3.2.2.5.3 Evidence that non-verbal behaviour is learned: Yuki's study of emoticons Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 6

The 20 questions

1. What is an emoticon?

   • A word used in text messages to shorten a longer phrase, such as 'u' for 'you'
   • A picture file attached to an email, such as a family photograph in full colour
   • A symbol made from keyboard characters that shows an emotion, such as a colon and bracket
   • A key on a phone keyboard that switches the language used for typing

2. What did Yuki's study examine?

   • Whether people recognise emoticons faster than words when reading a list on a screen
   • Whether emoticons are used more by children than by adults in schools in one country
   • Whether people from different cultures use emoticons in different ways, such as eye-based styles
   • Whether emoticons make people type more quickly than letters and numbers alone

3. What did Yuki and colleagues find about Japanese and American emoticons?

   • Japanese emoticons tended to rely on the mouth, while American emoticons tended to rely on the eyes
   • Japanese emoticons tended to rely on the eyes, while American emoticons tended to rely on the mouth
   • Japanese emoticons used only letters, while American emoticons used only numbers and punctuation
   • Japanese and American emoticons were almost identical, with no difference in the part of the face shown

4. Why is Yuki's finding used as evidence that non-verbal behaviour is learned?

   • Emoticons are only used by children born in the same year, so their style must be learned at birth
   • Both cultures use the same emoticons for every emotion, showing the style is inborn in all humans
   • Different cultures use different conventions for the same emotion, suggesting the style is learned
   • Emoticons are only used by people who are blind, so they must be learned by touch

5. A user from one culture writes ':-)' and a user from another writes '^_^' to show happiness. What does this suggest?

   • That the two cultures have learned different conventions for showing happiness in written form
   • That the two users speak different languages, so they cannot share any emotion through text
   • That the two users have the same eyesight, since both symbols use the same keyboard characters
   • That the two users are expressing different emotions, since their symbols cannot show the same feeling

6. What does 'learned' mean in the context of non-verbal behaviour?

   • Acquired through experience and observation of others within a culture, not present from birth
   • Inherited from a parent through a single exposure in early childhood, with no further practice
   • Produced only when the person is asleep, controlled by the brain during rest periods
   • Passed on through genes, so each child is born already knowing the signal used in later life

7. Which prediction would follow if Yuki's findings are right?

   • A person who moves to a different culture will only be able to use letters, since emoticons do not cross borders
   • A person who moves to a different culture may gradually change which emoticons they use
   • A person who moves to a different culture will use exactly the same emoticons for the rest of their life
   • A person who moves to a different culture will stop using emoticons altogether

8. Which is a limitation of using emoticons as evidence about non-verbal behaviour?

   • Emoticons cannot be typed on any device, so researchers cannot collect examples to analyse
   • Emoticons are always identical across all websites and apps, so they cannot show any variation in daily life
   • Emoticons are typed symbols rather than faces, so they may not fully represent face-to-face emotion
   • Emoticons are the only non-verbal signal ever studied, so no other evidence about learning exists

9. Why might Yuki's study be considered strong evidence for learning rather than biology?

   • Two cultures always produced identical symbols, pointing to a single inborn pattern
   • Only one culture was studied, so every culture must use exactly the same emoticons without learning
   • The study used only numbers, so it cannot tell us anything about how people learn emotional symbols
   • Two cultures with similar emotions chose systematically different symbols, pointing to learned conventions

10. A researcher wants to test whether a non-verbal behaviour is learned. Which design is most useful?

    • Comparing groups from different cultures or backgrounds with different learning experiences of the same signal
    • Measuring only the speed of typing, so the content of each emoticon can be ignored
    • Testing only one group of newborns, so any learned behaviour can be ruled out in one sample
    • Asking participants to guess emotions from words alone, with no visual cues or examples

11. What does a 'mouth-based' emoticon mean?

    • An emoticon typed using only the mouth key, without needing hands on the keyboard
    • An emoticon that shows emotion mainly through the shape of the mouth, such as a smile made from a bracket
    • An emoticon that represents a spoken word, such as laughter written out in letters
    • An emoticon that shows emotion mainly through the shape of the eyes, such as ^_^ for happiness

12. Which statement best describes the link between Yuki's findings and the idea that non-verbal behaviour is learned?

    • Cultural differences in symbol style suggest conventions are picked up from one's culture, not fixed at birth
    • Cultural differences in symbol style show the body controls emotion, so learning plays no part
    • Cultural differences in symbol style show symbols are chosen at random, so they cannot be evidence
    • Cultural similarities in symbol style show learning is the only cause, with no role for biology

13. A student says Yuki's study shows that all emotions are learned. What is the best response?

    • The study does not show that all emotions are learned, only that some written conventions vary across cultures
    • The study shows only happiness is learned, because other emotions are expressed the same way everywhere
    • The study proves all emotions are learned, because every emotion in text is a symbol invented by a teacher
    • The study proves no emotion is learned, because the symbols are the same in every culture studied in daily life

14. Which feature of an emoticon is most closely linked to the Japanese style in Yuki's study?

    • The hands, which show a typed gesture such as \o/ for celebration
    • The eyes, which show emotion in emoticons such as ^_^ for happiness
    • The mouth, which shows emotion alone in emoticons such as :) for happiness
    • The ears, which show a typed symbol such as (( )) for listening

15. Why should a researcher be cautious about generalising Yuki's findings to all emotions and all cultures?

    • The study included only people from one country, which proves cultures never differ in any respect
    • The study used only numbers as symbols, so it cannot show any difference in emotion between cultures
    • The study compared a small number of cultures using a specific type of symbol, so results may not apply widely
    • The study was carried out by one researcher who never checked any results, so it is always invalid

16. Which pair correctly matches an emoticon with the style it represents?

    • ^_^ is number-based, while :-) is letter-based, in the study's categories
    • ^_^ is eye-based, while :-) is mouth-based, in the study's categories
    • ^_^ is mouth-based, while :-) is eye-based, in the study's categories
    • ^_^ is hand-based, while :-) is ear-based, in the study's categories

17. Which evidence would most directly test whether emoticon style is learned rather than innate?

    • Measuring the height of people who use emoticons, to see whether taller people prefer one style
    • Following children who move from one culture to another and tracking whether their emoticon style changes
    • Counting how many emoticons are used in a day, without recording the culture of the user
    • Asking people how happy they feel, without showing them any emoticons from either culture

18. What do emoticons show that the specification links to non-verbal communication?

    • Body size, which is shown through symbols and changes with age from childhood to adulthood
    • Emotional expression through a conventional visual code, which can differ between cultures
    • Speech sounds, which are shown in writing and change between languages across the world
    • Weather patterns, which are shown through symbols and change with the seasons of the year

19. Explain how Yuki's findings would count against a purely innate account of non-verbal behaviour.

    • If only one culture used emoticons, the findings would show that all emoticons are inherited from birth
    • If cultures differed in a learned style for the same emotion, the style cannot be fixed by inherited biology
    • If cultures used identical styles, the findings would show that learning cannot shape any non-verbal behaviour
    • If emoticons were never used, the findings would show that non-verbal behaviour is entirely learned from parents

20. A website designer wants emoticons that suit users in many countries. Based on Yuki's findings, what is the best approach?

    • Use only numbers, since numbers are understood in the same way across all cultures and languages
    • Provide several styles or let users choose, since conventions for the same emotion differ across cultures
    • Use only one style, since every culture has the same conventions and no choice is needed
    • Remove all emoticons, since no symbol can be understood across cultures in any setting

Related quizzes

• Piaget's theory: language depends on thought Quiz · 3.2.2.1.1 · 20 questions
• Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: thinking depends on language Quiz · 3.2.2.1.2 · 20 questions
• Variation in recall of events and recognition of colours across cultures Quiz · 3.2.2.2.1 · 20 questions
• Limited functions of animal communication Quiz · 3.2.2.3.1 · 20 questions
• Von Frisch's bee study Quiz · 3.2.2.3.2 · 20 questions
• Properties of human communication absent in animals Quiz · 3.2.2.3.3 · 20 questions
• Verbal and non-verbal communication; functions of eye contact Quiz · 3.2.2.4.1 · 20 questions
• Body language: open and closed posture, postural echo, touch Quiz · 3.2.2.4.2 · 20 questions
• Personal space: cultural, status and gender differences Quiz · 3.2.2.4.3 · 20 questions
• Darwin's evolutionary theory of non-verbal communication Quiz · 3.2.2.5.1 · 20 questions