PYC3703 : Cognition: Thinking,
Memory and Problem Solving
500 pages
of exams and
assignments
Answer, explanations and page numbers
provided
Please don't hesitate to contact me anytime for help
Please don't share this document with others as it is illegal to do so. If you want to share it please
ask me for permission first. Thank you for your support. :)
,PYC3703 - Previous Assignments
Assignment 1 – 2009
QUESTION 1
Rationalism is to (a) - - - - - as empiricism is to (b) - - - - -.
1. (a) empirical evidence (b) logical deduction
2. (a) theory (b) logical deduction
3. (a) observation (b) theory
4. (a) theory (b) empirical evidence
Option 4 is correct. According to the rationalist position, ‘true’ knowledge is acquired with the
aid of theoretical analysis and logical deduction whereas empiricists maintain that
knowledge derives from observational evidence and therefore that empirical research is
required (see CP, p. 4).
QUESTION 2
The concept - - - - refers to Locke’s belief that all knowledge is gained empirically, beginning
at birth, when our minds are a blank slate.
1. innate
2. a priori
3. a posteriori
4. tabula rasa
Option 4 is correct. Tabula rasa means “blank slate”. As a firm believer in empiricism Locke
argued that the human mind has no knowledge at birth and that all knowledge is acquired
via the senses (see CP, p. 5).
QUESTION 3
A psychologist lecturing on the psychology of perception makes the following statement:
In perception pattern and organisation are primary. These aspects often emerge directly
from the relationship between discrete elements, and they cannot be deduced from a
knowledge of the individual elements alone. Indeed, at times elements can be missing or
altered yet the overall shape will be perceived directly, showing that overall form is primary.
From the statement above we can infer that the psychologist is probably a supporter of:
1. behaviourism
2. Descartes’ rationalism
3. gestalt psychology
4. structuralism
The key phrases in the quotation are (a) “they (i.e. pattern and organisation) cannot be
deduced from knowledge of individual elements alone”, and (b) “elements can be missing
or altered, yet the overall shape will be perceived directly”. According to the psychologist
therefore pattern and organisation cannot be simply inferred from the elements of the
perception and something “more” is at stake. As these phrases show, the psychologist adopts
Page 1 of 104
, PYC3703 - Previous Assignments
the basic assumption of the gestalt psychologists, and Option 3 is therefore correct.
Remember that the slogan of the gestalt psychologists is that the percept is not simply ‘the
sum of its part’, but that there is something extra, an essential property contained in the
whole entity.
QUESTION 4
During the 1950s, many psychologists were becoming disillusioned with behaviourism, and
cognitive psychology began to emerge. A major reason why they were disappointed with
behaviourism is because it
1. only examined psychological processes that were observable
2. paid too much attention to individual differences
3. failed to develop objective methods of measuring behaviour
4. focused too much on emotional factors, and not enough on observable behaviours
Option 1 is correct. Cognitive psychology emerged mainly in reaction to the extreme
assumptions of the behaviourists. They argued that only observable aspects should be
studied and that the internal mechanisms of mind cannot be explored in a scientific manner
(see CP, p. 8). The big problem with the behaviourist methodology is that one is forced to
postulate cognitive factors that are not directly observable, in order to explain reasonably
complex psychological processes such as language, memory, and reasoning.
QUESTION 5
The primary contribution that Hermann Ebbinghaus made in his memory research to
contemporary cognitive psychology was his
1. objections to the excessive emphasis placed on ecological validity in memory studies
2. use of research employing large samples of subjects
3. emphasis on a systematic, well-controlled approach to the study of memory
4. development of a theory of top-down memory processing
Option 3 is correct. Ebbinghaus is mainly known for conducting systematic research on his
own memory processes (see CP, p. 8). Option 2 is incorrect because Ebbinghaus’s memory
research was based on a single subject design in which he used himself as the only subject.
Option 1 is wrong since he did not object to ecological validity, and did not use a strict
laboratory and controlled environment typical of experimental approaches but
experimented on himself. Option 4 is also incorrect because Ebbinghaus followed a rather
data-oriented, bottom-up approach and did not focus on the effect that top-down factors
such as background knowledge and context have on memory recall.
QUESTION 6
The landmark experiment in which dogs salivate at the sight of the person who feeds them,
exemplifies early behaviourist experimentation on the process of
1. classically conditioned learning.
2. instrumental learning.
Page 2 of 104
Memory and Problem Solving
500 pages
of exams and
assignments
Answer, explanations and page numbers
provided
Please don't hesitate to contact me anytime for help
Please don't share this document with others as it is illegal to do so. If you want to share it please
ask me for permission first. Thank you for your support. :)
,PYC3703 - Previous Assignments
Assignment 1 – 2009
QUESTION 1
Rationalism is to (a) - - - - - as empiricism is to (b) - - - - -.
1. (a) empirical evidence (b) logical deduction
2. (a) theory (b) logical deduction
3. (a) observation (b) theory
4. (a) theory (b) empirical evidence
Option 4 is correct. According to the rationalist position, ‘true’ knowledge is acquired with the
aid of theoretical analysis and logical deduction whereas empiricists maintain that
knowledge derives from observational evidence and therefore that empirical research is
required (see CP, p. 4).
QUESTION 2
The concept - - - - refers to Locke’s belief that all knowledge is gained empirically, beginning
at birth, when our minds are a blank slate.
1. innate
2. a priori
3. a posteriori
4. tabula rasa
Option 4 is correct. Tabula rasa means “blank slate”. As a firm believer in empiricism Locke
argued that the human mind has no knowledge at birth and that all knowledge is acquired
via the senses (see CP, p. 5).
QUESTION 3
A psychologist lecturing on the psychology of perception makes the following statement:
In perception pattern and organisation are primary. These aspects often emerge directly
from the relationship between discrete elements, and they cannot be deduced from a
knowledge of the individual elements alone. Indeed, at times elements can be missing or
altered yet the overall shape will be perceived directly, showing that overall form is primary.
From the statement above we can infer that the psychologist is probably a supporter of:
1. behaviourism
2. Descartes’ rationalism
3. gestalt psychology
4. structuralism
The key phrases in the quotation are (a) “they (i.e. pattern and organisation) cannot be
deduced from knowledge of individual elements alone”, and (b) “elements can be missing
or altered, yet the overall shape will be perceived directly”. According to the psychologist
therefore pattern and organisation cannot be simply inferred from the elements of the
perception and something “more” is at stake. As these phrases show, the psychologist adopts
Page 1 of 104
, PYC3703 - Previous Assignments
the basic assumption of the gestalt psychologists, and Option 3 is therefore correct.
Remember that the slogan of the gestalt psychologists is that the percept is not simply ‘the
sum of its part’, but that there is something extra, an essential property contained in the
whole entity.
QUESTION 4
During the 1950s, many psychologists were becoming disillusioned with behaviourism, and
cognitive psychology began to emerge. A major reason why they were disappointed with
behaviourism is because it
1. only examined psychological processes that were observable
2. paid too much attention to individual differences
3. failed to develop objective methods of measuring behaviour
4. focused too much on emotional factors, and not enough on observable behaviours
Option 1 is correct. Cognitive psychology emerged mainly in reaction to the extreme
assumptions of the behaviourists. They argued that only observable aspects should be
studied and that the internal mechanisms of mind cannot be explored in a scientific manner
(see CP, p. 8). The big problem with the behaviourist methodology is that one is forced to
postulate cognitive factors that are not directly observable, in order to explain reasonably
complex psychological processes such as language, memory, and reasoning.
QUESTION 5
The primary contribution that Hermann Ebbinghaus made in his memory research to
contemporary cognitive psychology was his
1. objections to the excessive emphasis placed on ecological validity in memory studies
2. use of research employing large samples of subjects
3. emphasis on a systematic, well-controlled approach to the study of memory
4. development of a theory of top-down memory processing
Option 3 is correct. Ebbinghaus is mainly known for conducting systematic research on his
own memory processes (see CP, p. 8). Option 2 is incorrect because Ebbinghaus’s memory
research was based on a single subject design in which he used himself as the only subject.
Option 1 is wrong since he did not object to ecological validity, and did not use a strict
laboratory and controlled environment typical of experimental approaches but
experimented on himself. Option 4 is also incorrect because Ebbinghaus followed a rather
data-oriented, bottom-up approach and did not focus on the effect that top-down factors
such as background knowledge and context have on memory recall.
QUESTION 6
The landmark experiment in which dogs salivate at the sight of the person who feeds them,
exemplifies early behaviourist experimentation on the process of
1. classically conditioned learning.
2. instrumental learning.
Page 2 of 104
