Unit 7: Thinking, Language, & Intelligence

This scenario describes Phoebe's ability to manage her own anger and respond empathetically to her sister's frustration, which is characteristic of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to recognize, understand, and manage one's own emotions, as well as the ability to perceive and respond to the emotions of others. Phoebe's behavior demonstrates her high level of emotional intelligence in this situation.

Pigeons being able to reliably discriminate pictures of cars from pictures of chairs demonstrates their capacity to develop concepts. This means that they are able to categorize and differentiate between different objects based on their visual features. This ability to form mental representations of objects and group them into categories is a key aspect of concept development.

Functional fixedness refers to the tendency to think of objects only in terms of their usual functions and fail to recognize alternative uses for them. In this scenario, Pablo is unable to recognize that a coin in his pocket could be used as a makeshift screwdriver, indicating his inability to think beyond the usual function of objects. This aligns with the concept of functional fixedness.

The given information describes Andrew's ability to produce intricate and detailed drawings of scenes he has viewed only once, despite being diagnosed with autism and having difficulty speaking coherently. This ability is characteristic of savant syndrome, a condition in which individuals with developmental disorders, such as autism, have exceptional skills or talents in specific areas, such as art, music, or memory. Andrew's talent for drawing falls under the category of savant syndrome rather than the other options provided.

Amy most likely received an aptitude test because the test was designed to predict whether she could learn to become a successful architect. Aptitude tests are specifically designed to assess a person's potential or ability to learn and succeed in a particular field or occupation. In this case, the counselor used the test to determine Amy's potential for success in architecture.

An algorithm refers to a step-by-step procedure or formula that guarantees a solution to a problem. In this case, systematically searching every shelf in every store aisle is a methodical approach that ensures all possible locations are checked, ultimately leading to finding the Tabasco sauce. This process eliminates the need for guesswork or relying on heuristics, making it an example of problem solving by means of an algorithm.

The fact that people's second scores on the WAIS generally match their first scores closely suggests that the test has a high degree of reliability. Reliability refers to the consistency and stability of test scores over time. If the test consistently produces similar results upon retesting, it indicates that the test is reliable and can be trusted to measure the same construct consistently.

This question is asking about the concept that best explains why college students are more likely to judge a condom as effective when informed that it has a 95 percent success rate than when told it has a 5 percent failure rate. The concept that best explains this phenomenon is framing. Framing refers to how information is presented or framed can influence people's judgments and decisions. In this case, presenting the information as a success rate (95 percent) rather than a failure rate (5 percent) influences the perception of effectiveness.

Stereotype threat refers to the fear of confirming negative stereotypes about one's social group, which can negatively impact performance. In this case, the correct answer is "math problem solving; verbal fluency." This means that stereotype threat is most likely to affect female students' performance on a difficult math problem solving test and male students' performance on a difficult verbal fluency test. This aligns with the stereotype that women are not as good at math and men are not as good at verbal tasks, leading to increased anxiety and decreased performance in these respective areas.

The defense attorney is attempting to take advantage of the representativeness heuristic. This heuristic refers to the tendency to judge the probability of an event based on how closely it resembles a typical example or prototype. By emphasizing that her client works full-time, supports his family, and enjoys leisure-time hobbies, the attorney is trying to make the defendant appear as a typical member of the local community. This may lead the jury to perceive the defendant as less likely to be guilty, based on their mental prototype of a typical community member.

Noam Chomsky's belief that language is primarily attributable to nature suggests that language abilities are innate and genetically determined. According to Chomsky, humans are born with a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) that enables them to acquire language effortlessly and rapidly. This view emphasizes the role of biological and genetic factors in language development, suggesting that language skills are not solely dependent on environmental influences or learning experiences.

Skinner's theory of language acquisition suggests that children acquire language through operant conditioning and reinforcement. According to this theory, children imitate and mimic the speech patterns and accents of their peers in order to fit in and receive positive reinforcement. This explanation aligns with the fact that children speak with an accent that is similar to their peers, as they are motivated to imitate and conform to the linguistic patterns of their social group.