CSU - PSY 452 Final Exam - Dr.
Rhodes questions & answers
2025/2026
Distinguish between the distal stimulus and the proximal stimulus. - correct answer ✔✔The
distal stimulus is the actual object in the environment, while the proximal stimulus is the image
of that object on the sensory receptors.
What is the difference between figure and ground in visual perception? - correct answer
✔✔Figure refers to the object that is the focus of attention, while ground is the background.
Reversals in ambiguous figure-ground relationships occur when the perception shifts between
which area is the figure and which is the ground.
Distinguish between bottom-up and top-down processing. - correct answer ✔✔Bottom-up
processing relies on sensory input to build perception, while top-down processing uses prior
knowledge and expectations to influence perception.
What is the word superiority effect? - correct answer ✔✔It is the phenomenon where letters
are more easily recognized within the context of a word than in isolation or in a non-word.
What is template-matching theory, and why is it insufficient? - correct answer ✔✔Template-
matching theory suggests we recognize objects by comparing them to stored templates. It is
insufficient because it cannot explain variability in object appearance, novel object recognition,
or rapid processing.
Describe Biederman's recognition-by-components theory. - correct answer ✔✔The theory
posits that objects are recognized by identifying their basic components, called geons. It
emphasizes an object-centered approach to recognition.
,What are the "what" and "how" visual systems? - correct answer ✔✔The "what" system is
responsible for identifying objects and is linked to the ventral stream, while the "how" system is
responsible for guiding actions and is linked to the dorsal stream.
What is change blindness? - correct answer ✔✔Change blindness is the failure to notice large
changes in a visual scene. It is tested by showing scenes with and without changes, often
revealing how attention affects perception.
How does action-specific perception influence perception? - correct answer ✔✔This
perspective suggests that perception is influenced by the perceiver's potential actions. Profitt et
al. (2003) demonstrated this by showing how physical effort influences the perceived steepness
of hills.
What is prosopagnosia? - correct answer ✔✔Prosopagnosia, or face blindness, is a neurological
condition where individuals have difficulty recognizing faces, even those of familiar people.
How does inattentional blindness differ from change blindness? - correct answer
✔✔Inattentional blindness occurs when we fail to notice something unexpected while focusing
on another task, whereas change blindness involves failing to detect changes in a scene.
What is introspection, and why did it fail as a method of studying the mind? - correct answer
✔✔Introspection is the examination of one's own mental processes. It failed because it was
subjective, lacked reliability, and could not study unconscious processes.
What are the principles of behaviorism, and what are three of its major contributions to
psychology? - correct answer ✔✔Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors, rejecting
introspection. Contributions include:
- Emphasis on empirical methods.
- Theories of conditioning (classical and operant).
- Applications in learning and behavior modification.
,How did Tolman, Ritchie, and Kalish's (1946) study challenge behaviorism? - correct answer
✔✔They demonstrated latent learning in rats, showing that cognitive maps formed without
reinforcement, which contradicted strict behaviorism's focus on stimulus-response.
Why did cognitive psychology emerge in response to behaviorism? - correct answer
✔✔Dissatisfaction arose due to:
- Behaviorism's inability to explain language acquisition (e.g., Chomsky's critique of Skinner).
- Insights from Gestalt psychology emphasizing perception and holistic processes.
What were William James' contributions to early psychology? - correct answer ✔✔James
introduced functionalism, emphasizing the purpose of mental processes, and wrote The
Principles of Psychology, a foundational text.
What were Mary Calkins' contributions to early psychology? - correct answer ✔✔Calkins
developed paired-associate learning techniques and was an advocate for studying the self
within psychology.
What were Hermann Ebbinghaus' contributions to early psychology? - correct answer
✔✔Ebbinghaus pioneered experimental memory research, including the forgetting curve and
the spacing effect.
What factors contributed to the rise of cognitive psychology? - correct answer ✔✔Factors
included advancements in computer science, dissatisfaction with behaviorism, and the
development of experimental methods to study mental processes.
How is the mind like a computer, and what are the limitations of this metaphor? - correct
answer ✔✔Similarities: Both process information in stages (input, storage, output). Limitations:
Humans are influenced by emotions, context, and are not strictly rule-based.
, What are the assumptions of the information processing approach? - correct answer
✔✔Assumes the mind processes information in discrete stages and uses memory stores. This
differs from behaviorism by emphasizing internal mental states.
How has modern cognitive psychology evolved beyond the information processing approach? -
correct answer ✔✔It incorporates connectionist models (parallel processing) and cognitive
neuroscience, focusing on neural underpinnings of mental processes.
What is cognitive psychology, and what are its core assumptions? - correct answer ✔✔Cognitive
psychology studies mental processes like perception, memory, and problem-solving. Core
assumptions include that mental processes can be studied scientifically and are essential for
understanding behavior.
What is attention, and what are two basic features of attention? - correct answer ✔✔Attention
is the process of focusing on specific information while ignoring other stimuli. Two features are
selectivity (filtering relevant information) and limited capacity (handling a finite amount of
information).
What is divided attention, and provide a research example. - correct answer ✔✔Divided
attention is the ability to focus on multiple tasks simultaneously. Example: Dual-task studies
where participants perform a primary task while responding to a secondary task show that
performance often declines on one or both tasks.
What is multitasking, and how has it been studied in the classroom? - correct answer
✔✔Multitasking involves performing multiple tasks at once. Studies show that students using
laptops or phones during lectures score lower on retention and comprehension compared to
those focused on the lecture.
What are the hallmarks of automaticity? - correct answer ✔✔Automatic tasks require little
conscious effort, are fast, and are difficult to modify once learned.
Rhodes questions & answers
2025/2026
Distinguish between the distal stimulus and the proximal stimulus. - correct answer ✔✔The
distal stimulus is the actual object in the environment, while the proximal stimulus is the image
of that object on the sensory receptors.
What is the difference between figure and ground in visual perception? - correct answer
✔✔Figure refers to the object that is the focus of attention, while ground is the background.
Reversals in ambiguous figure-ground relationships occur when the perception shifts between
which area is the figure and which is the ground.
Distinguish between bottom-up and top-down processing. - correct answer ✔✔Bottom-up
processing relies on sensory input to build perception, while top-down processing uses prior
knowledge and expectations to influence perception.
What is the word superiority effect? - correct answer ✔✔It is the phenomenon where letters
are more easily recognized within the context of a word than in isolation or in a non-word.
What is template-matching theory, and why is it insufficient? - correct answer ✔✔Template-
matching theory suggests we recognize objects by comparing them to stored templates. It is
insufficient because it cannot explain variability in object appearance, novel object recognition,
or rapid processing.
Describe Biederman's recognition-by-components theory. - correct answer ✔✔The theory
posits that objects are recognized by identifying their basic components, called geons. It
emphasizes an object-centered approach to recognition.
,What are the "what" and "how" visual systems? - correct answer ✔✔The "what" system is
responsible for identifying objects and is linked to the ventral stream, while the "how" system is
responsible for guiding actions and is linked to the dorsal stream.
What is change blindness? - correct answer ✔✔Change blindness is the failure to notice large
changes in a visual scene. It is tested by showing scenes with and without changes, often
revealing how attention affects perception.
How does action-specific perception influence perception? - correct answer ✔✔This
perspective suggests that perception is influenced by the perceiver's potential actions. Profitt et
al. (2003) demonstrated this by showing how physical effort influences the perceived steepness
of hills.
What is prosopagnosia? - correct answer ✔✔Prosopagnosia, or face blindness, is a neurological
condition where individuals have difficulty recognizing faces, even those of familiar people.
How does inattentional blindness differ from change blindness? - correct answer
✔✔Inattentional blindness occurs when we fail to notice something unexpected while focusing
on another task, whereas change blindness involves failing to detect changes in a scene.
What is introspection, and why did it fail as a method of studying the mind? - correct answer
✔✔Introspection is the examination of one's own mental processes. It failed because it was
subjective, lacked reliability, and could not study unconscious processes.
What are the principles of behaviorism, and what are three of its major contributions to
psychology? - correct answer ✔✔Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors, rejecting
introspection. Contributions include:
- Emphasis on empirical methods.
- Theories of conditioning (classical and operant).
- Applications in learning and behavior modification.
,How did Tolman, Ritchie, and Kalish's (1946) study challenge behaviorism? - correct answer
✔✔They demonstrated latent learning in rats, showing that cognitive maps formed without
reinforcement, which contradicted strict behaviorism's focus on stimulus-response.
Why did cognitive psychology emerge in response to behaviorism? - correct answer
✔✔Dissatisfaction arose due to:
- Behaviorism's inability to explain language acquisition (e.g., Chomsky's critique of Skinner).
- Insights from Gestalt psychology emphasizing perception and holistic processes.
What were William James' contributions to early psychology? - correct answer ✔✔James
introduced functionalism, emphasizing the purpose of mental processes, and wrote The
Principles of Psychology, a foundational text.
What were Mary Calkins' contributions to early psychology? - correct answer ✔✔Calkins
developed paired-associate learning techniques and was an advocate for studying the self
within psychology.
What were Hermann Ebbinghaus' contributions to early psychology? - correct answer
✔✔Ebbinghaus pioneered experimental memory research, including the forgetting curve and
the spacing effect.
What factors contributed to the rise of cognitive psychology? - correct answer ✔✔Factors
included advancements in computer science, dissatisfaction with behaviorism, and the
development of experimental methods to study mental processes.
How is the mind like a computer, and what are the limitations of this metaphor? - correct
answer ✔✔Similarities: Both process information in stages (input, storage, output). Limitations:
Humans are influenced by emotions, context, and are not strictly rule-based.
, What are the assumptions of the information processing approach? - correct answer
✔✔Assumes the mind processes information in discrete stages and uses memory stores. This
differs from behaviorism by emphasizing internal mental states.
How has modern cognitive psychology evolved beyond the information processing approach? -
correct answer ✔✔It incorporates connectionist models (parallel processing) and cognitive
neuroscience, focusing on neural underpinnings of mental processes.
What is cognitive psychology, and what are its core assumptions? - correct answer ✔✔Cognitive
psychology studies mental processes like perception, memory, and problem-solving. Core
assumptions include that mental processes can be studied scientifically and are essential for
understanding behavior.
What is attention, and what are two basic features of attention? - correct answer ✔✔Attention
is the process of focusing on specific information while ignoring other stimuli. Two features are
selectivity (filtering relevant information) and limited capacity (handling a finite amount of
information).
What is divided attention, and provide a research example. - correct answer ✔✔Divided
attention is the ability to focus on multiple tasks simultaneously. Example: Dual-task studies
where participants perform a primary task while responding to a secondary task show that
performance often declines on one or both tasks.
What is multitasking, and how has it been studied in the classroom? - correct answer
✔✔Multitasking involves performing multiple tasks at once. Studies show that students using
laptops or phones during lectures score lower on retention and comprehension compared to
those focused on the lecture.
What are the hallmarks of automaticity? - correct answer ✔✔Automatic tasks require little
conscious effort, are fast, and are difficult to modify once learned.
