Psychology and Life 20th Edition Gerrig Test Bank

Psychology And Life 20th Edition
Gerrig Test Bank

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ASSESSMENT Chapter 8
GUIDE Cognitive Processes
Topic Factual Conceptual Applied

Studying Cognition Multiple Choice 1, 3 2, 7-8 4-6, 9
True/False 1 2-3
Fill-Ins 1
Essay 1 2 2
Language Use Multiple Choice 12, 17, 21-22, 26, 28- 13, 19, 31 10-11, 14-16, 18, 20,
29 23-25, 27, 30
True/False 5-6 4
Fill-Ins 2-4 5
Essay 3
Visual Cognition Multiple Choice 32-36
True/False
Fill-Ins
Essay
Problem Solving and Multiple Choice 37-38, 40, 42, 48, 53 47, 51-52, 54 39, 41, 43-46, 49-50,
Reasoning 55-59
True/False 9-10 7, 11, 13 8, 12
Fill-Ins 6-7 10 8-9
Essay 4
Judgment and Decision Multiple Choice 60, 64-65, 69, 71-75, 67-68 61-63, 66, 70, 76,78
Making 77
True/False 14-15, 17-18 16, 19-20
Fill-Ins
Essay
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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved .
Chapter 8: Cognitive Processes
Multiple Choice Questions
8.1-1. Imagine that the year is 1868 and you are working in the laboratory of F. C. Donders, a
Dutch physiologist. Assisting him in his studies of mental processes, you are most likely to
observe him
a. asking participants to use introspection and reflect on their own thought processes.
b. measuring how long it takes participants to perform a series of experimental tasks.
c. requiring participants to talk out loud as they attempt to solve mental problems.
d. trying to determine what participants are thinking by using his extrasensory abilities.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 208
Topic: Studying Cognition
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. measuring how long it takes participants to perform a series of experimental tasks.
8.1-2. The fundamental premise upon which F. C. Donders based his method for studying
mental processes was that
a. there are individual differences in the procedures people use to solve mental problems.
b. extra mental steps will result in more time to perform a task.
Correct: Researchers still follow Donders’s basic logic, which suggests that extra mental steps
will result in more time needed to perform a task. If task one requires one stimulus
categorization step and task two requires that you do everything you did for task one, plus more,
task two should take more time. Cognitive research today uses reaction time, the amount of time
it takes to carry out particular tasks, as a way of testing how cognitive processes are carried out.
c. the mental processes of children are qualitatively different from the mental processes of
adults.
Incorrect: This was not the crux of Donders’s research, as described in your chapter.
d. participants can be made aware of their own mental processes.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 208
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: b. extra mental steps will result in more time to perform a task.
8.1-3. F. C. Donders developed his technique for studying mental processes more than 130
years ago. Which statement best describes the role his methodology plays in the research of
cognitive psychologists today?
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a. Donders’s methods are only used in research with animals today.
b. Donders’s basic premise, that mental steps require time, is believed to be incorrect.
c. Researchers still follow Donders’s basic logic.
d. Researchers use Donders’s methodology for stimulus categorization, but not for response
selection.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 208
Skill: Factual
Answer: c. Researchers still follow Donders’s basic logic.
8.1-4. In her laboratory, a researcher records how long it takes a volunteer to press a button after
a light is turned on. Technically, this measure is known as
a. mental speed.
Incorrect: Mental speed is an important component of reaction time, but mental speed is not the
best answer to the question.
b. the subtraction method.
c. event-related potential.
d. reaction time.
Correct: Reaction time is the amount of time it takes research participants to perform a task.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 208
Skill: Applied
Answer: d. reaction time.
8.1-5. A child is practicing scales on his piano. His mother can’t wait until he learns some
chords so that she can hear several notes together, rather than one note at a time. In
psychological terms, the scales are comparable to ________ processes and the chords are
comparable to ________ processes.
a. serial; parallel
Correct: Serial processes take place one after the other. Parallel processes overlap in time.
b. parallel; serial
Incorrect: This is the opposite of the correct answer.
c. stimulus categorization; response selection
d. response selection; stimulus categorization
Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 208
3
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. serial; parallel
8.1-6. Normally, a person who is driving a car has no difficulty listening to music and
simultaneously carrying on a conversation. If bad weather hits, however, the driver may turn off
the music and ask passengers to be quiet in order to concentrate. It is most likely that the poor
driving conditions
a. bring about a decrease in reaction time.

b. place additional demands on mental resources.
Correct: Now the driver’s navigation processes require extra resources for planning, and the
language processes are temporarily squeezed out.
c. eliminate the use of controlled processes.
Incorrect: When the driver has to focus more on his driving because of the rain, he is actually
activating more of his controlled processes.
d. eliminate the need for response selection.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 209
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. place additional demands on mental resources.
8.1-7. A key assumption made by researchers who are studying mental processes is that
a. serial processing is a type of parallel processing.

Incorrect: Serial processing and parallel processing are two very different types of mental
activities. One is not a “type” of the other.
b. the absolute time that mental processing takes is independent of the details of different tasks.
c. requiring additional mental tasks effectively reduces total reaction time.
d. individuals have limited resources that must be spread over different mental tasks.
Correct: Our attentional processes are responsible for distributing the resources. The question is,
“Which mental processes will be selected to get the processing resources that we need?”
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 209
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: d. individuals have limited resources that must be spread over different mental tasks.
8.1-8. In a demonstration that is described in the textbook, people are asked to determine
whether pairs of numbers are physically different. It is typically more difficult for people to
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make these judgments when the numbers are conceptually ________ because of ________
processes that interfere.
a. far apart; automatic

b. far apart; controlled
Incorrect: Both parts of this answer are incorrect. The judgment is more difficult when numbers
are conceptually close together because of automatic processes that interfere.
c. close together; controlled
d. close together; automatic
Correct: You assess the meaning of the numbers without difficulty because as an adult the
association between numbers and the quantities they represent has become automatic; you are
unable to completely shut off this association, making those close together more difficult to
differentiate from one another.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 209-210
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: d. close together; automatic
8.1-9. In which situation are attentional processes most likely controlled?
a. a person signs her name to a traveler’s check

Incorrect: Because signing your name is such a habitual, familiar activity, it is more automatic
than controlled.
b. a youngster takes his first lesson on the proper golf swing
Correct: Controlled processes require attention, as is true most of the time when we are learning
something new.
c. an adult hops in his car and drives down the road
d. a waitress listens to customers as she pours their morning coffee
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 209-210
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. a youngster takes his first lesson on the proper golf swing
8.1-10. The person next to you asks you a question that can have two different meanings.
Psychologists who study language would say that in order to respond, you need more
information about the
a. sentence meaning.
Incorrect: Because the sentence can have two different meanings (as noted in the question) you
need to know more about what the speaker intends in his/her query.
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b. speaker’s meaning.
Correct: Speakers can communicate an unlimited number of meanings by speaking the same
words. To understand a speaker, you need to know what he or she intended by using particular
words on a particular occasion.
c. audience design and sentence meaning.
d. person who is asking you the question.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 211
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. speaker’s meaning.
8.1-11. A fellow student making a classroom presentation says, “Language production only
concerns what people say verbally and how they say it.” You know this statement is incorrect
because language production also includes
a. what people think about what they say.

b. what people feel when they say something.
Incorrect: The emotion and/or affect that underlies a person’s linguistic utterance is not
something that can be directly communicated separately from their verbalization.
c. writing and signing.
Correct: Language users do not need to produce language out loud. Language also includes
signing and writing.
d. verbal language.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 211
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Applied
Answer: c. writing and signing.
8.1-12. First proposed by the philosopher H. Paul Grice, ________ is an overarching rule of
audience design.
a. the cooperative principle

b. belief-bias
c. linguistic determinism
d. maximizing structural ambiguity
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 211
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Factual
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Answer: a. the cooperative principle
8.1-13. Sharing common ground with a conversational partner
a. tends to increase the occurrence of spoonerisms.

b. violates the cooperative principle.
c. facilitates communication.
Correct: Many expectations come from the type of information you have in common ground.
For example, past experiences with an individual named Alex will allow you to refer to “Alex”
in conversation.
d. typically results in miscommunication.
Incorrect: On the contrary, common ground enhances communication.
Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 211-212
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: c. facilitates communication.
8.1-14. When you enter the classroom, you notice the teacher has written the words “quantity,”
“quality,” “relation,” and “manner” on the blackboard. You should realize that the lecture topic
is most likely
a. spoonerisms.
Incorrect: A spoonerism is a specific type of linguistic error involving stem inversion. It is
unrelated to quantity, quality, relation, and manner. These are parts of Grice’s maxims.
b. Grice’s maxims.
Correct: Quantity refers to making your contribution to an exchange as informative as required,
not more so. Quality refers to making your contribution one that is true, not false or without
evidence. Relation means making what you are saying relevant to what you said before. Manner
means speaking in as clear a manner as possible.
c. spatial mental models.
d. functional fixedness.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 212
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. Grice’s maxims.
8.1-15. You know someone who likes to impress others with her knowledge of everything,
although she has confessed to you that many times she makes up “facts” to win an argument.
Now you should be aware that she violates Grice’s maxim of
7
a. quantity.
b. manner.
Incorrect: This maxim requires speaking in as clear a manner as possible, avoiding ambiguity,
and being brief and orderly.
c. relation.
d. quality.
Correct: This maxim states that you should try to make what you say something that is true,
rather than something that is false or based on no evidence.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 212
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Applied
Answer: d. quality.
8.1-16. A coworker always tries to dominate discussions by talking constantly. Unfortunately,

most of the time he rambles, peppers his discussion with double meanings, and uses obscure
language that requires a dictionary to understand. Your coworker seems to be violating the
maxim that Grice called
a. manner.
Correct: This maxim requires speaking in as clear a manner as possible, avoiding ambiguity,
and being brief and orderly.
b. quantity.
c. quality.
Incorrect: This maxim states that you should try to make what you say something that is true,
rather than something that is false or based on no evidence.
d. relation.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 212
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. manner.
8.1-17. A spoonerism is
a. a brief verbal exchange indicating love or affection.

b. the belief that one has had an experience previously, though the exact context cannot be
recalled.
c. the feeling that a word is on the “tip of one’s tongue.”
d. an exchange of the initial sounds of two or more words in a phrase or sentence.
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Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 212
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Factual
Answer: d. an exchange of the initial sounds of two or more words in a phrase or sentence.
8.1-18. The distinguished gentleman whispered to the equally distinguished lady, “Madam, your
ship is slowing.” This statement illustrates
a. a spoonerism.
Correct: Spoonerisms are speech errors in which initial sounds of two or more words are
exchanged. They make sense, given the structure of spoken English; they do not violate the rules
of the language, even though they are errors.
b. what Herbert Clark and Catherine Marshall would call “common knowledge.”
c. Grice’s maxim.
Incorrect: Grice’s maxim refers to the quality, quantity, manner, and relation of language.
d. inductive reasoning.
Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 212
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. a spoonerism.
8.1-19. A major value of speech errors is that they
a. provide evidence that memory is typically a reconstructive process.

b. suggest that attention is a highly selective process.
Incorrect: This is not a benefit of linguistic errors noted by your textbook.
c. show the importance of the law of effect in controlling behavior.
d. provide insight into both the processes and representations that underlie fluent speech
production.
Correct: They give researchers insight into the planning that goes on as a speaker produces
language. They give evidence for each of the several types of planning that we do.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 213
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: d. provide insight into both the processes and representations that underlie fluent speech
production.
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8.1-20. Your assignment is to use the SLIP technique on a classmate to encourage the
production of spoonerisms. If you follow this procedure, you will have your classmate
a. try to repeat a tongue twister as quickly as possible.

Incorrect: While this might be amusing to observe, it is not a part of the SLIP technique.
b. try to recognize words that are briefly presented on a screen.
c. silently read pairs of words and later say word pairs out loud.
Correct: SLIP stands for “spoonerisms of laboratory-induced predisposition.” With this
technique, researchers can study the factors that affect the likelihood that speakers will produce
errors.
d. view lists of words and later recall the lists on which words appeared.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 213
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Applied
Answer: c. silently read pairs of words and later say word pairs out loud.
8.1-21. Studies of speech errors in the laboratory have led researchers to the conclusion that
a. the planning process in language production tends to stay one word ahead of the spoken
utterance.
b. there may be mental processes that detect and edit potential speech errors.
c. errors involving blends of words are unlikely to occur.
d. spoonerisms are less likely when the error will result in a real word.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 213
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. there may be mental processes that detect and edit potential speech errors.
8.1-22. In one procedure designed to produce spoonerisms, participants are asked to silently
read lists of word pairs that are models for the sound structure of target spoonerisms, then
pronounce word pairs out loud. Such studies have found that
a. spoonerisms with idioms are almost impossible to produce.

b. spoonerisms are more likely when the error still results in real words.
c. errors in blending idioms are more common when the idioms do not share the same
underlying meaning.
d. there is no relationship between errors and production of real words.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 213
10
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. spoonerisms are more likely when the error still results in real words.
8.1-23. A reader comes across the ambiguous word “bark” when reading a sentence, yet she has
absolutely no difficulty understanding its intended meaning. Based on the research on lexical
ambiguity, her ability to disambiguate the word most likely resulted from
a. the degree of emotional reactivity she experienced when she heard the word.
b. the frequency with which she has used the word in the past week.
Incorrect: The repetition of the word will not help deconstruct the lexical ambiguity that is
probed in this question.
c. contextual information, which is used to determine which definition is appropriate.
Correct: The term “lexical” is related to the word “lexicon,” which is a synonym for
“dictionary.” Lexical ambiguity means that there is more than one meaning for the word. Use of
context to broaden the meaning allows us to disambiguate or differentiate the meanings of the
word. People use information from the surrounding context to determine which meaning of a
word is appropriate in a particular instance of use.
d. the pattern of eye movements that she makes.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 214-216
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Applied
Answer: c. contextual information, which is used to determine which definition is appropriate.
8.1-24. The sentence, “Visiting relatives can be a nuisance,” best illustrates ________
ambiguity.
a. lexical
b. constant
c. pseudo
Incorrect: There is nothing called pseudo ambiguity noted in your textbook.
d. structural
Correct: At first, there seems to be just one meaning, but a close analysis shows two noun
phrases and two possible meanings. The sentence may refer to relatives who we are visiting; in
this case the meaning is that we find a making a visit to the relatives a nuisance. The sentence
may also mean that the relatives are visiting us, in which case the sentence is a statement that
relatives who visit us are a nuisance.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 214-216
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Applied
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Answer: d. structural
8.1-25. Glancing over the shoulder of a man on the bus who is reading a newspaper, you see the
headline “Shooting of Hunters Terrible.” Your ability to disambiguate the meaning of the
utterance depends primarily on
a. the presence of contextual information.

Correct: We have some cognitive processes that allow us to use surrounding context to
eliminate the ambiguity (to disambiguate). Broader context enables us to choose between the
possible meanings.
b. your ability to visually represent the meaning.
Incorrect: The ability to create a mental representation of the headline is not essential to
disambiguation of its meaning.
c. your memory for similar accidents.
d. the isolation of propositions.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 214-216
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. the presence of contextual information.
8.1-26. In the context of language understanding, a proposition is
a. a type of inference.
b. a sarcastic request.
c. the single most important idea contained in an utterance.
d. a main idea in an utterance.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 216
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Factual
Answer: d. a main idea in an utterance.
8.1-27. Imagine that you have just read the sentence, “The man in the back row has green hair.”
Based on research on propositional representation in memory, will the words “man” and “hair”
be represented in memory together?
a. Yes, because these words belong to the same proposition.

Correct: If two words belong to the same preposition, they will be represented together in
memory even if they are not close together in the sentence.
b. Yes, because these words have strong meaningful associations.
12
c. No, because they are separated by many other words in the actual sentence.
d. It is impossible to say because research cannot be done on propositional representations.
Incorrect: This is incorrect, as your authors have provided several different examples of such
research.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 216
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. Yes, because these words belong to the same proposition.
8.1-28. One of the findings from Sue Savage-Rumbaugh’s work with the apes Kanzi and Mulika
is that they
a. can communicate through spoken language.

b. acquire the meaning for certain symbols spontaneously by observing others.
c. communicate only with each other and exclude other apes and humans.
d. cannot acquire the meaning of spoken words.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 217
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. acquire the meaning for certain symbols spontaneously by observing others.
8.1-29. The results of the early experiments in which researchers attempted to teach language to
chimpanzees
a. showed that chimps can be taught to communicate like humans.

b. led to agreement that humans were cueing the chimps to make appropriate linguistic
responses.
c. determined that chimps could not acquire any linguistic abilities.
d. led to controversy as to whether the chimps’ linguistic abilities actually constituted
meaningful language use.
Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 217-218
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Factual
Answer: d. led to controversy as to whether the chimps’ linguistic abilities actually constituted
meaningful language use.
13
8.1-30. A woman attends a lecture on the relationship between language and thought given by
Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf. She would most likely hear them express the hypothesis
that
a. there are cross-linguistic differences in thought.

Correct: They concluded that differences in language create differences in thought. “…the
language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation” (Sapir, 1940).
b. language and thought are not related.
Incorrect: The linguistic relativity hypothesis of Sapir and Whorf suggest the opposite; that is,
that thought and language are intimately connected to each other.
c. language processes are primarily learned, while thought processes are primarily inborn.
d. each member of a language community thinks very differently from every other member of
that same community.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 218
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. there are cross-linguistic differences in thought.
8.1-31. Which statement best characterizes the results of research on the claim of linguistic
relativity?
a. Language may, in some circumstances, have an impact on thought.

Correct: The structure of the language an individual speaks may have an impact on the way in
which that individual thinks about the world.
b. Despite years of research, no study has yet been conducted that shows differences in thought
that can be connected to differences in language.
Incorrect: While research has failed to fully support the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, there have
been findings that support the idea that language and thought are, in some arenas, highly
connected.
c. It is clear that language differences affect differences in thought processes more than
language differences affect differences in culture.
d. To date, researchers have been unable to discover a methodology that will permit any testing
of the hypothesis of linguistic relativity.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 218-219
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: a. Language may, in some circumstances, have an impact on thought.
8.1-32. A study that reviewed literature on the content of lies reported that, when compared to
people who tell the truth, liars
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a. provide fewer details in their accounts.
b. provide exact details in their accounts.
c. provide more details in their accounts.
d. resort to confabulation.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 219
Topic: Psychology in Your Life: Why and How Do People Lie?
Skill: Factual
Answer: a. provide fewer details in their accounts.
8.1-33. What did Frederich Kekulé, who discovered the chemical structure of benzene; Michael
Faraday, who discovered many properties of magnetism; and Albert Einstein, the brilliant
physicist, have in common?
a. They were all assisted in their work by their use of mental imagery.
b. They were all incapable of forming mental images.
c. They all used verbal mental representations exclusively.
d. They were all troubled by a unique form of dyslexia.
Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 220
Topic: Visual Cognition
Skill: Factual
Answer: a. They were all assisted in their work by their use of mental imagery.
8.1-34. In a study that is described in the textbook, participants had to decide whether rotated
letters were normal or mirror images of themselves. An analysis of participant reaction times
indicated that
a. decision times were proportional to the degree to which each letter had to be mentally
rotated.
b. the farther a letter was from normal, the faster it was mentally rotated by the participant.
c. the task proved impossible for most participants to perform.
d. there was little relationship between the degree to which each letter had to be mentally
rotated and reaction times.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 220
Skill: Factual
Answer: a. decision times were proportional to the degree to which each letter had to be mentally
rotated.
15
8.1-35. In a study described in the textbook, people read passages that put them in the middle of
scenes with objects spread around them. They read, for example, “Directly behind you at eye
level is an ornate lamp attached to the balcony wall.” When asked to recall the details of the
scenes, participants
a. took more time to say what objects were in front of them.

b. took more time to say what objects were behind them.
c. showed no differences in responses based on spatial position.
d. could not recall any objects that were behind them.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 221
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. took more time to say what objects were behind them.
8.1-36. Researchers studying spatial mental models have asked participants to develop mental
representations of settings based on text material. When the participants then are asked to use
these mental models to answer questions about objects in the setting,
a. performance is affected by the order in which the objects are presented.

b. where the objects are located in the participants’ mental models affects their speed of access
to the information.
c. participants are faster to locate objects that are not in view in their mental models.
d. few participants are able to respond correctly, suggesting that only some participants form
mental models.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 221-222
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. where the objects are in the participants’ mental models affects speed of access to the
information.
8.1-37. In problem solving, the ________ refers to the incomplete information or unsatisfactory
conditions you start with, and the ________ refers to the information or state of the world you
hope to obtain.
a. set of operations; goal state

b. initial state; goal state
c. goal state; set of operations
d. set of operations; initial state
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Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 224
Topic: Problem Solving and Reasoning
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. initial state; goal state
8.1-38. In problem-solving terminology, the steps you may take to move from an initial state to
a goal state are known as
a. rules.
b. laws.
c. principles.
d. operations.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 224
Skill: Factual
Answer: d. operations.
8.1-39. In an experimental psychology class, the students watch a rat run from the start box to a
goal box in a maze that has been set up to allow only left-hand turns. The rat’s behavior reminds
the students of problem solving. In this context, the maze would be equivalent to the
a. problem space.
Correct: The rat takes a series of turns (the set of operations) to get from the beginning of the
maze (the initial state) to the end (the goal state). The combination of states and operations is the
problem space.
b. initial state.
Incorrect: The initial state is where you are at the start of a problem. The overall problem-
solving mechanism is called the problem space.
c. set of operations.
d. goal state.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 224
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. problem space.
8.1-40. Problems in which the initial state, the goal state, and the operations are all clearly
specified are technically referred to as
17
a. well defined.
b. frames.
c. mental sets.
d. lower level.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 224
Skill: Factual
Answer: a. well defined.
8.1-41. Social problems such as homelessness, poverty, lack of education, and violence are best
described as
a. inductive.
b. deductive.
c. well defined.
Incorrect: Because these are problems that have no single, clear cut solution, they are ill-defined
problems.
d. ill defined.
Correct: In these cases, the problem solver has to define the problem, define the goal, identify
possible means to achieve the goal, and then figure out where to start.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 224
Skill: Applied
Answer: d. ill defined.
8.1-42. A(n) ________ is a step-by-step procedure that always provides the right answer for a
particular type of problem.
a. heuristic
b. mental block
c. algorithm
d. rule of thumb
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 224
Skill: Factual
Answer: c. algorithm
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8.1-43. If you were playing a game of chess, you might try to analyze all of the possible moves
and then pick the best one, but once you realize that there are just too many, you will probably
use a strategy such as “protect the king.” Such “rules of thumb” are known as
a. algorithms.
Incorrect: Algorithms are not “rules of thumb,” but rather are solution strategies that guarantee
successful outcomes.
b. mental blocks.
c. analogies.
d. heuristics.
Correct: Heuristics are used when algorithms are unavailable. Heuristics are more likely to be
used for ill-defined problems than are algorithms.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 225
Skill: Applied
Answer: d. heuristics.
% correct 70 a= 13 b= 0 c= 17 d= 70 r = .75
8.1-44. Herb is a participant in a study of problem solving. To help understand the steps Herb is
going through to solve the problem, the researcher has asked him to verbalize his ongoing
thoughts. Researchers studying problem solving call these verbalizations
a. think-aloud protocols.
Correct: Researchers use think-aloud protocols to understand the way people apply both
algorithms and heuristics to make their way through the problem space. To do this, researchers
ask participants to verbalize their ongoing thoughts.
b. moment-by-moment introspections.
c. verbatim verbalizations.
d. auditory thoughts.
Incorrect: This sounds like a correct answer, but it is really just a made-up option. Were you
fooled?
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 225
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. think-aloud protocols.
% correct 91 a= 91 b= 6 c= 0 d= 2 r = .23
8.1-45. Suppose you are learning a complex dance routine but find all of the details
overwhelming. If you want to use research on problem solving to improve your performance,
you should
19
a. ignore the technical instruction and respond instinctively.
b. only practice what is easiest to perform.
Incorrect: This makes no sense, because often it is the most difficult aspects of a problem that
require the most practice of a successful solution is to be achieved.
c. practice each behavior separately until each component of the routine requires fewer
resources.
Correct: Research on problem solving has led to the conclusion that what often makes a
problem difficult to solve is that mental requirements for solving a particular problem
overwhelm processing resources. If the series of operations is too complex, you may not be able
to see your way through from the initial state to the goal state. A useful procedure is to practice
each separate component of the procedure so that, over time, each component requires fewer
resources.
d. use think-aloud protocols to give yourself insight into the task demands.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 225
Skill: Applied
Answer: c. practice each behavior separately until each component of the routine requires fewer
resources.
8.1-46. An executive’s chair has begun to wobble because a screw has gotten a little loose, so he
calls the maintenance department. His inability to realize that a dime from his pocket could also
be used as a screwdriver is an example of
a. the availability heuristic.

Incorrect: This is a problem-solving strategy that suggests that the more easily a thought or
event is brought to mind, the higher our judgment of the likelihood of that event will be.
b. functional fixedness.
Correct: This is a mental block that keeps us from perceiving a new function (as a screwdriver)
for an object usually used otherwise (the dime). This fixedness inhibits problems solving.
c. inductive reasoning.
d. the belief-bias effect.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 225
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. functional fixedness.
% correct 67 a= 46 b= 67 c= 17 d= 3 r = .71
8.1-47. The “hiker puzzle,” which is presented in the textbook, illustrates the point that
a. functional fixedness adversely affects problem solving.
20
b. the way a problem is represented will affect its difficulty.
Correct: Sometimes we need to find a whole new way of thinking about something. The word
“proof” may lead us in the wrong direction. If we can visualize two hikers making this journey in
different directions and then replace the two with one, we will make the problem easier.
Thinking mathematically or verbally confuses us. Thinking visually helps.
c. people tend to judge as valid those conclusions with which they agree.
d. a mental set can increase the speed of problem solving.
Incorrect: The hiker problem does not really involve a mental set, which refers to a habitual
way of solving problems.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 225-226
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: b. the way a problem is represented will affect its difficulty.
8.1-48. The form of deductive reasoning introduced by the Greek philosopher Aristotle over
2,000 years ago is called
a. the algorithm.
b. the heuristic.
c. the syllogism.
Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 227
Skill: Factual
Answer: c. the syllogism.
8.1-49. You enter the classroom just as the prior class is leaving. You notice several sentences
on the blackboard: “All teachers work hard. I am a teacher. I work hard.” You immediately
recognize this as
a. inductive reasoning.
b. a heuristic.
Incorrect: A heuristic is a “rule of thumb” or general guiding principle for solving a problem.
The “formula” described in this question is a syllogism.
c. a syllogism.
Correct: You see that it is defining logical relationships between the statements and that it will
lead to a valid conclusion.
d. linguistic copresence.
Difficulty: 2
21
Page Ref: 227
Skill: Applied
Answer: c. a syllogism.
8.1-50. As a man skims over the instructions on the application for the Senior Soccer
League, he reads the statement, “Anyone who is 40 years old or older and who is in good health
may apply.” Since he is over 40 years old and in good health, he assumes that he can apply. The
man has just engaged in what psychologists refer to as ________ reasoning.
a. valid
b. deductive
Correct: Deductive reasoning involves the correct application of logical rules. We may have a
general or abstract sense of formal logic, but we also bring to logical situations the knowledge
we possess about the world as well as representational resources.
c. logical
Incorrect: Both deductive and inductive reasoning are logical. This is not the best answer to this
question.
d. formal
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 227
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. deductive
% correct 77 a= 3 b= 77 c= 13 d= 7 r = .62
8.1-51. A review of the research on the ability of people to engage in deductive reasoning would
lead you to the conclusion that
a. people are generally incapable of engaging in deductive reasoning.

Incorrect: As your textbook denotes, people are capable of both deductive and inductive
reasoning.
b. people do not have a general, abstract sense of formal logic.
c. the use of formal logic is the same as real-world deductive reasoning.
d. the use of deductive reasoning is affected by one’s specific knowledge and representational
resources.
Correct: We have a general sense of abstract formal logic, but our knowledge of the world, our
biases about it, and other mental representations will affect the resources we use for reasoning.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 227
Skill: Conceptual
22
Answer: d. the use of deductive reasoning is affected by one’s specific knowledge and
representational resources.
8.1-52. Research suggests that belief bias exists
a. when there is a conflict between two types of mental processes used in deductive reasoning.
Correct: People tend to judge as valid those conclusions they find believable and judge as
invalid those conclusions they find unbelievable. One set of processes in deductive reasoning
uses past experiences to provide rapid, automatic responses to problems. The other set of
processes allows for slower, conscious applications of formal logic.
b. when a real-world model cannot be used to validate conclusions.
c. if a person has had no personal experience with the logical elements in the syllogism.
Incorrect: The belief bias is not directly related to the problem formula called a syllogism.
d. if the individual making the judgment has committed logical errors in the past.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 228
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: a. when there is a conflict between two types of mental processes used in deductive
reasoning.
8.1-53. Suppose you are working on the Wason selection task. You are shown four cards and are
testing a rule. Research suggests that you will do much better on this task if you
a. choose the cards that are the least obvious.

b. try to make your mind as blank as possible.
c. can apply your real-world knowledge.
d. are given a rule with which you are not familiar.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 229
Skill: Factual
Answer: c. can apply your real-world knowledge.
8.1-54. When using inductive reasoning,
a. the two premises are assumed to be correct.

Incorrect: This is a detail of a syllogism, not a problem using inductive reasoning.
b. conclusions may be likely, but not certain.
Correct: Conclusions are based on probabilities drawn from available evidence, rather than on
logical certainties.
23
c. the task is to determine whether a conclusion that is given is valid.
d. conclusions follow necessarily from the premises.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 229
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: b. conclusions may be likely, but not certain.
8.1-55. Imagine driving on the Fourth of July to a city that you have never visited. There is no
place to park and the traffic seems very heavy. As you look for a parking place, you see streams
of people heading toward the main street and you see that it has been blocked off to traffic. Not
certain of what to make of all this, you think a few seconds and determine that a parade is
imminent. The process that you are using to come to your conclusion sounds most like
a. analogical problem solving.

b. the availability heuristic.
c. deductive reasoning.
Incorrect: The specific details of this question are not directly related to deductive reasoning,
but rather to inductive reasoning.
Correct: We use past information stored as schemas to generate expectations about the past or
future. In this case, your past experiences with crowds and blocked traffic on this holiday lead
you to surmise that a parade is coming.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 229
Skill: Applied
Answer: d. inductive reasoning.
8.1-56. In the past when you have gotten lost while driving, you have been more likely to stop
and ask for directions than to look at a map. Now you are lost again, so you decide to stop by a
convenience store to ask for directions. Your behavior best illustrates
a. inductive reasoning.
Incorrect: We use past information stored as schemas to generate expectations about the past or
future. In this case, the better answer is analogical problem solving, as there is a direct
relationship between a past and present problem and their solutions.
b. logical problem solving.
c. the belief-bias effect.
d. analogical problem solving.
24
Correct: You have faced this problem in the past and can draw an analogy between the past and
the present. The past is informing the present. In this case, if you continue with the same
behavior, the expectation is that it will work and you won’t stay lost.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 229
Skill: Applied
Answer: d. analogical problem solving.
8.1-57. Your teacher is trying to get the class to use analogical problem solving. When he gives
you a problem to solve by analogical reasoning, you will increase your chances of being
successful by
a. ignoring hints or clues that might have been provided.

b. using past experiences with similar problems.
Correct: This allows you to find similarities between the past situations and the current problem.
You are using inductive reasoning to access tried-and-true methods that speed current problem
solving.
c. making any analogies as abstract as possible.
Incorrect: In fact, analogical reasoning works most effectively when the analogies are made as
tangible as possible.
d. not being distracted by the common underlying structure in problems.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 229
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. using past experiences with similar problems.
8.1-58. After using the same mathematical formula to solve the first nine problems of her
homework assignment, a student automatically starts problem number ten using the same
solution strategy. The student is demonstrating
a. a mental set.
Correct: A mental set is a preexisting state of mind, habit, or attitude that can enhance the
quality and speed of perceiving and problem solving (as it did for the first nine problems). It can
also inhibit or distort mental activities when old ways of thinking or acting don’t work in a new
situation.
b. syllogistic thinking.
c. a pragmatic reasoning schema.
Incorrect: There is nothing in this problem that suggests that the student is failing to see creative
uses of common items or objects.
25
Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 230
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. a mental set.
8.1-59. Mental sets can enhance problem solving under some conditions. However, they
generally are not a good idea when
a. one has to solve a problem quickly.

b. the problem-solving situation changes.
Correct: When the situation changes, we may hamper problem solving by trying to fit old
solutions to new problems. We need to consider a broader spectrum of past solutions and
situations to find productive ways of managing new situations.
c. it is necessary to rely on what has worked in the past.
d. one is solving mathematics problems.
Incorrect: In fact, mental sets can often be an impedement to solving math problems, as
formulas can be difficult to apply differently to different problems.
Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 230
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. the problem-solving situation changes.
8.1-60. The process by which you form opinions, reach conclusions, and make critical
evaluations of events and people is known as ________; the process of selecting and rejecting
options is known as ________.
a. problem solving; framing

b. framing; problem solving
c. decision making; judgment
d. judgment; decision making
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 230
Topic: Judgment and Decision Making
Skill: Factual
Answer: d. judgment; decision making
8.1-61. Which of the following is an example of judgment?
26
a. He chose chemistry as his major.
Incorrect: This is an example of decision making, which is the process of choosing between
alternatives, that is, selecting and rejecting available options.
b. She bought the less expensive dress, even though she liked the other one better.
c. She didn’t think their marriage would work.
Correct: A judgment is an opinion, conclusion, or critical evaluation of events or people.
d. He took the afternoon flight because it was nonstop.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 230
Skill: Applied
Answer: c. She didn’t think their marriage would work.
8.1-62. Which of the following is an example of decision making?
a. She chose the job that paid less but offered more opportunities for advancement.
Correct: Decision making is the process of choosing between alternatives, that is, selecting and
rejecting available options.
b. He felt the teacher was pompous, arrogant, and self-centered, just like himself.
Incorrect: This is an example of a judgment, which is an opinion, conclusion, or critical
evaluation of events or people.
c. She loves the taste of fresh fruit on her morning cereal.
d. Though it wasn’t true, he told people that the reason he didn’t go to graduate school was
because he couldn’t afford it.
Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 230
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. She chose the job that paid less but offered more opportunities for advancement.
8.1-63. After the opera, your companion asks you about your response to the performance.
According to Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, if you are like most people, you will
a. develop a mental chart listing the pros and cons of the performance.
b. rely on heuristics to derive an opinion about the performance.
Correct: We don’t have resources or time to use a formal method of analysis to answer. Instead,
we use a repertoire of fast and frugal heuristics that yield judgments that are most often correct.
Heuristics reduce the complexity of making judgments.
c. ask your friend what he thought before you make a judgment.
Incorrect: While your friend’s opinion may be important, this was not what Kahneman and
Tversky found in their research.
d. use a formal deductive reasoning procedure.
27
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 231
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. rely on heuristics to derive an opinion about the performance.
8.1-64. A description of the nature of heuristics is LEAST likely to say that they
a. use informal rules of thumb.

b. provide shortcuts to solving problems.
c. reduce the complexity of making judgments.
d. eliminate the possibility of making errors.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 231
Skill: Factual
Answer: d. eliminate the possibility of making errors.
8.1-65. Basing judgments on how easily information comes to mind defines
a. the availability heuristic.

b. the representativeness heuristic.
c. an anchoring bias.
d. deductive reasoning.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 231
Skill: Factual
Answer: a. the availability heuristic.
8.1-66. People are likely to overestimate the absolute number of minority individuals who are
involved in criminal activity because the mass media typically overrepresents the number of
minority individuals engaged in criminal behavior. This is most clearly an example of
a. anchoring bias.
Incorrect: The anchoring bias occurs when we use an anchor and adjust up or down to find the
answer we are seeking.
b. the availability heuristic.
Correct: We base our judgments on what is most readily available in memory.
c. a frame.
28
d. decision aversion.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 231
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. the availability heuristic.
8.1-67. Since they began watching the news nightly on television, a couple has developed a fear
of flying. They are convinced that many more people die in plane crashes than in automobile
accidents. Their beliefs are most consistent with what would be predicted by
a. the representativeness heuristic.

b. an anchoring bias.
c. the availability heuristic.
Correct: A plane crash is more likely to make the evening news than is an automobile crash.
Because of the content of the evening news memories of plane crashes are more available than
memories of automobile accidents. The relative availability of those memories influences the
couple’s judgments.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 231
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: c. the availability heuristic.
% correct 30 a= 47 b= 17 c= 30 d= 3 r = .31
8.1-68. Which of the following could be attributed to the availability heuristic?
a. People overestimate the wealth of a person after hearing a ridiculously high estimate.
Incorrect: This would be an example of an anchoring bias.
b. People are more likely to overestimate the age of males who have beards.
c. Whales are falsely thought to be fish because they look like fish.
d. Students who live on college campuses underestimate the average age of the general
population.
Correct: Students live among other students; therefore, the most easily retrieved information
about population has to do with youth, a concept overrepresented in the students’ memories.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 231
Skill: Conceptual
29
Answer: d. Students who live on college campuses underestimate the average age of the general
population.
8.1-69. The availability heuristic tells us that if we wanted to impress people with the
seriousness of the problem of homelessness in the world, we should
a. use metaphors to illustrate the number of homeless people.

b. dramatize the plight of a single family.
c. show pictures of shelters where the homeless go for help.
d. ask people to imagine themselves in the situation of a homeless person.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 231
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. dramatize the plight of a single family.
8.1-70. Although she has never been snowboarding, a girl feels she will not enjoy the sport
because she does not like cross-country skiing. She is using the ________ heuristic.
a. availability
b. anchoring
c. representativeness
Correct: You assume that if something has characteristics of a category, it must, in fact, be a
member of that category.
d. framing
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 232
Skill: Applied
Answer: c. representativeness
% correct 37 a= 33 b= 20 c= 37 d= 10 r = .31
8.1-71. A problem one faces when one uses the representativeness heuristic is that
a. it is counter to the use of inductive reasoning.

b. one is not using past information that may be useful.
c. judgments along the lines of similarity are generally unreasonable.
d. it may cause one to ignore other types of relevant information.
Difficulty: 3
30
Page Ref: 232
Skill: Factual
Answer: d. it may cause one to ignore other types of relevant information.
8.1-72. A bias based on the anchoring heuristic results when
a. the recollection of past events in one’s life causes depression.

b. one does not see other potential uses for an object.
c. judgments are unduly influenced by initial estimates.
d. judgments are based on typical members of a category.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 233
Skill: Factual
Answer: c. judgments are unduly influenced by initial estimates.
8.1-73. Participants in an experiment were asked to estimate the duration of Mars’s orbit around
the sun. On average, they estimated the duration of the orbit to be
a. shorter than it actually is.

b. much longer than it actually is.
c. almost exactly what it really is.
d. the same duration as the Earth’s orbit.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 233
Skill: Factual
Answer: a. shorter than it actually is.
8.1-74. Studies of decision making demonstrate that
a. people behave as “rational” actors.”

b. participants have a strong tendency to look on situations positively.
c. as long as informational content is kept constant, the wording of a scenario is irrelevant.
d. the way in which a question is phrased can influence one’s decision.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 234
Skill: Factual
31
Answer: d. the way in which a question is phrased can influence one’s decision.
8.1-75. In the context of decision making, a “frame” is
a. a particular description of a choice.

b. a false alternative or lure.
c. the blame for a poor decision placed on another.
d. a relevant memory.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 234
Skill: Factual
Answer: a. a particular description of a choice.
8.1-76. Two students are taking a physics test. The optimistic student expects to get an A, while
the pessimistic student would be happy with a C. When the test results are determined, it happens
that they both received Bs. It is most likely that
a. the optimistic student will be happy with her grade.

Incorrect: The optimistic student will see their B as a loss (coming in below expectations) and
so is unlikely to be happy with her grade.
b. the pessimistic student will be happy with her grade.
Correct: The optimistic student will likely feel very unhappy. What seems like a gain or loss
will be partly determined by expectations, even though objectively both students have exactly the
same grade.
c. both students will be equally happy with their grades.
d. the pessimistic student will be disappointed because she will feel as though she could have
received an A.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 234
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. the pessimistic student will be happy with her grade.
8.1-77. When decisions turn out badly, one is likely to experience regret. Studies suggest that
the categories in which people express the greatest regrets involve their decisions with respect to
their ________ and ________.
a. dating life; marriage

b. vacations; restaurant choices
c. home life; routine chores
32
d. education; career
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 235
Skill: Factual
Answer: d. education; career
8.1-78. One Saturday night, you and a friend go to the video store to rent a DVD. You browse
the DVDs until you find one that strikes you as interesting. Your friend browses all the DVDs
until she has convinced herself that she has found exactly the best one. In terms of decision
making, you are a _____________and she is a(n) ______________.
a. satisficer; maximizer
Correct: Not all decision makers are the same. Research has demonstrated that there are both
maximizers and satisficers in the world. Maximizers typically are content when they find an item
that is above some threshold. Satisficers keep trying to find the very best item.
b. decision-maker; procrastinator
c. maximizer; satisficer
Incorrect: This is the opposite of the correct answer.
d. decisive person; indecisive person
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 235
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. satisficer; maximizer
True/False Questions
8.2-1. Despite the pioneering efforts of F. C. Donders, researchers today rarely use reaction time
as a way of testing how some cognitive processes are carried out.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 208
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. false
8.2-2. Processes are serial when they overlap in time; processes are parallel when they take
place one after the other.
33
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 208
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: b. false
8.2-3. Controlled processes require attention; it is often difficult to carry out more than one
controlled process at a time.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 209
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: a. true
8.2-4. According to H. Paul Grice, the cooperative principle is an overarching rule of audience
design. Specifically, speakers should produce utterances appropriate to the setting and meaning
of the ongoing conversation.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 211
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: a. true
8.2-5. With respect to language understanding, structural ambiguity refers to a situation in

which a word has two meanings.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 214-216
34
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. false
8.2-6. According to the linguistic relativity hypothesis of Sapir and Whorf, the structure of the
language an individual speaks has an impact on the way in which that individual thinks about the
world.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 218
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Factual
Answer: a. true
8.2-7. In problem solving, the initial state and goal state make up the problem space.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 224
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: b. false
8.2-8. The task of balancing a checkbook is a good example of a well-defined problem.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 224
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. true
8.2-9. Heuristics are cognitive strategies that always provide the right answer for a particular
problem.
35
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 224
Skill: Factual
Answer: b. false
8.2-10. “Functional fixedness” is the term used to refer to the inability to think of a new use for
an object previously associated with some other purpose.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 225
Skill: Factual
Answer: a. true
8.2-11. A test of reasoning ability includes a number of problems in which two or more
statements or premises are presented and it is the task of the test-taker to draw a conclusion. This
type of problem is an example of inductive reasoning.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 229
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: b. false
8.2-12. People engaged in analogical problem solving will try to remember similar problems
they have experienced in the past and solutions that were successful.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 229
36
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. true
8.2-13. When solving problems, there are times when a “mental set” may be helpful to
performance, and other times when it may be harmful to performance.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 255
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: a. true
8.2-14. Processes of judgment and decision making do not allow us to deal efficiently with
uncertainty.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 257
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: b. false
8.2-15. Participants in a research study judged that the letter k is found more often at the
beginning of words than in the third position, based on information that was readily available in
memory. This error is judgment is an example of the representativeness heuristic.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 231
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: b. false
8.2-16. A woman has six children—three boys (B) and three girls (G). According to the
representativeness heuristic, you are more likely to believe that she had these children in the G-
37
B-G-B-B-G order than in the B-B-B-G-G-G order because your past experience with birth orders
allows you to assume this.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 232
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. true
8.2-17. Reference points are important in decision making.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 234
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: a. true
8.2-18. Research on the way decisions are framed suggests that framing in terms of gains leads
to better decision making than framing in terms of losses.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 234-235
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: b. false
8.2-19. Of all the decisions we make in our lives, we are most likely to express the greatest
regret regarding our education and career choices because there are few alternatives from which
to choose.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 2
38
Page Ref: 235
Skill: Applied
Answer: b. false
8.2-20. If you are trying to decide which person to ask to go to see a movie with you, and you
opt for the person who is “cute enough” for your own preferences, you would be described as a
satisficer.
a. true
b. false
Difficulty: 1
Page Ref: 235
Skill: Applied
Answer: a. true
Fill in the Blank Questions
8.3-1. The domain of ________ occupies the intersection of several different areas of focus in
psychology, including perception, attention, language, and intelligence, among others.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 207
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: cognitive science
8.3-2. Regarding language production, quantity, quality, relation, and manner are maxims of
________.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 211-212
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Factual
Answer: Grice’s cooperative principle.
8.3-3. A(n) ________ is a speech error in which there is an exchange of the initial sounds of
two or more words in a phrase or sentence.
Difficulty: 2
39
Page Ref: 212
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Factual
Answer: spoonerism
8.3-4. Research has suggested that meaning representation begins with basic units called
________, which are the main ideas of utterances.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 216
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Factual
Answer: propositions
8.3-5. In our conversations with others, missing information is often filled in on the basis of a
sample of evidence or on the basis of prior beliefs and theories. These logical assumptions are
called ________.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 216
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: inferences
8.3-6. In the formal definition of a problem, ________ are the steps you may take to move from
an initial state to a goal state.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 224
Skill: Factual
Answer: operations
8.3-7. A(n) _______ is a step-by-step procedure that always provides the right answer for a
particular type of problem.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 224
Skill: Factual
Answer: algorithm
40
8.3-8. A participant in a study of problem solving is asked to verbalize his ongoing thoughts
while working on a task. The researcher is using a procedure referred to as a(n) ________.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 225
Skill: Applied
Answer: think-aloud protocol
8.3-9. People tend to judge as valid those conclusions for which they can construct a real-world
model, and judge as invalid those for which they cannot. If your prior knowledge, attitudes, or
values distort your reasoning process by influencing you to accept invalid arguments, you have
fallen victim to the ________ effect.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 228
Skill: Applied
Answer: belief-bias
8.3-10. A(n) _______ is similar to a textbook problem in which initial state, goal state, and
operations are all clearly specified, whereas a(n) ________ may not have a clear intial state, goal
state, or clearly defined operations.
Difficulty: 2
Page Ref: 224
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: well-defined problem; ill-defined problem
Essay Questions
8.4-1. More than 125 years ago, the Dutch physiologist F. C. Donders devised a new method to
study the “speed of mental processes.” Describe the rationale on which this method was based,
then compare the use of this method to the techniques that psychologists are currently using to
study mental processes, including the use of reaction time and mental processes.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 208-210
Skill: Factual
41
Answer: Donders invented a series of mental tasks he thought were different from one another in
terms of mental steps involved. His fundamental assumption that more mental steps take more
time is still assumed in much of cognitive research today. Include an example of this technique,
an explanation of reaction time and an example of its use, and the use of mental processes and
resources in current research.
8.4-2. Describe how cognitive psychologists break down processes such as problem solving or
language use into their component processes. Use serial and parallel processes, controlled
processes, and automatic processes to help explain how complex mental processes are carried
out.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 208-210
Skill: Conceptual/Applied
Answer: Refer to “Mental Processes and Mental Resources” for the answer. Cognitive
psychologists build one block of understanding at a time to see how each block is composed and
to see how they fit together. A brief description of controlled and automatic processes as well as
reaction time is suggested. Examples from problem solving or language production specifically
may be used but are not required.
8.4-3. Language users both produce and understand language. How do speakers design their
utterances to suit particular audiences? Describe and give examples of Grice’s four maxims that
cooperative speakers live by and explain the concept of common ground.
Difficulty: 3
Page Ref: 210-213
Topic: Language Use
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: Include and explain briefly Grice’s maxims—quantity, quality, relation, and manner.
An accurate speaker has knowledge of the listener and will match what he says to the accurate
knowledge of what the listener is likely to know and understand. Include Herbert Clark’s ideas of
listeners and their expectations of common ground. Talk about community membership,
copresence for actions, and perceptual copresence.
8.4-4. A friend of yours has a problem. His teacher has assigned him to make a presentation on
problem solving and reasoning, but he doesn’t know where to begin. You suggest that he might
start with how problems are defined, how researchers might study problem solving, and why
people have difficulty solving problems. Then, he might compare and contrast deductive and
inductive reasoning, and show how people use heuristics when making judgments and decisions.
Summarize what your friend’s presentation might look like.
Difficulty: 3
42
Page Ref: 223-236
Skill: Conceptual
Answer: Define problem solving in terms of problem spaces and processes. Define algorithms
and think-aloud protocols. Include the idea that we can more easily find new solutions if we are
very aware of the old ones and do not have to use many resources remembering the well-used
approaches. Include definitions of inductive and deductive reasoning and how they complement
one another.
43

Psychology and Life 20th Edition Gerrig Test Bank

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Psychology and Life 20th Edition Gerrig Test Bank

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Psychology And Life 20th Edition

Gerrig Test Bank

Topic Factual Conceptual Applied

a. bring about a decrease in reaction time.

a. serial processing is a type of parallel processing.

a. far apart; automatic

8.1-9. In which situation are attentional processes most likely controlled?

a. a person signs her name to a traveler’s check

a. what people think about what they say.

a. the cooperative principle

8.1-13. Sharing common ground with a conversational partner

a. tends to increase the occurrence of spoonerisms.

8.1-16. A coworker always tries to dominate discussions by talking constantly. Unfortunately,

a. a brief verbal exchange indicating love or affection.

8.1-19. A major value of speech errors is that they

a. provide evidence that memory is typically a reconstructive process.

a. try to repeat a tongue twister as quickly as possible.

a. spoonerisms with idioms are almost impossible to produce.

a. the presence of contextual information.

8.1-26. In the context of language understanding, a proposition is

a. Yes, because these words belong to the same proposition.

a. can communicate through spoken language.

a. showed that chimps can be taught to communicate like humans.

a. there are cross-linguistic differences in thought.

a. Language may, in some circumstances, have an impact on thought.

a. took more time to say what objects were in front of them.

a. performance is affected by the order in which the objects are presented.

a. set of operations; goal state

a. the availability heuristic.

a. functional fixedness adversely affects problem solving.

a. people are generally incapable of engaging in deductive reasoning.

8.1-52. Research suggests that belief bias exists

a. choose the cards that are the least obvious.

8.1-54. When using inductive reasoning,

a. the two premises are assumed to be correct.

a. analogical problem solving.

a. ignoring hints or clues that might have been provided.

a. one has to solve a problem quickly.

a. problem solving; framing

8.1-61. Which of the following is an example of judgment?

8.1-62. Which of the following is an example of decision making?

a. use informal rules of thumb.

8.1-65. Basing judgments on how easily information comes to mind defines

a. the availability heuristic.

a. the representativeness heuristic.

8.1-68. Which of the following could be attributed to the availability heuristic?

a. use metaphors to illustrate the number of homeless people.

a. it is counter to the use of inductive reasoning.

8.1-72. A bias based on the anchoring heuristic results when

a. the recollection of past events in one’s life causes depression.

a. shorter than it actually is.

8.1-74. Studies of decision making demonstrate that

a. people behave as “rational” actors.”

8.1-75. In the context of decision making, a “frame” is

a. a particular description of a choice.

a. the optimistic student will be happy with her grade.

a. dating life; marriage

8.2-5. With respect to language understanding, structural ambiguity refers to a situation in

8.2-8. The task of balancing a checkbook is a good example of a well-defined problem.

8.2-17. Reference points are important in decision making.

Fill in the Blank Questions

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