WGU D570 Cognitive Psychology OA 200 Practice Questions And
Correct Anawers 2026 Latest Version Covering The Most Tested
Questions Perfect For A+ GRADE
1. What is the main focus of cognitive psychology?
A. Observable behavior
B. Unconscious motivation
C. Mental processes such as thinking, memory, and perception
D. Social influence
Rationale: Cognitive psychology studies how people acquire, process, and store information rather
than external behavior alone.
2. Which method is commonly used to study internal cognitive processes?
A. Naturalistic observation
B. Introspection
C. Reaction time experiments
D. Case studies
Rationale: Measuring reaction time helps infer mental processes like attention or decision speed.
3. What is the information processing model of cognition?
A. Mind as an emotional system
B. Mind as a computer processing input to output
C. Mind as an unconscious system
D. Mind as behavior patterns
Rationale: The model views cognition as sequential information stages—encoding, storage, and
retrieval.
4. Who is considered a founder of cognitive psychology?
A. Sigmund Freud
B. B.F. Skinner
C. Ulric Neisser
D. Ivan Pavlov
Rationale: Neisser (1967) coined the term “cognitive psychology” and synthesized emerging research
into a unified field.
,5. What is selective attention?
A. Focusing on one stimulus while ignoring others
B. Remembering selective details
C. Dividing attention between tasks
D. Emotional distraction
Rationale: Selective attention allows processing of relevant input while filtering out distractions.
6. The Stroop Task demonstrates difficulty in:
A. Visual perception
B. Ignoring automatic processes
C. Long-term memory
D. Decision-making
Rationale: Naming ink colors conflicts with automatic reading, illustrating interference between
automatic and controlled processes.
7. What does the Atkinson-Shiffrin model describe?
A. Emotional regulation
B. Three memory stages: sensory, short-term, and long-term
C. Attention processes only
D. Behavior shaping
Rationale: This model outlines information flow through memory systems.
8. Which type of memory lasts less than one second?
A. Short-term
B. Long-term
C. Sensory
D. Procedural
Rationale: Sensory memory briefly stores raw input for rapid recognition.
9. What is the capacity of short-term memory according to Miller?
A. 3 ± 2 items
B. 5 ± 2 items
,C. 7 ± 2 items
D. 10 ± 2 items
Rationale: Miller (1956) proposed STM holds 7±2 “chunks” of information.
10. What improves short-term memory capacity?
A. Rehearsal
B. Chunking
C. Forgetting
D. Interference
Rationale: Chunking groups items into meaningful units, increasing memory span.
11. What type of memory stores facts and general knowledge?
A. Episodic
B. Semantic
C. Procedural
D. Iconic
Rationale: Semantic memory involves factual information independent of personal experience.
12. Remembering your first day of college is what type of memory?
A. Procedural
B. Episodic
C. Semantic
D. Implicit
Rationale: Episodic memory stores personal experiences with context and emotion.
13. Which brain structure is most associated with forming new memories?
A. Hippocampus
B. Amygdala
C. Frontal lobe
D. Cerebellum
Rationale: The hippocampus consolidates new declarative (explicit) memories.
14. What is the serial position effect?
, A. Forgetting middle items more easily
B. Remembering items in random order
C. Remembering all items equally
D. Only recalling recent items
Rationale: People recall first (primacy) and last (recency) items better than the middle.
15. Which type of rehearsal leads to long-term retention?
A. Maintenance
B. Elaborative
C. Rote
D. Passive
Rationale: Elaborative rehearsal links new material with existing knowledge for deep encoding.
16. What is procedural memory?
A. Knowing what something is
B. Knowing how to do something
C. Remembering facts
D. Imagining scenarios
Rationale: Procedural memory stores motor skills and habits (e.g., typing or riding a bike).
17. What type of memory is unconscious and automatic?
A. Explicit
B. Implicit
C. Declarative
D. Semantic
Rationale: Implicit memory operates without conscious awareness, such as priming or skills.
18. What is priming?
A. Forgetting previously learned material
B. Exposure influencing later response
C. Long-term decay
D. Emotional recall
Rationale: Priming occurs when prior exposure facilitates later recognition.
Correct Anawers 2026 Latest Version Covering The Most Tested
Questions Perfect For A+ GRADE
1. What is the main focus of cognitive psychology?
A. Observable behavior
B. Unconscious motivation
C. Mental processes such as thinking, memory, and perception
D. Social influence
Rationale: Cognitive psychology studies how people acquire, process, and store information rather
than external behavior alone.
2. Which method is commonly used to study internal cognitive processes?
A. Naturalistic observation
B. Introspection
C. Reaction time experiments
D. Case studies
Rationale: Measuring reaction time helps infer mental processes like attention or decision speed.
3. What is the information processing model of cognition?
A. Mind as an emotional system
B. Mind as a computer processing input to output
C. Mind as an unconscious system
D. Mind as behavior patterns
Rationale: The model views cognition as sequential information stages—encoding, storage, and
retrieval.
4. Who is considered a founder of cognitive psychology?
A. Sigmund Freud
B. B.F. Skinner
C. Ulric Neisser
D. Ivan Pavlov
Rationale: Neisser (1967) coined the term “cognitive psychology” and synthesized emerging research
into a unified field.
,5. What is selective attention?
A. Focusing on one stimulus while ignoring others
B. Remembering selective details
C. Dividing attention between tasks
D. Emotional distraction
Rationale: Selective attention allows processing of relevant input while filtering out distractions.
6. The Stroop Task demonstrates difficulty in:
A. Visual perception
B. Ignoring automatic processes
C. Long-term memory
D. Decision-making
Rationale: Naming ink colors conflicts with automatic reading, illustrating interference between
automatic and controlled processes.
7. What does the Atkinson-Shiffrin model describe?
A. Emotional regulation
B. Three memory stages: sensory, short-term, and long-term
C. Attention processes only
D. Behavior shaping
Rationale: This model outlines information flow through memory systems.
8. Which type of memory lasts less than one second?
A. Short-term
B. Long-term
C. Sensory
D. Procedural
Rationale: Sensory memory briefly stores raw input for rapid recognition.
9. What is the capacity of short-term memory according to Miller?
A. 3 ± 2 items
B. 5 ± 2 items
,C. 7 ± 2 items
D. 10 ± 2 items
Rationale: Miller (1956) proposed STM holds 7±2 “chunks” of information.
10. What improves short-term memory capacity?
A. Rehearsal
B. Chunking
C. Forgetting
D. Interference
Rationale: Chunking groups items into meaningful units, increasing memory span.
11. What type of memory stores facts and general knowledge?
A. Episodic
B. Semantic
C. Procedural
D. Iconic
Rationale: Semantic memory involves factual information independent of personal experience.
12. Remembering your first day of college is what type of memory?
A. Procedural
B. Episodic
C. Semantic
D. Implicit
Rationale: Episodic memory stores personal experiences with context and emotion.
13. Which brain structure is most associated with forming new memories?
A. Hippocampus
B. Amygdala
C. Frontal lobe
D. Cerebellum
Rationale: The hippocampus consolidates new declarative (explicit) memories.
14. What is the serial position effect?
, A. Forgetting middle items more easily
B. Remembering items in random order
C. Remembering all items equally
D. Only recalling recent items
Rationale: People recall first (primacy) and last (recency) items better than the middle.
15. Which type of rehearsal leads to long-term retention?
A. Maintenance
B. Elaborative
C. Rote
D. Passive
Rationale: Elaborative rehearsal links new material with existing knowledge for deep encoding.
16. What is procedural memory?
A. Knowing what something is
B. Knowing how to do something
C. Remembering facts
D. Imagining scenarios
Rationale: Procedural memory stores motor skills and habits (e.g., typing or riding a bike).
17. What type of memory is unconscious and automatic?
A. Explicit
B. Implicit
C. Declarative
D. Semantic
Rationale: Implicit memory operates without conscious awareness, such as priming or skills.
18. What is priming?
A. Forgetting previously learned material
B. Exposure influencing later response
C. Long-term decay
D. Emotional recall
Rationale: Priming occurs when prior exposure facilitates later recognition.
