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Psychology of Language An Integrated Approach 1st Edition Ludden Test Bank
Psychology of Language An Integrated Approach 1st Edition Ludden Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. A(n) __________ is a written symbol that represents a word or morpheme; some common examples
in English are the symbols $, %, and &.
a. ideogram
*b. logogram
c. phonogram
d. pictogram
Question type: MC
2. A writing system that represents each syllable with a different symbol is called a __________.
*a. syllabary
b. syllabic
c. syllabus
d. syllogism
Question type: MC
3. The term __________ refers to the set of rules for writing the words of a language.
a. calligraphy
*b. orthography
c. stenography
d. xerography
Question type: MC
4. The situation in which spelling and pronunciation are closely matched is called __________
orthography, whereas the situation in which spelling and pronunciation are poorly matched is called
__________ orthography.
a. easy/difficult
b. narrow/broad
*c. shallow/deep
d. tight/deep
Question type: MC
Question type: MC
6. Words with the same pronunciation but different meanings are called __________. One example is
the set of English words to, two, and too.
a. homograph
b. homologue
*c. homophone
d. homotype
Question type: MC
7. The visual word form area is a brain region __________ where the symbols of the writing system are
stored, regardless of the language or the type of script.
Question type: MC
8. The brain has functional areas for reading even though there has not been enough time for
specialized reading circuits to have evolved. This fact is explained in terms of the neuronal __________
hypothesis, which proposes that brain areas designed for one function can be reorganized to perform
another, somewhat similar function.
a. reassignment
*b. recycling
c. redistribution
d. reorganization
Question type: MC
9. Experienced readers skip over predictable words and thus cannot keep track of the letters in those
words. This is known as the __________ effect.
a. frequency
c. predictability
d. spillover effect
Ludden, The Psychology of Language: An Integrated Approach Instructor Resources – Ch 8
Question type: MC
10. The __________ is the region of the retina directly behind the pupil where vision is most acute.
a. fondant
b. foramen
c. formant
*d. fovea
Question type: MC
11. You can only clearly discern letters that fall on the fovea, and the range of letters that can be
processed during one fixation is known as the __________ span.
a. attention
b. parafoveal
*c. perceptual
d. reading
Question type: MC
12. Once the eyes have taken in enough information to get the word recognition process going, the next
saccade is executed, and this can lead to a(n) __________, which happens when processing difficulties
of the preceding word cause the fixation duration of the current word to be extended.
a. frequency
b. parafovea-on-fovea
c. predictability
*d. spillover
Ludden, The Psychology of Language: An Integrated Approach Instructor Resources – Ch 8
Question type: MC
13. According to the __________ model, readers can either first access a word’s meaning and then its
pronunciation, or else they can first access a word’s pronunciation and then its meaning.
a. bilateral
c. garden path
d. two-way
Question type: MC
14. An impairment in reading ability due to brain damage in a person who had previously been a skilled
reader is known as __________ dyslexia.
*a. acquired
b. aphasic
c. deep
d. surface
Question type: MC
15. Persons with __________ dyslexia can read regularly spelled words and pseudowords but cannot
read irregularly spelled words; meanwhile, persons with __________ dyslexia can read familiar words
but cannot sound out unfamiliar words.
a. acquired/developmental
b. morphological/phonological
c. surface/deep
Ludden, The Psychology of Language: An Integrated Approach Instructor Resources – Ch 8
*d. surface/phonological
Question type: MC
16. The __________ prosody hypothesis proposes that skilled readers organize the material they read
into prosodic phrases similar to the way they would when they speak.
a. associated
*b. implicit
c. unspoken
d. visual
Question type: MC
17. In part through experience with nursery rhymes and language games, preschoolers begin to acquire
__________ awareness, which is an understanding that words can be broken down into smaller sound
structures.
a. linguistic
b. orthographic
*c. phonological
d. structural
Question type: MC
18. In a diagnostic for dyslexia known as the __________ task, the child is asked to name written letters,
numbers, or other familiar symbols as quickly as possible.
d. speed-accuracy tradeoff
Question type: MC
19. Brain tissue that is mainly composed of neuron cell bodies and whose function is to process
information is known as __________, whereas bundles of fibers that connect various regions of the
brain and whose function is to transmit information are referred to as __________ matter.
*a. gray/white
b. hard/soft
c. soft/hard
d. white/gray
Question type: MC
20. Traditional fMRI techniques measure activity in the gray matter regions of the brain, but since the
development of __________, researchers can now trace the pathways of white matter tracts.
Question type: MC
21. The auditory processing __________ hypothesis proposes that dyslexia stems from an underlying
difficulty in accurately detecting and remembering rapid sound changes.
*a. deficit
Ludden, The Psychology of Language: An Integrated Approach Instructor Resources – Ch 8
b. degradation
c. delay
d. detection
Question type: MC
22. __________ is a brain region located in the left frontal premotor cortex just above Broca’s area that
stores the motor programs for handwriting gestures.
a. Brodmann area 6
b. Cingulate cortex
d. Heschl’s gyrus
Question type: MC
23. __________ is a specific and significant impairment in spelling skills even though reading ability is in
the normal range.
c. Developmental agraphia
Question type: MC
24. When writers compose texts, they tend to proceed in cycles of __________, which are periods of
active text composition bounded by pauses at both ends.
a. blasts
Ludden, The Psychology of Language: An Integrated Approach Instructor Resources – Ch 8
b. blitzes
*c. bursts
d. buzzes
Question type: MC
25. The __________ model is an influential theory of the writing process that has guided research since
the 1980s.
*a. Hayes
b. Higgs
c. Hills
d. Hughes
Question type: MC
26. Currently fixated words exhibit a __________ effect, meaning that low-frequency words are fixated
longer than high-frequency words.
a. familiarity
b. fluency
c. framing
*d. frequency
Question type: MC
27. Words that are currently fixated show a(n) __________ effect, which means that less predictable
words are fixated longer than more highly predictable words.
a. anticipatory
Ludden, The Psychology of Language: An Integrated Approach Instructor Resources – Ch 8
b. expectation
c. likelihood
*d. predictability
Question type: MC
28. Sometimes a processing difficulty with the preceding word causes the fixation duration of the
current word to be extended, and this is known as a(n) __________ effect.
a. feedback
b. slowdown
*c. spillover
d. uptake
Question type: MC
29. According to the dual route model, readers use the __________ route when they access a word’s
meaning before its pronunciation, and they use the __________ route when they access a word’s
pronunciation before its meaning.
*a. direct/indirect
b. dorsal/ventral
c. indirect/direct
d. ventral/dorsal
Question type: MC
30. A reading disability in children that cannot be attributed to lack of intelligence, motivation, or
educational opportunity is known as __________ dyslexia.
Ludden, The Psychology of Language: An Integrated Approach Instructor Resources – Ch 8
a. acquired
*b. developmental
c. phonological
d. surface
Question type: MC
1. A(n) __________ is a written symbol that represents a word or morpheme. Chinese is an example of a
language that is written this way.
*Answer: logogram
2. A writing system that represents each syllable with a different symbol is known as a(n) __________.
*Answer: syllabary
3. A(n) __________ is a writing system that represents each phoneme with a different symbol.
*Answer: alphabet
4. The set of rules for writing the words of a language is known as __________.
*Answer: orthography
5. Spanish is said to have __________ orthography because its spelling and pronunciation are closely
matched; in contrast, English is said to have __________ orthography because its spelling and
pronunciation are poorly matched.
*Answer: shallow/deep
6. __________ are words with the same pronunciation but different meanings; for example, the English
word sound has three different meanings, as illustrated by these phrases: (1) the sound of thunder, (2)
Puget Sound, and (3) safe and sound.
7. A(n) __________ is a word that is spelled the same as another word but pronounced differently. For
example, read rhymes with either heed or head depending on the meaning.
*Answer: homograph
8. The __________ letter effect refers to the fact that skilled readers skip over predictable words, which
means that they cannot keep track of the letters in those words when asked to count them.
Ludden, The Psychology of Language: An Integrated Approach Instructor Resources – Ch 8
*Answer: missing
9. The region of the retina directly behind the pupil where vision is most acute is called the __________.
*Answer: fovea
10. The area surrounding the fovea where vision is less acute is called the __________.
*Answer: parafovea
11. The perceptual span is measured by using the __________ contingency paradigm, in which a narrow
window of text surrounding the fixation point is displayed on a computer screen.
*Answer: gaze
12. The range of letters that can be processed during one fixation is known as the __________ span.
*Answer: perceptual
13. In the gaze __________ paradigm, the display window is determined by feedback from an eye-
tracking device and changes with each saccade to a new fixation point, while the rest of the letters in
the text are replaced with Xs.
*Answer: contingency
14. Currently fixated words exhibit a(n) __________ effect, referring to the observation that low-
frequency words are fixated longer than high-frequency words.
*Answer: frequency
15. The __________ effect refers to the observation that less predictable words are fixated longer than
more highly predictable words.
*Answer: predictability
16. When the following word is high in frequency or predictability, it can shorten the fixation duration of
the current word in what is known as the __________-on-fovea effect.
*Answer: parafovea
17. According to the dual route model, you use the __________ route when you go straight from the
written word to its meaning, and you use the __________ route when you first access its pronunciation
and then its meaning.
*Answer: direct/indirect
18. It’s often thought that people with dyslexia confuse the order of letters in words, for example
reading top as pot, or spelling it as ti. In fact, however, letter __________ dyslexia is a rare form of
reading disorder, and in most cases, people with dyslexia experience problems with reading fluency and
accuracy.
*Answer: position
19. About 5%–17% of the school-age population is considered to suffer from __________ dyslexia,
which is defined as a reading disability in children that cannot be attributed to lack of intelligence,
motivation, or educational opportunity.
*Answer: developmental
20. Without sensitivity to the sound structure of words, novice readers cannot make sense of the
__________ principle, which is the process by which readers associate written symbols with speech
sounds.
*Answer: alphabetic
21. The __________-based approach is a method of teaching reading that explicitly trains children to
recognize consistent relationships between letters and sounds.
*Answer: phonics
22. The __________ word form area is a region between the occipital and temporal lobes where the
symbols of the writing system are stored, regardless of the language or the type of script.
*Answer: visual
23. The neuronal __________ hypothesis proposes that brain areas for one function can be reorganized
to perform another, somewhat similar function.
*Answer: recycling
24. The understanding that words can be broken down into smaller sound structures is known as
__________ awareness.
25. The rapid __________ naming task is a diagnostic for dyslexia in which the child is asked to name
written letters, numbers, or other familiar symbols as quickly as possible.
*Answer: automatized
26. __________ matter is brain tissue that is composed of neuron cell bodies and whose function is to
process information.
*Answer: Gray
27. Bundles of fibers that connect various regions of the brain and whose function is to transmit
information are known as __________ matter tracts.
*Answer: white
28. Diffusion __________ imaging is an fMRI technique that enables researchers to trace the pathways
of white matter tracts.
*Answer: tensor
29. The proposal that dyslexia stems from an underlying difficulty in accurately detecting and
remembering rapid sound changes is known as the auditory processing __________ hypothesis.
Ludden, The Psychology of Language: An Integrated Approach Instructor Resources – Ch 8
*Answer: deficit
30. __________ area is a brain region located in the left frontal premotor cortex just above Broca’s area
that stores the motor programs for handwriting gestures.
*Answer: Exner’s
Essay Questions
1. Describe the three types of writing systems, giving an example of each. Discuss the distinction
between deep and shallow orthography, giving an example of each. Explain the difference between
homophones and homographs, giving examples of each. Discuss the visual word form area and the
neuronal recycling hypothesis.
b. orthography—rules for writing words in a language: shallow, where there is a close match between
spelling and pronunciation (Spanish); deep, where there is a poor match between spelling and
pronunciation (English)
c. homophones—words with same pronunciation but different meanings and maybe different spelling
(to, too, two); homograph—words with different pronunciation but same spelling (lead, read)
d. VWFA—left inferior temporal and parietal boundary, processes the shapes of written words
regardless of language; neuronal recycling hypothesis—since invention of writing too recent for a
specialized brain area to have evolved, scientists believe the VWFA originally served a different purpose
but has been recruited for reading
2. Describe the concept of perceptual span and the experimental techniques that are used for
measuring it. Discuss the characteristics of the fixated and surrounding words that can affect the fixation
duration of the current word. Explain how the dual route model accounts for lexical access in novice and
skilled readers as well as those with dyslexia. What is the implicit prosody hypothesis?
a. Perceptual span is a range of letters that can be taken in during one fixation; gaze contingency
paradigm uses eye-tracking technology to restrict the amount of readable text around fixation point
b. Frequency and predictability of fixated and surrounding words can affect current fixation duration:
current word—frequency and predictability effects; parafoveal words—spillover effect, parafovea-on-
fovea effect.
c. dual route model—direct route: written word to meaning; indirect route: written word to
pronunciation to meaning. Novice readers sound out all words (indirect); skilled readers sight read
familiar words (direct), sound out unfamiliar words (indirect). In surface dyslexia, direct route is lost but
indirect remains; in phonological dyslexia, indirect route is lost but direct route remains.
d. implicit prosody hypothesis—Skilled readers organize reading into prosodic phrases similar to
speaking.
3. What does it mean to say that reading skills are normally distributed, and what is the implication of
this observation for the diagnosis of reading disorders? Discuss the nature of developmental dyslexia, its
prevalence, and most important risk factor. What is phonological awareness and what is its role in the
development of reading skills. What do brain imaging studies tell us about dyslexia?
a. normal distribution—Most people are average readers, some excel, some struggle; cutoff for
diagnosing reading disorder depends on what society considers an acceptable level of reading ability
(not a categorical difference).
c. phonological awareness—understanding that words are composed of smaller units of sound; essential
prerequisite to learning to read, even in deep orthography like English or Chinese
d. brain imaging—structural differences in both gray and white matter, even before learning to read
4. Discuss the types of information that need to be integrated in order to learn how to spell. Describe
how the texts that children produce change as they advance through school. Provide an overview of the
Hayes model. Discuss the performance of individuals with dyslexia or specific language impairment on
writing tasks compared with normally developing children.
c. Hayes model—cognitive processes of writing; shows how writing processes depend on more general
cognitive processes and support from environment
d. Individuals with dyslexia or SLI perform worse than peers even though they put in as much effort;
they write less, have more errors, and use more limited vocabulary.