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Quiz: Language, Attention, and Decision-Making

Test your understanding of Chapter 12. Choose the best answer, then click Show Answer to check.

Question 1

Where is Broca's area located in most people?

  1. In the posterior superior temporal gyrus of the left temporal lobe
  2. In the inferior frontal gyrus of the left frontal lobe
  3. In the primary visual cortex of the occipital lobe
  4. In the corpus callosum, between the two hemispheres
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. Broca's area sits in the inferior (lower) frontal gyrus of the language-dominant hemisphere, which is usually the left. The posterior superior temporal gyrus (A) is the location of Wernicke's area, a common mix-up because both are classic language areas.

Concept Tested: Broca's Area Bloom's Level: Remember

Question 2

Roger Sperry shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for which discovery?

  1. That midbrain dopamine neurons signal reward prediction errors
  2. That damage to the left frontal lobe causes nonfluent aphasia
  3. That cells in the visual cortex respond to lines and edges
  4. The functional specialization of the cerebral hemispheres
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. Sperry's half of the 1981 prize honored his discoveries about the functional specialization of the cerebral hemispheres, based largely on split-brain studies. Visual cortex discoveries (C) were the work of David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel, who shared the other half of the same prize.

Concept Tested: Split-Brain Studies Bloom's Level: Remember

Question 3

Which expression defines a reward prediction error?

  1. Reward received minus reward predicted
  2. The total amount of reward collected over a day
  3. The amount of dopamine released while resting
  4. Reward predicted minus reward received
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. A reward prediction error is the reward you actually get minus the reward you expected, so a better-than-expected outcome gives a positive error. Option D reverses the subtraction, which would make a pleasant surprise negative, the opposite of how dopamine neurons respond.

Concept Tested: Reward Prediction Error Bloom's Level: Remember

Question 4

Why are people with Wernicke's aphasia often unaware that their speech makes little sense?

  1. Their motor cortex is damaged, so they cannot hear themselves speak
  2. Their stroke has lowered their intelligence, so they cannot judge their own speech
  3. Damage near Wernicke's area impairs understanding of language, including their own words
  4. Their Broca's area becomes overactive and drowns out other brain signals
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Wernicke's area helps link word sounds to meanings, so damage there impairs comprehension of all language, including the person's own speech, and they can't catch their errors. Option B reflects a harmful myth: aphasia affects language, not intelligence.

Concept Tested: Wernicke's Area Bloom's Level: Understand

Question 5

A study of 326 healthy adults measured which hemisphere was dominant for language. Which statement best summarizes its findings?

  1. All left-handers are right-hemisphere dominant for language
  2. Right-hemisphere dominance becomes more common as left-handedness increases, but most left-handers are still left-dominant
  3. Handedness has no relationship to which hemisphere is dominant for language
  4. Right-handers are never right-hemisphere dominant for language
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. Right-hemisphere language dominance rose from about 4% in strong right-handers to about 27% in strong left-handers, so most left-handers were still left-dominant. Option A overstates the link, and option D is wrong because a small share of strong right-handers were right-dominant.

Concept Tested: Hemispheric Lateralization Bloom's Level: Understand

Question 6

How does neglect syndrome differ from hemianopia (blindness in one half of the visual field)?

  1. Neglect affects hearing only, while hemianopia affects vision only
  2. Neglect is caused by damage to the eye, while hemianopia is caused by damage to the cortex
  3. Neglect always affects the right side of space, while hemianopia always affects the left
  4. In neglect, visual information reaches the brain but attention fails to process one side
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. In hemianopia, damage to the visual pathway stops information from one side from arriving, but in neglect the information arrives and the attention system fails to "light it up." Option C is backward: neglect most often follows right-hemisphere damage and affects the left side of space.

Concept Tested: Neglect Syndrome Bloom's Level: Understand

Question 7

A 64-year-old woman suddenly speaks only in short, effortful phrases such as "Car... store... milk." She follows spoken commands correctly, seems frustrated by her speech, and has weakness in her right arm. Which diagnosis and location fit best?

  1. Broca's aphasia from damage to the left frontal lobe
  2. Wernicke's aphasia from damage to the left temporal lobe
  3. Conduction aphasia from damage to the right parietal lobe
  4. Neglect syndrome from damage to the right parietal lobe
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. Nonfluent, telegraphic speech with relatively good comprehension and awareness of the problem is Broca's aphasia, and right-arm weakness fits damage in the left frontal lobe, which also contains motor areas. Wernicke's aphasia (B) would produce fluent speech with poor comprehension.

Concept Tested: Aphasia Bloom's Level: Apply

Question 8

Maya does her homework while switching back and forth to answer text messages. Based on research on task switching, what should she expect?

  1. No change in speed or accuracy, because the brain does both tasks at once
  2. Faster homework, because switching keeps the brain more alert
  3. Slower responses and more errors right after each switch
  4. More errors only if she switches more than ten times
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Each switch between tasks produces a "switch cost": people respond more slowly and usually make more errors right after switching. Option A reflects the multitasking myth; for demanding tasks, the brain mostly switches rather than doing both at once.

Concept Tested: Attention Bloom's Level: Apply

Question 9

On the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the hidden sorting rule changes from "color" to "shape." A patient with frontal-lobe damage keeps sorting by color even after being told the answers are now wrong. What does this pattern best reveal?

  1. A loss of color vision from damage to the visual cortex
  2. Perseveration, showing impaired cognitive flexibility, a core executive function
  3. Wernicke's aphasia, because the patient cannot understand the instructions
  4. Neglect, because the patient ignores cards on the left side
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. Continuing to use an old rule after it stops working is called perseveration, a classic sign of impaired cognitive flexibility linked to prefrontal damage. Option C is unlikely because the patient understood and followed the first rule; the problem is switching, not comprehension.

Concept Tested: Executive Function Bloom's Level: Analyze

Question 10

In a card game, some decks give big rewards right away but bigger losses over time, while other decks give smaller rewards but come out ahead. A patient with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex keeps choosing the "big win, bigger loss" decks even as losses pile up. Which explanation fits the research best?

  1. The patient cannot see the cards because of damage to the visual pathway
  2. The patient's dopamine neurons no longer respond to any reward at all
  3. The patient cannot understand the rules because of aphasia
  4. The patient is guided by immediate outcomes and is insensitive to future consequences
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. Researchers described patients with ventromedial prefrontal damage as having a "myopia for the future": they chase immediate gains and fail to weigh later losses. Option B doesn't fit, because the patient is clearly still drawn to the immediate rewards.

Concept Tested: Decision-Making Bloom's Level: Analyze