WGU D570 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY OA EXAM –
COMPLETE ACTUAL TEST – NEW UPDATED VERSION
Correct Detailed Answers – Verified Solutions – Pass
Guaranteed - A+ Graded
Where It All Started: Foundations of Cognitive Psychology
Q1: Who is widely considered the "father of cognitive psychology" due to their 1967
book that formally defined the field?
A. B.F. Skinner
B. Ulric Neisser [CORRECT]
C. George Miller
D. Jean Piaget
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is Ulric Neisser because his groundbreaking 1967 book
"Cognitive Psychology" literally named and shaped the discipline as we study it today.
Q2: If you compare the human mind to a computer, as the information-processing model
does, which cognitive process acts most like the computer's keyboard or mouse?
A. Long-term memory storage
B. Central executive
C. Sensory input [CORRECT]
D. Output mechanisms
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: This option is correct because in cognitive psych we know that sensory
organs act as the input devices, taking in raw information from the outside world just like
a keyboard feeds data into a computer.
Q3: Which early psychological approach argued that we should study the basic
elements of conscious experience by breaking it down into distinct sensations and
feelings?
A. Structuralism [CORRECT]
B. Functionalism
C. Behaviorism
D. Gestalt psychology
Correct Answer: A
,Rationale: That aligns with the classic finding from early introspectionists like Wundt and
Titchener, who used structuralism to try and map out the basic building blocks of the
mind.
Q4: A researcher wants to study how people solve puzzles but strictly refuses to
measure anything that isn't directly observable, like overt behavior or reaction times.
Which historical movement is this researcher most aligned with?
A. The cognitive revolution
B. Behaviorism [CORRECT]
C. Functionalism
D. Cognitive neuroscience
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: This matches how behaviorism actually worked in practice, as researchers
like Watson and Skinner insisted that only measurable, observable behaviors were valid
for scientific study.
Q5: Why did the cognitive revolution ultimately replace strict behaviorism as the
dominant paradigm in psychology?
A. Behaviorism completely failed to explain any human or animal learning.
B. Behaviorists could not adequately explain complex mental processes like language
and memory using only stimulus-response associations. [CORRECT]
C. The cognitive revolution introduced the use of lab rats, which behaviorists refused to
use.
D. Behaviorism was declared unscientific by the American Psychological Association.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is that behaviorism fell short because it ignored the "black
box" of the mind, which became a huge problem when trying to explain internal
processes like language acquisition.
Q6: When cognitive psychologists use the metaphor of the mind as a computer, they do
not mean the brain operates exactly like a laptop. What do they actually mean by this
comparison?
A. The brain uses electrical circuits made of silicon to process information.
B. The mind takes in information, transforms it, stores it, and retrieves it in a sequence
of steps. [CORRECT]
C. Human memory has a finite hard drive that fills up permanently by age 30.
D. Computers possess consciousness and subjective experience just like humans do.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: This option is correct because in cognitive psych we know that the
information-processing approach is just a useful analogy for how mental operations
happen in a logical sequence, not a literal hardware comparison.
, Q7: What is the best, most comprehensive definition of cognition?
A. The unconscious desires that drive all human behavior
B. The purely biological firing of neurons across synapses
C. The mental processes involved in acquiring, processing, storing, and using
information [CORRECT]
D. The ability to regulate emotions during stressful social interactions
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: That aligns with the classic definition we use in the field, which casts a wide
net over everything from perceiving a stop sign to recalling a password.
Q8: Dr. Patel is measuring exactly how many milliseconds it takes a participant to
decide if a string of letters makes a real word or not. What method is she using?
A. Mental chronometry [CORRECT]
B. Introspection
C. Case study
D. Naturalistic observation
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The best answer is mental chronometry because this method literally
measures the precise timing of cognitive operations to figure out how long mental steps
take.
Q9: Marcus is participating in a study where he is asked to verbally report exactly what
he is thinking while solving a math problem. What classic technique is the researcher
employing?
A. Protocol analysis [CORRECT]
B. Signal detection
C. Habituation
D. Operant conditioning
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: This matches how cognitive psychologists adapted the old introspection
method into a modern, structured way to track thought processes while a task is actually
happening.
Q10: Donald Broadbent's early filter model of attention was important because it was
one of the very first to suggest what?
A. Attention is unlimited and we process everything around us equally.
B. Information is selectively filtered out early in the processing stream based on physical
characteristics. [CORRECT]
C. Meaning and semantics are processed before basic sensory features.
D. Working memory has absolutely no capacity limits.
Correct Answer: B
COMPLETE ACTUAL TEST – NEW UPDATED VERSION
Correct Detailed Answers – Verified Solutions – Pass
Guaranteed - A+ Graded
Where It All Started: Foundations of Cognitive Psychology
Q1: Who is widely considered the "father of cognitive psychology" due to their 1967
book that formally defined the field?
A. B.F. Skinner
B. Ulric Neisser [CORRECT]
C. George Miller
D. Jean Piaget
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is Ulric Neisser because his groundbreaking 1967 book
"Cognitive Psychology" literally named and shaped the discipline as we study it today.
Q2: If you compare the human mind to a computer, as the information-processing model
does, which cognitive process acts most like the computer's keyboard or mouse?
A. Long-term memory storage
B. Central executive
C. Sensory input [CORRECT]
D. Output mechanisms
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: This option is correct because in cognitive psych we know that sensory
organs act as the input devices, taking in raw information from the outside world just like
a keyboard feeds data into a computer.
Q3: Which early psychological approach argued that we should study the basic
elements of conscious experience by breaking it down into distinct sensations and
feelings?
A. Structuralism [CORRECT]
B. Functionalism
C. Behaviorism
D. Gestalt psychology
Correct Answer: A
,Rationale: That aligns with the classic finding from early introspectionists like Wundt and
Titchener, who used structuralism to try and map out the basic building blocks of the
mind.
Q4: A researcher wants to study how people solve puzzles but strictly refuses to
measure anything that isn't directly observable, like overt behavior or reaction times.
Which historical movement is this researcher most aligned with?
A. The cognitive revolution
B. Behaviorism [CORRECT]
C. Functionalism
D. Cognitive neuroscience
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: This matches how behaviorism actually worked in practice, as researchers
like Watson and Skinner insisted that only measurable, observable behaviors were valid
for scientific study.
Q5: Why did the cognitive revolution ultimately replace strict behaviorism as the
dominant paradigm in psychology?
A. Behaviorism completely failed to explain any human or animal learning.
B. Behaviorists could not adequately explain complex mental processes like language
and memory using only stimulus-response associations. [CORRECT]
C. The cognitive revolution introduced the use of lab rats, which behaviorists refused to
use.
D. Behaviorism was declared unscientific by the American Psychological Association.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is that behaviorism fell short because it ignored the "black
box" of the mind, which became a huge problem when trying to explain internal
processes like language acquisition.
Q6: When cognitive psychologists use the metaphor of the mind as a computer, they do
not mean the brain operates exactly like a laptop. What do they actually mean by this
comparison?
A. The brain uses electrical circuits made of silicon to process information.
B. The mind takes in information, transforms it, stores it, and retrieves it in a sequence
of steps. [CORRECT]
C. Human memory has a finite hard drive that fills up permanently by age 30.
D. Computers possess consciousness and subjective experience just like humans do.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: This option is correct because in cognitive psych we know that the
information-processing approach is just a useful analogy for how mental operations
happen in a logical sequence, not a literal hardware comparison.
, Q7: What is the best, most comprehensive definition of cognition?
A. The unconscious desires that drive all human behavior
B. The purely biological firing of neurons across synapses
C. The mental processes involved in acquiring, processing, storing, and using
information [CORRECT]
D. The ability to regulate emotions during stressful social interactions
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: That aligns with the classic definition we use in the field, which casts a wide
net over everything from perceiving a stop sign to recalling a password.
Q8: Dr. Patel is measuring exactly how many milliseconds it takes a participant to
decide if a string of letters makes a real word or not. What method is she using?
A. Mental chronometry [CORRECT]
B. Introspection
C. Case study
D. Naturalistic observation
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The best answer is mental chronometry because this method literally
measures the precise timing of cognitive operations to figure out how long mental steps
take.
Q9: Marcus is participating in a study where he is asked to verbally report exactly what
he is thinking while solving a math problem. What classic technique is the researcher
employing?
A. Protocol analysis [CORRECT]
B. Signal detection
C. Habituation
D. Operant conditioning
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: This matches how cognitive psychologists adapted the old introspection
method into a modern, structured way to track thought processes while a task is actually
happening.
Q10: Donald Broadbent's early filter model of attention was important because it was
one of the very first to suggest what?
A. Attention is unlimited and we process everything around us equally.
B. Information is selectively filtered out early in the processing stream based on physical
characteristics. [CORRECT]
C. Meaning and semantics are processed before basic sensory features.
D. Working memory has absolutely no capacity limits.
Correct Answer: B
