PSYC 387 FINAL PREP ATHABASCA UNIVERSITY COMPLETE EXAM QUESTIONS
AND 100% VERIFIED ANSWERS LATEST VERSION (PASS GUARANTEE)
1. What is cognitive psychology? Cognitive psychology is the scientific study
of mental processes, including attention, perception, memory, language,
problem-solving, and decision-making.
2. Who is considered the father of cognitive psychology? Ulric Neisser, who
published "Cognitive Psychology" in 1967, though many credit the cognitive
revolution to multiple contributors.
3. What was the cognitive revolution? A shift in psychology during the
1950s-1960s away from behaviorism toward studying internal mental processes.
4. What is the information processing approach? A framework comparing
the human mind to a computer, processing information through input, storage,
and output stages.
5. What are the main methods used in cognitive psychology? Experimental
methods, reaction time studies, brain imaging (fMRI, PET), case studies, and
computational modeling.
6. What is reaction time and why is it important? The time between stimulus
presentation and response; it helps measure the speed and efficiency of
cognitive processes.
7. What is ecological validity? The extent to which research findings can be
generalized to real-world settings and situations.
8. What is the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing?
Bottom-up is data-driven processing from sensory input; top-down is concept-
driven processing using prior knowledge and expectations.
9. What is cognitive neuroscience? The study of biological processes
underlying cognition, combining cognitive psychology with neuroscience
methods.
,10. What is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)? A brain
imaging technique measuring brain activity by detecting changes in blood
oxygen levels.
11. What is positron emission tomography (PET)? A neuroimaging
technique using radioactive tracers to measure metabolic activity in the brain.
12. What are the limitations of behaviorism that led to cognitive
psychology? Behaviorism couldn't adequately explain complex behaviors like
language acquisition, memory, and problem-solving without considering mental
processes.
13. What is introspection and why was it problematic? A method where
people report their own mental experiences; it was unreliable due to subjectivity
and lack of verification.
14. What is the serial processing model? Information is processed one step at
a time in a sequential manner.
15. What is parallel processing? Multiple cognitive operations occur
simultaneously rather than sequentially.
16. What contribution did Noam Chomsky make to cognitive psychology?
His critique of Skinner's behaviorist explanation of language and his theory of
innate language structures helped spark the cognitive revolution.
17. What is computational modeling in cognitive psychology? Creating
computer simulations to test theories about how cognitive processes work.
18. What is the mind-body problem? The philosophical question of how
mental states relate to physical brain states.
19. What is modularity of mind? The theory that the mind consists of
specialized, independent modules for different cognitive functions.
20. What is cognitive architecture? The fundamental structure and
organization of the cognitive system.
21. What is the Stroop effect? The delay in reaction time when naming the
color of ink in which a conflicting color word is printed (e.g., the word "RED"
written in blue ink).
22. What does the Stroop effect demonstrate? Automatic processing and the
difficulty of selective attention when faced with conflicting information.
, 23. What is a double dissociation? When two related mental processes are
shown to function independently, with one damaged but not the other, and vice
versa in different cases.
24. Why are double dissociations important? They provide strong evidence
that two cognitive functions are separate and rely on different brain
mechanisms.
25. What is the difference between basic and applied research in cognitive
psychology? Basic research seeks fundamental knowledge about cognitive
processes; applied research uses this knowledge to solve practical problems.
26. What is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)? A technique using
magnetic fields to temporarily disrupt neural activity in specific brain regions to
study their function.
27. What is event-related potential (ERP)? Measured brain responses
resulting from specific sensory, cognitive, or motor events, recorded using EEG.
28. What is the subtraction method? A technique comparing reaction times
between tasks to isolate the time required for specific cognitive processes.
29. What are demand characteristics? Cues in an experiment that might
reveal the purpose and influence participant behavior.
30. What is the difference between cognitive psychology and cognitive
science? Cognitive psychology focuses on mental processes in humans;
cognitive science is interdisciplinary, including AI, linguistics, philosophy, and
neuroscience.
Module 2: Perception (Questions 31-60)
31. What is perception? The process of organizing and interpreting sensory
information to make it meaningful.
32. What is sensation? The detection of physical stimuli by sensory receptors
and transmission to the brain.
33. What is the difference between sensation and perception? Sensation is
the raw detection of stimuli; perception is the interpretation and organization of
that sensory information.
34. What is gestalt psychology? An approach emphasizing that we perceive
organized patterns and wholes, not just individual components.
35. What are the gestalt principles of perceptual organization? Proximity,
similarity, continuity, closure, figure-ground, common fate, and symmetry.
AND 100% VERIFIED ANSWERS LATEST VERSION (PASS GUARANTEE)
1. What is cognitive psychology? Cognitive psychology is the scientific study
of mental processes, including attention, perception, memory, language,
problem-solving, and decision-making.
2. Who is considered the father of cognitive psychology? Ulric Neisser, who
published "Cognitive Psychology" in 1967, though many credit the cognitive
revolution to multiple contributors.
3. What was the cognitive revolution? A shift in psychology during the
1950s-1960s away from behaviorism toward studying internal mental processes.
4. What is the information processing approach? A framework comparing
the human mind to a computer, processing information through input, storage,
and output stages.
5. What are the main methods used in cognitive psychology? Experimental
methods, reaction time studies, brain imaging (fMRI, PET), case studies, and
computational modeling.
6. What is reaction time and why is it important? The time between stimulus
presentation and response; it helps measure the speed and efficiency of
cognitive processes.
7. What is ecological validity? The extent to which research findings can be
generalized to real-world settings and situations.
8. What is the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing?
Bottom-up is data-driven processing from sensory input; top-down is concept-
driven processing using prior knowledge and expectations.
9. What is cognitive neuroscience? The study of biological processes
underlying cognition, combining cognitive psychology with neuroscience
methods.
,10. What is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)? A brain
imaging technique measuring brain activity by detecting changes in blood
oxygen levels.
11. What is positron emission tomography (PET)? A neuroimaging
technique using radioactive tracers to measure metabolic activity in the brain.
12. What are the limitations of behaviorism that led to cognitive
psychology? Behaviorism couldn't adequately explain complex behaviors like
language acquisition, memory, and problem-solving without considering mental
processes.
13. What is introspection and why was it problematic? A method where
people report their own mental experiences; it was unreliable due to subjectivity
and lack of verification.
14. What is the serial processing model? Information is processed one step at
a time in a sequential manner.
15. What is parallel processing? Multiple cognitive operations occur
simultaneously rather than sequentially.
16. What contribution did Noam Chomsky make to cognitive psychology?
His critique of Skinner's behaviorist explanation of language and his theory of
innate language structures helped spark the cognitive revolution.
17. What is computational modeling in cognitive psychology? Creating
computer simulations to test theories about how cognitive processes work.
18. What is the mind-body problem? The philosophical question of how
mental states relate to physical brain states.
19. What is modularity of mind? The theory that the mind consists of
specialized, independent modules for different cognitive functions.
20. What is cognitive architecture? The fundamental structure and
organization of the cognitive system.
21. What is the Stroop effect? The delay in reaction time when naming the
color of ink in which a conflicting color word is printed (e.g., the word "RED"
written in blue ink).
22. What does the Stroop effect demonstrate? Automatic processing and the
difficulty of selective attention when faced with conflicting information.
, 23. What is a double dissociation? When two related mental processes are
shown to function independently, with one damaged but not the other, and vice
versa in different cases.
24. Why are double dissociations important? They provide strong evidence
that two cognitive functions are separate and rely on different brain
mechanisms.
25. What is the difference between basic and applied research in cognitive
psychology? Basic research seeks fundamental knowledge about cognitive
processes; applied research uses this knowledge to solve practical problems.
26. What is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)? A technique using
magnetic fields to temporarily disrupt neural activity in specific brain regions to
study their function.
27. What is event-related potential (ERP)? Measured brain responses
resulting from specific sensory, cognitive, or motor events, recorded using EEG.
28. What is the subtraction method? A technique comparing reaction times
between tasks to isolate the time required for specific cognitive processes.
29. What are demand characteristics? Cues in an experiment that might
reveal the purpose and influence participant behavior.
30. What is the difference between cognitive psychology and cognitive
science? Cognitive psychology focuses on mental processes in humans;
cognitive science is interdisciplinary, including AI, linguistics, philosophy, and
neuroscience.
Module 2: Perception (Questions 31-60)
31. What is perception? The process of organizing and interpreting sensory
information to make it meaningful.
32. What is sensation? The detection of physical stimuli by sensory receptors
and transmission to the brain.
33. What is the difference between sensation and perception? Sensation is
the raw detection of stimuli; perception is the interpretation and organization of
that sensory information.
34. What is gestalt psychology? An approach emphasizing that we perceive
organized patterns and wholes, not just individual components.
35. What are the gestalt principles of perceptual organization? Proximity,
similarity, continuity, closure, figure-ground, common fate, and symmetry.
