PSYCH 2150 EXAMS QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED
ANSWERS
True or False: Automaticity can be observed in the laboratory, but it probably doesn't
make a big contribution to task performance in daily life. - Answers - False
Can you test people's ability to divide attention by giving them two tasks to do at once? -
Answers - No, this method doesn't work
After taking Prof. Willingham's class, you want to use all of your wonderful new
knowledge about attention to help your friends with their study habits. You ask them to
email you details about their current study environments. Bob says he studies in Old
Cabell Hall in front of the detailed and complex mural. Sam says he studies in his dorm
while listening to classical music. Jen says she turns the volume all the way up on her
white noise machine when she studies. From these responses, who would you
recommend to change their study habits and why? - Answers - Sam, because the
constantly changing nature of music is difficult to habituate to.
Patients with damage to the posterior parietal cortex show what type of response for the
invalid/valid visual cue paradigm - Answers - Really slow for invalid trials (on
contralateral side of damage) but they use the cue on valid trials on either side.
In the wintertime, branches often get weighed down from piles of snow and ice. When
the weight is too much, there is a snapping sound, followed by the ice/snow falling from
the branch. If you were walking under these branches and you heard a snapping sound,
you might flinch, even if no ice/snow falls from the tree. In this situation, the snapping
sound is the _________________? - Answers - Conditioned stimulus
The cognitive psychology notion of "efficiency" relies on the idea that: - Answers -
Cognitive models can make different predictions about how efficiently the mind will
accomplish a mental task.
When cognitive psychology first developed, one of the field's greatest challenges was
the question of: - Answers - Whether you could develop testable theories using abstract
constructs
What was the difficulty associated with using abstract constructs to explain behavior? -
Answers - If you allowed abstract constructs in theories, many theories could explain
the same behavior and it wasn't clear how to choose among them
Your ability to identify objects from many different orientations (i.e. independent of
viewpoint) is consistent with which model? - Answers - Biederman's recognition by
components model
, Models of high level vision use which principle to determine the features of natural
objects (e.g., a dog)? - Answers - Good continuation
The main problem with introspectionism is that multiple theories could produce the
same behavioral outcome. Regarding introspectionism, which of the following is an
objection that a behaviorist is LEAST likely to have? - Answers - taking something
complicated and trying to simplify them into component parts is a bad strategy for
scientists.
The scientific method can be described as a three-step process by which the scientist
observes, theorizes, and tests. This process is iterative, meaning that these three steps
form a cycle that can be repeated over and over. Which of the following aspects of the
scientific method was most problematic for introspectionism? - Answers - test
What are oculomotor depth cues? - Answers - Cues based on movements of muscles in
the visual system which help us determine the distance of perceived objects
Which of the following is an assumption the brain makes to help resolve
shape/orientation indeterminacy in low-level vision? - Answers - how to interpret line
intersections
In visual processing, edges are _______ in different lighting conditions. - Answers -
unchanged
Which of the following questions refers to memory encoding? - Answers - How are
memories created?
How we get things into our memory is called ____, how we bring them out of memory is
called ____. - Answers - Encoding, retrieval
Skeletal conditioning is associated with which area of the brain? - Answers - cerebellum
In their exploration of implicit memory, experimenters found that emotional conditioning
and skeletal conditioning are processes supported by distinct areas of the brain. Why is
this important? - Answers - It gave experimenters clues to the structure (large-scale
architecture) of a known cognitive function.
The Fan Effect is characterized by which of the following? - Answers - Provides support
for the spreading activation model.
The Collins and Quillian hierarchical model predicts that "A pig is a mammal" should be
verified more _______ than "A pig is an animal." This prediction was found to be
______. - Answers - Quickly, false
ANSWERS
True or False: Automaticity can be observed in the laboratory, but it probably doesn't
make a big contribution to task performance in daily life. - Answers - False
Can you test people's ability to divide attention by giving them two tasks to do at once? -
Answers - No, this method doesn't work
After taking Prof. Willingham's class, you want to use all of your wonderful new
knowledge about attention to help your friends with their study habits. You ask them to
email you details about their current study environments. Bob says he studies in Old
Cabell Hall in front of the detailed and complex mural. Sam says he studies in his dorm
while listening to classical music. Jen says she turns the volume all the way up on her
white noise machine when she studies. From these responses, who would you
recommend to change their study habits and why? - Answers - Sam, because the
constantly changing nature of music is difficult to habituate to.
Patients with damage to the posterior parietal cortex show what type of response for the
invalid/valid visual cue paradigm - Answers - Really slow for invalid trials (on
contralateral side of damage) but they use the cue on valid trials on either side.
In the wintertime, branches often get weighed down from piles of snow and ice. When
the weight is too much, there is a snapping sound, followed by the ice/snow falling from
the branch. If you were walking under these branches and you heard a snapping sound,
you might flinch, even if no ice/snow falls from the tree. In this situation, the snapping
sound is the _________________? - Answers - Conditioned stimulus
The cognitive psychology notion of "efficiency" relies on the idea that: - Answers -
Cognitive models can make different predictions about how efficiently the mind will
accomplish a mental task.
When cognitive psychology first developed, one of the field's greatest challenges was
the question of: - Answers - Whether you could develop testable theories using abstract
constructs
What was the difficulty associated with using abstract constructs to explain behavior? -
Answers - If you allowed abstract constructs in theories, many theories could explain
the same behavior and it wasn't clear how to choose among them
Your ability to identify objects from many different orientations (i.e. independent of
viewpoint) is consistent with which model? - Answers - Biederman's recognition by
components model
, Models of high level vision use which principle to determine the features of natural
objects (e.g., a dog)? - Answers - Good continuation
The main problem with introspectionism is that multiple theories could produce the
same behavioral outcome. Regarding introspectionism, which of the following is an
objection that a behaviorist is LEAST likely to have? - Answers - taking something
complicated and trying to simplify them into component parts is a bad strategy for
scientists.
The scientific method can be described as a three-step process by which the scientist
observes, theorizes, and tests. This process is iterative, meaning that these three steps
form a cycle that can be repeated over and over. Which of the following aspects of the
scientific method was most problematic for introspectionism? - Answers - test
What are oculomotor depth cues? - Answers - Cues based on movements of muscles in
the visual system which help us determine the distance of perceived objects
Which of the following is an assumption the brain makes to help resolve
shape/orientation indeterminacy in low-level vision? - Answers - how to interpret line
intersections
In visual processing, edges are _______ in different lighting conditions. - Answers -
unchanged
Which of the following questions refers to memory encoding? - Answers - How are
memories created?
How we get things into our memory is called ____, how we bring them out of memory is
called ____. - Answers - Encoding, retrieval
Skeletal conditioning is associated with which area of the brain? - Answers - cerebellum
In their exploration of implicit memory, experimenters found that emotional conditioning
and skeletal conditioning are processes supported by distinct areas of the brain. Why is
this important? - Answers - It gave experimenters clues to the structure (large-scale
architecture) of a known cognitive function.
The Fan Effect is characterized by which of the following? - Answers - Provides support
for the spreading activation model.
The Collins and Quillian hierarchical model predicts that "A pig is a mammal" should be
verified more _______ than "A pig is an animal." This prediction was found to be
______. - Answers - Quickly, false
