WGU D570 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY OA AND PRE
ASSESSMENT EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
(VERIFIED ANSWERS) LATEST UPDATE 2026/2027
Q1. A researcher argues that conscious mental processes cannot be studied scientifically
because they are private and subjective. This position is most consistent with which historical
school of psychology?
A) Structuralism
B) Functionalism
C) Behaviorism
D) Gestalt psychology
Correct Answer: C) Behaviorism
Rationale: Behaviorism, championed by Watson and Skinner, explicitly rejected the study of
internal mental states, focusing only on observable behavior. Structuralism used introspection
to study conscious experience. Functionalism considered mental processes in terms of adaptive
functions. Gestalt psychology studied perceptual organization and insight .
Q2. A cognitive psychologist designs an experiment to measure the time it takes for a
participant to detect a visual stimulus and press a button. She subtracts the time of a simple
reaction task from a choice reaction task to isolate the duration of a specific mental operation.
This method is directly derived from which historical approach?
A) Donders' subtractive method
B) Ebbinghaus' savings method
C) Pavlov's classical conditioning
D) Titchener's structuralism
Correct Answer: A) Donders' subtractive method
Rationale: Donders (1868) pioneered the subtractive method, comparing simple and choice
reaction times to infer the duration of mental processes. Ebbinghaus developed the savings
method to study memory. Pavlov studied conditioning. Titchener used introspection .
,Q3. Which of the following best characterizes the shift from behaviorism to cognitive
psychology in the mid-20th century?
A) A rejection of all experimental methods in favor of naturalistic observation
B) An increased emphasis on studying internal mental representations and processes
C) A complete abandonment of the study of learning and memory
D) A focus on the role of unconscious drives and early childhood experiences
Correct Answer: B) An increased emphasis on studying internal mental representations and
processes
Rationale: The cognitive revolution reintroduced the study of mental processes (attention,
memory, language) that behaviorism had excluded. It did not reject experimental methods or
abandon learning. Unconscious drives are more central to psychoanalysis .
Q4. Edward Tolman's rat maze experiments demonstrated the concept of:
A) Classical conditioning
B) Operant conditioning
C) Cognitive mapping
D) Chunking
Correct Answer: C) Cognitive mapping
Rationale: Tolman's rat maze experiments showed that rats developed cognitive maps—mental
representations of the maze—demonstrating that learning involves more than just stimulus-
response associations .
Q5. The Atkinson-Shiffrin model of memory describes memory in which three stages?
A) Sensory, short-term, and long-term
B) Episodic, semantic, and procedural
C) Implicit, explicit, and working
D) Encoding, storage, and retrieval
Correct Answer: A) Sensory, short-term, and long-term
,Rationale: The Atkinson-Shiffrin model (also called the modal model) describes memory as
consisting of three stages: sensory memory, short-term memory (with rehearsal), and long-term
memory .
Q6. Who is considered the "father of cognitive psychology" and authored the first textbook on
the subject?
A) George Miller
B) Ulric Neisser
C) Richard Atkinson
D) Endel Tulving
Correct Answer: B) Ulric Neisser
Rationale: Ulric Neisser is considered the father of cognitive psychology and authored the first
textbook on cognitive psychology, titled "Cognitive Psychology," published in 1967 .
Q7. A researcher claims that the whole of a visual scene is perceived differently than the sum of
its individual parts. This viewpoint is most directly associated with which school of thought?
A) Structuralism
B) Behaviorism
C) Functionalism
D) Gestalt psychology
Correct Answer: D) Gestalt psychology
Rationale: Gestalt psychology emphasizes that perception is holistic—"the whole is different
from the sum of its parts." Gestalt psychologists studied perceptual organization and how we
group elements into meaningful patterns .
Q8. Wilhelm Wundt's approach to psychology, which involved trained participants describing
their experiences in response to stimuli, was called:
A) Behaviorism
B) Functionalism
, C) Analytic introspection
D) Gestalt psychology
Correct Answer: C) Analytic introspection
Rationale: Wundt used analytic introspection, a method where participants were trained to
describe their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli in scientific terms .
Q9. Endel Tulving's model of long-term memory distinguishes between:
A) Sensory, short-term, and long-term memory
B) Episodic, semantic, and procedural memory
C) Implicit and explicit memory
D) Working and declarative memory
Correct Answer: B) Episodic, semantic, and procedural memory
Rationale: Tulving's model distinguishes long-term memory into episodic (event memory),
semantic (facts), and procedural (actions) memory .
Q10. B.F. Skinner is best known for his work on:
A) Classical conditioning
B) Operant conditioning
C) Cognitive mapping
D) Reaction time
Correct Answer: B) Operant conditioning
Rationale: B.F. Skinner is best known for operant conditioning, where behavior is shaped and
maintained by reinforcement. Skinner used the "Skinner box" to demonstrate these principles .
Q11. A researcher argues that the cognitive revolution was fundamentally a rejection of
behaviorism's prohibition on studying internal mental states, but a critic claims that cognitive
ASSESSMENT EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
(VERIFIED ANSWERS) LATEST UPDATE 2026/2027
Q1. A researcher argues that conscious mental processes cannot be studied scientifically
because they are private and subjective. This position is most consistent with which historical
school of psychology?
A) Structuralism
B) Functionalism
C) Behaviorism
D) Gestalt psychology
Correct Answer: C) Behaviorism
Rationale: Behaviorism, championed by Watson and Skinner, explicitly rejected the study of
internal mental states, focusing only on observable behavior. Structuralism used introspection
to study conscious experience. Functionalism considered mental processes in terms of adaptive
functions. Gestalt psychology studied perceptual organization and insight .
Q2. A cognitive psychologist designs an experiment to measure the time it takes for a
participant to detect a visual stimulus and press a button. She subtracts the time of a simple
reaction task from a choice reaction task to isolate the duration of a specific mental operation.
This method is directly derived from which historical approach?
A) Donders' subtractive method
B) Ebbinghaus' savings method
C) Pavlov's classical conditioning
D) Titchener's structuralism
Correct Answer: A) Donders' subtractive method
Rationale: Donders (1868) pioneered the subtractive method, comparing simple and choice
reaction times to infer the duration of mental processes. Ebbinghaus developed the savings
method to study memory. Pavlov studied conditioning. Titchener used introspection .
,Q3. Which of the following best characterizes the shift from behaviorism to cognitive
psychology in the mid-20th century?
A) A rejection of all experimental methods in favor of naturalistic observation
B) An increased emphasis on studying internal mental representations and processes
C) A complete abandonment of the study of learning and memory
D) A focus on the role of unconscious drives and early childhood experiences
Correct Answer: B) An increased emphasis on studying internal mental representations and
processes
Rationale: The cognitive revolution reintroduced the study of mental processes (attention,
memory, language) that behaviorism had excluded. It did not reject experimental methods or
abandon learning. Unconscious drives are more central to psychoanalysis .
Q4. Edward Tolman's rat maze experiments demonstrated the concept of:
A) Classical conditioning
B) Operant conditioning
C) Cognitive mapping
D) Chunking
Correct Answer: C) Cognitive mapping
Rationale: Tolman's rat maze experiments showed that rats developed cognitive maps—mental
representations of the maze—demonstrating that learning involves more than just stimulus-
response associations .
Q5. The Atkinson-Shiffrin model of memory describes memory in which three stages?
A) Sensory, short-term, and long-term
B) Episodic, semantic, and procedural
C) Implicit, explicit, and working
D) Encoding, storage, and retrieval
Correct Answer: A) Sensory, short-term, and long-term
,Rationale: The Atkinson-Shiffrin model (also called the modal model) describes memory as
consisting of three stages: sensory memory, short-term memory (with rehearsal), and long-term
memory .
Q6. Who is considered the "father of cognitive psychology" and authored the first textbook on
the subject?
A) George Miller
B) Ulric Neisser
C) Richard Atkinson
D) Endel Tulving
Correct Answer: B) Ulric Neisser
Rationale: Ulric Neisser is considered the father of cognitive psychology and authored the first
textbook on cognitive psychology, titled "Cognitive Psychology," published in 1967 .
Q7. A researcher claims that the whole of a visual scene is perceived differently than the sum of
its individual parts. This viewpoint is most directly associated with which school of thought?
A) Structuralism
B) Behaviorism
C) Functionalism
D) Gestalt psychology
Correct Answer: D) Gestalt psychology
Rationale: Gestalt psychology emphasizes that perception is holistic—"the whole is different
from the sum of its parts." Gestalt psychologists studied perceptual organization and how we
group elements into meaningful patterns .
Q8. Wilhelm Wundt's approach to psychology, which involved trained participants describing
their experiences in response to stimuli, was called:
A) Behaviorism
B) Functionalism
, C) Analytic introspection
D) Gestalt psychology
Correct Answer: C) Analytic introspection
Rationale: Wundt used analytic introspection, a method where participants were trained to
describe their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli in scientific terms .
Q9. Endel Tulving's model of long-term memory distinguishes between:
A) Sensory, short-term, and long-term memory
B) Episodic, semantic, and procedural memory
C) Implicit and explicit memory
D) Working and declarative memory
Correct Answer: B) Episodic, semantic, and procedural memory
Rationale: Tulving's model distinguishes long-term memory into episodic (event memory),
semantic (facts), and procedural (actions) memory .
Q10. B.F. Skinner is best known for his work on:
A) Classical conditioning
B) Operant conditioning
C) Cognitive mapping
D) Reaction time
Correct Answer: B) Operant conditioning
Rationale: B.F. Skinner is best known for operant conditioning, where behavior is shaped and
maintained by reinforcement. Skinner used the "Skinner box" to demonstrate these principles .
Q11. A researcher argues that the cognitive revolution was fundamentally a rejection of
behaviorism's prohibition on studying internal mental states, but a critic claims that cognitive
