all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to the prototype provides a quick and easy method for including items in a category (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin).
a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier -- but also more error-prone -- use of heuristics
a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms
a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy-based solutions
a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead one to ignore other relevant information
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common
the tendency to be more confident than correct--to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgments
clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments
in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)
the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning
beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language
the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words
beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements
early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram--'go car'--using mostly nouns and verbs and omitting 'auxiliary' words
impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to wernicke's area (impairing understanding)
controls language expression-an aread of the frontal, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech
controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe
a response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience
the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli
the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion
Schachter's theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal
biological influences to emotion
emotional release. In psychology, the catharsis hypothesis maintains that "releasing" aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges
self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people's quality of life.
our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.
the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself
We more quickly recognize that a blue jay is a bird than a penguin is a bird because a blue jay more closely resembles our ______ of a bird.
To find Tabasco sauce in a large grocery store, you could systematically search every shelf in ever store aisle. This best illustrates problem solving by means of:
Pablo vainly searches for a screwdriver while failing to recognize that a readily available coin in his pocket would turn the screw. His oversight best illustrates:
the availability heuristic
The easier it is for people to remember an instance in which they were betrayed by a friend, the more they expect such an event to recur. This best illustrates the impact of:
Professor Pegler's research efforts focus on how the use of heuristics influences the way people assess financial risks. Which specialty area does his research best represent?
A chess-playing computer program that routinely calculates all possible outcomes of all possible game moves best illustrates problem solving by means of:
save time in arriving at solutions to problems
The use of heuristics rather than algorithms is most likely to:
College students are more likely to choose a condom that is said to be effective when informed that is has a 95 percents rate than when told it has a 5 percent failure rate. This best illustrates the impact of:
Professor Chadwick's evaluated a graduate student's research proposal negatively simply because he had heard a rumor about the student's incompetence. When later informed the rumor had been patently false, the professor's assessment of the student's research proposal remained almost as negative as it was originally. This best illustrates:
look for information that is consistent with one's beliefs
Confirmation bias refers to the tendency to:
A European visitor to the US asked a taxi driver, "Can you please a ride to the airport give me?" This visitor has apparently not yet mastered the ______ of the English language.
Which linguistic theorist was most impressed by the underlying similarities of all human language systems?
the association of word sounds with various objects, events, actions, and qualities; children's imitation of the words and grammar modeled by parents and others; the positive reinforcement that adults give children for speaking correctly
Applying the behaviorist viewpoint to language development, B. F. Skinner emphasized that language is acquired through:
Research suggests that humans can most easily master the grammar of a second language during:
Hodi Indians cannot readily think about the past because their language has no past tense for verbs
What does Whorf have as evidence in support of the linguistic determination hypothesis?
Mentally simulation an action activates ______ that are also active when performing the action.
The women's basketball team at the University of Tennessee showed improvement in free-throw shooting after practicing:
a process simulation
Introductory psychology students were more likely to achieve a good midterm exam grade if prior to the exam they repeatedly practiced visual imagery that involved:
Whether we feel angry or depressed in response to a low exam grade depends on whether we attribute the poor grade to an unfair test or to our own lack of academic ability. This best illustrates that emotions are influenced by:
nonverbal vocal expressions
People often overestimate the clarity of their intentions in their e-mails because they underestimate the importance of ______ in communication.
openly display their feelings by their facial expressions
Americans are more likely than Japanese to:
Who suggested that we can stimulate the subjective experience of cheerfulness simply by acting as if we are already cheerful?
When shown a face with an evenly mixed expression of fear and anger, ______ children were much quicker than other children to see anger.
introverts do better than extraverts and women do better than men
In terms of ability to recognize other's facial expressions of emotion:
physical arousal and a cognitive label
Schachter's two-factor theory emphasizes that emotion involves both:
the James-Lange theory
Which theory suggests that you would not experience intense anger unless you were first aware of your racing heart or other symptoms of physiological arousal?
enhance her swimming performance but disrupt her debate performance
Shondra, an experienced member of her high school swimming team, has just recently joined her high school debate team. A high level of physiological arousal durning team competition is likely to:
left frontal lobe
Exuberant infants and alert, energetic adults are especially likely to show high levels of brain activity in the:
first wait until the anger subsides, then deal with the situation in a civil manner
Expressing anger can be adaptive when you:
principle of relative deprivation
Cindy was happy with her promotion until she found out that Janice, who has the same amount of experience, receives a higher salary. Cindy's feelings are best explained according to the:
valence and arousal
People tend to describe their experienced emotions along with two dimensions of:
people seem to be biologically predisposed to learn some fears more quickly than others
Research on human fear indicates that:
Rabbits fail to react with fear to a signal of impending shock if they have suffered damage to part of the brain called the:
increased; remained almost unchanged
Durning the last four decades, the spendable income of Americans (adjusting for inflation) has _______ and their self-reported personal happiness has _______.
Researches attempt to understand emotions using biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis. The psychological level of analysis is especially likely to emphasize the importance of:
Individual differences in temperament suggest that the experience of fear is influenced by:
several times a week
In studying what makes people angry, James Averill found that most people become angry: