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PSYC 355 Exam 1 Preparation/PSYC 355
Exam 1 Practice Exam With Complete
100 Questions And Correct Detailed
Answers (Verified Answers)
Define Cognition. Why is the study of cognition important?
ANSWER: The term cognition refers to our mental activities. It is used to describe
how we receive, store, transform and use knowledge. The term also refers to our
memory, language, problem solving, reasoning and decision making.
In Psychology, cognition can mean mental activity, and it can also refer to a
particular theoretical approach.
Psychology is interested in cognition because humans mental processes are pivotal
to daily life. Almost everything we do requires use of our ability to think,
remember, make decisions and use language. Cognition influences behaviours.
Further, cognitive psychology influences other areas of psychology, for example, a
depressed patient may provide a very brief example when asked to recall a specific
memory, whereas a person who is not depressed tends to describe an extended
memory in more detail. Also, facial recognition in neuropsychology. Finally,
Cognitive Psychology helps us understand our personal mind better and could help
us improve our own performance.
Describe the early history of cognitive psychology, focusing on the
contributions of each of the following:
Wilhelm Wundt
Hermann Ebbinghaus
Mary Calkins
William James
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Frederick Bartlett
ANSWER: Wundt: Most people would consider him the "founder of psychology".
He proposed that psychology should be the study of mental processes, or
"introspection", however the techniques used were very subjective/not scientific.
Ebbinghaus: A German psychologist and the first person to study human memory
and developed factors that may influence memory performance. Used nonsense
syllables in his research. Ebbinghaus also reported the classic forgetting curve, in
which there is rapid forgetting in the first 24 hours, followed by a plateau that
persists for months and even years.
Calkins: Also a memory researcher, but from the U.S. She discovered the recency
effect through her work, which refers to the observation that we best recall the final
item in a list. SHe also emphasized that psychology should study how people use
their cognition in the real world, not just lab. First Woman president of the APA.
James: Was not impressed with introspection and preferred to study everyday
psychological experiences. Best known for his textbook called "Principles of
Psychology", which emphasized that the human mind is active and inquiring.
Bartlett: A British psychologist who conducted research on human memory. He
used meaningful materials, such as lengthy stories in his research and discovered
that people make errors when recalling stories. He proposed that memory is an
active, constructive process in which we interpret and transform the info we
encounter, and search for meaning while we try to integrate the information so that
it is more consistent with our personal experiences. Bartlett's work was largely
ignored in the US because psychologists were focused on behaviourism.
,3|Page
The Atkinson-Shiffrin model proposes that memory involves a series of separate
steps, and in each step, info is transferred from one storage area to another. (9) Ex:
External environmental stimuli enters sensory memory and is stored for 2 seconds
or less and most is forgotten. Some of the material in sensory memory passes to
short-term memory (working memory), which holds only the small amount of
information currently and actively using. Momories in short term memory are
fragile, but not as fragile as sensory memory. Only a fraction of info in working
memory passes to long-term memory. The Atkinson-Shiffrin model proposes that
info in long-term memory is relatively permanent. The A-S model's influence has
not diminished.
Define "cognitive neuroscience." Briefly describe the following methods used
by neuroscientists:
A) brain lesions
b) positron emission tomography (PET)
c) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
d) event-related potential (ERP)
ANSWER: Cognitive neuroscience combines research techniques of cognitive
psychology with various methods for assessing the structure and function of the
brain. Ex: areas of the brain activated during specific tasks, and what kind of
cognitive processes we use during interactions with other people (social cognitive
neuroscience).
Brain Lesions: Refers to the destruction of an area of the brain, often by strokes,
tumors, blows to the head and accidents. Studies of legions help to understand the
organization of the brain, but hard to interpret because legions are not limited to
only one area.
, 4|Page
PET: The brain uses chemicals (oxygen) to support neural activity, as the brain
does not store oxygen. Blood flow increases in the activated brain site in order to
carry oxygen to the site. PET measures blood flow by injecting a radioactive
chemical just before a cognitive task. Cameras produce images of the accumulated
chemical in specific brain areas. Takes several seconds to produce data, so not very
precise.
fMRI: Do not use radioactive substances. Uses magnetic field to produce changes
in the oxygen atoms, scanning of these atoms takes place during a cognitive task.
Preferred over PET because more precise identification of exact time of sequence
of cognitive tasks. fMRI can also subtle differences in how the brain processes
language.
ERP: Event-Related Potential Technique- records the brief fluctuations in the
brain's electrical activity in response to a stimulus, such as an auditory one.
Electrodes are placed on the scalp, which measure the electrical activity generated
by a group pf neurons located directly beneath the scalp. Can measure the activity
of a group of neurons, not single ones.
Identify and describe the five themes of the textbook.
ANSWER: 1) The cognitive processes are active, rather than passive:
Behaviourists believe that humans are passive, simply waiting for stimuli from the
environment. In contrast, cognitive approaches propose that people actively seek
out information. Also, memory is a lively process involving actively synthesizing
and transforming information.
2) The cognitive processes are remarkably efficient and accurate: Language
development, material stored in memory, learning..all astonishing.
PSYC 355 Exam 1 Preparation/PSYC 355
Exam 1 Practice Exam With Complete
100 Questions And Correct Detailed
Answers (Verified Answers)
Define Cognition. Why is the study of cognition important?
ANSWER: The term cognition refers to our mental activities. It is used to describe
how we receive, store, transform and use knowledge. The term also refers to our
memory, language, problem solving, reasoning and decision making.
In Psychology, cognition can mean mental activity, and it can also refer to a
particular theoretical approach.
Psychology is interested in cognition because humans mental processes are pivotal
to daily life. Almost everything we do requires use of our ability to think,
remember, make decisions and use language. Cognition influences behaviours.
Further, cognitive psychology influences other areas of psychology, for example, a
depressed patient may provide a very brief example when asked to recall a specific
memory, whereas a person who is not depressed tends to describe an extended
memory in more detail. Also, facial recognition in neuropsychology. Finally,
Cognitive Psychology helps us understand our personal mind better and could help
us improve our own performance.
Describe the early history of cognitive psychology, focusing on the
contributions of each of the following:
Wilhelm Wundt
Hermann Ebbinghaus
Mary Calkins
William James
,2|Page
Frederick Bartlett
ANSWER: Wundt: Most people would consider him the "founder of psychology".
He proposed that psychology should be the study of mental processes, or
"introspection", however the techniques used were very subjective/not scientific.
Ebbinghaus: A German psychologist and the first person to study human memory
and developed factors that may influence memory performance. Used nonsense
syllables in his research. Ebbinghaus also reported the classic forgetting curve, in
which there is rapid forgetting in the first 24 hours, followed by a plateau that
persists for months and even years.
Calkins: Also a memory researcher, but from the U.S. She discovered the recency
effect through her work, which refers to the observation that we best recall the final
item in a list. SHe also emphasized that psychology should study how people use
their cognition in the real world, not just lab. First Woman president of the APA.
James: Was not impressed with introspection and preferred to study everyday
psychological experiences. Best known for his textbook called "Principles of
Psychology", which emphasized that the human mind is active and inquiring.
Bartlett: A British psychologist who conducted research on human memory. He
used meaningful materials, such as lengthy stories in his research and discovered
that people make errors when recalling stories. He proposed that memory is an
active, constructive process in which we interpret and transform the info we
encounter, and search for meaning while we try to integrate the information so that
it is more consistent with our personal experiences. Bartlett's work was largely
ignored in the US because psychologists were focused on behaviourism.
,3|Page
The Atkinson-Shiffrin model proposes that memory involves a series of separate
steps, and in each step, info is transferred from one storage area to another. (9) Ex:
External environmental stimuli enters sensory memory and is stored for 2 seconds
or less and most is forgotten. Some of the material in sensory memory passes to
short-term memory (working memory), which holds only the small amount of
information currently and actively using. Momories in short term memory are
fragile, but not as fragile as sensory memory. Only a fraction of info in working
memory passes to long-term memory. The Atkinson-Shiffrin model proposes that
info in long-term memory is relatively permanent. The A-S model's influence has
not diminished.
Define "cognitive neuroscience." Briefly describe the following methods used
by neuroscientists:
A) brain lesions
b) positron emission tomography (PET)
c) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
d) event-related potential (ERP)
ANSWER: Cognitive neuroscience combines research techniques of cognitive
psychology with various methods for assessing the structure and function of the
brain. Ex: areas of the brain activated during specific tasks, and what kind of
cognitive processes we use during interactions with other people (social cognitive
neuroscience).
Brain Lesions: Refers to the destruction of an area of the brain, often by strokes,
tumors, blows to the head and accidents. Studies of legions help to understand the
organization of the brain, but hard to interpret because legions are not limited to
only one area.
, 4|Page
PET: The brain uses chemicals (oxygen) to support neural activity, as the brain
does not store oxygen. Blood flow increases in the activated brain site in order to
carry oxygen to the site. PET measures blood flow by injecting a radioactive
chemical just before a cognitive task. Cameras produce images of the accumulated
chemical in specific brain areas. Takes several seconds to produce data, so not very
precise.
fMRI: Do not use radioactive substances. Uses magnetic field to produce changes
in the oxygen atoms, scanning of these atoms takes place during a cognitive task.
Preferred over PET because more precise identification of exact time of sequence
of cognitive tasks. fMRI can also subtle differences in how the brain processes
language.
ERP: Event-Related Potential Technique- records the brief fluctuations in the
brain's electrical activity in response to a stimulus, such as an auditory one.
Electrodes are placed on the scalp, which measure the electrical activity generated
by a group pf neurons located directly beneath the scalp. Can measure the activity
of a group of neurons, not single ones.
Identify and describe the five themes of the textbook.
ANSWER: 1) The cognitive processes are active, rather than passive:
Behaviourists believe that humans are passive, simply waiting for stimuli from the
environment. In contrast, cognitive approaches propose that people actively seek
out information. Also, memory is a lively process involving actively synthesizing
and transforming information.
2) The cognitive processes are remarkably efficient and accurate: Language
development, material stored in memory, learning..all astonishing.
