Chapter 1
A Connection of Brains
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In Hockett’s 1960 essay, he wrote about the 13 ___________________________ of language, which have been
used to compare animal and human communication.
a. Channels
b. Transmissions
c. Design features
d. Recursions
e. Speech chains
2. Which characteristic of communication indicates that the communicator has the capacity to monitor what and
how something is said?
a. Total feedback
b. Displacement
c. Reflexivity
d. Specialization
e. Rapid fading
3. ______________________ is the term used to indicate that the communicator can talk about things that are
distant in time and/or space.
a. Discreteness
b. Arbitrariness
c. Productivity
d. Rapid fading
e. Displacement
4. ______________________ includes using language according to socially–established standards and the
appropriate use of nonverbal behaviors.
a. Pragmatics
b. Indexicality
c. Semantics
d. Duality of patterning
e. Syntax
5. The primary advantage of the vocal-auditory channel is that it:
a. Allows specific messages can be sent
b. Allows communication through creative combinations of symbols
c. Leaves our hands free to do other things while communicating
d. Is the only possible channel that humans can use to communicate
e. Allows for the learning of language via the environment, cognitive abilities and social contexts
6. _______________________ is the use of syllable, word and phrasal stress, along with pitch and loudness
variations in our speech.
a. Specialization
b. Rapid fading
c. Syntax
d. Morphology
e. Suprasegmentals
7. Specialization of communication is:
a. Observed in humans
b. Observed in non-human species
c. Observed in non-human species, but only in rare and limited circumstances
d. A and B
e. A and C
8. The first step in the speech chain is when…
a. Movements of the speech mechanism produces disturbances in the air called sound waves
b. The speaker sorts through his/her thoughts to decide what he/she wants to express, and creates a message
c. Sounds waves are received by the listener’s hearing mechanism
d. The speaker puts a message into language form
e. Neural impulses are sent to the speech mechanism to trigger speech movements
9. This characteristic of communication removes communication barriers and is largely responsible for the
unlimited exchange of information for both sexes and all ages.
a. Echolalia
b. Pragmatics
c. Morphology
d. Interchangeability
e. Learnability
10. Prevarication is
a. Observed in humans
b. Observed in non-human species
c. Observed in non-human species, but only in rare and limited circumstances
d. A and B
e. A and C
11. _____________________ is a term used to describe presemantic, semantic, postsemantic and extrasemantic
information present in communication.
a. Semanticity
b. Indexicality
c. Semantics
d. Language
e. Communication
12. Another way to describe “grammar” or the grammatical rules and structures of language is:
a. Pragmatics
b. Morphemes
c. Semantics
d. Expressive Language
e. Syntax
13. The human’s ability to produce a specific number of sounds, as well as a dog’s ability to produce different types
of barks, is called:
a. Broadcast Transmission
b. Discreteness
c. Speech
d. Expressive communication
e. Articulation
14. A _______________________ is a unit of meaning.
a. Noun
b. Verb
c. Morpheme
d. Phoneme
e. Semantic
15. ______________________ steps of the speech chain occur exclusively in the brain.
a. All
b. The first 5 steps
c. The last 3 steps
d. The first 2 steps
e. None
Short Answer & Fill-in-the-Blank Questions
1. Receptive language is ________________________________________________________________________
2. Expressive language is _______________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________ refers to how language can be used to convey meaning, including the use of
vocabulary.
4. _______________________ is one characteristic of human communication that is not seen in non-human
species and is limited to humans.
5. The speech chain is __________________________________________________________________________
Essay Questions
1. Define communication, language and speech.
2. Give an example of a scenario in which a child uses receptive language and expressive language.
Select one of the Hockett’s characteristics and discuss how it can be observed in communication between animals
and/or humans.
A Connection of Brains
TEST BANK ANSWERS
Multiple Choice Questions