EXP3604 Exam Questions and Correct Answers

What is the relationship between cognition, cognitive psychology, and the cognitive approach? Cognition is the specific processes in the brain, cognitive approach is the theory attempting to analyze cognition, and cognitive psychology is the study of the brain processes. The cognitive approach believes that internal mental behavior can be scientifically studied using experiments. Cognitive psychology assumes that a mediational process occurs between stimulus/input and response/output. They are all interconnected. What makes cognitive psychology unique compared to other psychological perspectives? cognitive psychology takes up a major portion of human psychology; appreciate other areas of psychology; cognitive psychology is similar to an "owners manual" for your mind What are the 2 essential components of an operational definition? observable & quantifiable Operationally define these variables: memory, intelligence, aggression, attraction. Try to come up with a few of your own too! memory - number of words someone correctly recalls from a list intelligence - standardized IQ tests aggression - number of physical threats made attention - length of time someone maintains eye contact with a stimulus Explain how organization is important to gestalt theory. a major aspect of the gestalt theory is that the mind understands external stimuli as a whole that is structured and organized using grouping laws Understand each step of the Atkinson-Shiffrin model. Describe the strengths/weaknesses of this Model. Information goes into a brief-lived memory store (sensory store), then some information goes into short term memory, then some of the information goes into long term memory. strengths: supported by many studies, influential and generated research into memory weakness: oversimplified Why did Ebbinghaus learn nonsense syllables instead of actual words? He did not want prior knowledge of the language affecting the study What are the factors that contributed to the emergence of modern cognitive psychology? In the 1930's-40's, psychologists were becoming increasingly