerous brain connections and neural networks. They also have a hidden talent, the ability to suppress one language while learning another. This ability tends to go along with other forms of executive control, such as resisting distraction and inhibiting impulses.
The heritability of intelligence scores will be greater in a society marked by equal opportunity than in a society of peasants and aristocrats. Why?
Perfectly equal opportunities would create 100 percent heritability, because genes alone would account for any human differences.
What are the structural components of a language?
Phonemes are a language's basic units of sound. Morphemes are the elementary units of meaning. Grammar—the system of rules that enables us to communicate—includes semantics (rules for deriving meaning) and syntax (rules for ordering words into sentences).
How and why do racial and ethnic groups differ in mental ability scores?
Racial and ethnic groups differ in their average intelligence test scores. Evidence suggests that environmental differences are responsible for these group differences.
what do we know about thinking in other species?
Researchers make inferences about other species' consciousness and intelligence based on behavior. Evidence from studies of various species shows that many other animals use concepts, numbers, and tools and that they transmit learning from one generation to the next (cultural transmission). Like humans, some species show insight, self-awareness, altruism, cooperation, and grief.
How does the existence of savant syndrome support Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences?
Savants have limited mental ability overall but possess one or more exception skills. This suggests that our abilities come in separate packages rather than being fully expressed by one general intelligence that encompasses all of our talents.
What is linguistic determinism?
Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think
while studying chimpanzees, ________ observed that animals have the ability to display insight?
Wolfgang Kohler
Do identical twins share same mental abilities?
Yes. Intelligence scores are very similar, when adopted by different famililes, and extremely similar when raised in the same family. Identical twins also exhibit substantial similarity and heritability in specific talents.
What is savant syndrome?
a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing
What is intellectual disability?
a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence test score of 70 or below and difficulty adapting to the demands of life. (Formerly referred to as mental retardation
What is a nudge?
a framing of choices by which governments and companies can, w/o coercion or altered incentives, encourage people to make choices that support their health, retirement savings, and well-being.
what is mental age?
a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance
what are concepts?
a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people; simplify our thinking
what are prototypes?
a mental image or best example of a category; Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a crow)
what is an intelligence test?
a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores
What are the three criteria that a psychological test must meet in order to be widely accepted? Explain.
a psychological test must be standardized (pretested on a representative sample of people), reliable (yielding consistent results), and valid (measuring and predicting what it is supposed to).
what is grammar?
a set of rules that specify how the units of language can be combined to produce meaningful messages; derived meaning from sounds (semantics) and ordering words into sentences (syntax).
What are heuristics?
a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms
What is insight?
a sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solution
what is a normal curve?
a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (about 68 percent fall within on standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes.
what is mental set? (an example of fixation)
a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past;
What is a perceptual set?
a tendency to perceive or notice some aspects of the available sensory data and ignore others.
what is functional fixedness?
a tendency to perceive the functions of objects as fixed and unchanging
What is confirmation bias?
a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
What are achievement tests?
a test designed to assess what a person has learned
What are aptitude tests?
a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn
what is productive language?
ability to produce words; it occurs after the beginnings of receptive language
What is receptive language?
ability to understand what is said to and about them
what is general intelligence (g)?
according to Spearman and others, underlies all mental abilities and is therefore measure by every takes on an intelligence test.
what are the benefits of mental rehearsal?
achieve a goal (academic), improve performance,
what are the results of several studies that suggest that a shared environment exerts an influence on intelligence scores?
adoption from poverty to better household's enhances children's test scores. Adoption of mistreated or neglected children also enhances intelligence scores.
What is Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Theory?
affirmed a general intellectual ability factor, but also identified more specific abilities, such as reading and writing ability, memory capacity, and processing speed.
what is cognition?
all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
What is intuition?
an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning
What is the Stanford-Binet test?
an intelligence test based on the Binet-Simon scale, commonly administered to children; the widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence test
What are Robert Stenberg's three intelligences (triarchic theory)?
analytical (academic problem solving) intelligence: asses by intelligence test creative intelligence: ability to adapt to new situation and generate novel ideas practical intelligence: required for everyday tasks that may be poorly defined and may have multiple solutions.
what did psychologist Margaret Floy Washburn argue? (1908)
animal consciousness and intelligence can be inferred from their behavior; in 2012, neuroscientists added that it can inferred from their brains.
An employer with a pool of applicants for a single available position is interested in testing each applicant's potential. To determine that, she should use an (achievement/aptitude) test. That same employer wishing to test the effectiveness of a new, on-the-job training program would be wise to use an (achievement/aptitude) test
aptitude; achievement
Four-month-old Shayna is starting to say things like ah-goo and da-da-da-da. Shayna is in the _____ stage of language acquisition.
babbling
The vocal sounds NOT included in one's native language first begin to disappear from a child's vocalizations toward the end of the ____________ stage of language development.
babbling
Emotionally intelligent people tend to
be socially and self-aware; often succeed in relationship, career, and parenting situations where academically smarter but less emotionally intelligent people might fail; tend to be happy and healthy
What is the two-word stage?
beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements (telegraphic speech)
The environmental influence that has the clearest, most profound effect on intellectual development is
being raised in condition of extreme deprivation
Compared to North American students, Asian students perform _____ on math aptitude and achievement tests and spend _____ time studying.
better; more
By what age does children's performance begin to predict their adolescent and adult scores?
by age 4
How do we form concepts?
by developing prototypes
How does poor environmental condition effect cognitive performance?
can depress cognitive development and produce stresses that impede cognitive performance. ; impoverished people's worries and distractions consume cognitive bandwidth and can diminish their thinking capacity.
What is belief perseverance?
clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
Most researchers agree that apes can
communicate through symbols
Because he mistakenly believes that older workers are not as motivated to work as hard as younger workers, Jonathan, a factory foreman is especially vigilant for signs of laziness among his senior employees. His supervision strategy best illustrates:
confirmation bias
Intelligence tests are most likely to be considered biased in terms of their:
cultural assumptions
What is standardization?
defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group
The infants' language development increased dramatically and most of the children were adopted.
detecting differences in performance caused by cultural experiences and predictive validity for only some groups of test-takers
How to boost creative process
develop your expertise, allow time for incubation, set aside time for the mind to roam freely, experience other cultures and ways of thinking
Jahmal cites his cousin Luana's many car accidents as evidence that women are worse drivers than men. He overlooks the fact that his wife and three daughters have had far fewer car accidents than he and his two sons. Jahmal's prejudicial conclusion about women's driving skills BEST illustrates the effects of:
confirmation bias
what obstacles hinder problem solving?
confirmation bias, and fixation
Because he mistakenly believes that older workers are not as motivated to work as hard as younger workers, a factory foreman is especially vigilant for signs of laziness among his senior employees. When he sees a younger employee slacking off, he usually assumes that he is taking a well-deserved break. His supervision strategy BEST illustrates:
confirmation bias.
As an elementary school teacher, Lisa has many students for whom English is a second language. She notices that many of these students have more difficulty understanding new vocabulary terms than the rest of the class, and have a tendency to misplace adjectives in their writings. These students are experiencing difficulty with:
grammar
"When you have trouble in a class, try outlining the book in your own words." What is this general rule of thumb for solving a common academic problem called?
heuristic
When solving a multiple-choice question, eliminate options that are obviously incorrect, and eliminate options that contain absolute terms such as all or every. These rules of thumb are known as:
heuristics
Sinjon is fluent in both English and French. His parents spoke both languages to him when he was a very young child. Sinjon has an amazing capacity to inhibit his attention to irrelevant information, which helps him as he does simultaneous interpretation. Linguists would suggest that his ability to focus may be caused by a bilingual advantage resulting from:
his increased word power
The strongest support for heredity's influence on intelligence is the finding that
identical twins, but not other siblings, have nearly identical intelligence test scores.
Why can news be described as "something that hardly ever happens"? How does knowing this help us assess our fears?
if a tragic event makes the news, it is noteworthy and unusual unlike more common bad events. Knowing this, we worry less about unlikely events and think more about improving the safety of our everyday activities.
what is process simulation?
imagining the detailed actions of studying
What is aphasia?
impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).
What is Wernicke's area?
in left temporal lobe; involved in language comprehension and expression
Point to remember: in processing language.....
in processing language, brain operates by dividing its mental functions: speaking, perceiving, thinking, remembering; into subfunctions.
what is fixation?
inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective; an obstacle to problem solving
a major obstacle to problem solving is fixation, which is a(n)
inability to view a problem from a new perspective
A check on your understanding of heritability: If environments become more equal, the heritability of intelligence will
increase (Heritability will increase as environmental variation decreases).
what happens in productive language at 10 months?
infants babbling has changed to that a trained ear can identify household language; Without exposure to other languages, babies lose their ability to discriminate and produce sounds and tones outside our native language.
What are neural networks?
interconnected neural cells
where did Spearman's belief stem from?
it came from his work with factor analysis, a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items
what does overconfidence enable people to do?
it can have adaptive value; to confront one's own ignorance is to become wiser.
why is better to praised for effort?
it helps teens understand the link between hard work and success.
what did Linguist Noam Chomsky argue?
language is an unlearned human trait; built-in (biologically) predisposition to learn grammar rules (universal grammar) helps explain why preschoolers pick up language.
What did Benjamin Lee Whorf contend?
language itself shapes a person's basic ideas.
After a construction accident, James was left without the ability to comprehend and express language because of damage sustained in his
left temporal lobe
The similarity between intelligence scores of fraternal twins reared together is:
less than identical twins reared apart.
Benjamin Lee Whorf's controversial hypothesis, called ______________ ______________, suggested that we cannot think about things unless we have words for those concepts or ideas.
linguistic determinism
what is the intelligence quotient?
mental age/chronological age x 100; contemporary intelligence test, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.
Students will tend to study the same way for every class they are taking, especially when they have been successful. This is an example of a:
mental set
The _____ is the smallest unit of language that carries meaning.
morpheme
In a particular language, conjugating a verb by adding a suffix to its root shades its meaning by placing the action on a timeline of potential events and by indicating the relationship of the actor to the speaker. Conjugating verbs in this way BEST illustrates the function of:
morphemes.
Males' reading ability scores and performance scores vary _____ than females' scores and males' math test performance scores vary _____ than females' scores.
move;move
Children's language development
moves from simplicity to complexity
what do Gardner and Stenberg agree on?
multiple abilities contribute to life success, and differing varieties of giftedness bring both spice to life and challenges for education.
What is a morpheme?
smallest meaningful unit of language; may be a word or a part of a word
What are phonemes?
speech sounds; in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit; english uses about about 40, other languages uses half to more than twice that many; "consonant phonemes carry more information than do vowel phonemes"
What psychological principle helps explain why women tend to perform more poorly when they believe their online chess opponent is male?
stereotype threat
___________________ can lead to poor performance on tests by undermining test-takers' belief that they can do well on the test.
stereotype threat
While on vacation in Mexico, James attempts to speak Spanish. However, he is finding it difficult to communicate with others. He is using Spanish terms, but he places words together according to the English language. James is having difficulty with:
syntax
___________ refers to the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language.
syntax
When young children speak in short phrases using mostly verbs and nouns, this is referred to as _________________ .
telegraphic speech
What is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)?
the WAIS and its companion versions for children are the most widely used intelligence tests; they contain verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.
what is intelligence?
the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations
What is emotional intelligence?
the ability to perceive (recognize them in faces, music, and stories), understand (predicting them and how they may change and blend) , manage (knowing how to express them in varied situations), and use emotions (to enable adaptive or creative thinking)
what is creativity?
the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas
Carl's identical twin sons are participating in a research study that includes MRI scans. The MRI findings will MOST likely indicate that:
the areas in their brains associated with verbal intelligence are very similar.
What is telegraphic speech?
the early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram, using mostly nouns and verbs
what is validity?
the extent to which a test measures or predicts what is it suppossed to
What is reliability?
the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternative forms of the test or on retesting.
what is a growth mindset?
the idea that our abilities are malleable qualities that we can cultivate and grow
what is social intelligence?
the know-how involved in comprehending social situations and managing oneself successfully; Psychologist Edward Thorndike first proposed the concept
What is heritability?
the proportion of variation among individuals that can be attributed to genes
the three basic building blocks of language are
phonemes, morphemes, grammar
what are three building blocks of spoken language?
phonemes, morphemes, grammar
what is motivated reasoning?
processing info in a way that allows people to reach the conclusion that they want to reach
what is the difference between receptive and productive language, and when do children normally hit these milestones in language development?
receptive (ability to understand what is said to and about them) around 4 months of age. Then, start babbling at four months and beyond, infants normally start building productive language skills (ability to produce sounds and eventually words)
On which of these tasks are women MOST likely to perform as well or better than men?
reciting poetry
what is outcome simulation?
rehearsing a wanted outcome in your head
What is a cohort?
same group of people
What happens if we move away from our prototypes?
we are slower to recognize
What does Gardner proposes about emotional intelligence?
we should respect emotional sensitivity, creativity, and motivation as important but different.
what factors exaggerate our fear of unlikely events?
we tend to be afraid of what our ancestral history has prepared us to fear, what we cannot control, what is immediate, and what is most readily available. We fear too little the ongoing threats that claim lives one by one, such as traffic accidents and diseases.
What is babbling and when does it occur?
when babies play with the sounds they can make, begins to take on the sounds of consonants and syllables, around 5-7 months
do savants often have ASD?
yes; 4 out of 5 people are male, and many have ASD
What are algorithms?
A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.
what did Wason say about confirmation bias?
"ordinary people evade facts, become inconsistent or systematically defend themselves against the threat of new information relevant to the issue"
what are the two criteria to be diagnosed with an intellectual disabled?
1. An intelligence test score indicating performance that is in the lowest 3 percent of the general population, or about 70 or below 2. difficulty adapting to the normal demands of independent living, as expressed in three area, or skills: conceptual, social, and practical. In mild forms, intellectual disability, like normal intelligence, results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
what are the five components of creativity?
1. Expertise: well developed knowledge furnishes ideas, images, and phrases we use a mental building blocks 2. Imaginative thinking skills: provide the ability to see things in novel ways, to recognize patterns, and to make connections 3. A venturesome personality: seeks new experiences, tolerates ambiguity and risk, and perseveres in overcoming obstacles. 4. Intrinsic motivation: quality of being driven more by interest, satisfaction, and challenge by external pressures 5. A creative environment: sparks, supports, and refines creative ideas
Why do children and adults who are more intelligent tend to live healthier and longer lives
1. Intelligence facilitates more education, better jobs, and a healthier environment 2. Intelligence encourages healthy living: less smoking, better diet, more exercise 3. Prenatal events or early childhood illnesses can influence both intelligence and health 4. a "well-wired body", as evidence by fast reaction speeds, perhaps fosters both intelligence and longevity
By the age of _____ months, an infant's typical babbling has changed so that a trained ear can identify the language of the household.
10
What is the IQ of a 4-year-old with a mental age of 5?
125 (5 / 4 * 100)
What are the four components of emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence, which is an aspect of social intelligence, includes the abilities to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions. Emotionally intelligent people tend to be happy, healthy, and more successful personally and professionally. Some critics question whether calling these abilities "intelligence" stretches that concept too far.
Frank lost a contact lens in his kitchen; he searches for it by examining each linoleum tile in turn to see if the lens is contained within the square. Gemma lost a lens in her kitchen; she looks for it near the base of the fridge and around the stove because these are the two appliances she remembers using when she was last in the kitchen. In this scenario:
Gemma is using a heuristic and Frank is using an algorithm.
Which statement accurately describes the heritability of intelligence?
Heritability accounts for about 50 percent of the variation in intelligence test scores.
How and why do racial and ethnic groups differ in mental ability scores?
High scoring people and groups are more likely to attain high levels of education and income;
How do Gardner's and Sternberg's theories of multiple intelligences differ, and what criticisms have they faced?
Howard Gardner proposed eight independent intelligences (linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalist), as well as a possible ninth (existential intelligence). The different intelligences of people with savant syndrome, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and certain kinds of brain damage seem to support his view. Robert Sternberg's triarchic theory proposes three intelligence areas that predict real-world skills: analytical (academic problem solving), creative (innovative smarts), and practical (street smarts). Critics note research that has confirmed a general intelligence factor, which widely predicts performance. But highly successful people also tend to be conscientious, well-connected, and doggedly energetic; their achievements arise from both ability and motivation.
Which of the following observations provides the BEST evidence that intelligence test scores are influenced by environment?
Identical twins raised apart are less similar in their intelligence scores than identical twins raised together.
How do psychologists define intelligence, and what are the arguments for g?
Intelligence is the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. Charles Spearman proposed that we have one general intelligence (g) underlying all mental abilities. Through his work with factor analysis, a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related abilities, he noted that those who score high in one area typically score higher than average in other areas.
what are some examples of smart intuition?
Intuition is recognition born of experience: react w/o thinking, thinking may disrupt well-practiced movements Intuition is usually adaptive, enabling quick reactions: (gut feelings, learned associations) Intuition is huge: "Letting a problem incubate while we attend to other things can pay dividends"
what is intuition and how can the representativeness and availability heuristics influence our decisions and judgements?
Intuition is the effortless, immediate, automatic feelings or thoughts we often use instead of systematic reasoning. Representativeness heuristic enable snap judgements. Using availability heuristic, we judge on the likelihood of things based on how readily they come to mind.
_____ observed the dramatic effects of early experiences and demonstrated the impact of early intervention in an Iranian orphanage
J. McVicker Hunt
How and why do the genders differ in mental ability scores?
Males and females have the same average intelligence test scores, but they tend to differ in some specific abilities. Girls, on average, are better spellers, more verbally fluent, better at locating objects, better at detecting emotions, and more sensitive to touch, taste, and color. Boys outperform girls at spatial ability and complex mathematics, though boys and girls hardly differ in math computation and overall math performance. Boys also outnumber girls at the low and high extremes of mental abilities. Evolutionary and cultural explanations have been proposed for these gender differences.
Zac and Nina are studying for a psychology test. Zac states that heritability refers to the extent to which genes are responsible for an individual's level of a particular characteristic is genetic. Nina disagrees, stating that heritability refers to the extent to which genes are responsible for variation among individuals in a particular characteristic. Which of these students is correct?
Nina is correct
Are intelligence tests biased or unfair? What is stereotype threat, and how does it affect test-takers' performance?
Scientific term biased, major U.S aptitude tests are not biased. Biased in the popular sense, yes, intelligence tests may be seen as unfair because they measure test-takers' developed abilities which reflect their education and experiences.
Making several minor household repairs, Alyssa uses a shoe as a hammer and a butter knife as a screwdriver. Which statement BEST characterizes Alyssa's problem solving?
She is not constrained by functional fixedness.
How do smart thinkers use intuition?
Smart thinkers welcome their intuitions (which are usually adaptive), but when making complex decisions they gather as much information as possible and then take time to let their two-track mind process all available information. As people gain expertise, they grow adept at making quick, shrewd judgments.
How can environmental influences affect cognitive development?
Studies of children raised in impoverished environments with minimal social interaction indicate that life experiences significantly influence cognitive development. No evidence supports the idea that normal, healthy children can be molded into geniuses by growing up in an exceptionally enriched environment.
What is heritability, and what do twin and adoption studies tell us about the nature and nurture of intelligence?
Studies of twins, family members, and adoptive parents and siblings indicate a significant hereditary contribution to intelligence scores. Intelligence is polygenetic. Heritability is the proportion of variation among individuals in a group that can be attributed to genes.
Sherry's brother is considering adopting an infant from an orphanage that has a reputation for minimal child-caregiver interaction. A 1-year-old boy is available for adoption, but he is passive and not speaking yet. What advice would Sherry give her brother?
The chances are good that the boy will learn to talk if he is provided with responsive caregiving.
What are cross-sectional studies and longitudinal studies, and why is it important to know which method was used?
The differing intelligence findings of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies—that mental ability declines with age or that it remains stable (or even increases)—illustrate the fact that cross-sectional studies compare people of different eras and life circumstances. This can provide an excellent snapshot of a particular point in time, but longitudinal studies are superior for tracing the evolution of traits over a longer period.
What is a normal curve, and what does it mean to say that a test has been standardized and is reliable and valid?
The distribution of test scores often forms a normal (bell-shaped) curve around the central average score, with fewer and fewer scores at the extremes. Standardization establishes a basis for meaningful score comparisons by giving a test to a representative sample of future test-takers. Reliability is the extent to which a test yields consistent results (on two halves of the test, on alternative forms of the test, or upon retesting). Validity is the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to. A test has predictive validity if it predicts a behavior it was designed to predict. (Aptitude tests have predictive validity if they can predict future achievements; their predictive power is best for the early school years.)
what is linguistic relativism?
The idea that the language a person speaks has an influence on this person's cognition or world view
J. McVicker Hunt tried to help children raised in a destitute Iranian orphanage by using language-fostering games and other environmental enrichments. Which summary BEST describes Hunt's results?
The infants' language development increased dramatically and most of the children were adopted.
Are intelligence tests biased or unfair? What is stereotype threat, and how does it affect test-takers' performance?
The scientific meaning of bias hinges on a test's ability to predict future behavior for all test-takers, not just for some. In this sense, most experts consider the major aptitude tests unbiased. However, if we consider bias to mean that a test may be influenced by the test-taker's cultural experience, then intelligence tests, by that definition, may be considered unfair. Stereotype threat, a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype, affects performance on all kinds of tests.
How stable are intelligence test scores over the life span?
The stability of intelligence test scores increases with age. At age 4, scores begin to predict adolescent and adult scores. By age 11, scores are very stable and predictive.
What is the planning fallacy?
The tendency to overestimate the speed at which we will complete projects and tasks; overestimating our future leisure time and income
Critics of ape language research have argued which of the following against the idea that apes can acquire language?
There is no evidence that apes can equal even a 3-year-old's ability to order words with proper syntax.
if you dog barks at a stranger at the door, does this qualify as language? What if the dog yips in a telltale way to let you know she needs to gout?
These are definitely communications. But if language consists of words and the grammatical rules we use to combine them to communicate meaning, few scientists would label a dog's barking and yipping as language
A high school implements a remedial math program targeted at incoming freshmen who failed previous math classes. Stereotype threat research would predict which result for the program?
This remedial math program might create a self-fulfilling prophecy that could cause lower scores on math tests.
Correlation coefficients were used in this section. Here's a quick review: Correlations do not indicate cause-effect, but they do tell us whether two things are associated in some way. A correlation of -1.00 represents perfect (agreement/disagreement) between two sets of scores: As one score goes up, the other score goes (up/down). A correlation of represents no association. The highest correlation, +1.00, represents perfect (agreement/disagreement): As the first score goes up, the other score goes (up/down).
disagreement; down; agreement; up
In terms of race differences in intellectual abilities, White and Black infants have scored _____ on an infant intelligence measure.
equally well
What is the availability heuristic?
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume much events are common; can distort judgement of risks
What is the representativeness heuristic?
estimating the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information
what is divergent thinking?
expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions; associated with creativity tests
which of the following is not a characteristic of a creative person?
extrinsic motivation
A person's ability to reason speedily and abstractly (e.g., solving novel logic problems) decreases slowly up to about age 75, then more rapidly, especially after age 85. This type of ability is also known as:
fluid intelligence
Animals are able to:
form concepts, display insight, invent behaviors and transmit cultural patterns to their observing peers and offspring, demonstrate self-awareness,
Language development in babies (receptive language)
four months: recognize differences in speech sounds and read lips six months: recognize object names seven months+: segment spoken sounds into individual words.
what are the effects of framing?
framing options can influence or nudge people toward beneficial decisions
what is convergent thinking?
narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution; best associated with aptitude test
in the early twentieth century, some psychologists noted that animal consciousness can be inferred from their behavior. In early twenty-first century, other scientists argued that animal consciousness can be inferred from their brain's ____________.
neural networks
Is there one genius gene?
no, intelligence is polygenetic, involving many genes.
Sharon is just learning to speak. She says words like da-da, kitty, and ma-ma. This is not unusual because, whatever the language, when children begin to speak, they tend to use mostly:
nouns
Children reach the one-word stage of speech development at about
one year
Gardner's Multiple Intelligences
our abilities are best classified into eight independent intelligences, which include a broad range of skills beyond traditional school smarts; "naturalist, linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, musical, logical-mathematical
What is fluid intelligence?
our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease with age, especially during late adulthood.
What is crystallized intelligence?
our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age
Why is it so difficult to learn a new language in adulthood?
our brain's critical period for language learning is in childhood, when we can absorb language structure almost effortlessly. As we move past that stage in our brain's development, our ability to learn a new language diminshes dramatically.
what is language?
our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning
What is the one-word stage?
the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words; begin to use sounds but only one barely recognizable syllable to communicate meaning
What is epigenetics?
the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself.
What is predictive validity?
the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.
What is overconfidence?
the tendency to be more confident than correct-to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgements
To say that the heritability of intelligence is about 50 percent means that 50 percent of
the variation in intelligence within a group of people is attributable to genetic factors
what is framing?
the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.
what are the subtests for WAIS?
there are 15 subtests, including: similarities, vocabulary, block design, letter-number sequencing
what are some criticisms of multiple intelligence theories?
there is a general intelligence factor, and it predicts performance on various complex tasks and in various jobs. Success is a combination of talent and grit.
How and why do do the genders differ in mental ability scores?
they are no difference in gender equal countries, and there is a difference in gender-unequal countries (social expectations and opportunities also construct gender by shaping interests and abilities.
In testing thousands of different materials for use as light bulb filaments, Thomas Edison BEST illustrated a problem-solving approach known as:
trial and error.
How many morphemes are in the word cats? How many phonemes?
two morphemes (cat and s) and four phonemes (c, a, t, s)
In 1874, Carl Wernicke discovered that damage to a specific area of the left temporal lobe limited a person's ability to:
understand
According to Chomsky, humans have a built-in predisposition to learn grammar rules; he called this trait _______________.
universal grammar
Shortly after their daughter, Tiffany, was born, Jeremy and Tara moved from Nebraska to New Zealand to work with the native population. After a few years there they notice that their daughter began to speak English as well as Maori, the language of the native New Zealanders. This is an example of:
universal grammar
what is mental practice, and how can it help you to prepare for an upcoming event?
uses visual imagery to mental rehearse future behaviors, activating some of the brain areas used during the actual behaviors. Visualizing the details of the process is more effective than visualizing only your end goal.