,Chapter 1 – Test Bank: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
(Topics: definition, historical foundations, behaviorism, cognitive
revolution, major figures, models of the mind)
1. A cognitive psychologist is interested in investigating how
individuals mentally prepare to respond to stimuli. Which
historical figure's method is most foundational to this approach?
A. Wilhelm Wundt
B. B.F. Skinner
C. Hermann Ebbinghaus
D. Franciscus Donders
✅ Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Donders was the first to use reaction-time experiments to
infer internal mental processes. His subtraction method—comparing
simple vs. choice reaction time—is foundational to modern cognitive
experimental designs.
2. Which of the following best captures the shift from behaviorism to
cognitive psychology during the cognitive revolution?
A. A renewed interest in introspection.
B. An emphasis on conditioning over learning.
C. A focus on internal mental processes inferred from behavior.
D. A rejection of scientific methods in psychology.
✅ Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The cognitive revolution emphasized studying the mind as
an information-processing system, using behavioral evidence to infer
unseen mental operations—marking a clear departure from strict
behaviorism.
, 3. Which early psychologist used nonsense syllables to quantify
memory and forgetting?
A. Donders
B. Watson
C. Ebbinghaus
D. Wundt
✅ Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Hermann Ebbinghaus conducted rigorous, quantitative
studies on memory, notably the forgetting curve, using meaningless
syllables to isolate memory from semantic associations.
4. Which of the following research questions aligns most directly
with the cognitive approach?
A. How does reinforcement shape a rat’s maze behavior?
B. How do students encode and retrieve conceptual knowledge under
exam stress?
C. How many trials are needed before a pigeon stops pecking a key?
D. How do social roles influence conformity behaviors?
✅ Correct Answer: B
Rationale: This question targets internal mental processes—
specifically encoding and retrieval—which are central to cognitive
psychology. The other options align more with behavioral or social
psychology.
5. In Donders' experiment, why was reaction time a crucial measure?
, A. It measured muscle response strength.
B. It directly assessed brain activity.
C. It provided a way to infer cognitive processing duration.
D. It confirmed the reliability of introspection.
✅ Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Donders used differences in reaction time between tasks to
infer the duration of internal cognitive steps, a pioneering example of
studying mental processes behaviorally.
6. Noam Chomsky criticized B.F. Skinner’s view of language
primarily because:
A. He believed behaviorism lacked empirical rigor.
B. He argued that language is too complex to be explained solely by
reinforcement.
C. He rejected the importance of environmental input.
D. He preferred introspective methods.
✅ Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Chomsky emphasized that language acquisition involves
innate structures and generative grammar, which cannot be fully
explained by behaviorist conditioning models.
7. Which method did Wilhelm Wundt favor in his psychological
investigations?
A. Reaction time measurement
B. Operant conditioning
C. Introspection
D. Brain lesion case studies
(Topics: definition, historical foundations, behaviorism, cognitive
revolution, major figures, models of the mind)
1. A cognitive psychologist is interested in investigating how
individuals mentally prepare to respond to stimuli. Which
historical figure's method is most foundational to this approach?
A. Wilhelm Wundt
B. B.F. Skinner
C. Hermann Ebbinghaus
D. Franciscus Donders
✅ Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Donders was the first to use reaction-time experiments to
infer internal mental processes. His subtraction method—comparing
simple vs. choice reaction time—is foundational to modern cognitive
experimental designs.
2. Which of the following best captures the shift from behaviorism to
cognitive psychology during the cognitive revolution?
A. A renewed interest in introspection.
B. An emphasis on conditioning over learning.
C. A focus on internal mental processes inferred from behavior.
D. A rejection of scientific methods in psychology.
✅ Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The cognitive revolution emphasized studying the mind as
an information-processing system, using behavioral evidence to infer
unseen mental operations—marking a clear departure from strict
behaviorism.
, 3. Which early psychologist used nonsense syllables to quantify
memory and forgetting?
A. Donders
B. Watson
C. Ebbinghaus
D. Wundt
✅ Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Hermann Ebbinghaus conducted rigorous, quantitative
studies on memory, notably the forgetting curve, using meaningless
syllables to isolate memory from semantic associations.
4. Which of the following research questions aligns most directly
with the cognitive approach?
A. How does reinforcement shape a rat’s maze behavior?
B. How do students encode and retrieve conceptual knowledge under
exam stress?
C. How many trials are needed before a pigeon stops pecking a key?
D. How do social roles influence conformity behaviors?
✅ Correct Answer: B
Rationale: This question targets internal mental processes—
specifically encoding and retrieval—which are central to cognitive
psychology. The other options align more with behavioral or social
psychology.
5. In Donders' experiment, why was reaction time a crucial measure?
, A. It measured muscle response strength.
B. It directly assessed brain activity.
C. It provided a way to infer cognitive processing duration.
D. It confirmed the reliability of introspection.
✅ Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Donders used differences in reaction time between tasks to
infer the duration of internal cognitive steps, a pioneering example of
studying mental processes behaviorally.
6. Noam Chomsky criticized B.F. Skinner’s view of language
primarily because:
A. He believed behaviorism lacked empirical rigor.
B. He argued that language is too complex to be explained solely by
reinforcement.
C. He rejected the importance of environmental input.
D. He preferred introspective methods.
✅ Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Chomsky emphasized that language acquisition involves
innate structures and generative grammar, which cannot be fully
explained by behaviorist conditioning models.
7. Which method did Wilhelm Wundt favor in his psychological
investigations?
A. Reaction time measurement
B. Operant conditioning
C. Introspection
D. Brain lesion case studies
