GRE Subject Test: Psychology : Verbal & Nonverbal Communication
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Subject Test: Psychology
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Example Questions
Example Question #143 : Experimental
The idea that grammar is a system of rules explicitly designed to produce those sentences which contain words in grammatical order is most closely associated with which theory of grammar?
Lexical functionalists
Relationalists
Generativists
Stochastics
Generativists
Generative grammar was first proposed by Noam Chomsky in the 1950s, and primarily focuses on the study of syntax as it relates to hierarchies of grammars.
Example Question #11 : Verbal & Nonverbal Communication
Michael Argyle and Janet Dean Fodor are famous for their research into the relationship between which of the following?
Eye contact and conversational distance
Liking and immediacy
Cultural openness and lexical size
Personal space and immediate environment
Eye contact and conversational distance
Argyle and Dean co-developed affiliative conflict theory, the idea that people act to increase or reduce their levels of perceived intimacy with others in order to maintain a desired level of autonomy and intimacy. The mechanism through which people perform this balancing act, according to the theory, is nonverbal communication such as balancing levels of eye contact and conversational distance (a relationship Argyle and Dean studied extensively).
Example Question #11 : Verbal & Nonverbal Communication
According to the field of kinesics, the average human being is thought to be able to recognize and react to about how many distinct facial expressions?
Ray Birdwhistell founded the study of kinesics in the 1950s, focusing largely on nonverbal communication using distance, eye contact, and body posture in response and relation to a conversational partner or perceived audience. He proposed that humans can see anywhere from 200,000 to 300.000 distinct facial expressions, and grouped responses to these reactions by function and purpose rather than by reaction or intent.
Example Question #12 : Verbal & Nonverbal Communication
Which of the following is true of hand gestures?
There are no universally recognizable gestures
Some gestures are always found accompanying speech
Hand gestures are generally divided into four groups based on use
All hand movements are considered to be some type of gesture
Some gestures are always found accompanying speech
Some gestures, called conversational gestures, are always found to accompany speech, and are never found in the absence of verbal communication. Some hand movements such as tapping, scratching, or nervous fidgeting, are not considered gestures at all. Gestures are generally divided into symbolic and conversational gestures, with non-gesture movements sometimes called adapters. Some gestures, like shoulder shrugging and threatening with a raised fist, are considered universal.
All GRE Subject Test: Psychology Resources
