PSYC 1F90 Midterm Exam Questions With Complete Solutions
System 1 (the "Elephant") - (ANSWER)A fast, automatic, unconscious way of thinking that relies on
experience and associations and cannot be turned off.
Flaws of System 1 - (ANSWER)It jumps to conclusions and often doesn't notice when it makes mistakes.
System 2 (the "Rider") - (ANSWER)A slow, effortful, deliberate way of thinking that uses focused
attention to solve harder tasks and make decisions.
Flaws of System 2 - (ANSWER)It is lazy (avoids effort) and also often fails to detect mistakes.
Working definition of psychology - (ANSWER)The scientific study of behaviors and mental processes.
Mental processes studied by psychologists - (ANSWER)Attention, decision making, memory, learning,
and perception.
Focus of psychologists - (ANSWER)How these processes vary over time, across situations, and between
people.
Psychological variable - (ANSWER)Any behavior or mental process that can vary within or between
individuals and can be measured.
Operational definition - (ANSWER)A concrete way of measuring an abstract concept (e.g., "shyness" =
number of social interactions per hour).
Descriptive methods - (ANSWER)Research methods that measure one variable at a time and report
numbers, percentages, ranges, or averages.
Limitation of descriptive methods - (ANSWER)They cannot establish cause-and-effect relationships.
Sensation - (ANSWER)The process by which sensory organs detect energy from the physical world.
,PSYC 1F90 Midterm Exam Questions With Complete Solutions
Attention - (ANSWER)The process that selects a limited amount of sensory information for further
processing by the brain.
Perception - (ANSWER)The brain's interpretation of sensory information.
Transducers - (ANSWER)Sense organs (eyes, ears, etc.) that convert physical energy into neural signals
(action potentials).
Main challenge during sensation - (ANSWER)The senses can pick up huge amounts of information, but
the brain cannot process it all, so information must be filtered.
Factors influencing attention - (ANSWER)Physical salience, interest/appeal, meaning or importance (e.g.,
hearing our name), and our goals.
Goals influence attention - (ANSWER)People look at and notice information that helps them achieve
their current goals, missing other details.
Inattentional blindness - (ANSWER)Failing to notice unexpected objects or events because attention is
focused elsewhere.
Change blindness - (ANSWER)Failing to notice gradual changes in a scene.
Key takeaway from Simons & Chabris' studies - (ANSWER)It is possible to look directly at something and
still not consciously "see" it when attention is occupied.
Purpose of a true experiment - (ANSWER)To test whether changes in one variable cause changes in
another.
Independent variable (IV) - (ANSWER)The variable that is manipulated by the researcher and is believed
to cause change.
,PSYC 1F90 Midterm Exam Questions With Complete Solutions
Dependent variable (DV) - (ANSWER)The variable measured after the IV is manipulated; shows the effect
of the IV.
Quasi-experiment - (ANSWER)A study with groups that differ on an "IV" but without random
assignment, so extraneous variables are not fully controlled.
Case study - (ANSWER)To closely examine a small number of people to learn about rare or unusual
phenomena.
Correlational study - (ANSWER)A study where two or more variables are measured as they naturally
occur, without manipulation, to examine their relationship.
Direction of a correlation - (ANSWER)Whether variables move together (positive) or in opposite
directions (negative).
Strength of a correlation - (ANSWER)How close the data points are to a straight line; stronger = better
predictability.
r > 0, r < 0, and r = 0 - (ANSWER)r > 0 = positive relationship; r < 0 = negative relationship; r = 0 = no
relationship.
Correlations between variables - (ANSWER)Because correlations allow prediction of one variable based
on another.
Characteristics of sensory memory - (ANSWER)Very large capacity; very brief duration (iconic ~50 ms,
echoic ~8-10 s); not conscious.
Characteristics of working (short-term) memory - (ANSWER)Very limited capacity and duration;
conscious; "mental workbench" where we actively think.
, PSYC 1F90 Midterm Exam Questions With Complete Solutions
Typical capacity of working memory - (ANSWER)Historically 7 ± 2 items; more recent estimates ~4
chunks.
Complex span task in WM research - (ANSWER)A task that measures both storage and processing (e.g.,
solving problems while remembering items).
Differences in working memory - (ANSWER)Yes, people differ; WM capacity is relatively fixed, but
chunking allows more efficient use of it.
Characteristics of long-term memory (LTM) - (ANSWER)Very large capacity, very long duration, usually
not conscious.
Implicit memory - (ANSWER)Non-verbalizable memory such as procedural skills, conditioned responses,
and priming.
Explicit (declarative) memory - (ANSWER)Memory that can be consciously recalled and described with
words.
Semantic memory - (ANSWER)Memory for facts and concepts not tied to a specific time or place.
Episodic memory - (ANSWER)Autobiographical memory for specific events tied to time and place.
Organization of long-term memory - (ANSWER)As a network of nodes (concepts) linked by meaning and
personal associations.
Selective attention in memory systems - (ANSWER)The process of moving information from sensory
memory into working memory.
Maintenance rehearsal - (ANSWER)Repeating information to keep it active in working memory.
System 1 (the "Elephant") - (ANSWER)A fast, automatic, unconscious way of thinking that relies on
experience and associations and cannot be turned off.
Flaws of System 1 - (ANSWER)It jumps to conclusions and often doesn't notice when it makes mistakes.
System 2 (the "Rider") - (ANSWER)A slow, effortful, deliberate way of thinking that uses focused
attention to solve harder tasks and make decisions.
Flaws of System 2 - (ANSWER)It is lazy (avoids effort) and also often fails to detect mistakes.
Working definition of psychology - (ANSWER)The scientific study of behaviors and mental processes.
Mental processes studied by psychologists - (ANSWER)Attention, decision making, memory, learning,
and perception.
Focus of psychologists - (ANSWER)How these processes vary over time, across situations, and between
people.
Psychological variable - (ANSWER)Any behavior or mental process that can vary within or between
individuals and can be measured.
Operational definition - (ANSWER)A concrete way of measuring an abstract concept (e.g., "shyness" =
number of social interactions per hour).
Descriptive methods - (ANSWER)Research methods that measure one variable at a time and report
numbers, percentages, ranges, or averages.
Limitation of descriptive methods - (ANSWER)They cannot establish cause-and-effect relationships.
Sensation - (ANSWER)The process by which sensory organs detect energy from the physical world.
,PSYC 1F90 Midterm Exam Questions With Complete Solutions
Attention - (ANSWER)The process that selects a limited amount of sensory information for further
processing by the brain.
Perception - (ANSWER)The brain's interpretation of sensory information.
Transducers - (ANSWER)Sense organs (eyes, ears, etc.) that convert physical energy into neural signals
(action potentials).
Main challenge during sensation - (ANSWER)The senses can pick up huge amounts of information, but
the brain cannot process it all, so information must be filtered.
Factors influencing attention - (ANSWER)Physical salience, interest/appeal, meaning or importance (e.g.,
hearing our name), and our goals.
Goals influence attention - (ANSWER)People look at and notice information that helps them achieve
their current goals, missing other details.
Inattentional blindness - (ANSWER)Failing to notice unexpected objects or events because attention is
focused elsewhere.
Change blindness - (ANSWER)Failing to notice gradual changes in a scene.
Key takeaway from Simons & Chabris' studies - (ANSWER)It is possible to look directly at something and
still not consciously "see" it when attention is occupied.
Purpose of a true experiment - (ANSWER)To test whether changes in one variable cause changes in
another.
Independent variable (IV) - (ANSWER)The variable that is manipulated by the researcher and is believed
to cause change.
,PSYC 1F90 Midterm Exam Questions With Complete Solutions
Dependent variable (DV) - (ANSWER)The variable measured after the IV is manipulated; shows the effect
of the IV.
Quasi-experiment - (ANSWER)A study with groups that differ on an "IV" but without random
assignment, so extraneous variables are not fully controlled.
Case study - (ANSWER)To closely examine a small number of people to learn about rare or unusual
phenomena.
Correlational study - (ANSWER)A study where two or more variables are measured as they naturally
occur, without manipulation, to examine their relationship.
Direction of a correlation - (ANSWER)Whether variables move together (positive) or in opposite
directions (negative).
Strength of a correlation - (ANSWER)How close the data points are to a straight line; stronger = better
predictability.
r > 0, r < 0, and r = 0 - (ANSWER)r > 0 = positive relationship; r < 0 = negative relationship; r = 0 = no
relationship.
Correlations between variables - (ANSWER)Because correlations allow prediction of one variable based
on another.
Characteristics of sensory memory - (ANSWER)Very large capacity; very brief duration (iconic ~50 ms,
echoic ~8-10 s); not conscious.
Characteristics of working (short-term) memory - (ANSWER)Very limited capacity and duration;
conscious; "mental workbench" where we actively think.
, PSYC 1F90 Midterm Exam Questions With Complete Solutions
Typical capacity of working memory - (ANSWER)Historically 7 ± 2 items; more recent estimates ~4
chunks.
Complex span task in WM research - (ANSWER)A task that measures both storage and processing (e.g.,
solving problems while remembering items).
Differences in working memory - (ANSWER)Yes, people differ; WM capacity is relatively fixed, but
chunking allows more efficient use of it.
Characteristics of long-term memory (LTM) - (ANSWER)Very large capacity, very long duration, usually
not conscious.
Implicit memory - (ANSWER)Non-verbalizable memory such as procedural skills, conditioned responses,
and priming.
Explicit (declarative) memory - (ANSWER)Memory that can be consciously recalled and described with
words.
Semantic memory - (ANSWER)Memory for facts and concepts not tied to a specific time or place.
Episodic memory - (ANSWER)Autobiographical memory for specific events tied to time and place.
Organization of long-term memory - (ANSWER)As a network of nodes (concepts) linked by meaning and
personal associations.
Selective attention in memory systems - (ANSWER)The process of moving information from sensory
memory into working memory.
Maintenance rehearsal - (ANSWER)Repeating information to keep it active in working memory.
