Final Exam Practice Questions

how does a structuralist define introspection?

a. identifying with a role model and imitating them

b. a psychosexual stage

c. studying the mind by breaking it up into constituent parts

d. an assumption of behaviourism

c

who first completed a cognitive experiment?

a. Wundt

b. Donders

c. Skinner

d. Watson

b

what does the behaviourist approach consist of?

a. classical and operant conditioning

b. vicarious reinforcement

c. schemas

d. the 4 meditational processes

a

what is an assumption of the cognitive approach?

a. behaviour is determined by biological factors

b. we learn via vicarious reinforcement

c. the brain stores, processes, and retrieves info like a computer

d. we learn by observation and imitation

c

the occipital lobe is ____ to the temporal lobe

a. anterior

b. ventral

c. dorsal

d. posterior

d

as stimulation increases, a neuron will

a. decrease its firing rate

b. increase its firing rate

c. increase the amplitude of the action potential

d. decrease the amplitude of the action potential

b

who was the first to open a lab to study the mind scientifically?

a. Wundt

b. Watson

c. Skinner

d. James

a

why is an experiment different from an observational study?

a. correlations

b. hypotheses

c. predictions

d. causal connections

d

what is correlation good for?

a. attributing causal connections between two factors

b. making great news headlines

c. make predictions about a factor based on another

d. learning new skills

c

a technique for localizing brain function

a. twin studies

b. introspection

c. ECG

d. TMS

d

Gestalt principles are based on the premise

a. 3D structure can be extracted from the 2D retinal image

b. illusions are false

c. the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

d. the simpler the better

c

which is most correct? binocular and monocular cues are

a. innate assumptions our brain makes about a 3D structure

b. clues about how the real world looks

c. a way of extracting the 2D image from the 3D structure

d. a way for blind people to see

a

a phenomenon resulting from damage to the cortex, but not the eyes or ocular nerve

a. unconscious sight

b. conscious sight

c. sight without seeing

d. blindsight

d

what is the main assumption behind the capacity theory of attention?

a. limited pool of attention

b. task difficulty matters

c. alertness matters

d. automaticity is important

a

why is the cocktail party effect a problem for early filter models of attention?

a. your attention is limited by the alcohol you consume

b. some words lead to distraction

c. your name has special meaning

d. meaning is processed

d

how are later filter models different from early filter models?

a. filter based on physical characteristics

b. filter before recognition

c. filter after recognition

d. filter with an attenuator and a dictionary unit

c

sensory memory is

a. representations combining all sensory organs

b. echoic memory

c. iconic memory

d. representations derived from each sensory organ

d

Miller’s magic number refers to

a. short term memory duration

b. working memory limitations

c. short term memory capacity

d. number of items forgotten immediately

c

Sperling developed a method to

a. limit the verbal responses

b. testing the limits of iconic memory

c. limit memory capacity

d. limit the decision requirements

b

proactive interference is when

a. old information interferes with new

b. new information interferes with old

a

Baddeley proposed the working memory model to

a. describe how information is manipulated and processed

b. describe capacity for memory while you work

c. describe how information is held in different modalities

d. add another component to the Modal Model

a

___ are organized units of knowledge that allow you to make inferences

a. spacing effects

b. schemas

c. levels of processing

d. perspectives

b

if you’re sad when you’re studying, you’ll do better if you’re sad when you take the test

a. context effects

b. self-referential effect

c. schema effects

d. state-dependent effects

d

when a memory is retrieved, it is necessary to store it again. this means

a. it is vulnerable to change

b. consolidation doesn’t happen

c. it involves the hippocampus again

d. you need some sleep

a

encoding elaboration helps memory because

a. it helps integrate information with prior knowledge

b. it allows you to organize information

c. it allows you to connect information to yourself

d. it allows you to connect information to the context

a

the inability to form new memories after injury is called _ and is thought to result from ____

a. anterograde amnesia; failure to consolidate

b. retrograde amnesia; failure to consolidate

c. anterograde amnesia; failure to recall

d. retrograde amnesia; failure to recall

a

transfer appropriate processing shows

a. levels of processing is false

b. matching processing at encoding and retrieval helps memory

c. encoding specificity isn’t real

d. shallow encoding is good for you

b

the exemplar theory differs from prototype theory because

a. it doesn’t explain the typicality effect

b. individual experiences are stored

c. it is based on family resemblanc

d. only the prototype is stored

b

flashbulb memories were originally conceived as

a. having a high degree detail that doesn’t fade over time

b. being associated with everyday events

c. leading to a traumatic experience

d. being associated with highly significant events

a

emotion is thought to _____ memory consolidatiion

a. enhance

b. inhibit

c. reduce

d. speed up

a

when you can’t remember where you encoded information and mistake where you got it from

a. misinformation

b. context effects

c. source misattribution

d. schema errors

c

experts naming an object will respond at the ___, but usually people will respond at the _____

a. basic level; superordinate level

b. basic level; subordinate level

c. subordinate level; basic level

d. superordinate level; basic level

c

these are obstacles to problem solving, except

a. fixation

b. mental set

c. functional fixedness

d. analogy

d

what did the “feeling of warmth” study show?

a. problem solving can be gauged

b. incremental and insight have solving times

c. incremental and insight have different underlying processes

d. problem solving makes you feel warm

c

time of day effects reveal that creativity is best at non-optimal times because

a. inhibition increases

b. more analytical thought possible

c. inhibition decreases

d. attention increases

c

what is the main difference between difference reduction and means-end analysis?

a. both always get closer to the goal

b. establishing sub-goals

c. both can get further away

d. establishing super-goals

b

Csikszentmihalyi argues that when in flow

a. you will find hope

b. time dilates

c. it is the same as meditation

d. you feel your “self” in the supreme

b

how do formal economic models explain decision making?

a. based on probability of outcome times monetary value

b. based on how people *should* make choices

c. based on how people *do* make choices

d. chose to alternative with the highest utility or benefit

b

all of these affect how people *do* make decisions except

a. loss aversion

b. anchoring

c. framing

d. value

d

representative heuristics has been linked to

a. pervasive beliefs

b. sexism

c. category membership

d. racial profiling

d

roommates often think they do more housework because

a. framing

b. hindsign

c. implicit biases

d. availability

d

confirmation bias refers to

a. tendency to look for info that negates belief

b. tendency to look for info that negates and supports belief

c. tendency to look for info that supports belief

d. tendency to not look for info

c

syllogisms represent

a. syllogistic reasoning

b. inductive reasoning

c. a thinking puzzle

d. deductive reasoning

d

anchoring refers to

a. real estate agents are bad at estimating

b. position you start from influences change you will accept

c. maintaining the status quo

d. losses are weighted as higher than gains

b

people not wanting to give up a newly acquired mug shows

a. loss aversion

b. anchoring

c. framing

d. utility

a

which of the following is NOT a stage in Donald Broadbent’s filter theory of attention?

a. two inputs are received in a sensory buffer

b. filter checks physical characteristics only

c. filter checks meaning

d. the selected input is sent to short term/working memory

c

different stories are presented to each ear and the listener is asked to repeat back one story

a. shadowing task

b. conjunction search

c. action slip

d. double ear listening

a

which statement is FALSE about the nature of human attention?

a. it involves alertness, awareness or arousal

b. it is a response to information in the environment

c. attention is unlimited

d. multitasking is possible with attention

c

which of following is an example of focused (selective) attention?

a. listening to a basketball game and playing a video game

b. focusing on voice of a person you are talking to at a party

c. taking notes and paying attention to lecture

d. talking on the phone and driving

b

encoding elaboration helps only when…

a. it includes extra information

b. it is short and efficient

c. it supports meaning of target

d. it happens quickly

c

schemas allow you to better encode memory because

a. it allows you to organize information

b. it allows you to connect information to your memory

c. it allows you to refer to your own personal experiences

d. it allows you to make inferences

a, d

having a specific perspective allowed participants to

a. notice specific details related to that perspective

b. notice unusual things

c. take their time

d. notice things opposite to their perspective

a

what is automaticity?

a. a computer automatically finishes the task for you

b. you consciously aware of mental effort exerted

c. task performed with no mental effort

d. interference with other tasks

c

when targets “pop out”, that means

a. you’re doing well

b. there must be a 3D effect

c. you have practiced the task a lot

d. the search is an automatic task

d

the Stroop Effect demonstrates that

a. you have little control over automatic processing

b. naming colours is difficult

c. you are weak willed

d. practice has no effect

a

disadvantages of automaticity are that

a. difficult to develop over time

b. much effort is needed to get to it

c. difficult to override

d. there are better ways to do tasks

c

declarative memories are likely to be __, while nondeclarative memories are likely to be ____

a. implicit; explicit

b. formal; informal

c. informal; formal

d. explicit; implicit

d

the kind of memory that is thought to be largely similar across different people is

a. paralinguistic

b. episodic

c. direct

d. semantic

d

implicit memory includes all these except

a. conditioning

b. priming

c. procedural skills

d. semantic

d

what is transduction?

a. transformation of stimuli to a representation

b. changing a physical stimulus to neural energy

c. changing of a signal to physical stimulus

d. transformation of a perception to a thought

b

example of binocular cues

a. motion parallax

b. shading

c. interposition

d. convergence

d

the farther something is away, the more hazy it is

a. aerial perspective

b. shading

c. texture gradient

d. interposition

a

the faster an object goes by, the closer it is

a. texture gradient

b. interposition

c. motion parallax

d. aerial perspective

c

echoic memory duration is about

a. 1-2 seconds

b. 3-4 seconds

c. 100 milliseconds

d. 10 seconds

a

recency effect is caused by

a. your ability to recall information you experienced recently

b. you think about more recent things more accurately

c. your ability to replay the last sounds you heard

d. a very large capacity memory

c

what is attentional capacity?

a. total mental resources recovered when sleeping

b. total mental resources allocated toward different tasks

c. capacity to learn something new

d. mental representation partitions directed to different tasks

b

some factors that determine whether someone’s attention capacity is exceeded

a. effort and alertness

b. distraction

c. mind-wandering

d. headache

a

which is false? short term memory is

a. where you put and store information

b. the information you’re currently thinking about

c. the information that will soon disappear

d. rehearsal of information

c

how can you increase your STM capacity?

a. silent environment

b. rehearsal

c. well-rested

d. chunking

d

getting context before helps because

a. helps to organize and interpret the information

b. helps with retrieving the information

c. gives you the right perspective

d. helps you recognize the words in a paragraph

a

inductive reasoning refers to

a. drawing conclusions from specific facts

b. drawing conclusions from broad premises

a

both __ and ___ make reasoning more difficult

a. generalizations; quantifiers

b. generalizations; negation

c. quantifiers; negation

d. true, valid

c

experience helps with reasoning because of all of the following except

a. it allows us to think of situations that falsify the rule

b. it allows us to use true and valid premises

c. it allows us to apply our knowledge of the real world

d. it allows us to make abstract concepts more concrete

b

what is the psychological refractory period?

a. period of rest

b. recovery time for a task

c. response selection bottle neck

d. result of refractory tasks

c

what is attentional neglect?

a. fail to attend

b. disorder in which people fail to attend to one side

c. neglecting to attend to something

d. failing to attend to something obvious

b

when inattentional blindness occurs, you

a. are distracted by irrelevant information

b. are blinking

c. are misdirected by environmental cues

d. fail to notice other things happening in your environment

d

feature integration theory posits that attention

a. binds features into objects

b. is responsible for serial processing of features

c. is activated to form objects

d. is necessary for basic perception

a

some jobs require that automaticity be avoided

a. to avoid not making mistakes

b. to avoid not paying attention

c. to avoid making mistakes

d. to avoid paying attention

b

studying in a noisy room may impair recall in the quiet of an exam room

a. encoding specificity

b. recognition failure

c. memory overlap

d. cue effectiveness

a

spacing effect shows ___ for better immediate and _____ for better long term tests

a. spaced-practice; massed-practice

b. massed-practice; spaced-practice

b

self-reference effect allows for

a. making information more salient

b. making information more semantic

c. making information more meaningful

d. making information more like you

c

modern racism and sexism often stems from

a. implicit biases

b. stereotypes

c. discrimination

d. pervasive beliefs, resistant to extinction

a

what is selective attention?

a. a reflection of limited capacity

b. a process to increase the availability of information

c. selection of relevant information

d. selection of the most interesting information

c

what is an early selection model of attention?

a. filter information before recognition and meaning

b. filter information with knowledge and memory

c. filter information after recognition and meaning

d. limit input of sensory information

a

what is attentional capacity?

a. total mental resources recovered when sleeping

b. total mental resources allocated toward different tasks

c. capacity to learn something new

d. mental representation partitions directed to different tasks

b

who criticized Wundt, saying introspection was too subjective?

a. Watson

b. Skinner

c. Pavlov

d. Milgram

a

incubation works by all these except

a. mental set strengths

b. let unimportant information go

c. find a new analogy

d. see new cues

a

childhood amnesia refers to

a. adults inability to recall childhood memory

b. young children do not create memories

c. children’s inability to recall childhood memory

d. amnesia caused by injury during childhood

a

relative size is

a. that thing look smaller in the distance

b. that things of the same size look different

c. that things look larger in the distance

d. that bigger is always better

a

how is information stored in LTM?

a. music

b. sounds

c. words

d. meaning

d

knowledge originates in experience and that science should rely on observation and experimentation

a. behaviourism

b. empiricism

c. structuralism

d. functionalism

b

research that aims to confirm an existing theory

a. psychodynamic research

b. applied research

c. basic research

d. cognitive research

c

school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioural processes let us to adapt and survive

a. functionalism

b. structuralism

c. psychdynamic

d. behaviourism

a

information comes into a neuron through the ____

a. axon

b. dendrites

c. myelin sheath

d. nodes of ranvier

b

advances of brain imaging techniques have enabled scientists to observe and describe what?

a. how phobias are created

b. neurological bases of mental processes

c. how schizophrenia runs in families

d. none of the above

b

the subcortical structure important for memory is the

a. thalamus

b. corpus collosum

c. hippocampus

d. hypothalamus

c

which lobe of the cortex is most important for vision?

a. frontal

b. parietal

c. temporal

d. occipital

d

which neuroimaging technique uses magnetic fields to disrupt normal electrical brain activity?

a. CT scan

b. MRI scan

c. ERP recordings

d. TMS

d

Collins and Quillian’s model explains priming through

a. sentence verification task

b. property inheritance

c. spread of activation

d. schemas

c

the war of ghosts experiment showed

a. the typicality effect

b. memory is reconstructive

c. schemas are great

d. the prototype effect

b