cognitive psych test 1
Give a brief history of cognitive psychology, from the founding of psychology in the 1800's until modern
times. In your review, be sure to include the techniques and methodologies that were first used to
uncover "cognitive truths," along with some of the major players in the field. Also include the reason for
a decline in cognitive studies in the early 1900's, and the factors that led to the cognitive revolution. -
✔✔ correct answer Started with structuralists: scientists understanding anatomy of brain
Donders (1868) tested reaction time
Retention intervals
1920s-1950s: psychologists should only focus on what is directly observable, and should only explain
behavior; not thoughts or consciousness
1950s-1960s: cognitive revolution
Development of computer
Skinner vs. chomsky: behaviorism cannot account for all of language acquisition
Adoption of empirical methods
Tolman and cognitive maps
Ebbinghaus conducted his experiments more than 100 years ago. What were they like? What did he
learn then that still applies today, if anything? - ✔✔ correct answer Procedure known for: Savings
method to measure forgetting
Conclusion: forgetting occurs rapidly in the first 1 to 2 days after original learning -- forgetting does NOT
occur at a constant rate.
Contributed major quantitative measurement of mental processes.
Memorized nonsense syllables (nonsense syllable: a unit of speech or text that appears to be an actual
word in a certain language while in fact it has no meaning in the lexion.
Examined the effect of retention intervals on memory
Measured savings: the amount of information retained over a retention interval.
As an experimenter, imagine that you believe that the time of day at which people are tested may affect
their memory performance. Design a study to test your hypothesis. Identify the independent and
dependent variables, and provide operational definitions for each. Discuss the different conditions in
your experiment, and describe your predicted outcome. - ✔✔ correct answer Independent variable:
Time of Day
Dependent variable: memory performance
Must be reliable: consistent results when measured repeatedly
, cognitive psych test 1
Must be valid: capture construct accurately and its intended reflect
What are the critical differences between an experiment, a correlational study, and a case study?
Describe the strengths and weaknesses of each, and explain why you might select each particular type of
design. - ✔✔ correct answer Experiment: researcher manipulates one variable, and control/randomizes
the rest of the variables. It has a control group, the subjects have been randomly assigned between the
groups, and the researcher tests only one effect at a time.
Correlational study: asses the relationship between and among two or more variables. Cannot be used
to draw inferences about the causal relationships between and among the variables.
Case study: a particular process or record of research in which detailed consideration is given to the
development of a particular person, group, or situation over a period of time. The disadvantages are that
they can't be generalized to the rest of the population, they are difficult to replicate, and time
consuming.
Give an operational definition of attention. - ✔✔ correct answer Operational definition, attention:
Elizabeth checks her phone 10-15 times in one class period.
What does it mean when we say there is a positive correlation between ice cream consumption and
murders? What would be an expected r value for that correlation? Does ice cream consumption affect
the murder rate? - ✔✔ correct answer As ice cream sales increase, so does the rate of murder. However,
there is no correlation between these two variables. Ice cream consumption does not affect the murder
rate. What happens is when the temperature rises, murder rates increase. This is because the
temperature increasing can promote rage in those with desires to kill, therefore they are more likely to
engage in criminal behavior when the temperature rises. Summer is when people get together. More
specifically, casual drinkers and drug users are more likely to go to bars or parties on weekends and
evenings, as opposed to a Tuesday morning. These people in the social mix, flooding the city's streets
and neighborhood bars, feed the peak times for murder, experts say.
Identify some of the techniques that scientists use to maintain objectivity. In addition, discuss the factors
that they must consider as they design the independent and dependent variables for their experiment. -
✔✔ correct answer They make it so the people they select within the population they wish to study are
randomized.
Discuss the way in which Donder's experiment measured reaction time. What were the two key
conditions, and how did they differ? How did Donder calculate reaction time? How is this measure
limited? - ✔✔ correct answer He used something called a simple reaction time task where he had
individuals press a button when a light was illuminated. he had two lights that would light up and they
Give a brief history of cognitive psychology, from the founding of psychology in the 1800's until modern
times. In your review, be sure to include the techniques and methodologies that were first used to
uncover "cognitive truths," along with some of the major players in the field. Also include the reason for
a decline in cognitive studies in the early 1900's, and the factors that led to the cognitive revolution. -
✔✔ correct answer Started with structuralists: scientists understanding anatomy of brain
Donders (1868) tested reaction time
Retention intervals
1920s-1950s: psychologists should only focus on what is directly observable, and should only explain
behavior; not thoughts or consciousness
1950s-1960s: cognitive revolution
Development of computer
Skinner vs. chomsky: behaviorism cannot account for all of language acquisition
Adoption of empirical methods
Tolman and cognitive maps
Ebbinghaus conducted his experiments more than 100 years ago. What were they like? What did he
learn then that still applies today, if anything? - ✔✔ correct answer Procedure known for: Savings
method to measure forgetting
Conclusion: forgetting occurs rapidly in the first 1 to 2 days after original learning -- forgetting does NOT
occur at a constant rate.
Contributed major quantitative measurement of mental processes.
Memorized nonsense syllables (nonsense syllable: a unit of speech or text that appears to be an actual
word in a certain language while in fact it has no meaning in the lexion.
Examined the effect of retention intervals on memory
Measured savings: the amount of information retained over a retention interval.
As an experimenter, imagine that you believe that the time of day at which people are tested may affect
their memory performance. Design a study to test your hypothesis. Identify the independent and
dependent variables, and provide operational definitions for each. Discuss the different conditions in
your experiment, and describe your predicted outcome. - ✔✔ correct answer Independent variable:
Time of Day
Dependent variable: memory performance
Must be reliable: consistent results when measured repeatedly
, cognitive psych test 1
Must be valid: capture construct accurately and its intended reflect
What are the critical differences between an experiment, a correlational study, and a case study?
Describe the strengths and weaknesses of each, and explain why you might select each particular type of
design. - ✔✔ correct answer Experiment: researcher manipulates one variable, and control/randomizes
the rest of the variables. It has a control group, the subjects have been randomly assigned between the
groups, and the researcher tests only one effect at a time.
Correlational study: asses the relationship between and among two or more variables. Cannot be used
to draw inferences about the causal relationships between and among the variables.
Case study: a particular process or record of research in which detailed consideration is given to the
development of a particular person, group, or situation over a period of time. The disadvantages are that
they can't be generalized to the rest of the population, they are difficult to replicate, and time
consuming.
Give an operational definition of attention. - ✔✔ correct answer Operational definition, attention:
Elizabeth checks her phone 10-15 times in one class period.
What does it mean when we say there is a positive correlation between ice cream consumption and
murders? What would be an expected r value for that correlation? Does ice cream consumption affect
the murder rate? - ✔✔ correct answer As ice cream sales increase, so does the rate of murder. However,
there is no correlation between these two variables. Ice cream consumption does not affect the murder
rate. What happens is when the temperature rises, murder rates increase. This is because the
temperature increasing can promote rage in those with desires to kill, therefore they are more likely to
engage in criminal behavior when the temperature rises. Summer is when people get together. More
specifically, casual drinkers and drug users are more likely to go to bars or parties on weekends and
evenings, as opposed to a Tuesday morning. These people in the social mix, flooding the city's streets
and neighborhood bars, feed the peak times for murder, experts say.
Identify some of the techniques that scientists use to maintain objectivity. In addition, discuss the factors
that they must consider as they design the independent and dependent variables for their experiment. -
✔✔ correct answer They make it so the people they select within the population they wish to study are
randomized.
Discuss the way in which Donder's experiment measured reaction time. What were the two key
conditions, and how did they differ? How did Donder calculate reaction time? How is this measure
limited? - ✔✔ correct answer He used something called a simple reaction time task where he had
individuals press a button when a light was illuminated. he had two lights that would light up and they
