(WGU D570) HLTH 4310 Cognitive Psychology
Comprehensive OUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Review 2025
LATEST VERSION//ALREADY GRADED A+
How do individuals solve the Tower of Hanoi Problem? - ANSWER-by implementing means-end
analysis, individuals move discs from one set of pegs to another between the initial and goal states
by creating subgoals.
A brother and sister are arguing over who should get the last slice of pizza. How do the siblings use
the trade-off strategy to decide who get s the last piece of pizza? - ANSWER-the brother realizes
that he wants the pepperoni topping and sister wants the crust, so he takes pepperoni and she takes
crust.
A team of computer programmers is trying to find a solution to fix a problem with their company's
email system. After working on the problem for several hours, they have yet to solve it. How can the
programmers use incubation to solve the problem? - ANSWER-The programmers agree to take a 2
hour lunch break, and once they return, they come up with several possible solutions
Sophia is a mental health therapist and her client, oliver, expressed grief over recent death of his
mother. Sophia also finds herself sad. How do mirror neurons explain sophia's empathy for her
client? - ANSWER-when she observed her client's sadness, Mirror neurons in her brain fired,
allowing her to feel empathy for him as a result.
How does top-down processing explain perception? - ANSWER-perception is shaped by an
individual's prior knowledge and experience
How do psychologists view the role of experience in perception according to Gestalt's principles? -
ANSWER-Gestalt Principles believe role experience in forming what perception is minor compared
to built in perception principles of organism
How does Natural selection explain the oblique effect? - ANSWER-Through evolution visual system
was shaped to contain neuron that respond to things frequently found in the environment
,What does the phrase "leaky filter" mean in Treisman's attenuation model - ANSWER-some
unattended messages pass through the attenuator.
Jack was excited and cheered when his child scored at a soccer game and then became confused
when the ref called a foul and siallowed the goal. How does inattentional blindness explain Jack's
confusion over the ref's call? - ANSWER-Jack was directing his attention to his child, so he did not
see the foul his kid's teammate committed, even though it was in plain sight, which is why he was
confused when the goal didn't count.
How does attention affect information processing? - ANSWER-It improves processing when
directed at a particular location
What is the relationship between perceptual load and a person's processing capacity? - ANSWER-
person carrying out a difficult, high-load task is less likely to be distracted because they have the
lower limits of processing capacity.
Travis took a vacation to a foreign country. While there, he was robbed. Travis now believes that
everyone from that country is a thief. How do illusory correlations contribute to making judgements
that result in stereotyping? - ANSWER-By creating a perceived relationship between certain groups
of people and specific behaviors
All of the dogs are hungry. some hungry animals are aggressive. Some of the dogs are aggressive.
What causes some people to mistakenly think this is a valid syllogism? - ANSWER-a syllogism is
valid due to the belief bias
Mateo goes to vegas. Considers cost of playing, potential payoff, and idea that Slot machine is a
losing position because casino is rigged. Despite this, he plays and loses 500. How can concept of
expected utility approach to decision-making be used to explain Mateo's decision to play the slot
machines? - ANSWER-Considers how people are expected to behave but does not always reflect
how people actually behave; people sometimes make decisions not in their best interest.
Dr. Kalani is a psychologist that specializes in treating children and adolescents with depression and
anxiety. He uses a computer game as part of a weekly therapy session with a 12 year old. Why would
a psychologist use a computer game as a form of mental health treatment? - ANSWER-Computer
games strengthen the client's engagement with treatment
,How does the initial state differ from the goal state in Newell and Simon's problem solving approach
- ANSWER-initial state is the situation surrounding the problem at the begining. the goal state is
the solution to the problem
How does defining the problem allow a student to initiate the problem solution process? -
ANSWER-defining the problem helps identify goals and their related soltions.
How do insight problems and non-insight problems differ? - ANSWER-a person working through
insight problems may not know how close they are to the solution, a person on a non-insight
problem may have a sense of progressing toward the solution.
Which statement describes how mind wandering is related to incubation? - ANSWER-when
working on a problem that cannot initially be solved, mind wandering can occur during a break
Which example illustrates how insight is used to solve problems? - ANSWER-person doesn't
understand the joke and suddenly laughs when they realize it's a pun
Child recognizes a 3D toy, despite several angles being hidden. How do perceptual processes allow
them to make this recognition? - ANSWER-Viewpoint invariance enables object to be recognized
from any angle
How do the 3 components of apparent movement into action to create the misperception of actual
motion? - ANSWER-they combine with such speed the eyes perceive motion
How are expected emotions associated with gains and losses linked to decision-making patterns? -
ANSWER-predicting that loss will have greater effect than an equivalent gain leads to higher risk
avoidance.
Which conclusion is drawn from fMRI studies on brain activity and decision making? - ANSWER-
People with higher brain activity in insula reject more offers than those with lower brain activity due
to correlation between negative emotions and the insula
What do fMRI brain studies reveal about activation during individual decisions? - ANSWER-
Prefrontal Cortex activates predetermined decisions to buy product; insula actives with excess
preced items predetermined decision not to buy.
, Which statement explains the role of stimulant salience in their visual identification? - ANSWER-
bottom-up processing helps identify the one flower because it's different color than the other
flowers
A person is viewing an apartment they want to rent. Which example demonstrates the difference
between overt and covert attention in this situation? - ANSWER-person rapidly moves their eyes
to different objects in the apartment instead of keeping their eyes still.
Researcher wants to gain insights into student's TV watching habits. Which statement describes use
of experiment sampling into this scenario? - ANSWER-researchers sends messages to the
participants to have them indicate whether they were watching TV at that time
What did the results of simons and chabri's research demonstrate that influenced cognitive
psychology? - ANSWER-people attending to specific circumstances often won't notice other
noteworthy circumstances that occur right in front of them
How can top-down processing affect illusory conjunctions, according to Treisman's research? -
ANSWER-objects familiarity can reduce the occurrence of illusory conjunctions.
How does a circadian change in body temperature influence the sleep-wake cycle? - ANSWER-
decreases in body temperature promote sleepiness
What is measured by the paper folding test? - ANSWER-Spatial Imagery
What is mental imagery? - ANSWER-The ability to recreate sensory information without physical
stimuli
What is a component of psychosocial development? - ANSWER-Personality
A child reads the following incorrect sentence: "The car was traveling down the hills were beautiful."
Which cognitive process illustrates casual inference? - ANSWER-The child infers that the hills being
beautiful are caused by the motion of the moving car
Comprehensive OUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Review 2025
LATEST VERSION//ALREADY GRADED A+
How do individuals solve the Tower of Hanoi Problem? - ANSWER-by implementing means-end
analysis, individuals move discs from one set of pegs to another between the initial and goal states
by creating subgoals.
A brother and sister are arguing over who should get the last slice of pizza. How do the siblings use
the trade-off strategy to decide who get s the last piece of pizza? - ANSWER-the brother realizes
that he wants the pepperoni topping and sister wants the crust, so he takes pepperoni and she takes
crust.
A team of computer programmers is trying to find a solution to fix a problem with their company's
email system. After working on the problem for several hours, they have yet to solve it. How can the
programmers use incubation to solve the problem? - ANSWER-The programmers agree to take a 2
hour lunch break, and once they return, they come up with several possible solutions
Sophia is a mental health therapist and her client, oliver, expressed grief over recent death of his
mother. Sophia also finds herself sad. How do mirror neurons explain sophia's empathy for her
client? - ANSWER-when she observed her client's sadness, Mirror neurons in her brain fired,
allowing her to feel empathy for him as a result.
How does top-down processing explain perception? - ANSWER-perception is shaped by an
individual's prior knowledge and experience
How do psychologists view the role of experience in perception according to Gestalt's principles? -
ANSWER-Gestalt Principles believe role experience in forming what perception is minor compared
to built in perception principles of organism
How does Natural selection explain the oblique effect? - ANSWER-Through evolution visual system
was shaped to contain neuron that respond to things frequently found in the environment
,What does the phrase "leaky filter" mean in Treisman's attenuation model - ANSWER-some
unattended messages pass through the attenuator.
Jack was excited and cheered when his child scored at a soccer game and then became confused
when the ref called a foul and siallowed the goal. How does inattentional blindness explain Jack's
confusion over the ref's call? - ANSWER-Jack was directing his attention to his child, so he did not
see the foul his kid's teammate committed, even though it was in plain sight, which is why he was
confused when the goal didn't count.
How does attention affect information processing? - ANSWER-It improves processing when
directed at a particular location
What is the relationship between perceptual load and a person's processing capacity? - ANSWER-
person carrying out a difficult, high-load task is less likely to be distracted because they have the
lower limits of processing capacity.
Travis took a vacation to a foreign country. While there, he was robbed. Travis now believes that
everyone from that country is a thief. How do illusory correlations contribute to making judgements
that result in stereotyping? - ANSWER-By creating a perceived relationship between certain groups
of people and specific behaviors
All of the dogs are hungry. some hungry animals are aggressive. Some of the dogs are aggressive.
What causes some people to mistakenly think this is a valid syllogism? - ANSWER-a syllogism is
valid due to the belief bias
Mateo goes to vegas. Considers cost of playing, potential payoff, and idea that Slot machine is a
losing position because casino is rigged. Despite this, he plays and loses 500. How can concept of
expected utility approach to decision-making be used to explain Mateo's decision to play the slot
machines? - ANSWER-Considers how people are expected to behave but does not always reflect
how people actually behave; people sometimes make decisions not in their best interest.
Dr. Kalani is a psychologist that specializes in treating children and adolescents with depression and
anxiety. He uses a computer game as part of a weekly therapy session with a 12 year old. Why would
a psychologist use a computer game as a form of mental health treatment? - ANSWER-Computer
games strengthen the client's engagement with treatment
,How does the initial state differ from the goal state in Newell and Simon's problem solving approach
- ANSWER-initial state is the situation surrounding the problem at the begining. the goal state is
the solution to the problem
How does defining the problem allow a student to initiate the problem solution process? -
ANSWER-defining the problem helps identify goals and their related soltions.
How do insight problems and non-insight problems differ? - ANSWER-a person working through
insight problems may not know how close they are to the solution, a person on a non-insight
problem may have a sense of progressing toward the solution.
Which statement describes how mind wandering is related to incubation? - ANSWER-when
working on a problem that cannot initially be solved, mind wandering can occur during a break
Which example illustrates how insight is used to solve problems? - ANSWER-person doesn't
understand the joke and suddenly laughs when they realize it's a pun
Child recognizes a 3D toy, despite several angles being hidden. How do perceptual processes allow
them to make this recognition? - ANSWER-Viewpoint invariance enables object to be recognized
from any angle
How do the 3 components of apparent movement into action to create the misperception of actual
motion? - ANSWER-they combine with such speed the eyes perceive motion
How are expected emotions associated with gains and losses linked to decision-making patterns? -
ANSWER-predicting that loss will have greater effect than an equivalent gain leads to higher risk
avoidance.
Which conclusion is drawn from fMRI studies on brain activity and decision making? - ANSWER-
People with higher brain activity in insula reject more offers than those with lower brain activity due
to correlation between negative emotions and the insula
What do fMRI brain studies reveal about activation during individual decisions? - ANSWER-
Prefrontal Cortex activates predetermined decisions to buy product; insula actives with excess
preced items predetermined decision not to buy.
, Which statement explains the role of stimulant salience in their visual identification? - ANSWER-
bottom-up processing helps identify the one flower because it's different color than the other
flowers
A person is viewing an apartment they want to rent. Which example demonstrates the difference
between overt and covert attention in this situation? - ANSWER-person rapidly moves their eyes
to different objects in the apartment instead of keeping their eyes still.
Researcher wants to gain insights into student's TV watching habits. Which statement describes use
of experiment sampling into this scenario? - ANSWER-researchers sends messages to the
participants to have them indicate whether they were watching TV at that time
What did the results of simons and chabri's research demonstrate that influenced cognitive
psychology? - ANSWER-people attending to specific circumstances often won't notice other
noteworthy circumstances that occur right in front of them
How can top-down processing affect illusory conjunctions, according to Treisman's research? -
ANSWER-objects familiarity can reduce the occurrence of illusory conjunctions.
How does a circadian change in body temperature influence the sleep-wake cycle? - ANSWER-
decreases in body temperature promote sleepiness
What is measured by the paper folding test? - ANSWER-Spatial Imagery
What is mental imagery? - ANSWER-The ability to recreate sensory information without physical
stimuli
What is a component of psychosocial development? - ANSWER-Personality
A child reads the following incorrect sentence: "The car was traveling down the hills were beautiful."
Which cognitive process illustrates casual inference? - ANSWER-The child infers that the hills being
beautiful are caused by the motion of the moving car
