WGU D570 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY OA
COMPLETE PASS MEGA BUNDLE |
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE & PRACTICE
QUESTIONS (2026–2027) | OBJECTIVE
ASSESSMENT EXAM PREPARATION
• This 200-question practice exam covers all WGU D570 Cognitive Psychology OA
domains — use it by attempting each question independently before checking the
correct answer and EXPERT RATIONALE below it.
• Bold questions and answers mark key testable content — study the EXPERT
RATIONALE carefully as it reinforces the "why" behind each correct choice for
deeper retention.
QUESTION 1
Which of the following best defines cognitive psychology?
A) The study of unconscious drives and early childhood experiences
B) The study of observable behaviors and environmental stimuli
C) The study of mental processes including perception, memory, language, and
problem-solving
D) The study of biological bases of personality disorders
E) The study of social influences on group decision-making
Correct Answer: C) The study of mental processes including perception,
memory, language, and problem-solving
EXPERT RATIONALE: Cognitive psychology focuses on internal mental processes
such as attention, memory, language, perception, and problem-solving,
distinguishing it from behaviorism and psychoanalysis.
QUESTION 2
,The information processing model of the mind compares cognitive
functioning to which of the following?
A) A hydraulic system driven by pressure and release
B) A biological organism undergoing evolution
C) A computer processing input, storing, and retrieving data
D) A social network of interconnected agents
E) A chemical reaction producing measurable outputs
Correct Answer: C) A computer processing input, storing, and retrieving data
EXPERT RATIONALE: The information processing model, foundational to cognitive
psychology, likens the mind to a computer — receiving input (perception),
processing and storing it (memory), and producing output (behavior or language).
QUESTION 3
Which psychologist is most closely associated with the cognitive revolution
and the rejection of strict behaviorism?
A) B.F. Skinner
B) Sigmund Freud
C) Ulric Neisser
D) Ivan Pavlov
E) Abraham Maslow
Correct Answer: C) Ulric Neisser
EXPERT RATIONALE: Ulric Neisser authored "Cognitive Psychology" in 1967, a
landmark text that formally launched the cognitive revolution and redirected
psychology toward the study of internal mental processes.
QUESTION 4
,Sensory memory holds information for approximately how long before it
decays?
A) 30 seconds to 1 minute
B) Several hours
C) Less than 1 second to about 3 seconds
D) 7 to 10 seconds
E) Indefinitely until displaced
Correct Answer: C) Less than 1 second to about 3 seconds
EXPERT RATIONALE: Sensory memory is a very brief store — iconic memory
(visual) lasts about 0.5 seconds and echoic memory (auditory) lasts about 3–4
seconds before information decays unless attended to.
QUESTION 5
George Miller's famous "magical number" refers to the capacity of which
memory store?
A) Long-term memory
B) Sensory memory
C) Episodic memory
D) Working memory / short-term memory
E) Procedural memory
Correct Answer: D) Working memory / short-term memory
EXPERT RATIONALE: Miller (1956) proposed that short-term memory has a
capacity of approximately 7 ± 2 items (chunks), a foundational finding in cognitive
psychology's understanding of working memory limits.
QUESTION 6
, Which of the following best describes "chunking" as a memory strategy?
A) Rehearsing information by repeating it aloud multiple times
B) Organizing individual pieces of information into larger meaningful units
C) Spacing study sessions over long intervals of time
D) Associating new information with emotional experiences
E) Converting verbal information into visual imagery
Correct Answer: B) Organizing individual pieces of information into larger
meaningful units
EXPERT RATIONALE: Chunking increases working memory efficiency by grouping
smaller units into larger, meaningful chunks — for example, remembering a phone
number as three groups rather than ten separate digits.
QUESTION 7
The multi-store model of memory, also known as the Atkinson-Shiffrin model,
proposes which sequence?
A) Long-term memory → working memory → sensory memory
B) Sensory memory → short-term memory → long-term memory
C) Episodic memory → semantic memory → procedural memory
D) Encoding → storage → retrieval → forgetting
E) Attention → perception → language → action
Correct Answer: B) Sensory memory → short-term memory → long-term
memory
EXPERT RATIONALE: Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) proposed that information flows
from sensory memory to short-term memory through attention, then to long-term
memory through rehearsal — a three-stage sequential model.
COMPLETE PASS MEGA BUNDLE |
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE & PRACTICE
QUESTIONS (2026–2027) | OBJECTIVE
ASSESSMENT EXAM PREPARATION
• This 200-question practice exam covers all WGU D570 Cognitive Psychology OA
domains — use it by attempting each question independently before checking the
correct answer and EXPERT RATIONALE below it.
• Bold questions and answers mark key testable content — study the EXPERT
RATIONALE carefully as it reinforces the "why" behind each correct choice for
deeper retention.
QUESTION 1
Which of the following best defines cognitive psychology?
A) The study of unconscious drives and early childhood experiences
B) The study of observable behaviors and environmental stimuli
C) The study of mental processes including perception, memory, language, and
problem-solving
D) The study of biological bases of personality disorders
E) The study of social influences on group decision-making
Correct Answer: C) The study of mental processes including perception,
memory, language, and problem-solving
EXPERT RATIONALE: Cognitive psychology focuses on internal mental processes
such as attention, memory, language, perception, and problem-solving,
distinguishing it from behaviorism and psychoanalysis.
QUESTION 2
,The information processing model of the mind compares cognitive
functioning to which of the following?
A) A hydraulic system driven by pressure and release
B) A biological organism undergoing evolution
C) A computer processing input, storing, and retrieving data
D) A social network of interconnected agents
E) A chemical reaction producing measurable outputs
Correct Answer: C) A computer processing input, storing, and retrieving data
EXPERT RATIONALE: The information processing model, foundational to cognitive
psychology, likens the mind to a computer — receiving input (perception),
processing and storing it (memory), and producing output (behavior or language).
QUESTION 3
Which psychologist is most closely associated with the cognitive revolution
and the rejection of strict behaviorism?
A) B.F. Skinner
B) Sigmund Freud
C) Ulric Neisser
D) Ivan Pavlov
E) Abraham Maslow
Correct Answer: C) Ulric Neisser
EXPERT RATIONALE: Ulric Neisser authored "Cognitive Psychology" in 1967, a
landmark text that formally launched the cognitive revolution and redirected
psychology toward the study of internal mental processes.
QUESTION 4
,Sensory memory holds information for approximately how long before it
decays?
A) 30 seconds to 1 minute
B) Several hours
C) Less than 1 second to about 3 seconds
D) 7 to 10 seconds
E) Indefinitely until displaced
Correct Answer: C) Less than 1 second to about 3 seconds
EXPERT RATIONALE: Sensory memory is a very brief store — iconic memory
(visual) lasts about 0.5 seconds and echoic memory (auditory) lasts about 3–4
seconds before information decays unless attended to.
QUESTION 5
George Miller's famous "magical number" refers to the capacity of which
memory store?
A) Long-term memory
B) Sensory memory
C) Episodic memory
D) Working memory / short-term memory
E) Procedural memory
Correct Answer: D) Working memory / short-term memory
EXPERT RATIONALE: Miller (1956) proposed that short-term memory has a
capacity of approximately 7 ± 2 items (chunks), a foundational finding in cognitive
psychology's understanding of working memory limits.
QUESTION 6
, Which of the following best describes "chunking" as a memory strategy?
A) Rehearsing information by repeating it aloud multiple times
B) Organizing individual pieces of information into larger meaningful units
C) Spacing study sessions over long intervals of time
D) Associating new information with emotional experiences
E) Converting verbal information into visual imagery
Correct Answer: B) Organizing individual pieces of information into larger
meaningful units
EXPERT RATIONALE: Chunking increases working memory efficiency by grouping
smaller units into larger, meaningful chunks — for example, remembering a phone
number as three groups rather than ten separate digits.
QUESTION 7
The multi-store model of memory, also known as the Atkinson-Shiffrin model,
proposes which sequence?
A) Long-term memory → working memory → sensory memory
B) Sensory memory → short-term memory → long-term memory
C) Episodic memory → semantic memory → procedural memory
D) Encoding → storage → retrieval → forgetting
E) Attention → perception → language → action
Correct Answer: B) Sensory memory → short-term memory → long-term
memory
EXPERT RATIONALE: Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) proposed that information flows
from sensory memory to short-term memory through attention, then to long-term
memory through rehearsal — a three-stage sequential model.
