Cognitive Science Exam 1: Free Response
UPDATED Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
State the short definition of Cognitive Science discussed in the lecture. - CORRECT
ANSWER - Science of the Mind.
State the broader definition of cognitive Science discussed in the lecture. - CORRECT
ANSWER - Explicit & Implicit Cognitive processes of the Mind.
What issues does the simple definition emphasize? - CORRECT ANSWER - The shorter
definition emphasizes knowledge, consciousness, the mind, and asks important questions like
"What is a Mind?"
What issues does the broader definition emphasize? - CORRECT ANSWER - The broader
definition emphasizes artificial cognitive machines, intelligent behavior, "how necessary is
consciousness for cognition" and "is a biological brain necessary for cognition?"
What 3 core questions follow from traditional Cognitive Science's consideration of mind, brain,
and computer are related? - CORRECT ANSWER - 1. How are mental states & physical
brains states related?
2. Can a machine generate a mind?
3. Does a brain function anything like a computer?
What are the primary sub-disciplines of interdisciplinary cognitive science? - CORRECT
ANSWER - 1. Philosophy
2. Linguistics
3. Psychology
4. Artificial Intelligence
5. Neuroscience
, 6. Anthropology
Explain Hobbes' theory of mental representation including limitations of the proposed
representations, and inspiration from invention of a mechanical calculator. - CORRECT
ANSWER - Hobbes' theory suggest that the mind contains mental images, we can think of
a word and imagine it. It becomes the proposed basis for explicit cognition. Hobbes also
speculated that mental images can be manipulated like a calculator.
Describe the conceptual basis of information theory, including the nature of information
transmission and quantification. Explain how noise, bandwidth, and coding affect information
transmission. - CORRECT ANSWER - Information Theory is the specification of
information transmitted in telecommunication networks. The information can be transmitted
through noise - free or noisy channels that maybe have bandwidth limitations. This will affect
how much of the message is transmitted. Coding will affect the message of content of the
message depending on the symbols as the message needs to be decoded after being sent.
Describe the information processing perspective of Cognitive Psychology. - CORRECT
ANSWER - Information is encoded & transformed and used to guide thought & action.
For examples, stimulus leads to cognitive processes leads to response.
Describe how the information processing perspective influenced early theories of selective
attention & short-term memory. - CORRECT ANSWER - Information processing
perspective has led to the 7 +/- capacity limitation, how many digits or characters we can easily
remember within our short term memory and chunking, the process of breaking long strings of
information into units or groups.
Explain how a Turning Machine works. What is the Universal Turing Machine, and why is it
important to Cognitive Science? - CORRECT ANSWER - A Turing Machine a machine
table that controls action depending on the symbols and its current state of read/write. A UTM is
powerful enough to perform any math calculation on symbols that represent numbers and
suggests solution to homunculus problem of representation.
What are the 4 big ideas that support the emergence of Cognitive Science. - CORRECT
ANSWER - 1. Representational Theory of Mind
UPDATED Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
State the short definition of Cognitive Science discussed in the lecture. - CORRECT
ANSWER - Science of the Mind.
State the broader definition of cognitive Science discussed in the lecture. - CORRECT
ANSWER - Explicit & Implicit Cognitive processes of the Mind.
What issues does the simple definition emphasize? - CORRECT ANSWER - The shorter
definition emphasizes knowledge, consciousness, the mind, and asks important questions like
"What is a Mind?"
What issues does the broader definition emphasize? - CORRECT ANSWER - The broader
definition emphasizes artificial cognitive machines, intelligent behavior, "how necessary is
consciousness for cognition" and "is a biological brain necessary for cognition?"
What 3 core questions follow from traditional Cognitive Science's consideration of mind, brain,
and computer are related? - CORRECT ANSWER - 1. How are mental states & physical
brains states related?
2. Can a machine generate a mind?
3. Does a brain function anything like a computer?
What are the primary sub-disciplines of interdisciplinary cognitive science? - CORRECT
ANSWER - 1. Philosophy
2. Linguistics
3. Psychology
4. Artificial Intelligence
5. Neuroscience
, 6. Anthropology
Explain Hobbes' theory of mental representation including limitations of the proposed
representations, and inspiration from invention of a mechanical calculator. - CORRECT
ANSWER - Hobbes' theory suggest that the mind contains mental images, we can think of
a word and imagine it. It becomes the proposed basis for explicit cognition. Hobbes also
speculated that mental images can be manipulated like a calculator.
Describe the conceptual basis of information theory, including the nature of information
transmission and quantification. Explain how noise, bandwidth, and coding affect information
transmission. - CORRECT ANSWER - Information Theory is the specification of
information transmitted in telecommunication networks. The information can be transmitted
through noise - free or noisy channels that maybe have bandwidth limitations. This will affect
how much of the message is transmitted. Coding will affect the message of content of the
message depending on the symbols as the message needs to be decoded after being sent.
Describe the information processing perspective of Cognitive Psychology. - CORRECT
ANSWER - Information is encoded & transformed and used to guide thought & action.
For examples, stimulus leads to cognitive processes leads to response.
Describe how the information processing perspective influenced early theories of selective
attention & short-term memory. - CORRECT ANSWER - Information processing
perspective has led to the 7 +/- capacity limitation, how many digits or characters we can easily
remember within our short term memory and chunking, the process of breaking long strings of
information into units or groups.
Explain how a Turning Machine works. What is the Universal Turing Machine, and why is it
important to Cognitive Science? - CORRECT ANSWER - A Turing Machine a machine
table that controls action depending on the symbols and its current state of read/write. A UTM is
powerful enough to perform any math calculation on symbols that represent numbers and
suggests solution to homunculus problem of representation.
What are the 4 big ideas that support the emergence of Cognitive Science. - CORRECT
ANSWER - 1. Representational Theory of Mind
