Decision making and Language

Practice Test: Decision Making and Language

Multiple Choice Questions

  1. What is the term for the bias where people judge events as more likely if they are more easily remembered?

    • A) Anchoring

    • B) Availability bias

    • C) Framing effects

    • D) Confirmation bias

  2. Which decision-making bias involves continuing a behavior due to previous investments, even if it no longer benefits you?

    • A) Loss aversion

    • B) Sunk cost fallacy

    • C) Availability bias

    • D) Anchoring

  3. What is the smallest unit of meaning in language?

    • A) Phoneme

    • B) Morpheme

    • C) Syntax

    • D) Symbolism

  4. Which perspective on language development argues that children have innate mental structures guiding their language acquisition?

    • A) Behaviorist Perspective

    • B) Interactionist Perspective

    • C) Nativist Perspective

    • D) Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

  5. What is the critical period in language development?

    • A) The age range during which infants tune into native phonemes

    • B) A sensitive time frame when language is most easily acquired

    • C) The stage of learning syntax and semantics

    • D) The period when adults teach language through reinforcement

True/False Questions

  1. Anchoring occurs when people rely on the first piece of information they receive, even if it is irrelevant.

    • True

    • False

  2. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis suggests that language directly determines how people think and behave.

    • True

    • False

  3. Perceptual narrowing for phonemes shows that by 10-12 months, infants focus more on the phonemes of their native language.

    • True

    • False

  4. The Russian blues study supports the weak version of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.

    • True

    • False

  5. “Motherese” or baby talk provides no measurable benefits to language development.

    • True

    • False

Short Answer Questions

  1. Define loss aversion and give an example of how it affects decision-making.

  2. Explain categorical speech perception in infants. Why is this important for language development?

  3. Compare the Behaviorist and Nativist perspectives on language development. Include an example for each.

  4. Describe how framing effects influence decision-making. Provide a real-world example.

  5. What does the Genie case study tell us about the critical period for language acquisition?

Matching Questions

Match the term to its definition:

Terms

Definitions

A) Availability bias

1) Presenting choices differently to change decisions.

B) Confirmation bias

2) Judging events based on how easily they come to mind.

C) Framing effects

3) Seeking evidence that supports existing beliefs.

D) Phonemes

4) The smallest unit of sound that can change meaning.

E) Morphemes

5) The smallest unit of meaning in a language.

Essay Question

  1. Discuss the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. Compare the strong and weak versions of the hypothesis, and explain how the Russian blues study provides evidence for the weaker version.
















Answers

Multiple Choice:

  1. B) Availability bias

  2. B) Sunk cost fallacy

  3. B) Morpheme

  4. C) Nativist Perspective

  5. B) A sensitive time frame when language is most easily acquired

True/False:

  1. True

  2. False

  3. True

  4. True

  5. False

Short Answer:

  1. Loss aversion refers to the tendency to prefer avoiding losses over acquiring equivalent gains. For example, people might reject a fair gamble to avoid losing $10, even if the potential gain is also $10.

  2. Categorical speech perception allows infants to distinguish phonemes as distinct categories, such as differentiating between /b/ and /d/. This ability helps them focus on meaningful sounds in their native language, laying the foundation for vocabulary growth.

  3. Behaviorist Perspective: Language is learned through reinforcement (e.g., a child is praised for correctly naming an object). Nativist Perspective: Language acquisition is guided by innate structures, as shown by children applying grammar rules to novel words.

  4. Framing effects show that how a choice is presented can influence decisions. For example, a surgery described as having a "90% survival rate" is more appealing than one with a "10% mortality rate."

  5. The Genie case study illustrates the importance of the critical period, as her inability to acquire generative language after severe neglect suggests there is a sensitive time frame for language development.

Matching:

  • A) Availability bias → 2

  • B) Confirmation bias → 3

  • C) Framing effects → 1

  • D) Phonemes → 4

  • E) Morphemes → 5

Essay:
(The essay should detail the strong version of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis as proposing that language determines thought and behavior, while the weaker version suggests language influences habitual thinking. The Russian blues study shows that language categories (light vs. dark blue) affect perception and categorization tasks, supporting the weaker hypothesis.)