WGU D570 Objective Assessment Review (Latest 2025/
2026 Update) Cognitive Psychology | Qs & As| Grade A|
100% Correct (Verified Answers)
What is cognitive psychology?
A branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of the mind - that
includes such mental processes as perception, attention, memory, language,
problem solving, etc.
How is it possible to study the inner workings of the mind, when we can't really
see the mind directly?
We can study cognition indirectly by observing and measuring behavior.
Donders' reaction time experiment
Simple reaction time
-When light flashes, push button
Choice reaction time
-When light flashes on left or right, push left or right button.
Average Choice RT 250 ms
- Average Simple RT 150 ms
= 100 ms to make a decision
Ebbinghaus' memory experiment
Present a list of nonsense words:
DAX
BIV
LUH
etc.
Recorded number of trials to learn the list initially
, After a delay, recorded how many repetitions it took to relearn list - this was then
converted into percent savings
Wundt's psychology laboratory (1879)
Used introspection to study the mind.
Introspection - technique of breaking down psychology experiences into primary
sensations.
Behaviorism (John Watson)
A movement in psychology that emphasized the study of behavior over inner
mental processes.
Watson believed that psychology's goals should be to predict and control behavior
and not study the inner workings of the mind.
Watson's Little Albert Experiment
-Showed certain behaviors can be socially taught and modeled
Operant conditioning
Focuses on how behavior is strengthened by the presence of positive
reinforcement.
Tolman's cognitive map
Mental representation which serves an individual to acquire, code, store, recall,
and decode information about the relative locations in their everyday or
metaphorical spatial environment
Skinner on Language Acquisition
In Verbal Behavior Skinner asserted that children learn language through operant
conditioning.
Child sees a dog, says "Doggie!" Parents say, "Right, that's a doggie!" Child's verbal
behavior reinforced by parents.
2026 Update) Cognitive Psychology | Qs & As| Grade A|
100% Correct (Verified Answers)
What is cognitive psychology?
A branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of the mind - that
includes such mental processes as perception, attention, memory, language,
problem solving, etc.
How is it possible to study the inner workings of the mind, when we can't really
see the mind directly?
We can study cognition indirectly by observing and measuring behavior.
Donders' reaction time experiment
Simple reaction time
-When light flashes, push button
Choice reaction time
-When light flashes on left or right, push left or right button.
Average Choice RT 250 ms
- Average Simple RT 150 ms
= 100 ms to make a decision
Ebbinghaus' memory experiment
Present a list of nonsense words:
DAX
BIV
LUH
etc.
Recorded number of trials to learn the list initially
, After a delay, recorded how many repetitions it took to relearn list - this was then
converted into percent savings
Wundt's psychology laboratory (1879)
Used introspection to study the mind.
Introspection - technique of breaking down psychology experiences into primary
sensations.
Behaviorism (John Watson)
A movement in psychology that emphasized the study of behavior over inner
mental processes.
Watson believed that psychology's goals should be to predict and control behavior
and not study the inner workings of the mind.
Watson's Little Albert Experiment
-Showed certain behaviors can be socially taught and modeled
Operant conditioning
Focuses on how behavior is strengthened by the presence of positive
reinforcement.
Tolman's cognitive map
Mental representation which serves an individual to acquire, code, store, recall,
and decode information about the relative locations in their everyday or
metaphorical spatial environment
Skinner on Language Acquisition
In Verbal Behavior Skinner asserted that children learn language through operant
conditioning.
Child sees a dog, says "Doggie!" Parents say, "Right, that's a doggie!" Child's verbal
behavior reinforced by parents.
