WGU D570 Cognitive Psychology OA Exam
2024 [Actual Exam] Real Questions &
Verified A+ Answers | New Version
Question 1: Which experimental paradigm is MOST commonly used to demonstrate the
serial-position effect?
A) Partial-report task
B) Raven’s matrices
C) Free-recall word list
D) Stroop color-naming
Correct Answer: C) Free-recall word list
Explanation: In a free-recall task participants remember a list of words; recall is superior for the first
(primacy) and last (recency) items, producing the classic serial-position curve.
Question 2: According to Baddeley’s working-memory model, which component maintains and
manipulates visuospatial information?
A) Phonological loop
,B) Episodic buffer
C) Visuospatial sketchpad
D) Central executive
Correct Answer: C) Visuospatial sketchpad
Explanation: The visuospatial sketchpad temporarily stores and rehearses visual patterns and
spatial locations, such as remembering the layout of a room.
Question 3: Which level of processing (Craik & Lockhart, 1972) typically produces the HIGHEST
subsequent recall?
A) Orthographic (shallow)
B) Phonemic (intermediate)
C) Semantic (deep)
D) Iconic (sensory)
Correct Answer: C) Semantic (deep)
Explanation: Deep, meaningful processing (e.g., judging whether a word fits a sentence) creates
more durable memory traces than shallow orthographic or phonemic tasks.
Question 4: In signal-detection theory, d′ (d-prime) reflects:
A) Response bias
,B) Criterion placement
C) Sensitivity to the signal
D) Type I error rate
Correct Answer: C) Sensitivity to the signal
Explanation: d′ measures how well a participant can discriminate signal from noise; larger values
indicate better perceptual sensitivity independent of bias.
Question 5: Which memory phenomenon explains why a person who studied Spanish may later find
it harder to recall newly learned French vocabulary?
A) Proactive interference
B) Retroactive interference
C) Encoding specificity
D) Mood congruence
Correct Answer: B) Retroactive interference
Explanation: Retroactive interference occurs when recently acquired information (French) disrupts
retrieval of previously learned material (Spanish).
Question 6: The Stroop effect demonstrates:
A) Automatic word reading interfering with color naming
, B) Color perception improving word recall
C) Semantic priming of lexical decisions
D) Phonemic restoration in noisy sentences
Correct Answer: A) Automatic word reading interfering with color naming
Explanation: Despite instructions to name ink color, highly practiced word reading proceeds
automatically and must be inhibited, causing slower RTs on incongruent trials.
Question 7: Which brain region is MOST critically involved in the phonological loop of working
memory?
A) Left inferior parietal lobule
B) Right occipital cortex
C) Anterior cingulate
D) Hippocampus
Correct Answer: A) Left inferior parietal lobule
Explanation: The supramarginal gyrus (within left inferior parietal) supports subvocal rehearsal and
storage of verbal codes, consistent with neuroimaging of phonological-loop tasks.
Question 8: According to Miller (1956), the average capacity of short-term memory is:
A) 2 ± 1 items
2024 [Actual Exam] Real Questions &
Verified A+ Answers | New Version
Question 1: Which experimental paradigm is MOST commonly used to demonstrate the
serial-position effect?
A) Partial-report task
B) Raven’s matrices
C) Free-recall word list
D) Stroop color-naming
Correct Answer: C) Free-recall word list
Explanation: In a free-recall task participants remember a list of words; recall is superior for the first
(primacy) and last (recency) items, producing the classic serial-position curve.
Question 2: According to Baddeley’s working-memory model, which component maintains and
manipulates visuospatial information?
A) Phonological loop
,B) Episodic buffer
C) Visuospatial sketchpad
D) Central executive
Correct Answer: C) Visuospatial sketchpad
Explanation: The visuospatial sketchpad temporarily stores and rehearses visual patterns and
spatial locations, such as remembering the layout of a room.
Question 3: Which level of processing (Craik & Lockhart, 1972) typically produces the HIGHEST
subsequent recall?
A) Orthographic (shallow)
B) Phonemic (intermediate)
C) Semantic (deep)
D) Iconic (sensory)
Correct Answer: C) Semantic (deep)
Explanation: Deep, meaningful processing (e.g., judging whether a word fits a sentence) creates
more durable memory traces than shallow orthographic or phonemic tasks.
Question 4: In signal-detection theory, d′ (d-prime) reflects:
A) Response bias
,B) Criterion placement
C) Sensitivity to the signal
D) Type I error rate
Correct Answer: C) Sensitivity to the signal
Explanation: d′ measures how well a participant can discriminate signal from noise; larger values
indicate better perceptual sensitivity independent of bias.
Question 5: Which memory phenomenon explains why a person who studied Spanish may later find
it harder to recall newly learned French vocabulary?
A) Proactive interference
B) Retroactive interference
C) Encoding specificity
D) Mood congruence
Correct Answer: B) Retroactive interference
Explanation: Retroactive interference occurs when recently acquired information (French) disrupts
retrieval of previously learned material (Spanish).
Question 6: The Stroop effect demonstrates:
A) Automatic word reading interfering with color naming
, B) Color perception improving word recall
C) Semantic priming of lexical decisions
D) Phonemic restoration in noisy sentences
Correct Answer: A) Automatic word reading interfering with color naming
Explanation: Despite instructions to name ink color, highly practiced word reading proceeds
automatically and must be inhibited, causing slower RTs on incongruent trials.
Question 7: Which brain region is MOST critically involved in the phonological loop of working
memory?
A) Left inferior parietal lobule
B) Right occipital cortex
C) Anterior cingulate
D) Hippocampus
Correct Answer: A) Left inferior parietal lobule
Explanation: The supramarginal gyrus (within left inferior parietal) supports subvocal rehearsal and
storage of verbal codes, consistent with neuroimaging of phonological-loop tasks.
Question 8: According to Miller (1956), the average capacity of short-term memory is:
A) 2 ± 1 items
