PSYCHOLOGY THEMES AND VARIATIONS
DOUG MCCANN EXAM PREP 2026 STUDY
GUIDE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FULLY
SOLVED GRADED A+
◉ introspect. Answer: the process of examining one's own internal
thoughts and feelings
◉ selective attention. Answer: the act of focusing one's awareness
onto a particular aspect of one's experience, to the exclusion of
everything else
◉ inattentional blindness. Answer: a failure to perceive information
that is outside the focus of one's attention
◉ change blindness. Answer: a form of inattentional blindess, which
a person fails to notice changes in a visual stimulus
◉ automaticity. Answer: the ability to perform a task without
conscious awareness or attention
,◉ cognitive unconscious. Answer: the various mental processes that
support everyday functioning without conscious awareness or
control
◉ subliminal perception. Answer: a form of perception that occurs
without conscious awareness
◉ default mode network. Answer: an interconnected system of brain
regions that are active when the mind is alert and aware but not
focused on any particular task, such as during mind wandering
◉ global workspace hypothesis. Answer: the hypothesis that
conscious awareness arises from synchronised activity, from across
various brain regions, that is integrated into coherent
representations of an experience
◉ circadian rhythm. Answer: a regular, 24 hour pattern of bodily
arousal. also known as the biological rhythm or biological clock
◉ sleep. Answer: a regularly occurring state of altered
consciousness that happens when arousal is very low
◉ beta waves. Answer: high-frequency, low-amplitude electrical
waves in the brain (measured by EEG) that occur in a rhythmic
pattern and are associated with being awake and actively thinking
, ◉ alpha waves. Answer: low frequency, high amplitude electrical
waves in the brain (measured by EEG) that occur in a rhythmic
pattern and are associated with being awake yet relaxed with the
eyes closed
◉ hallucinations. Answer: sensory experience, such as sights and
sounds, that happen in the absence of any true sensor input
◉ delta waves. Answer: very-low-frequency, high-amplitude
electrical waves in the brain (measured by EEG) that occur in a
rhythmic pattern and are associated with deep, stage 3 sleep
◉ rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Answer: a stage of sleep
characterised by rapid eye movements, brain activity similar to
wakefulness, faster heart and breathing rates, inability to move the
skeletal muscles, and dreams
◉ unihemispheric sleep. Answer: a pattern of sleep in which only
one half of the brain experiences slow-wave sleep at a time, while
the other half remains awake
◉ insomnia. Answer: a sleep disorder involving chronic difficulties
with falling or staying asleep
DOUG MCCANN EXAM PREP 2026 STUDY
GUIDE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FULLY
SOLVED GRADED A+
◉ introspect. Answer: the process of examining one's own internal
thoughts and feelings
◉ selective attention. Answer: the act of focusing one's awareness
onto a particular aspect of one's experience, to the exclusion of
everything else
◉ inattentional blindness. Answer: a failure to perceive information
that is outside the focus of one's attention
◉ change blindness. Answer: a form of inattentional blindess, which
a person fails to notice changes in a visual stimulus
◉ automaticity. Answer: the ability to perform a task without
conscious awareness or attention
,◉ cognitive unconscious. Answer: the various mental processes that
support everyday functioning without conscious awareness or
control
◉ subliminal perception. Answer: a form of perception that occurs
without conscious awareness
◉ default mode network. Answer: an interconnected system of brain
regions that are active when the mind is alert and aware but not
focused on any particular task, such as during mind wandering
◉ global workspace hypothesis. Answer: the hypothesis that
conscious awareness arises from synchronised activity, from across
various brain regions, that is integrated into coherent
representations of an experience
◉ circadian rhythm. Answer: a regular, 24 hour pattern of bodily
arousal. also known as the biological rhythm or biological clock
◉ sleep. Answer: a regularly occurring state of altered
consciousness that happens when arousal is very low
◉ beta waves. Answer: high-frequency, low-amplitude electrical
waves in the brain (measured by EEG) that occur in a rhythmic
pattern and are associated with being awake and actively thinking
, ◉ alpha waves. Answer: low frequency, high amplitude electrical
waves in the brain (measured by EEG) that occur in a rhythmic
pattern and are associated with being awake yet relaxed with the
eyes closed
◉ hallucinations. Answer: sensory experience, such as sights and
sounds, that happen in the absence of any true sensor input
◉ delta waves. Answer: very-low-frequency, high-amplitude
electrical waves in the brain (measured by EEG) that occur in a
rhythmic pattern and are associated with deep, stage 3 sleep
◉ rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Answer: a stage of sleep
characterised by rapid eye movements, brain activity similar to
wakefulness, faster heart and breathing rates, inability to move the
skeletal muscles, and dreams
◉ unihemispheric sleep. Answer: a pattern of sleep in which only
one half of the brain experiences slow-wave sleep at a time, while
the other half remains awake
◉ insomnia. Answer: a sleep disorder involving chronic difficulties
with falling or staying asleep
