PSYC 2150 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED
ANSWERS
True or False: Automaticity can be observed in the lab, but it probably doesn't make a
big contribution to task performance in daily life. - Answers - False
According to the Feature Integration Theory of attention... - Answers - Each feature of
an object is analyzed separately by the visual system
Based on what we discussed in class, which of the following stimuli are most likely to
attract your attention and why? - Answers - If someone across a quiet room shouts
incoherently, because the physical properties of that stimulus are different from the
others I had been experiencing.
Your textbook describes an experiment in which subjects watch a video of two teams
playing a ball-passing game. Subjects are asked to count the passes of one of the
teams, and often fail to notice a person in a gorilla suit who walks through the game.
This experiment shows... - Answers - attention is necessary for perception
In the winter, branches often get weighed down from piles of snow and ice. When the
weight is too much, there is a snapping sound, followed by the ice/snow falling from the
branch. If you were walking under these branches and you heard a snapping sound,
you might flinch, even if no ice/snow falls from the tree. In this situation, the snapping
sound is the _____ ? - Answers - Conditioned stimulus
What do cognitive psychologists have in common with behaviorists? - Answers - they
measure observable stimuli and responses
Johnson and Newport's work documented that the ease of second language acquisition
is correlated with age of arrival in the U.S. prior to puberty. This finding supports which
ethological finding? - Answers - critical period
The cognitive psychology notion of "efficiency" relies on the idea that: - Answers -
cognitive models can make different predictions about how efficiently the mind will
accomplish a mental task
Biederman's recognition-by-components theory, which proposes that perceived objects
are composed of various elementary features known as genes, is what sort of theory -
Answers - mostly bottom-up
What was the main advantage of the Template model of object recognition - Answers -
It outlined the characteristics necessary to form a more realistic model of object
identification
, The scientific method can be described as a three-step process by which the scientist
observes, theorizes, and tests. This process is iterative, meaning that these three steps
form a cycle that can be repeated over and over. Which of the following aspects of the
scientific method was most problematic for introspectionism? - Answers - test
Why is Wilhelm Wundt often considered the first experimental psychologist? - Answers -
He did what was necessary to make psychology a field of study that could continue (Ex:
he started a lab, trained PhD students, disseminated research)
Which of the following is an assumption humans make about light sources, reflectance,
and shadows? - Answers - Surfaces are evenly colored
Which of these created the biggest challenge to the feature model of object recognition?
- Answers - Difficulty applying it to natural objects in the real world
Which is true about the template model of object recognition? - Answers - It could not
account for how we can still identify an object when it changes in size
Which of the following questions refers to memory encoding? - Answers - How are
memories created?
After encoding, a memory must be _____ in order to reach a more permanent state. -
Answers - Consolidated
In their exploration of implicit memory, experimenters found that emotional conditioning
and skeletal conditioning are processes supported by distinct areas of the brain. Why is
this important? - Answers - It gave experimenters clues to the structure (large-scale
architecture) of a known cognitive function
What is the relationship between episodic and semantic memories? - Answers -
Episodic memories can turn into semantic memories over time
When your memory system makes errors they tend to be near misses. This is a feature
of: - Answers - content-addressable storage
Why is the Fan Effect incompatible with the spreading activation account of memory
organization? - Answers - The fan effect is NOT incompatible with spreading activation;
it is considered support for it.
Sternberg's short-term memory experiment was used in class to illustrate which
important point: - Answers - It was used to compare multiple competing theories for the
abstract construct of scanning short-term memory
We ask people leaving the grocery store to fill out a questionnaire asking how much
soda they consume and if they have any health problems, and we plan to look for a
ANSWERS
True or False: Automaticity can be observed in the lab, but it probably doesn't make a
big contribution to task performance in daily life. - Answers - False
According to the Feature Integration Theory of attention... - Answers - Each feature of
an object is analyzed separately by the visual system
Based on what we discussed in class, which of the following stimuli are most likely to
attract your attention and why? - Answers - If someone across a quiet room shouts
incoherently, because the physical properties of that stimulus are different from the
others I had been experiencing.
Your textbook describes an experiment in which subjects watch a video of two teams
playing a ball-passing game. Subjects are asked to count the passes of one of the
teams, and often fail to notice a person in a gorilla suit who walks through the game.
This experiment shows... - Answers - attention is necessary for perception
In the winter, branches often get weighed down from piles of snow and ice. When the
weight is too much, there is a snapping sound, followed by the ice/snow falling from the
branch. If you were walking under these branches and you heard a snapping sound,
you might flinch, even if no ice/snow falls from the tree. In this situation, the snapping
sound is the _____ ? - Answers - Conditioned stimulus
What do cognitive psychologists have in common with behaviorists? - Answers - they
measure observable stimuli and responses
Johnson and Newport's work documented that the ease of second language acquisition
is correlated with age of arrival in the U.S. prior to puberty. This finding supports which
ethological finding? - Answers - critical period
The cognitive psychology notion of "efficiency" relies on the idea that: - Answers -
cognitive models can make different predictions about how efficiently the mind will
accomplish a mental task
Biederman's recognition-by-components theory, which proposes that perceived objects
are composed of various elementary features known as genes, is what sort of theory -
Answers - mostly bottom-up
What was the main advantage of the Template model of object recognition - Answers -
It outlined the characteristics necessary to form a more realistic model of object
identification
, The scientific method can be described as a three-step process by which the scientist
observes, theorizes, and tests. This process is iterative, meaning that these three steps
form a cycle that can be repeated over and over. Which of the following aspects of the
scientific method was most problematic for introspectionism? - Answers - test
Why is Wilhelm Wundt often considered the first experimental psychologist? - Answers -
He did what was necessary to make psychology a field of study that could continue (Ex:
he started a lab, trained PhD students, disseminated research)
Which of the following is an assumption humans make about light sources, reflectance,
and shadows? - Answers - Surfaces are evenly colored
Which of these created the biggest challenge to the feature model of object recognition?
- Answers - Difficulty applying it to natural objects in the real world
Which is true about the template model of object recognition? - Answers - It could not
account for how we can still identify an object when it changes in size
Which of the following questions refers to memory encoding? - Answers - How are
memories created?
After encoding, a memory must be _____ in order to reach a more permanent state. -
Answers - Consolidated
In their exploration of implicit memory, experimenters found that emotional conditioning
and skeletal conditioning are processes supported by distinct areas of the brain. Why is
this important? - Answers - It gave experimenters clues to the structure (large-scale
architecture) of a known cognitive function
What is the relationship between episodic and semantic memories? - Answers -
Episodic memories can turn into semantic memories over time
When your memory system makes errors they tend to be near misses. This is a feature
of: - Answers - content-addressable storage
Why is the Fan Effect incompatible with the spreading activation account of memory
organization? - Answers - The fan effect is NOT incompatible with spreading activation;
it is considered support for it.
Sternberg's short-term memory experiment was used in class to illustrate which
important point: - Answers - It was used to compare multiple competing theories for the
abstract construct of scanning short-term memory
We ask people leaving the grocery store to fill out a questionnaire asking how much
soda they consume and if they have any health problems, and we plan to look for a
