Row 1
Liam confidently draws a penny from memory but puts Lincoln's face, the date, and the words in the wrong places. He has seen pennies thousands of times. Which explanation best fits his mistake?
Encoding Failure
A researcher argues that even though a student excels at music and another excels at mathematics, both abilities may still be influenced by a general mental ability that contributes to performance across different tasks. Which psychologist proposed this general intelligence factor, commonly called g?
Charles Spearman
A student sorts animals into categories such as mammals, reptiles, and birds. What mental process are they using?
Concept
A student’s heart begins racing at the same time they experience fear. Which theory says physiological arousal and the conscious experience of emotion occur simultaneously?
Canon-Bard Theory
A student can recognize patterns in unfamiliar problems, but struggles to use facts and vocabulary learned throughout school. According to Cattell’s theory, which type of intelligence is stronger, and which is weaker?
Stronger fluid intelligence; weaker crystallized intelligence.
After hearing a loud noise, Pat notices a racing heart and sweaty palms, then interprets those bodily changes as fear. Which theory of emotion most closely matches this sequence?
James-Lange Theory
After receiving a promotion, Alex predicts that the higher salary and status will make them permanently happier. Months later, the excitement fades and daily life feels normal again. Which concept best explains the mismatch between Alex's prediction and experience?
The Hedonic Tredmill
A student cannot figure out how to use a paper clip to reset a device because they can think of the clip only as something used to hold papers together. What obstacle to problem-solving is this?
Functional Fixedness
One student listens to loud music because silence feels understimulating. Another turns the music off because it is overwhelming. Both want to feel comfortable, but they make opposite choices. Which theory best explains this difference?
Arousal Theory
A student studies a term repeatedly and recognizes it immediately when shown the textbook, but cannot produce the term during a closed-book exam. Which type of memory problem best fits this situation?
Retrieval Failure
After going several hours without food, a student feels hungry and goes to eat. Which motivation theory best explains this behavior?
Drive-reduction Theory
Jordan remembers the letters FBI, CIA, and NASA as familiar groups rather than trying to memorize every letter separately. What memory technique is this?
Chunking
After a difficult breakup, Jordan predicts they will feel miserable for months. Jordan focuses almost entirely on the breakup and fails to consider how their coping mechanisms and support system will help them recover. Which two psychological concepts explain why Jordan overestimates the intensity and duration of their future distress?
focalism and immune neglect
A person experiences increased heart rate while crossing a scary bridge, then feels unusually attracted to someone they meet there. What process could explain the effect of the bridge-related arousal?
Excitation transfer
After discussing an accident with another witness, a student remembers a stop sign that they never actually saw. The other witness had mentioned it. What phenomenon best explains this?
Misinformation Effect
A restaurant changes its menu description from “10% fat” to “90% fat-free.” Customers respond more positively, even though the information describes the same proportion. What cognitive bias or effect is demonstrated?
Framing
After seeing several news reports about house fires, someone becomes convinced that house fires are extremely common because examples immediately come to mind. Which heuristic is operating?
Availability Heuristic
A student feels sadness after learning that a beloved pet has died. What is the feeling state tied to this particular event called?
Emotion
A student is excellent at recognizing other people's feelings and resolving disagreements but struggles to understand their own emotional reactions. Which type of intelligence is the student demonstrating most clearly, according to Gardner?
Interpersonal Intelligence
A high school student takes a standardized test intended to estimate how prepared they are for future college-level work, rather than measuring mastery of one specific class. Which type of test is this?
Aptitude Test