BYU PSYCH375 EXAM 1 COMPREHENSIVE
EXAMINATION TEST 2026 FULL QUESTIONS
CORRECT SOLUTIONS
◉ Who founded the first laboratory of scientific psychology?
Describe the method of analytic introspection that was used in this
laboratory.
Answer: William Wundt founded the first lab of scientific
psychology. Analytic introspection was asking people to describe the
things that they felt during a stress event; he trained people to
describe their thoughts and experiences while responding to stimuli
in terms of basic mental elements
◉ Describe Ebbinghaus's memory experiments and results.
Answer: Ebbinghaus was interested in memory so he tested
something he liked to call "savings." He tested this by using the
equation he created (original time to learn list-time to learn after the
delay [a preset, given amount of time]=savings). He found that less
savings meant less information was retained. He found that the
ability to remember what was learned drops rapidly for the first two
days and then levels off after that
◉ What method did William James use to study the mind?.
,Answer: Himself. He observed his own mind and made conclusions
based on what he observed about himself
◉ What kind of psychologist was watson?.
Answer: behaviorist
◉ Why did Watson disprove of introspection?.
Answer: problems with studying consciousness, inconsistencies
◉ What was Tolman's contribution to cognitive psych?.
Answer: rate in the maze study; evidence for cognitive maps
◉ What was Chomsky's contribution to cognitive psych?.
Answer: children can produce novel statements & use rules of
language in the wrong way
◉ What was Lashley's contribution to cognitive psych?.
Answer: speech erorrs imply planning sentences out in whole, not
sequentially
◉ What is the Information Processing Approach to Cognition,
analogy between computers and themind.
, Answer: If computers can behave in limited ways like humans (e.g.,
Newell & Simon: Artificial Intelligence), does the human mind work
like the structure and processes of the computer (e.g., Broadbent:
Flow Diagrams and Models)?
◉ What was Miller's contribution to cognitive psych?.
Answer: Magic Number Seven (+/- 2)
◉ What was Neisser's contribution to cognitive psych?.
Answer: First cognitive psychology textbook-Heavy focus on lower-
level processes: perception, attention, memory, not as much focus on
higher-level processes: problem solving, reasoning or physiology
(these emphases, and methods to study them, were not yet
developed)
◉ How do Donder & Ebbinghaus relate to Modern Cognitive
Psychology?.
Answer: We develop theories, measure observable
behavior/physiology, make inferences about how the mind works,
repeat
◉ What does the Behavioral Approach aim to study?.
Answer: Reaction Time, Accuracy
EXAMINATION TEST 2026 FULL QUESTIONS
CORRECT SOLUTIONS
◉ Who founded the first laboratory of scientific psychology?
Describe the method of analytic introspection that was used in this
laboratory.
Answer: William Wundt founded the first lab of scientific
psychology. Analytic introspection was asking people to describe the
things that they felt during a stress event; he trained people to
describe their thoughts and experiences while responding to stimuli
in terms of basic mental elements
◉ Describe Ebbinghaus's memory experiments and results.
Answer: Ebbinghaus was interested in memory so he tested
something he liked to call "savings." He tested this by using the
equation he created (original time to learn list-time to learn after the
delay [a preset, given amount of time]=savings). He found that less
savings meant less information was retained. He found that the
ability to remember what was learned drops rapidly for the first two
days and then levels off after that
◉ What method did William James use to study the mind?.
,Answer: Himself. He observed his own mind and made conclusions
based on what he observed about himself
◉ What kind of psychologist was watson?.
Answer: behaviorist
◉ Why did Watson disprove of introspection?.
Answer: problems with studying consciousness, inconsistencies
◉ What was Tolman's contribution to cognitive psych?.
Answer: rate in the maze study; evidence for cognitive maps
◉ What was Chomsky's contribution to cognitive psych?.
Answer: children can produce novel statements & use rules of
language in the wrong way
◉ What was Lashley's contribution to cognitive psych?.
Answer: speech erorrs imply planning sentences out in whole, not
sequentially
◉ What is the Information Processing Approach to Cognition,
analogy between computers and themind.
, Answer: If computers can behave in limited ways like humans (e.g.,
Newell & Simon: Artificial Intelligence), does the human mind work
like the structure and processes of the computer (e.g., Broadbent:
Flow Diagrams and Models)?
◉ What was Miller's contribution to cognitive psych?.
Answer: Magic Number Seven (+/- 2)
◉ What was Neisser's contribution to cognitive psych?.
Answer: First cognitive psychology textbook-Heavy focus on lower-
level processes: perception, attention, memory, not as much focus on
higher-level processes: problem solving, reasoning or physiology
(these emphases, and methods to study them, were not yet
developed)
◉ How do Donder & Ebbinghaus relate to Modern Cognitive
Psychology?.
Answer: We develop theories, measure observable
behavior/physiology, make inferences about how the mind works,
repeat
◉ What does the Behavioral Approach aim to study?.
Answer: Reaction Time, Accuracy
