WGU D570 – Cognitive Psychology (2025 Edition) | Comprehensive Exam Study Guide & Practice
Test
What did Franciscus Donders discover using reaction‑time experiments? - (ANSWER)Decision‑making
adds ≈ 0.1 s (choice RT - simple RT) → mental chronometry.
Which early psychologist founded structuralism and used analytic introspection? - (ANSWER)Wilhelm
Wundt.
Who traced the forgetting curve and pioneered quantitative memory research? - (ANSWER)Hermann
Ebbinghaus.
Which functionalist wrote *Principles of Psychology* and emphasized the stream of consciousness? -
(ANSWER)William James.
Which behaviorists rejected mentalism and promoted stimulus‑response learning? - (ANSWER)John B.
Watson (Little Albert) & B. F. Skinner (operant conditioning).
What key idea did Edward Tolman introduce that challenged strict behaviorism? - (ANSWER)*Cognitive
maps* (rat maze navigation).
How did Broadbent's filter model influence the cognitive revolution? - (ANSWER)Proposed an
early‑selection attention filter → information‑processing metaphor.
Who coined the term "cognitive psychology" (1967)? - (ANSWER)Ulric Neisser.
Newell & Simon's Logic Theorist launched what field? - (ANSWER)Artificial intelligence & problem‑space
analysis.
What are the three stages of the Atkinson-Shiffrin modal memory model? - (ANSWER)Sensory →
Short‑term/Working → Long‑term memory.
, WGU D570 – Cognitive Psychology (2025 Edition) | Comprehensive Exam Study Guide & Practice
Test
List Piaget's four stages of cognitive development in order. - (ANSWER)Sensorimotor → Pre‑operational
→ Concrete operational → Formal operational.
Define fluid vs crystallized intelligence. - (ANSWER)*Fluid* = reasoning & novel problem‑solving;
*Crystallized* = accumulated knowledge & vocabulary.
What role does Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development play? - (ANSWER)Range where social
scaffolding optimally supports cognitive growth.
What is an action potential? - (ANSWER)Rapid depolarization that travels along an axon, transmitting
neural information.
What are feature detectors and who discovered them? - (ANSWER)Neurons tuned to simple visual
features (edges/orientation); discovered by Hubel & Wiesel.
Differentiate specific, sparse, and population coding. - (ANSWER)Specific = one neuron per object;
Sparse = small‑group pattern; Population = large‑ensemble rate.
Which brain area is critical for face perception? - (ANSWER)Fusiform Face Area (ventral temporal lobe).
What is experience‑dependent plasticity? - (ANSWER)Brain structure/function changes with experience
(e.g., London taxi hippocampi).
When is the default mode network most active? - (ANSWER)During rest or mind‑wandering (not
task‑focused).
What did Shepard & Metzler's mental‑rotation study show? - (ANSWER)RT increases linearly with
angular disparity → imagery is spatial.
Test
What did Franciscus Donders discover using reaction‑time experiments? - (ANSWER)Decision‑making
adds ≈ 0.1 s (choice RT - simple RT) → mental chronometry.
Which early psychologist founded structuralism and used analytic introspection? - (ANSWER)Wilhelm
Wundt.
Who traced the forgetting curve and pioneered quantitative memory research? - (ANSWER)Hermann
Ebbinghaus.
Which functionalist wrote *Principles of Psychology* and emphasized the stream of consciousness? -
(ANSWER)William James.
Which behaviorists rejected mentalism and promoted stimulus‑response learning? - (ANSWER)John B.
Watson (Little Albert) & B. F. Skinner (operant conditioning).
What key idea did Edward Tolman introduce that challenged strict behaviorism? - (ANSWER)*Cognitive
maps* (rat maze navigation).
How did Broadbent's filter model influence the cognitive revolution? - (ANSWER)Proposed an
early‑selection attention filter → information‑processing metaphor.
Who coined the term "cognitive psychology" (1967)? - (ANSWER)Ulric Neisser.
Newell & Simon's Logic Theorist launched what field? - (ANSWER)Artificial intelligence & problem‑space
analysis.
What are the three stages of the Atkinson-Shiffrin modal memory model? - (ANSWER)Sensory →
Short‑term/Working → Long‑term memory.
, WGU D570 – Cognitive Psychology (2025 Edition) | Comprehensive Exam Study Guide & Practice
Test
List Piaget's four stages of cognitive development in order. - (ANSWER)Sensorimotor → Pre‑operational
→ Concrete operational → Formal operational.
Define fluid vs crystallized intelligence. - (ANSWER)*Fluid* = reasoning & novel problem‑solving;
*Crystallized* = accumulated knowledge & vocabulary.
What role does Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development play? - (ANSWER)Range where social
scaffolding optimally supports cognitive growth.
What is an action potential? - (ANSWER)Rapid depolarization that travels along an axon, transmitting
neural information.
What are feature detectors and who discovered them? - (ANSWER)Neurons tuned to simple visual
features (edges/orientation); discovered by Hubel & Wiesel.
Differentiate specific, sparse, and population coding. - (ANSWER)Specific = one neuron per object;
Sparse = small‑group pattern; Population = large‑ensemble rate.
Which brain area is critical for face perception? - (ANSWER)Fusiform Face Area (ventral temporal lobe).
What is experience‑dependent plasticity? - (ANSWER)Brain structure/function changes with experience
(e.g., London taxi hippocampi).
When is the default mode network most active? - (ANSWER)During rest or mind‑wandering (not
task‑focused).
What did Shepard & Metzler's mental‑rotation study show? - (ANSWER)RT increases linearly with
angular disparity → imagery is spatial.
