Cognition 1
Which of the following scenarios best demonstrates context-dependent memory?
A. Carol performs better in her recital when she practices in short sessions, several times a day.
B. Edgar solves his jigsaw puzzles faster when he completes the edges first.
C. Rosemarie shoots more accurately at her archery competition when other people are around.
D. Jeannette does better on her exam when she takes it in the same room where she studies.
Jeannette does better on her exam when she takes it in the same room where she studies.
The process of memory retrieval can be enhanced when people are in the same environmental space (context-dependent memory), mood (mood-congruent memory), or physical state (state-dependent memory) as they were when they encoded the information to be retrieved.
The brain scans of people with amnesia are most likely to show damage to the
A. hippocampus
B. hypothalamus
C. medulla
D. cerebellum
hippocampus (stores memories; storage processes may be negatively affected by physical impairment and developmental limitations, such as amnesia (retrograde and anterograde), Alzheimer's disease, and infantile amnesia.)
Memories of well-learned skills, such as riding a bicycle, are classified as
A. iconic
B. semantic
C. echoic
D. procedural
Procedural
(a type of long-term memory that stores how to perform actions and tasks)
A test author most interested in ensuring that individuals receive similar scores on a personality test every time they take it is attempting to increase which of the following?
A. Validity
B. Reliability
C. Experimenter-expectancy effects
D. Standardization
Reliability
(A test is considered reliable if it yields similar results each time it is administered. Types of reliability include test-retest and split-half.)
Dr. Meerdink wants to know if creativity varies throughout the day. In a morning class, she asks her college students to list as many uses as possible for a stick. On the same day 12 hours later, she asks students in an evening class to list as many uses as possible for a stick.
Which of the following factors is the dependent variable?
A. Morning
B. Evening
C. Creativity
D. College students
Creativity
(the study of the experiment, the variable that is not changing)
Hearing the word “ocean” makes Alice think of waves, surfboards, bathing suits, sharks, swimmers, boats, and the beach. The associations she has to the word “ocean” represent which of the following concepts?
A. Procedural memory
B. Sensory memory
C. Accommodation
D. Schema
Schema
(a structured framework or pattern that organizes information or knowledge)
Using a mathematical formula to find the solution to a problem is an example of
A. elaborative rehearsal
B. a means-end analysis
C. an algorithm
D. divergent thinking
an algorithm
(step by step procedure of solving a problem or coming to a conclusion)
Jim has seen reports of a number of cases of Ebola on the news. He is more afraid of contracting Ebola than tuberculosis, even though the risk of infection of tuberculosis is greater than that of Ebola. Jim’s fear would most likely be attributed to
A. the representative heuristic
B. the availability heuristic
C. an illusory correlation
D. functional fixedness
the availability heuristic
(recalling the first or most vivid example that comes to mind)
A psychologist designed a study to test the effects of cell phone use on driving safety. Participants were randomly assigned either to drive an automobile simulator while talking to a friend on a cell phone or to drive a simulator without talking on a phone.
In the study, cell phone use can be described as
A. a dependent variable
B. an independent variable
C. a confounding variable
D. a random variable
an independent variable
(thing that is changing in the experiment)
Research finds that, in general, the higher an incoming college student scores on an aptitude test, the higher the student’s college grade point average (GPA). Which of the following best describes this relationship?
A. A bimodal distribution
B. A normal distribution
C. A skewed distribution
D. A positive correlation
A positive correlation (both variables moving in the same direction at the same time)
Which of the following is the best example of an aptitude test?
A. A teacher gives a test in class every three weeks to see what students learned.
B. A company tests applicants for a personality trait that is linked to better job performance.
C. A teenager must earn a passing score on a written test to get their driver’s license.
D. A football coach compares each player's leg strength before and after implementing a new conditioning program.
A company tests applicants for a personality trait that is linked to better job performance. (predict how someone will perform in the future)
If Juan tried to learn a long list of words, he would be most likely to forget words that
A. appeared early in the list
B. appeared near the end of the list
C. appeared in the middle of the list
D. were very unlike the rest of the words
appeared in the middle of the list
(serial position effect, giving us the primacy effect and recency effect)
Joe’s best friend Liz says, “I heard the best joke from my sister” and then proceeds to tell Joe the joke that he had told her last week. Liz is most likely experiencing
A. retrieval failure
B. retrograde amnesia
C. encoding failure
D. source amnesia
source amnesia
(amnesia/forgetfulness based around where the information came from)
Dr. Larson was interested in whether classical music helps students perform better on a test. Dr. Larson randomly assigned half of the study's participants to a group that listened to classical music while taking a test. The other half of the participants did not listen to music while taking a test. The research design Dr. Larson used is
A. a case study
B. an experiment
C. naturalistic observation
D. a correlational study
Experiment
(Random assignment and cause and effect are hallmarks of the experimental design.)
A researcher shows the same video of an automobile accident to two different groups of participants.
Participants in group one are asked: “Did you see a broken headlight?”
Participants in group two are asked: “Did you see the broken headlight?”
The researcher finds that participants in group two are much more likely to recall having seen a broken headlight, even though there actually was no broken headlight in the video. The researcher is investigating the effects of which of the following on recall?
A. Heuristics
B. framing
C. Proactive interference
D. The primacy effect
Framing
(the way information is presented, which can significantly influence how individuals perceive and evaluate that information, ultimately affecting their decisions and behaviors)
A research team wanted to measure how smart Chris was. The researchers measured how many math questions Chris got correct on his final exam. This measurement constituted which of the following?
A. Correlational Variable
B. Independent Variable
C. Operational Definition
D. Measure of Central Tendency
Operational Definition
(defining smart as how many math questions he answers correctly)
Corey has a list of things he needs from the grocery store but forgets his list at home. At the store, Corey struggles to remember the items on his list, but when he sees a display of oranges, he remembers that oranges were on his list. This is an example of
A. recall
B. recognition
C. working memory
D. sensory memory
Recognition
The process of memory retrieval occurs through recall (remembering without cues) or recognition (which relies on retrieval cues).
Mary is introduced to three new people at a party. Later, however, she cannot remember the names of any of her new acquaintances, even though she remembers what she ate, her old friends who were there, and the address of the host. What may account for Mary’s inability to remember these individuals’ names?
A. She processed them into long-term memory, and they are no longer accessible from short-term memory.
B. There were many activities at the party. She probably exceeded the capacity of her long-term memory.
C. She never encoded the names into long-term memory
D. She experienced a failure of her echoic memory.
She never encoded the names into long-term memory
(Encoding involves processes and strategies to get information into memory. How information is encoded can determine how effectively information is stored and retrieved.)
Dr. Adeyemi obtains IRB approval for a study examining the effects of growth mindset versus fixed mindset on people’s motivation for learning new information. They recruit 80 participants and receive informed consent from them. Participants then complete a questionnaire about learning strategies. Next, the participants are told that, based on their results, they are either able to readily learn new information or that they will struggle to learn new information. In reality, this questionnaire is meaningless, and participants are randomly told fake results. After hearing their results, the participants are then tested on their ability to learn complex new information. In terms of ethical procedures, after the data are collected, it will be important for Dr. Adeyemi to do which of the following?
A. Fully debrief the participants on the deception involved in the study
B. Report each participant’s results to the IRB.
C. Destroy all informed consent forms.
D. File the results with IRB.
Fully debrief the participants on the deception involved in the study
(ethical procedure states following any research study the participants must be debriefed on the study, what it was looking for, and why it was conducted)
A double-blind control is essential for which of the following?
A. A study comparing the IQ test scores of children from different educational systems
B. A study of relationships among family members
C. Assessment of a treatment designed to reduce schizophrenic symptoms
D. A survey of drug use among teenagers
C. Assessment of a treatment designed to reduce schizophrenic symptoms
(patients and physicians both don't know who has real and fake medication)
Which of the following scenarios is best explained by long-term potentiation?
A. Erik and Harry don’t like each other when they are first assigned to the same a room during a class trip, but after spending a great deal of time together, they begin to like each other more.
B. When Sruthi first enters a dark room after coming in from outside, she can’t see anything, but her eyes adjust after a few minutes.
C. At first, Benjamin needs to drink only a small amount of a caffeinated beverage to feel its effects, but after drinking it regularly for a while, he needs more to feel the same effects.
D. The first time Colleen tries to remember Leo’s name it takes her a long time, but over time she remembers it more quickly.
The first time Colleen tries to remember Leo’s name it takes her a long time, but over time she remembers it more quickly.
(Long-term potentiation, a process by which synaptic connections between neurons become stronger with frequent activation, is a biological process for memory.)
Piper reads about someone described as adventurous and extroverted. She then judges that this person is more likely to be a lawyer who enjoys hiking than a lawyer who does not. The best explanation for Piper’s error is that she is basing her judgment on
A. the availability heuristic
B. the representativeness heuristic
C. confirmation bias
D. predictable world bias
the representativeness heuristic (Using heuristics can lead to errors in judgment when decisions are made according to prior expectations or stereotypes (representativeness heuristic))
Matthew’s parents are physicists, and so are the parents of several of his best friends. Therefore, Matthew believes that many people are employed as physicists. Matthew’s reasoning is based on
A. the availability heuristic
B. the conjunction fallacy
C. the representativeness heuristic
D. a mental set
the availability heuristic
(a cognitive bias where people estimate the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples, instances, or cases come to mind)
Dr. Antonio conducted a study on a patient who was experiencing extreme depression and was suicidal. Dr. Antonio recorded the patient’s thoughts and actions in an attempt to determine what thoughts most likely led to the suicidal ideation. What type of study is Dr. Antonio conducting, and what conclusion can he make?
A. Dr. Antonio is conducting a case study, and he can conclude that certain thoughts led to suicidal ideation.
B. Dr. Antonio is conducting a case study, and he can conclude that certain actions led to suicidal ideation.
C. Dr. Antonio is conducting a case study, and he can conclude that for this patient certain thoughts are related to suicidal ideation.
D. Dr. Antonio is conducting a naturalistic observation, and he can conclude that for this patient certain thoughts are related to suicidal ideation.
Dr. Antonio is conducting a case study, and he can conclude that for this patient certain thoughts are related to suicidal ideation.
Participants were asked to rate the importance of achieving honor-roll status. Researchers found that students from smaller families rated the importance more highly than students from larger families. The research team concluded that a student’s attitude toward school achievement is the result of family size. Which of the following is the most important error made by the research team?
A. Generalizing from extreme examples
B. Using self-report data
C. Failing to randomly assign participants to conditions
D. Assuming that correlation proves causation
Assuming that correlation proves causation