Cognitive Psychology
Final Exam Review
May 5, 2006
Chapter 9 Questions

In order to understand the nature of
representation there are two types of coding.
What are these two types and describe them.

Answer: people study the visual imagery in
order to understand the nature of
representation through analogue coding and
symbolic coding.


Analogue coding is when a person is trying to see
whether the representation preserves the main
perceptual features.
On the other hand, symbolic coding deals with
how might the images differ, or rather yet, if there
is a more abstract representation of verbal
description.

The amount of _____ determines reaction
time.

Answer= Rotation

Explain the details and results of Kosslyn's
mental-walk task.

Participants were to imagine that they were
walking toward a mental image of an animal.
They then had to estimate how far away they
were from the animal when they began to
experience "overflow" (when the image filled
the visual field or when its edges started to
become fuzzy. Participants had to move
closer for smaller animals than for larger
animals. The results concluded taht images
are spatial, just like perception.

What is mental rotation and how does it apply
to the Shepard, R.N. & Metzler, J. Article?

Mental rotation is the rotation of an object in one’s
mind. This phenomenon applies to the Shepard et.
al. article because this experiment studied
participants’ mental rotation of three-dimensional
objects and how this helped them to determine if the
shapes were comparable to one another or not. The
participants took both ends of the three-dimensional
objects and rotated them until they could match the
two ends up or until they realized that the objects
were not the same.
Chapter 10 Questions

What is the name and meaning of the four
language components discussed during
lecture?




1. phonology: rules governing structure and
sequencing of speech sounds
2. semantics: relationship between language
and meaning of words and their combinations
3. syntax: grammar, structural rules
governing how words are arranged
4. pragmatics: rules for word
usage/communication with others




1. phonology: rules governing the structure
and sequencing of speech sounds.
2. semantics: meaning of words and word
combination.
3. syntax: rules governing how words are
arranged into sentences.
4. pragmatics: rules determining how to
engage in communication with others.
What is not a component of language?
 a. phonology
 b. semantics
 c. pragmatics
 d. syntax
 e. segmentation
What is not a component of language?
 a. phonology
 b. semantics
 c. pragmatics
 d. syntax
 e. segmentation

Explain the basis behind linguistic
determinism. Provide an example.


Language determines thought. If word exists
for something then you are able to think that
thought, but if no word exists then you can’t;
Told to imagine skydiving: can think of what
would be doing, can picture a plane or
scenery down below, can even tell whether
feel excited or frightened; if no word existed
then everyone would have completely
different or no thoughts at all
In regards to context effect, the word bug leads
to a situation called:
 A. Speech Segmentation
 B. Syntactic ambiguity
 C. Lexical ambiguity
 D. Word-frequency effect
In regards to context effect, the word bug leads
to a situation called:
 A. Speech Segmentation
 B. Syntactic ambiguity
 C. Lexical ambiguity
 D. Word-frequency effect

Within the biological bases of language,
compare Broca’s aphasia with Wernicke’s
aphasia.


Broca’s: damage to left frontal lobe, good
language comprehension, disrupted
production of language
Wernicke’s: damage to left temporal lobe,
difficulty comprehending speech, produce
effortless and fluent speech that does not
make sense

Define language and give the property of
language that enables us to create new and
unique sentences.

Language is a system of communication
through which we code and express our
feelings, thoughts, ideas, and experiences.
The property that enables us to create new
and unique sentences is that it has a
structure that is hierarchical and that is
governed by rules.
John had severe head trauma due to a brutal
car accident and now has great difficulty
producing speech. It is very likely that John
had severe trauma to:
 A. Wernicke’s Area
 B. Broca’s Area
 C. There was no specific area of trauma
John had severe head trauma due to a brutal
car accident and now has great difficulty
producing speech. It is very likely that John
had severe trauma to:
 A. Wernicke’s Area
 B. Broca’s Area
 C. There was no specific area of trauma
Chapter 11 Questions
What is not a step in problem solving?
 a. goal state
 b. end state
 c. initial state
 d. intermediate state
What is not a step in problem solving?
 a. goal state
 b. end state
 c. initial state
 d. intermediate state

If you wanted to solve a problem using a
similar solution that worked on another
problem this would be called using:

A.
B.
C.
D.



Algorithms
Heuristics
Biases
Mental Sets

If you wanted to solve a problem using a
similar solution that worked on another
problem this would be called using:
A.
 B.
 C.
 D.

Algorithms
Heuristics
Biases
Mental Sets

True or False:

Representativeness influence perceptions of base
rate.

True: Representativeness influence
perceptions of base rate.
Ed has been an engineering professor for 25 years. Todd is
a social work major in his Junior year. They are both
given a difficult engineering problem to solve. Which is
not likely to be true?
 a) Ed knows more about engineering so he won't
analyze the problem as long
 b) Todd will analzye the problem longer because he does
not know as much about engineering
 c) Ed will organize the problem into deep structures
while Todd will analyze the problem into surface
structures
 d) Ed possesses more knowledge about engineering
Ed has been an engineering professor for 25 years. Todd is
a social work major in his Junior year. They are both
given a difficult engineering problem to solve. Which is
not likely to be true?
 a) Ed knows more about engineering so he won't
analyze the problem as long
 b) Todd will analzye the problem longer because he does
not know as much about engineering
 c) Ed will organize the problem into deep structures
while Todd will analyze the problem into surface
structures
 d) Ed possesses more knowledge about engineering

What is the means-end analysis and its
steps? Provide an example.



Answer: The means-end analysis is a problem solving
strategy in which the goal is to reduce the differences
between the initial and goal state. In order to do this, a
person must work to achieve sub goals that move closer
to the goal.
There are 5 steps: set up goal or sub-goal, look for
difference between current state and goal/sub goal, look
for operator that will reduce or eliminate this difference,
apply operator, apply steps 2-4 repeatedly until all sub
goals and final goal are achieved.
An example would be the tower of Hanoi?in which the
sub goal was to free up the third disk C and in order to
do that disk A was moved and then disk B was moved.


Means-end analysis is creating sub-goals to get closer to a goal
state. The concept of means-end analysis begins with the set-up
of a goal or a sub-goal and then looking for the difference
between your current state and the goal/sub-goal. Next, you look
for the operator that will reduce or eliminate the difference, apply
the operator, then repeat steps 2 through 4 until all of your subgoals and final goal is achieved.
A general goal for college students would be to graduate in four
years. Some students may be in the predicament of having to
stay here for an extra semester or two. The operator that could
reduce the amount of the time that they have here would be
summer school or taking more than 12 hours a semester. By
registering for summer school or more hours the student will
have a greater chance of graduating in four years. They will
have an even better chance if they continue to do this each
semester until they graduate.
What is an example of means-end analysis
(MEA)?
 a. Aiming to get an A on a test
 b. Maintaining an attitude
 c. The process of figuring out which solution
best fits the problem
 d. A process used in probability
What is an example of means-end analysis
(MEA)?
 a. Aiming to get an A on a test
 b. Maintaining an attitude
 c. The process of figuring out which solution
best fits the problem
 d. A process used in probability
Chapter 12 Questions
Which best exemplifies Gambler's Fallacy?
 a. Drawing an Ace in a deck of cards
 b. Throwing a bullseye on a dart board
 c. Six siblings to be boy/girl/boy/boy/girl/girl
 d. Winning the lottery
Which best exemplifies Gambler's Fallacy?
 a. Drawing an Ace in a deck of cards
 b. Throwing a bullseye on a dart board
 c. Six siblings to be boy/girl/boy/boy/girl/girl
 d. Winning the lottery

What are normative models and where can
we use them ?

Normative models are how people should
make decisions and can be used in
economics, math, and philosophy.

What are the decision making models that
Tversky and Kahneman described in article
F?



Answer: There are two decision making
models: normative and descriptive model.
The normative model describes how people
should make decisions by wither usually
involving calculations and rational choice.
The other model would be descriptive model
in which it is how people actually make
decisions by either using heuristics or biases.
Billy wants to purchase a vacation package from a
travel agent. If he goes to travel agent A he can
purchase a package for $200, but if he goes to
travel agent B there is a chance he get get the same
package for half price but also a chance they will be
sold out of the package he wants to purchase.
Which would be an example of risk aversion?
 a) going to travel agent A
 b) choosing a totally different travel agent
 c) saving his money and not going at all
 d) going to travel agent B
Billy wants to purchase a vacation package from a
travel agent. If he goes to travel agent A he can
purchase a package for $200, but if he goes to
travel agent B there is a chance he get get the same
package for half price but also a chance they will be
sold out of the package he wants to purchase.
Which would be an example of risk aversion?
 a) going to travel agent A
 b) choosing a totally different travel agent
 c) saving his money and not going at all
 d) going to travel agent B


True or false?
We use mental models to help determine the
validity of syllogisms in deductive reasoning.

True: We use mental models to help
determine the validity of syllogisms in
deductive reasoning.
Cognitive Development
Questions
What is the first stage of the cognitive
developmental model by Piaget?
 a. sensorimotor stage
 b. formal operational stage
 c. preoperational stage
 d. concrete operational stage
 e. beginning stage
What is the first stage of the cognitive
developmental model by Piaget?
 a. sensorimotor stage
 b. formal operational stage
 c. preoperational stage
 d. concrete operational stage
 e. beginning stage


True or False:
Piaget’s theory on children’s development is
based on patterns and stages that may be
entered at any age depending on individual
differences.

False: Piaget’s theory on children’s
development is based on patterns and stages
that must be entered at the specific age listed
age. Individual differences are not factored in

How do both Piaget and Vygotsky account for
learning in an educational environment
(school, day care, etc.) How do they differ in
their views?

A. Piaget uses more of a constructive view on education. The
children learn by interacting with the environment and social
surroundings. This includes classroom activities in a stimulating
environment and a more hands-on learning environment.
Vygotsky uses the scaffolding method of education. This means
the children get a lot of help at first and the help decreases
gradually. He also believes in the Zone of Proximal Development,
which is the difference between what a child can do on their own
and what they get help with. Vygotsky would probably use a lot of
homework sheets and the smarter kids would help the children
with difficulty on the activities.
Gina's 7 month old little girl accidentally bumps
into her mobile. She likes the way it made it
move so she does it again. This is an
example of Piaget's
 a) reflexive schema
 b) primary circular reaction
 c) secondary circular reaction
 d) coordination of secondary circular reaction
Gina's 7 month old little girl accidentally bumps
into her mobile. She likes the way it made it
move so she does it again. This is an
example of Piaget's
 a) reflexive schema
 b) primary circular reaction
 c) secondary circular reaction
 d) coordination of secondary circular reaction

What are the four stages of cognitive
development?




1. Sensorimotor stage
2. Preoperational stage
3. Concrete operational stage
4. Formal operational stage

What are schemes? Give examples of how
infants incorporate schemes to shape their
behavior(s).

A. Schemes are psychological structures that help
shape behavior and help us learn about the world.
An infant would use schemes such as banging
something against the kitchen table to learn about
textures and how different stimuli sound when hit.
Also, infants drop items to learn about basic gravity
issues, and to learn about different sounds and
affects things do when they drop. For example they
know when they drop an egg it breaks, while
dropping a spoon doesn’t do any damage.
If a child sees that a toy is blocked by another
object, which sensorimotor substage is the
child in?
 a. reflexive shemes
 b. secondary circular reactions
 c. mental representation
 d. coordination of secondary circular
reactions
If a child sees that a toy is blocked by another
object, which sensorimotor substage is the
child in?
 a. reflexive shemes
 b. secondary circular reactions
 c. mental representation
 d. coordination of secondary circular
reactions

What is Vygotsky's sociocultural theory?


Answer: It is the idea that higher cognitive
processes develop out of social interaction
through joint activities with more mature
partners.
Internalization is the process by which what is
social become personal and private speech is
self-directed speech used to guide and plan
own behavior.

Describe the two ways that cognitive changes
take place.

The first way is assimilation, which is the use
of current schemes to interpret the world.

The second way is accommodation, which is
to adjust old schemes or create new ones
after noticing current thinking doesn't fit the
environment.

Describe two characteristics of preoperational
thought.

A. One characteristic is egocentrism. This
means that young children cannot
understand the viewpoints of others and
cannot distinguish those viewpoints from their
own. A second characteristic is animistic
thinking. This is basically giving lifelike
qualities to non-living things (i.e. clouds,
grass, flowers, houses).
Unit 1 Review

The cognitive revolution started in the mid
1950’s and there were four main factors that
influenced this revolution, describe what the
four factors were.




1. The decline of behaviorism there was not
powerful enough to explain all mental life,
2. The language acquisition debate: how do we
learn language (according to Skinner it was learned
but according to Chomsky it was innate)
3. Piaget’s developmental research (it was
becoming more prominent and there were more
discoveries about how children think and
understand)
4. Post WWII climate-the technology development of
the computer changed how we interact and think.
(there was artificial intelligence)

What is the law of Pragnanz and what are a
few principals of perception?







Answer: the Law of Pragnanz states that objects are perceived in
the simplest way. A few examples would be proximity and
closure, similarity, simplicity, continuity, common region and
connectedness.
Proximity: group objects nearby together
Closure: perceive as whole object
Similarity: elements that are similar tend to be grouped together
Simplicity: viewers tend to organize elements in the simplest way
possible
Continuity: viewers tend to see elements in ways that produce
smooth continuation Common region: elements that share a
common area tend to be grouped together
Connectedness: elements that are connected tend to be grouped
together

What is top-down and bottom-up processing
and give an example of each.




Top-down processing is when you use prior knowledge,
memories, and experiences to guide stimulus
processing.
An example of top-down processing would be, listening
to a song and remembering the name and artist because
of your memory of dancing to that same song at your
senior prom.
Bottom-up processing is using data in your environment
to identify an object.
An example of bottom-up processing would be, sitting in
a courtroom and listening to the testimony and
information coming from the defendant, victim, and the
lawyers and realizing that you are witnessing a murder
trial.




Bottom up processing also known as data-driven is incoming
data. It is using the data in stimulus or in the environment to
identify the object. This is obviously the starting point in
perception because if there is no incoming data then there is
no perception.
An example would be a person processing the incoming light
at the streetlight which then creates a pattern representing the
street sign in the person’s retina.
On the other hand top-down processing also known as
concept driven is when people use their prior knowledge in
which guides the stimulus processing.
An example would be scene perception: for instance if you
are in the kitchen you know what the bread looks like and you
would identify it as the bread instead of the mailbox even
though they have the same shape. Or rather yet when you
proofread you are able to miss errors easier due to the fact
that you are using prior knowledge.

Both are thought processes that help sort
information. Bottom up processing occurs
when information is received by receptors.
Top down processing occurs when
knowledge or experiences have already been
established.

Explain the procedure of the Stroop effect.

Participants were to focus on a list of words. The
first list had the words of a color with the ink
matching the color of the word (ex. the word red was
in red ink). Participants were to name the colors of
the ink. In the second list, the words were of colors,
but the ink didn't match the colors of the words. The
participants had the same task of naming the color
of the ink. The names of the words interfered with
the participants' ability to name the colors of the ink.
Sam is trying to determine if her new couch will
fit through her front door. What area of her
brain is most likely activated?
 a) frontal lob
 b) temporal lobe
 c) parietal lobe
 d) occipita lobe
Sam is trying to determine if her new couch will
fit through her front door. What area of her
brain is most likely activated?
 a) frontal lob
 b) temporal lobe
 c) parietal lobe
 d) occipita lobe

What is meant by task load within the realm
of attention? What are the differences
between a high and low-load?



task load: how much of an individual’s
cognitive resources are being used when
accomplishing a certain task
high-load: difficult based on requirement of
most cognitive resources, only selected items
will then be processed
low-load: easier where resources remain that
can be used for additional tasks







Which of the choices is not a controversy in
cognitive psychology?
A) Nature -nurture
B) Biological - physical
C) Structure - process
D) Domain general - domain specific
E) All of the above
F) None of the above
Which of the choices is not a controversy in
cognitive psychology?
 A) Nature -nurture
 B) Biological - physical
 C) Structure - process
 D) Domain general - domain specific
 E) All of the above
 F) None of the above

How does Broadbent?s Filter Model work?
 a. info -> filter -> response
 b. info -> register -> filter -> recognition ->
response
 c. info -> register -> recognition -> response
 d. info -> filter -> recognition -> response
How does Broadbent?s Filter Model work?
 a. info -> filter -> response
 b. info -> register -> filter -> recognition ->
response
 c. info -> register -> recognition -> response
 d. info -> filter -> recognition -> response
What is not a factor that influenced the
cognitive revolution?
 a. decline in behaviorism
 b. language acquisition debate
 c. Piaget’s developmental research
 d. Overworking of kids in factories
 e. Post WWII climate
What is not a factor that influenced the
cognitive revolution?
 a. decline in behaviorism
 b. language acquisition debate
 c. Piaget’s developmental research
 d. Overworking of kids in factories
 e. Post WWII climate


Fill in the blank:
Participants are to pay attention to the
_________ message while ignoring the other
message __________. The participants are
then instructed to repeat the attended
message out loud.

Participants are to pay attention to the
_attended_ message while ignoring the other
message _unattended_. The participants are
then instructed to repeat the attended
message out loud.


True or False:
Jan, who is 34yrs old, hasn't ridden a bike
since she was in junior high. However, she
bought a bike for her 5yr old daugher and it
all comes back to her on how to instruct her
daughter on how to ride a bike. This is an
example of bottom-up processing.

False: This is not an example of bottom-up
processing.


True or False:
Using prior knowledge, memories, or
experiences to guide stimulus processing is
bottom-up processing.

False: Using prior knowledge, memories, or
experiences to guide stimulus processing is
top-down processing.

Based on the consequences of not attending,
what can be the result of inattentional and
change blindness?


inattentional blindness: fail to see what not
currently paying attention to
change blindness: fail to notice changes in a
scene currently viewing

What are task-specific resources and taskgeneral resources and the two examples of
each that were given in lecture?




Task-specific resources have to do with the nature of
the task and the interference that lies within the
specific task.
An example of this would be hearing two lists of
words being read to you at the same time instead of
hearing one list and seeing the other list.
Task-general resources have to do with the
interference across several tasks.
The example of this that was given in lecture was
driving and cell phone use. Dr. Hung stated that the
resources available for talking on the phone are not
available for driving also.
When asked to view an image, you fail to
realize that another object was slowly
introduced into the same image you were
appearing at. This is an example of:
 A. lightening flash
 B. change blindness
 C. precueing procedure
 D. divided attention
When asked to view an image, you fail to
realize that another object was slowly
introduced into the same image you were
appearing at. This is an example of:
 A. lightening flash
 B. change blindness
 C. precueing procedure
 D. divided attention

Name three Gestalt Principles.

Answer:







Proximity
Closure
Similarity
Simplicity
Continuity
Common Region
Connectedness
Unit 2 Review
Whose theory consists of the three
components: long-term memory, a subset of
long-term memory in active memory, and a
subset of active memory in focus of
attention?
 a. Baddeley
 b. Cowan
 c. Sperling
 d. Posner
Whose theory consists of the three
components: long-term memory, a subset of
long-term memory in active memory, and a
subset of active memory in focus of
attention?
 a. Baddeley
 b. Cowan
 c. Sperling
 d. Posner

With amnesia and the loss of explicit
memory, what is the difference between
retrograde and anterograde?


retrograde: disrupts explicit memory for
things learned prior to event leading to
amnesia
anterograde: disrupts explicit memory for
experiences after onset of amnesia
Alice is trying to memorize a list of words for a
vocabulary test. He will have the best
performance on the test if he remembers the
words by
 a)what size and color the font is
 b) thinking of synonyms for each word
 c) rhyming each word with another word
 d) none of the above
Alice is trying to memorize a list of words for a
vocabulary test. He will have the best
performance on the test if he remembers the
words by
 a) what size and color the font is
 b) thinking of synonyms for each word
 c) rhyming each word with another word
 d) none of the above

What are schemas and how do schemas
influence memory?


A schema is organized knowledge about a
topic on what is typical and how an event
proceeds.
It influences memory by selection, allocation
of attention, and ability to make inferences.
Fill in the blank:
______ is apart of the traditional view of categories
and means that the object must have feature to be a
member and ______ means that the object having
the feature makes it a member.
 a: prototype;exemplar
 b: fuzzy boundaries;graded membership
 c: necessary feature;sufficent features
 d: input;output
Fill in the blank:
______ is apart of the traditional view of categories
and means that the object must have feature to be a
member and ______ means that the object having
the feature makes it a member.
 a: prototype;exemplar
 b: fuzzy boundaries;graded membership
 c: necessary feature;sufficent features
 d: input;output


Fill in the blank:
_____ memory is procedural knowledge such
as riding a bike while _____ memory is
revealed by direct memory tasks such as a
test question.

_implicit_ memory is procedural knowledge
such as riding a bike while _explicit_ memory
is revealed by direct memory tasks such as a
test question.
In a research experiment, a participant is asked
to view a random list of 20 words. For some
reason, the participant is only able to recall
the first four words in the list. This is known
as:
 A. Recency Effect
 B. Primacy Effect
 C. phonological coding
 D. none of the above
In a research experiment, a participant is asked
to view a random list of 20 words. For some
reason, the participant is only able to recall
the first four words in the list. This is known
as:
 A. Recency Effect
 B. Primacy Effect
 C. phonological coding
 D. none of the above

What are the three main components of
Baddeley’s model?

Answer= The two slave systems,
phonological loop and visuospatial
sketchpad, and the central executive

What is the difference between primacy and
recency effect?

A. Primacy effect is when you remember
earlier events, stimuli better because who
have time to rehearse them and the are
stored in LTM. Recency effect is when you
remember recent information better because
it is still in your STM.

Match the three vertical hierarchy of
categories from Rosch.



Lower category resemblance matches with
superordinate.
Those that best mirror the environment
matches with basic level.
Categories that contrast with superordinate
and share most of the attributes matches the
subordinate.

Within memory acquisition what are the three
levels of processing? Provide an example of
each.



1. shallow processing: superficial
engagement, font judgment
2. medium processing: medium engagement,
rhyme judgment
3. deep processing: highly engaged with
meaning, synonym judgment

Describe the Modal Model of Memory.

A. First, input goes to the sensory memory.
Next, some of the sensory memory goes into
short term memory. From the STM, one of
two things takes place. Either the memory
goes to an output and is used, or it is stored
in Long term memory where it can be
retrieved at a later time.
Who conducted the research of "How to
become famous overnight" as covered in
implicit memory?
 a. Bower, Black & Turner (1979)
 b. Bransford & Johnson (1972)
 c. Schooler & Engsher-Schooler (1990)
 d. Jacoby, Kelley, Brown et al (1989)
Who conducted the research of "How to
become famous overnight" as covered in
implicit memory?
 a. Bower, Black & Turner (1979)
 b. Bransford & Johnson (1972)
 c. Schooler & Engsher-Schooler (1990)
 d. Jacoby, Kelley, Brown et al (1989)