COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY UPDATED
ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE
●● Behaviorism vs Cognitive Psychology
Answer: Cognitive psychology focuses on internal mental processes, not
just observable behavior.
●● Cognitive Psychology vs Neuroscience
Answer: Cognitive psychology deals with functions (what the mind
does); neuroscience deals with mechanisms (how the brain implements
them).
●● Cognitive Psychology vs Social/Clinical Psychology
Answer: Social psychology examines how others influence
thoughts/behavior; clinical psychology focuses on disorders and
treatment; cognitive psychology studies general mechanisms.
●● Attention in Daily Experiences
Answer: Examples include losing keys (attention, prospective memory),
cramming vs spaced studying (encoding, retrieval, forgetting), and
driving on 'autopilot' (automaticity, divided attention).
, ●● Limitations of Attention
Answer: Attention has limited capacity and is a finite resource; tasks
compete for it.
●● Input/Reflexive Attention
Answer: Automatic, stimulus-driven attention that is fast and hard to
suppress.
●● Controlled Attention
Answer: Goal-directed, voluntary attention that is effortful and uses
working memory.
●● Working Memory
Answer: A limited-capacity system for holding and manipulating
information over a short period.
●● Role of Attention in Working Memory
Answer: Attention selects what enters working memory, maintains focus
on relevant items, and shifts between tasks.
●● Early Selection Theory
Answer: Filtering happens before meaning is fully processed;
unattended information is mostly blocked.
ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE
●● Behaviorism vs Cognitive Psychology
Answer: Cognitive psychology focuses on internal mental processes, not
just observable behavior.
●● Cognitive Psychology vs Neuroscience
Answer: Cognitive psychology deals with functions (what the mind
does); neuroscience deals with mechanisms (how the brain implements
them).
●● Cognitive Psychology vs Social/Clinical Psychology
Answer: Social psychology examines how others influence
thoughts/behavior; clinical psychology focuses on disorders and
treatment; cognitive psychology studies general mechanisms.
●● Attention in Daily Experiences
Answer: Examples include losing keys (attention, prospective memory),
cramming vs spaced studying (encoding, retrieval, forgetting), and
driving on 'autopilot' (automaticity, divided attention).
, ●● Limitations of Attention
Answer: Attention has limited capacity and is a finite resource; tasks
compete for it.
●● Input/Reflexive Attention
Answer: Automatic, stimulus-driven attention that is fast and hard to
suppress.
●● Controlled Attention
Answer: Goal-directed, voluntary attention that is effortful and uses
working memory.
●● Working Memory
Answer: A limited-capacity system for holding and manipulating
information over a short period.
●● Role of Attention in Working Memory
Answer: Attention selects what enters working memory, maintains focus
on relevant items, and shifts between tasks.
●● Early Selection Theory
Answer: Filtering happens before meaning is fully processed;
unattended information is mostly blocked.
