100%
PYC3703
EXAM PACK
DISTINCTION QUALITY
UNISA EXAM
,Possible Exam Q&A 2026
1. The example at the beginning of the book, in which Ruben talks to his friend on a mobile phone on his way to class,
was used to illustrate how
a. cognitive psychologists study problem solving in adults.
b. several different cognitive processes can take place at one time.
c. human cognition is affected by emotional events.
d. both physiology and behaviour is important to the study of cognition.
ANSWER: b
2. Attention, perception, memory, and decision making are all different types of mental processes in which the mind
engages. These are known as different types of
a. models.
b. cognition.
c. reaction times.
d. savings.
ANSWER: b
3. The branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of the mind is called
a. cognitive psychology.
b. introspection.
c. behaviourism.
d. memory consolidation.
ANSWER: a
4. Donders' (1868) main reason for doing his choice reaction time experiment was to study
a. sensation.
b. childhood attachment styles.
c. decision making.
d. personality development.
ANSWER: c
,01 - Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
5. By comparing reaction times across different tasks, Donders (1868) was able to conclude how long the mind needs to
perform a certain cognitive task. Donders interpreted the difference in reaction time between the simple and choice
conditions of his experiment as indicating how long it took to
a. perceive the stimulus.
b. process the stimulus.
c. attend to the stimulus.
d. make a decision about the stimulus.
ANSWER: d
6. The main point of the Donders' (1868) reaction time experiments was to
a. show that reaction times can be measured accurately.
b. measure the amount of time it takes to make a decision.
c. determine differences in the way people react to stimuli.
d. show that our cognitions are often based on unconscious inferences.
ANSWER: b
7. Reaction time refers to the time between the of a stimulus and a person's response to it.
a. sensation
b. transduction
c. change in intensity
d. presentation
ANSWER: d
8. In Donders' (1868) experiment on decision making, when participants were asked to press one button if the light on
the left was illuminated and another button if the light on the right was illuminated, they were engaged in a
a. reaction time task.
b. simple reaction time task.
c. choice reaction time task.
d. presentation task.
ANSWER: c
, 01 - Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
9. Donders' (1868) measurement of reaction time is particularly important because it demonstrated the "time course" on
which the mind operates. Donders found that it took to decide which of two buttons to push in response to a
stimulus.
a. less than one second
b. between one and two seconds
c. two to five seconds
d. more than five seconds
ANSWER: a
10. The first experiments in cognitive psychology were based on the idea that mental responses can be
a. measured directly.
b. inferred from the participant's behaviour.
c. measured by comparing the presentation of the stimulus and the participant's response.
d. measured by comparing responses among different participants.
ANSWER: b
11. The relationship between the is NOT measured directly by cognitive psychologists.
a. physiological response and the behavioural outcome
b. cognitive task and the behavioural outcome
c. cognitive task and the physiological response
d. cognitive task and the mental response
ANSWER: d
12. Which of the following stimuli were used in Ebbinghaus's "memory" experiments discussed in your text?
a. Common words
b. Light illuminated on the left or the right of a computer screen
c. Grey rectangles in front of light rectangles
d. Three-letter nonsense words
ANSWER: d
13. According to Ebbinghaus's (1913) savings curve, savings is a function of
a. word familiarity.
b. sensory modality.
c. elapsed time.
d. reaction time.
ANSWER: c
PYC3703
EXAM PACK
DISTINCTION QUALITY
UNISA EXAM
,Possible Exam Q&A 2026
1. The example at the beginning of the book, in which Ruben talks to his friend on a mobile phone on his way to class,
was used to illustrate how
a. cognitive psychologists study problem solving in adults.
b. several different cognitive processes can take place at one time.
c. human cognition is affected by emotional events.
d. both physiology and behaviour is important to the study of cognition.
ANSWER: b
2. Attention, perception, memory, and decision making are all different types of mental processes in which the mind
engages. These are known as different types of
a. models.
b. cognition.
c. reaction times.
d. savings.
ANSWER: b
3. The branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of the mind is called
a. cognitive psychology.
b. introspection.
c. behaviourism.
d. memory consolidation.
ANSWER: a
4. Donders' (1868) main reason for doing his choice reaction time experiment was to study
a. sensation.
b. childhood attachment styles.
c. decision making.
d. personality development.
ANSWER: c
,01 - Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
5. By comparing reaction times across different tasks, Donders (1868) was able to conclude how long the mind needs to
perform a certain cognitive task. Donders interpreted the difference in reaction time between the simple and choice
conditions of his experiment as indicating how long it took to
a. perceive the stimulus.
b. process the stimulus.
c. attend to the stimulus.
d. make a decision about the stimulus.
ANSWER: d
6. The main point of the Donders' (1868) reaction time experiments was to
a. show that reaction times can be measured accurately.
b. measure the amount of time it takes to make a decision.
c. determine differences in the way people react to stimuli.
d. show that our cognitions are often based on unconscious inferences.
ANSWER: b
7. Reaction time refers to the time between the of a stimulus and a person's response to it.
a. sensation
b. transduction
c. change in intensity
d. presentation
ANSWER: d
8. In Donders' (1868) experiment on decision making, when participants were asked to press one button if the light on
the left was illuminated and another button if the light on the right was illuminated, they were engaged in a
a. reaction time task.
b. simple reaction time task.
c. choice reaction time task.
d. presentation task.
ANSWER: c
, 01 - Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
9. Donders' (1868) measurement of reaction time is particularly important because it demonstrated the "time course" on
which the mind operates. Donders found that it took to decide which of two buttons to push in response to a
stimulus.
a. less than one second
b. between one and two seconds
c. two to five seconds
d. more than five seconds
ANSWER: a
10. The first experiments in cognitive psychology were based on the idea that mental responses can be
a. measured directly.
b. inferred from the participant's behaviour.
c. measured by comparing the presentation of the stimulus and the participant's response.
d. measured by comparing responses among different participants.
ANSWER: b
11. The relationship between the is NOT measured directly by cognitive psychologists.
a. physiological response and the behavioural outcome
b. cognitive task and the behavioural outcome
c. cognitive task and the physiological response
d. cognitive task and the mental response
ANSWER: d
12. Which of the following stimuli were used in Ebbinghaus's "memory" experiments discussed in your text?
a. Common words
b. Light illuminated on the left or the right of a computer screen
c. Grey rectangles in front of light rectangles
d. Three-letter nonsense words
ANSWER: d
13. According to Ebbinghaus's (1913) savings curve, savings is a function of
a. word familiarity.
b. sensory modality.
c. elapsed time.
d. reaction time.
ANSWER: c
