Chapter 1: The Science of the Mind
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following topics is NOT commonly studied within cognitive psychology?
a. dreaming c. memory
b. decision-making d. attention
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: The Scope of Cognitive Psychology
OBJ: Applied
2. Patients suffering from clinical amnesia are characterized by a disorder in their:
a. memory c. speech
b. ability to recognize patterns d. ability to comprehend language
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: The Scope of Cognitive Psychology
OBJ: Factual
3. Which of the following statements is LEAST likely to appear in a description of an amnesia
patient, such as H.M.?
a. “He cannot remember what he did earlier today, including events that took place just
an hour ago.”
b. “He read this story last month, but he was still surprised by how the story turned
out.”
c. “Even though he has encountered the nurse many times, he is still unable to
recognize her.”
d. “He has gradually adjusted over the last few months to the news of his uncle’s death.”
, ANS: D DIF: Medium REF: The Scope of Cognitive Psychology
OBJ: Applied
4. The term “introspection” refers to the:
a. process by which one individual seeks to infer the thoughts of another individual
b. procedure of examining thought processing by monitoring the brain’s electrical
activity
c. process of each person looking within, to observe his or her own thoughts and ideas
d. technique of studying thought by interpreting the symbols used in communication
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: The Years of Introspection
OBJ: Factual
5. A participant is asked to look within him- or herself and report on his or her own mental
processes. This method is called:
a. self-reflection c. introspection
b. self-monitoring d. mentalistic study
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: The Years of Introspection
OBJ: Factual
,6. Which of the following statements is NOT a concern about the use of introspection as a
research tool?
a. A verbal report based on introspection may provide a distorted picture of mental
processes that were nonverbal in nature.
b. Different participants use different terms to describe similar experiences.
c. At present, there is enormous uncertainty about the relationship between the activity
in the brain and the ideas and thoughts available to introspection.
d. Participants’ motivation may influence what they choose to disclose.
ANS: C DIF: Medium REF: The Years of Introspection
OBJ: Applied
7. Introspection, by definition, CANNOT be used to study:
a. topics that are strongly colored by emotion
b. mental events that are unconscious
c. processes that involve conceptual knowledge
d. events that take a long time to unfold
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: The Years of Introspection
OBJ: Factual
8. Which of the following statements provides the MOST serious obstacle to the use of
introspection as a source of scientific evidence?
a. When facts are provided by introspection, we have no way to assess the facts
themselves, independent of the reporter’s particular perspective on the facts.
b. Introspection requires an alert, verbally expressive investigator; otherwise, the
evidence provided by introspection will be of poor quality.
c. Introspection provides evidence about some mental events but cannot provide
evidence about unconscious processes or ideas.
, d. The process of reporting on one’s own mental events can take a lot of time and can
slow down the processes under investigation.
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: The Years of Introspection
OBJ: Applied
9. Which of the following would a classical behaviorist be LEAST likely to study?
a. a participant’s response to a particular situation
b. a participant’s beliefs
c. changes in a participant’s behavior that follow changes in the environment
d. principles that apply equally to human behavior and to the behavior of other species
ANS: B DIF: Medium REF: The Years of Behaviorism
OBJ: Applied
10. Historically, the movement known as behaviorism was encouraged by scholars’ concerns
regarding:
a. psychotherapy
b. an exaggerated focus on participants’ responses
c. research based on introspection
d. a focus on brain mechanisms and a corresponding inattention to mental states
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: The Years of Behaviorism
OBJ: Applied
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following topics is NOT commonly studied within cognitive psychology?
a. dreaming c. memory
b. decision-making d. attention
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: The Scope of Cognitive Psychology
OBJ: Applied
2. Patients suffering from clinical amnesia are characterized by a disorder in their:
a. memory c. speech
b. ability to recognize patterns d. ability to comprehend language
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: The Scope of Cognitive Psychology
OBJ: Factual
3. Which of the following statements is LEAST likely to appear in a description of an amnesia
patient, such as H.M.?
a. “He cannot remember what he did earlier today, including events that took place just
an hour ago.”
b. “He read this story last month, but he was still surprised by how the story turned
out.”
c. “Even though he has encountered the nurse many times, he is still unable to
recognize her.”
d. “He has gradually adjusted over the last few months to the news of his uncle’s death.”
, ANS: D DIF: Medium REF: The Scope of Cognitive Psychology
OBJ: Applied
4. The term “introspection” refers to the:
a. process by which one individual seeks to infer the thoughts of another individual
b. procedure of examining thought processing by monitoring the brain’s electrical
activity
c. process of each person looking within, to observe his or her own thoughts and ideas
d. technique of studying thought by interpreting the symbols used in communication
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: The Years of Introspection
OBJ: Factual
5. A participant is asked to look within him- or herself and report on his or her own mental
processes. This method is called:
a. self-reflection c. introspection
b. self-monitoring d. mentalistic study
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: The Years of Introspection
OBJ: Factual
,6. Which of the following statements is NOT a concern about the use of introspection as a
research tool?
a. A verbal report based on introspection may provide a distorted picture of mental
processes that were nonverbal in nature.
b. Different participants use different terms to describe similar experiences.
c. At present, there is enormous uncertainty about the relationship between the activity
in the brain and the ideas and thoughts available to introspection.
d. Participants’ motivation may influence what they choose to disclose.
ANS: C DIF: Medium REF: The Years of Introspection
OBJ: Applied
7. Introspection, by definition, CANNOT be used to study:
a. topics that are strongly colored by emotion
b. mental events that are unconscious
c. processes that involve conceptual knowledge
d. events that take a long time to unfold
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: The Years of Introspection
OBJ: Factual
8. Which of the following statements provides the MOST serious obstacle to the use of
introspection as a source of scientific evidence?
a. When facts are provided by introspection, we have no way to assess the facts
themselves, independent of the reporter’s particular perspective on the facts.
b. Introspection requires an alert, verbally expressive investigator; otherwise, the
evidence provided by introspection will be of poor quality.
c. Introspection provides evidence about some mental events but cannot provide
evidence about unconscious processes or ideas.
, d. The process of reporting on one’s own mental events can take a lot of time and can
slow down the processes under investigation.
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: The Years of Introspection
OBJ: Applied
9. Which of the following would a classical behaviorist be LEAST likely to study?
a. a participant’s response to a particular situation
b. a participant’s beliefs
c. changes in a participant’s behavior that follow changes in the environment
d. principles that apply equally to human behavior and to the behavior of other species
ANS: B DIF: Medium REF: The Years of Behaviorism
OBJ: Applied
10. Historically, the movement known as behaviorism was encouraged by scholars’ concerns
regarding:
a. psychotherapy
b. an exaggerated focus on participants’ responses
c. research based on introspection
d. a focus on brain mechanisms and a corresponding inattention to mental states
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: The Years of Behaviorism
OBJ: Applied
