WGU D570 Cognitive Psychology OA 2026 |
Latest Final Exam Questions with Verified
Answers & Detailed Explanations – A+ Rated
WGU D570 – COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY OA
300 Multiple Choice Questions | Verified Answers & Detailed Explanations | A+ Rated
Q1. What is cognitive psychology primarily concerned with?
A. The study of unconscious drives and desires B. The behavioral responses to environmental
stimuli C. The study of mental processes such as memory, attention, perception, and
reasoning D. The biological basis of personality disorders E. The measurement of intelligence
through standardized tests
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Cognitive psychology focuses on internal
mental processes including how people acquire, process, store, and use information.
Q2. Which model describes memory as having three distinct storage systems?
A. Craik and Lockhart's levels of processing model B. Baddeley's working memory model C.
Atkinson and Shiffrin's multi-store model D. Tulving's encoding specificity principle E.
Paivio's dual-coding theory
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) proposed the
multi-store model with sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory as three
separate stores.
Q3. Working memory was proposed by:
A. Atkinson and Shiffrin B. Tulving and Thomson C. Baddeley and Hitch D. Miller and
Chomsky E. Craik and Lockhart
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Baddeley and Hitch (1974) replaced the
concept of short-term memory with the multi-component working memory model.
Q4. The central executive in Baddeley's working memory model is responsible for:
,A. Storing verbal and phonological information B. Processing visual and spatial information C.
Directing attention and coordinating the slave systems D. Transferring information to
long-term memory E. Encoding episodic memories
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: The central executive is the supervisory
component that controls attentional resources and coordinates the phonological loop and
visuospatial sketchpad.
Q5. Which component of working memory handles verbal and phonological information?
A. Phonological loop B. Visuospatial sketchpad C. Central executive D. Episodic buffer E.
Semantic store
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: A RATIONALE: The phonological loop maintains and
rehearses sound-based information, including spoken and written language.
Q6. The visuospatial sketchpad in working memory is responsible for:
A. Processing auditory information B. Managing long-term episodic memories C. Holding
and manipulating visual and spatial information D. Directing attentional resources E. Linking
working memory to long-term memory
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: The visuospatial sketchpad stores and
processes information about what things look like and where they are in space.
Q7. The episodic buffer in Baddeley's model serves to:
A. Store verbal rehearsal loops B. Process unconscious automatic behaviors C. Integrate
information from multiple sources into a coherent episode D. Direct attentional focus during
multitasking E. Encode semantic memory traces
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Added by Baddeley in 2000, the episodic
buffer integrates information from the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and long-term
memory into unified episodes.
Q8. George Miller's "magical number" refers to the capacity of short-term memory being
approximately:
,A. 3 ± 2 items B. 9 ± 3 items C. 7 ± 2 items D. 5 ± 1 items E. 12 ± 4 items
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Miller (1956) famously argued that short-
term memory can hold approximately 7 ± 2 chunks of information at one time.
Q9. The process of grouping information into larger meaningful units to increase memory
capacity is called:
A. Encoding B. Elaboration C. Chunking D. Rehearsal E. Consolidation
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Chunking involves combining individual
items into larger, meaningful units (chunks), which expands effective short-term memory
capacity.
Q10. Which type of long-term memory stores facts and general world knowledge?
A. Episodic memory B. Procedural memory C. Semantic memory D. Priming memory E.
Prospective memory
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Semantic memory, proposed by Tulving,
stores general knowledge and facts about the world that are not tied to specific personal
experiences.
Q11. Episodic memory refers to:
A. Memory for motor skills and habits B. Memory for facts and concepts C. Memory for
personally experienced events tied to specific times and places D. Memory for language rules
and grammar E. Implicit memory that influences behavior without awareness
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Episodic memory is autobiographical
memory for personally experienced events, including their temporal and spatial context.
Q12. Procedural memory is best described as:
A. Memory for historical facts B. Memory for personal life events C. Memory for skills,
habits, and how to do things D. Memory for the meaning of words E. Memory that requires
conscious recollection
, ✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Procedural memory is implicit memory
for how to perform actions and skills such as riding a bike or typing.
Q13. The term "explicit memory" refers to:
A. Automatic memory that operates below consciousness B. Memory for skills and conditioned
responses C. Conscious, intentional recollection of information D. Memory that cannot be
verbally described E. Involuntary priming effects
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Explicit (declarative) memory involves
conscious awareness and intentional retrieval of stored information, including episodic and
semantic memory.
Q14. Implicit memory differs from explicit memory in that it:
A. Requires deep processing to encode B. Is only found in long-term memory C. Operates
without conscious awareness or intentional retrieval D. Is more susceptible to forgetting E. Is
primarily verbal in nature
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Implicit memory influences behavior
without conscious awareness, as seen in priming, classical conditioning, and procedural skills.
Q15. Priming as a memory phenomenon refers to:
A. The process of intentionally memorizing information B. The transfer of information from
short-term to long-term memory C. The facilitation of responses due to prior exposure to
related stimuli D. A strategy for improving recall through repetition E. The decay of memory
traces over time
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Priming occurs when prior exposure to a
stimulus makes it easier to process or recall a related stimulus, typically operating implicitly.
Q16. The levels of processing model (Craik & Lockhart, 1972) suggests that memory
retention depends on:
Latest Final Exam Questions with Verified
Answers & Detailed Explanations – A+ Rated
WGU D570 – COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY OA
300 Multiple Choice Questions | Verified Answers & Detailed Explanations | A+ Rated
Q1. What is cognitive psychology primarily concerned with?
A. The study of unconscious drives and desires B. The behavioral responses to environmental
stimuli C. The study of mental processes such as memory, attention, perception, and
reasoning D. The biological basis of personality disorders E. The measurement of intelligence
through standardized tests
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Cognitive psychology focuses on internal
mental processes including how people acquire, process, store, and use information.
Q2. Which model describes memory as having three distinct storage systems?
A. Craik and Lockhart's levels of processing model B. Baddeley's working memory model C.
Atkinson and Shiffrin's multi-store model D. Tulving's encoding specificity principle E.
Paivio's dual-coding theory
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) proposed the
multi-store model with sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory as three
separate stores.
Q3. Working memory was proposed by:
A. Atkinson and Shiffrin B. Tulving and Thomson C. Baddeley and Hitch D. Miller and
Chomsky E. Craik and Lockhart
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Baddeley and Hitch (1974) replaced the
concept of short-term memory with the multi-component working memory model.
Q4. The central executive in Baddeley's working memory model is responsible for:
,A. Storing verbal and phonological information B. Processing visual and spatial information C.
Directing attention and coordinating the slave systems D. Transferring information to
long-term memory E. Encoding episodic memories
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: The central executive is the supervisory
component that controls attentional resources and coordinates the phonological loop and
visuospatial sketchpad.
Q5. Which component of working memory handles verbal and phonological information?
A. Phonological loop B. Visuospatial sketchpad C. Central executive D. Episodic buffer E.
Semantic store
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: A RATIONALE: The phonological loop maintains and
rehearses sound-based information, including spoken and written language.
Q6. The visuospatial sketchpad in working memory is responsible for:
A. Processing auditory information B. Managing long-term episodic memories C. Holding
and manipulating visual and spatial information D. Directing attentional resources E. Linking
working memory to long-term memory
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: The visuospatial sketchpad stores and
processes information about what things look like and where they are in space.
Q7. The episodic buffer in Baddeley's model serves to:
A. Store verbal rehearsal loops B. Process unconscious automatic behaviors C. Integrate
information from multiple sources into a coherent episode D. Direct attentional focus during
multitasking E. Encode semantic memory traces
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Added by Baddeley in 2000, the episodic
buffer integrates information from the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and long-term
memory into unified episodes.
Q8. George Miller's "magical number" refers to the capacity of short-term memory being
approximately:
,A. 3 ± 2 items B. 9 ± 3 items C. 7 ± 2 items D. 5 ± 1 items E. 12 ± 4 items
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Miller (1956) famously argued that short-
term memory can hold approximately 7 ± 2 chunks of information at one time.
Q9. The process of grouping information into larger meaningful units to increase memory
capacity is called:
A. Encoding B. Elaboration C. Chunking D. Rehearsal E. Consolidation
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Chunking involves combining individual
items into larger, meaningful units (chunks), which expands effective short-term memory
capacity.
Q10. Which type of long-term memory stores facts and general world knowledge?
A. Episodic memory B. Procedural memory C. Semantic memory D. Priming memory E.
Prospective memory
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Semantic memory, proposed by Tulving,
stores general knowledge and facts about the world that are not tied to specific personal
experiences.
Q11. Episodic memory refers to:
A. Memory for motor skills and habits B. Memory for facts and concepts C. Memory for
personally experienced events tied to specific times and places D. Memory for language rules
and grammar E. Implicit memory that influences behavior without awareness
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Episodic memory is autobiographical
memory for personally experienced events, including their temporal and spatial context.
Q12. Procedural memory is best described as:
A. Memory for historical facts B. Memory for personal life events C. Memory for skills,
habits, and how to do things D. Memory for the meaning of words E. Memory that requires
conscious recollection
, ✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Procedural memory is implicit memory
for how to perform actions and skills such as riding a bike or typing.
Q13. The term "explicit memory" refers to:
A. Automatic memory that operates below consciousness B. Memory for skills and conditioned
responses C. Conscious, intentional recollection of information D. Memory that cannot be
verbally described E. Involuntary priming effects
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Explicit (declarative) memory involves
conscious awareness and intentional retrieval of stored information, including episodic and
semantic memory.
Q14. Implicit memory differs from explicit memory in that it:
A. Requires deep processing to encode B. Is only found in long-term memory C. Operates
without conscious awareness or intentional retrieval D. Is more susceptible to forgetting E. Is
primarily verbal in nature
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Implicit memory influences behavior
without conscious awareness, as seen in priming, classical conditioning, and procedural skills.
Q15. Priming as a memory phenomenon refers to:
A. The process of intentionally memorizing information B. The transfer of information from
short-term to long-term memory C. The facilitation of responses due to prior exposure to
related stimuli D. A strategy for improving recall through repetition E. The decay of memory
traces over time
✔ CORRECT ANSWER: C RATIONALE: Priming occurs when prior exposure to a
stimulus makes it easier to process or recall a related stimulus, typically operating implicitly.
Q16. The levels of processing model (Craik & Lockhart, 1972) suggests that memory
retention depends on:
