GRE Subject Test: Psychology : Language

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Psychology

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Example Questions

Example Question #11 : Language

Telegraphic speech, where morphemic usage is limited to very short usage, is commonly seen in adults as a symptom of which of the following?

Possible Answers:

Dysarthria

Nominal aphasia

All of these

Non-fluent aphasia

Word salad

Correct answer:

Non-fluent aphasia

Explanation:

Non-fluent aphasia, such as Broca's aphasia, is often triggered by damage due to stroke or other cardiovascular problem, and often produces the short, morpheme-absent language typical of telegraphic speech.

Example Question #12 : Language

Which of the following correctly mirrors the types of inflectional morphemes below:

Possessive. . . Superlative. . . Past Tense. . . Past Participle

Possible Answers:

Zach's. . . Strongest. . . Proven. . . Joined

Its. . . Highest. . . Waited. . . Waited

None of these

Mine. . . Greater. . . Held. . . Swinging

Cars. . . Grandest. . . Ran. . . Jumps

Correct answer:

Its. . . Highest. . . Waited. . . Waited

Explanation:

The answer makes more sense when you realize that the past tense and past participle of the verb wait are both waited. Consider the sentences "I waited for John for half an hour" and "I had waited for John for half an hour" -- both grammatically correct, but implying different things about the present.

Example Question #13 : Language

One generally agreed-upon difference between phonemes and morphemes is best described by which of the following?

Possible Answers:

Phonemes are more limited in number than morphemes

None of these

Morphemes cannot be learned until phonemes are mastered

Morphemes are generally necessary to express complex ideas, whereas phonemes are sufficient for simplistic communication

Everyone across the world uses the same set of phonemes, but morphemes vary wildly

Correct answer:

Phonemes are more limited in number than morphemes

Explanation:

Phonemes are the basic units of sound that distinguish one word from another in a particular language. The number of phonemes the human mouth and vocal cords can produce is limited by physiology. Within this limit, an extremely high number of morphemes can be produced.

Example Question #14 : Language

One known phoneme-based difficulty in learning English is best identified by which of the following?

Possible Answers:

The relative lack of vowel phonemes compared to other languages

The very large amount of consonant phonemes compared to other languages

The fact that English phonemes rarely correspond to the alphabet that produces them

The fact that there are many phonemes to learn for only a few morphemes

All of these

Correct answer:

The fact that English phonemes rarely correspond to the alphabet that produces them

Explanation:

Some languages, such as Arabic, benefit from having their phonemes developed at nearly the same time as their alphabet, so that each letter directly or almost directly corresponds to the sound it makes in the language. English uses a slightly modified form of the Latin alphabet, originally designed with Latin phonemes in mind, and thus poorly represents its 26 letters phonemically. This causes great difficulty for speakers of more phonetically aligned languages.

Example Question #1 : Syntax

Which of the following best describes the difference between semantics and pragmatics?

Possible Answers:

None of these

Semantics refers to the learning of sounds and words, whereas pragmatics refers to the learning of phrases and sentences

Semantics refers to the learning of different sentence structures, whereas pragmatics refers to paragraph structures

Semantics refers to the learning of different word meanings, whereas pragmatics refers to the actual use of different words

Pragmatics refers to different word meanings, whereas semantics refers to the learning of different word uses

Correct answer:

Semantics refers to the learning of different word meanings, whereas pragmatics refers to the actual use of different words

Explanation:

Semantics refers to the fact that children must learn combinations of phonemes that represent certain events, people, or objects. Pragmatics refers to the usage of different words, phrases, and slang terms. Children must learn how tone of voice and modulation can shape the meaning of a sentence. The same sentence might mean two different things in different contexts.

Example Question #2 : Syntax

Which of the following best describes the difference between semantics and pragmatics?

Possible Answers:

Semantics refers to the learning of sounds and words, whereas pragmatics refers to the learning of phrases and sentences

Semantics refers to the learning of different sentence structures, whereas pragmatics refers to paragraph structures

None of these

Semantics refers to the learning of different word meanings, whereas pragmatics refers to the actual use of different words

Pragmatics refers to different word meanings, whereas semantics refers to the learning of different word uses

Correct answer:

Semantics refers to the learning of different word meanings, whereas pragmatics refers to the actual use of different words

Explanation:

Semantics refers to the fact that children must learn combinations of phonemes that represent certain events, people, or objects. Pragmatics refers to the usage of different words, phrases, and slang terms. Children must learn how tone of voice and modulation can shape the meaning of a sentence. The same sentence might mean two different things in different contexts.

Example Question #1 : Speech Perception & Processing

Following a stroke, a patient has difficulty understanding others' communications. This would most likely be diagnosed as which of the following disorders?

Possible Answers:

Dyslexia

Wernicke's aphasia

Broca's aphasia

Language processing disorder

Correct answer:

Wernicke's aphasia

Explanation:

Wernicke's aphasia hinders one's ability to understand language. It is directly linked with damage to a particular part of the brain known as Wernicke's area. By contrast, Broca's area is linked to humans' ability to produce language. Broca's aphasia, in turn, is a diagnosis related to issues with language production, rather than comprehension.

Example Question #2 : Speech Perception & Processing

Which specific neuroanatomical region is known to heavily influence language comprehension? 

Possible Answers:

Broca's Area

Parietal lobe and temporal lobe junction

Thalamus

Vocalization region of motor areas

Wernicke's Area

Correct answer:

Wernicke's Area

Explanation:

Wernicke's area, located in the region known commonly as Brodmann 22 or at the junction of the temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes, has been found to contribute to language comprehension. Patients with Wernicke's aphasia can speak, but not comprehend language.

Example Question #15 : Language

Adrian is a four-year-old boy. He wants to say, "May I have some juice?", but accidentally says, "May I haves some juiced?" Which type of error has Adrian committed?

Possible Answers:

Sound-exchange error

Word-exchange error

Morpheme-exchange error

Spoonerism

Lexical selection error

Correct answer:

Morpheme-exchange error

Explanation:

In a morpheme-exchange error (morphemic error), two or more morphemes (-er, -s, -ed, etc.) exchange places. These kinds of errors often occur in children or those learning a morpheme-heavy language like English for the first time.

Example Question #16 : Language

The term paralinguistics refers to which of the following?

Possible Answers:

Unspoken features of spoken communication

Languages of Indonesian origin

Ancient methods of communication such as petroglyphs  

Languages other than a speaker's first language

Correct answer:

Unspoken features of spoken communication

Explanation:

It is always of great help to know a large range of prefixes and suffixes when heading into standardized exams. Note that “para” means besides or outside of, therefore, paralinguistics are those vocal (excluding actual words) and non-vocal elements of communication that carry meaning. Elements of paralinguistics include pitch, rate of speech, fluency of speech, volume, and a host of signs and sounds that work to color what we are saying.

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