WGU D570 Cognitive Psychology OA & Pre-
Assessment | Updated 2026 Edition | Practice
Questions, Accurate Answers & Rationales | Complete
Study Guide | Instant PDF
Question 1
A researcher is conducting an experiment where
participants are asked to determine whether two
visual stimuli are the same or different while their
brain activity is measured. Which type of brain imaging
technique would be most appropriate for observing
activated areas during this cognitive task without
using radioactive tracers?
A) PET scan
B) EEG
C) fMRI
D) CT scan
Correct Answer: C) fMRI
Rationale: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(fMRI) is a brain imaging technique introduced in
1990 that allows observation of activated areas in
the human brain during cognitive activity without
,radioactive tracers. This technique measures blood
flow changes associated with neural activity, making it
ideal for studying cognitive processes such as
perception, attention, and memory.
Question 2
During a psychology lecture, a student silently repeats
the instructor's key points to themselves before
writing them down. According to Baddeley's model of
working memory, which component is the student
primarily using?
A) Visuospatial sketch pad
B) Central executive
C) Articulatory rehearsal process
D) Episodic buffer
Correct Answer: C) Articulatory rehearsal process
Rationale: The articulatory rehearsal process is a
component of the phonological loop that allows for the
subvocal repetition of verbal information to maintain it
in working memory. By silently repeating what the
instructor said before writing it down, the student is
,using this process to keep the information active in
their phonological loop.
Question 3
A child reads the following incorrect sentence: "The car
was traveling down the hills were beautiful." The child
initially interprets the sentence as describing a car
traveling but then changes their interpretation to
understand that the hills are beautiful. Which
cognitive process does this illustrate?
A) Garden path model of parsing
B) Anaphoric inference
C) Causal inference
D) Lexical ambiguity resolution
Correct Answer: A) Garden path model of parsing
Rationale: The garden path model of parsing describes
how readers initially interpret a sentence based on the
simplest syntactic structure but must revise their
interpretation when the initial parse leads to an
incorrect or confusing interpretation. In this case, the
reader initially structures "the car was traveling down"
, before realizing that "the hills were beautiful"
requires reanalysis of the sentence structure.
Question 4
While studying in a noisy coffee shop, a student is able
to focus solely on their textbook, tuning out
surrounding conversations and background music. Which
cognitive phenomenon does this scenario illustrate?
A) Divided attention
B) Inattentional blindness
C) Selective attention
D) Change blindness
Correct Answer: C) Selective attention
Rationale: Selective attention is the ability to focus
consciousness on specific stimuli while tuning out
others, often illustrated through the spotlight
analogy. The student's ability to focus on their
textbook despite competing auditory stimuli
demonstrates this cognitive process, which is essential
for effective learning in distracting environments.
Assessment | Updated 2026 Edition | Practice
Questions, Accurate Answers & Rationales | Complete
Study Guide | Instant PDF
Question 1
A researcher is conducting an experiment where
participants are asked to determine whether two
visual stimuli are the same or different while their
brain activity is measured. Which type of brain imaging
technique would be most appropriate for observing
activated areas during this cognitive task without
using radioactive tracers?
A) PET scan
B) EEG
C) fMRI
D) CT scan
Correct Answer: C) fMRI
Rationale: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(fMRI) is a brain imaging technique introduced in
1990 that allows observation of activated areas in
the human brain during cognitive activity without
,radioactive tracers. This technique measures blood
flow changes associated with neural activity, making it
ideal for studying cognitive processes such as
perception, attention, and memory.
Question 2
During a psychology lecture, a student silently repeats
the instructor's key points to themselves before
writing them down. According to Baddeley's model of
working memory, which component is the student
primarily using?
A) Visuospatial sketch pad
B) Central executive
C) Articulatory rehearsal process
D) Episodic buffer
Correct Answer: C) Articulatory rehearsal process
Rationale: The articulatory rehearsal process is a
component of the phonological loop that allows for the
subvocal repetition of verbal information to maintain it
in working memory. By silently repeating what the
instructor said before writing it down, the student is
,using this process to keep the information active in
their phonological loop.
Question 3
A child reads the following incorrect sentence: "The car
was traveling down the hills were beautiful." The child
initially interprets the sentence as describing a car
traveling but then changes their interpretation to
understand that the hills are beautiful. Which
cognitive process does this illustrate?
A) Garden path model of parsing
B) Anaphoric inference
C) Causal inference
D) Lexical ambiguity resolution
Correct Answer: A) Garden path model of parsing
Rationale: The garden path model of parsing describes
how readers initially interpret a sentence based on the
simplest syntactic structure but must revise their
interpretation when the initial parse leads to an
incorrect or confusing interpretation. In this case, the
reader initially structures "the car was traveling down"
, before realizing that "the hills were beautiful"
requires reanalysis of the sentence structure.
Question 4
While studying in a noisy coffee shop, a student is able
to focus solely on their textbook, tuning out
surrounding conversations and background music. Which
cognitive phenomenon does this scenario illustrate?
A) Divided attention
B) Inattentional blindness
C) Selective attention
D) Change blindness
Correct Answer: C) Selective attention
Rationale: Selective attention is the ability to focus
consciousness on specific stimuli while tuning out
others, often illustrated through the spotlight
analogy. The student's ability to focus on their
textbook despite competing auditory stimuli
demonstrates this cognitive process, which is essential
for effective learning in distracting environments.
