COGSCI 115 EXAM QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
ANSWERS NEW UPDATED 2026/2027 | GRADED A+ |
100% GUARANTEED PASS.
Any process requiring information processing within a complex
(neural) system, resulting in state changes that
contribute towards action or re-presentation - ANSWER Cognition
Developmental psychologists want to know... - ANSWER -How to characterize
these behaviors?
• Details: "Uses language" isn't specific enough
• Hard to infer and specifically describe what changed!
- How does change occur?
• Same in human & other apes? Primates? Mammals?
• Same in all children, or variable?
• Why does it sometimes go wrong?
origins in cognitive developmental
science - ANSWER Nativism
_______ usually say nothing about biology, or make
vague reference (e.g., evolution) without knowing basic
facts about dev bio that should constrain theory - ANSWER Nativists
How many kinds of cells, neurons, neurotransmitters, receptors, etc., in
the brain? - ANSWER Cells: not just neurons, glia Neurons: anterior
horn, basket, bipolar, climbing, dendritic, Golgi I and II, granule
(several), mitral, mossy, pseudo-unipolar, Purkinje, pyramidal, RGCs,
spindle, spiny ...
Neurotransmitters:
-Ach; Da, 5-HT, Ne, Epi
-Amino acids: Glu, GABA, Asp, D-serine, Glycine,; Peptides (P, Y, opioids);
Steroid hormones (Est; Test)
-Light
,How many neurons? - ANSWER 86b (in adult males)
Organizational principle:
- Conservation across species (e.g., proportion of cortical to cerebellar
neurons)
- Conservation across structures ex: 7TMR or GPCR proteins...
- 7 trans-membrane receptor or G Protein Coupled Receptors -
ANSWER
Conservation
Conservation
7 Trans-Membrane Receptors (7TMR) or GPCRs:
• Ligands: DA (dopamine), 5HT (serotonin), Ne (norepinephrine), GABA,
peptides
(e.g., oxytocin), glutamate, histamine, calcitonin, light... - ANSWER
Lecture 2 - ANSWER
Why is nativism compelling? _______ -specific, early emerging traits,
especially language
Ex: some animals show complex behaviors without
apparent training experience
- Dark-reared animals of some species avoid a 'visual cliff'
- Stiles (p. 5): studies that "purport to present evidence of
'core knowledge' in the absence of prior experience" - ANSWER Species
Problem with species-specific traits:
Language:
- Only __ species
- Obviously the particulars are learned
- But maybe some abstract characteristics are _________ and
(largely) __________ (see Stiles p. 4)
- Genetic linkages have been documented in family-linked language disorder
(FOXP2 point mutation) - ANSWER 1
,universal
invariant
but:
- Some aspects of language are _________ by other species
- Haven't converged on what's universal and invariant
• Huge __________ in almost every aspect of language - ANSWER learnable
7 Trans-Membrane Receptors (7TMR) or GPCRs:
•In ALL animals. Functions: Vision, _______________ , mood, arousal,
inflammation, _________ ___________ , ___________ (e.g., H2O), motor
Interpretation of ball dropping test: Nativist - ANSWER • Shows infants' "core
(innate) knowledge" of physics: solid objects can't
pass through other objects
• "Core knowledge," though a popular idea, remains vaguely defined and
rests only on data from this method
Interpretation of ball dropping test: Constructivist - ANSWER • Large ball is
perceptually more salient,
• infants have learned to look longer at more salient events
• Evidence for perceptual account: Results are often fragile
response (worms) - ANSWER chemosensation
autonomic response
homeostasis
Problems with Test: - ANSWER 1. These studies test infants who've been
watching physical
events for months. What's learned, & when?
2. If infants innately 'understand' gravity, why do 2-year-olds make this error?
, *Knowledge of how physical variables constrain motion is fragile, even in
much older children
ANSWERS NEW UPDATED 2026/2027 | GRADED A+ |
100% GUARANTEED PASS.
Any process requiring information processing within a complex
(neural) system, resulting in state changes that
contribute towards action or re-presentation - ANSWER Cognition
Developmental psychologists want to know... - ANSWER -How to characterize
these behaviors?
• Details: "Uses language" isn't specific enough
• Hard to infer and specifically describe what changed!
- How does change occur?
• Same in human & other apes? Primates? Mammals?
• Same in all children, or variable?
• Why does it sometimes go wrong?
origins in cognitive developmental
science - ANSWER Nativism
_______ usually say nothing about biology, or make
vague reference (e.g., evolution) without knowing basic
facts about dev bio that should constrain theory - ANSWER Nativists
How many kinds of cells, neurons, neurotransmitters, receptors, etc., in
the brain? - ANSWER Cells: not just neurons, glia Neurons: anterior
horn, basket, bipolar, climbing, dendritic, Golgi I and II, granule
(several), mitral, mossy, pseudo-unipolar, Purkinje, pyramidal, RGCs,
spindle, spiny ...
Neurotransmitters:
-Ach; Da, 5-HT, Ne, Epi
-Amino acids: Glu, GABA, Asp, D-serine, Glycine,; Peptides (P, Y, opioids);
Steroid hormones (Est; Test)
-Light
,How many neurons? - ANSWER 86b (in adult males)
Organizational principle:
- Conservation across species (e.g., proportion of cortical to cerebellar
neurons)
- Conservation across structures ex: 7TMR or GPCR proteins...
- 7 trans-membrane receptor or G Protein Coupled Receptors -
ANSWER
Conservation
Conservation
7 Trans-Membrane Receptors (7TMR) or GPCRs:
• Ligands: DA (dopamine), 5HT (serotonin), Ne (norepinephrine), GABA,
peptides
(e.g., oxytocin), glutamate, histamine, calcitonin, light... - ANSWER
Lecture 2 - ANSWER
Why is nativism compelling? _______ -specific, early emerging traits,
especially language
Ex: some animals show complex behaviors without
apparent training experience
- Dark-reared animals of some species avoid a 'visual cliff'
- Stiles (p. 5): studies that "purport to present evidence of
'core knowledge' in the absence of prior experience" - ANSWER Species
Problem with species-specific traits:
Language:
- Only __ species
- Obviously the particulars are learned
- But maybe some abstract characteristics are _________ and
(largely) __________ (see Stiles p. 4)
- Genetic linkages have been documented in family-linked language disorder
(FOXP2 point mutation) - ANSWER 1
,universal
invariant
but:
- Some aspects of language are _________ by other species
- Haven't converged on what's universal and invariant
• Huge __________ in almost every aspect of language - ANSWER learnable
7 Trans-Membrane Receptors (7TMR) or GPCRs:
•In ALL animals. Functions: Vision, _______________ , mood, arousal,
inflammation, _________ ___________ , ___________ (e.g., H2O), motor
Interpretation of ball dropping test: Nativist - ANSWER • Shows infants' "core
(innate) knowledge" of physics: solid objects can't
pass through other objects
• "Core knowledge," though a popular idea, remains vaguely defined and
rests only on data from this method
Interpretation of ball dropping test: Constructivist - ANSWER • Large ball is
perceptually more salient,
• infants have learned to look longer at more salient events
• Evidence for perceptual account: Results are often fragile
response (worms) - ANSWER chemosensation
autonomic response
homeostasis
Problems with Test: - ANSWER 1. These studies test infants who've been
watching physical
events for months. What's learned, & when?
2. If infants innately 'understand' gravity, why do 2-year-olds make this error?
, *Knowledge of how physical variables constrain motion is fragile, even in
much older children
