PYC3703 Previous-assign-Q_s-A_s

PYC3703 - Previous Assignments Page 1 of 104 Assignment 1 – 2009 QUESTION 1 Rationalism is to (a) - - - - - as empiricism is to (b) - - - - -. 1. (a) empirical evidence (b) logical deduction 2. (a) theory (b) logical deduction 3. (a) observation (b) theory 4. (a) theory (b) empirical evidence Option 4 is correct. According to the rationalist position, ‘true’ knowledge is acquired with the aid of theoretical analysis and logical deduction whereas empiricists maintain that knowledge derives from observational evidence and therefore that empirical research is required (see CP, p. 4). QUESTION 2 The concept - - - - refers to Locke’s belief that all knowledge is gained empirically, beginning at birth, when our minds are a blank slate. 1. innate 2. a priori 3. a posteriori 4. tabula rasa Option 4 is correct. Tabula rasa means “blank slate”. As a firm believer in empiricism Locke argued that the human mind has no knowledge at birth and that all knowledge is acquired via the senses (see CP, p. 5). QUESTION 3 A psychologist lecturing on the psychology of perception makes the following statement: In perception pattern and organisation are primary. These aspects often emerge directly from the relationship between discrete elements, and they cannot be deduced from a knowledge of the individual elements alone. Indeed, at times elements can be missing or altered yet the overall shape will be perceived directly, showing that overall form is primary. From the statement above we can infer that the psychologist is probably a supporter of: 1. behaviourism 2. Descartes’ rationalism 3. gestalt psychology 4. structuralism The key phrases in the quotation are (a) “they (i.e. pattern and organisation) cannot be deduced from knowledge of individual elements alone”, and (b) “elements can be missing or altered, yet the overall shape will be perceived directly”. According to the psychologist therefore pattern and organisation cannot be simply inferred from the elements of the perception and something “more” is at stake. As these phrases show, the psychologist adopts PYC3703 - Previous Assignments Page 2 of 104 the basic assumption of the gestalt psychologists, and Option 3 is therefore correct. Remember that the slogan of the gestalt psychologists is that the percept is not simply ‘the sum of its part’, but that there is something extra, an essential property contained in the whole entity. QUESTION 4 During the 1950s, many psychologists were becoming disillusioned with behaviourism, and cognitive psychology began to emerge. A major reason why they were disappointed with behaviourism is because it 1. only examined psychological processes that were observable 2. paid too much attention to individual differences 3. failed to develop objective methods of measuring behaviour 4. focused too much on emotional factors, and not enough on observable behaviours Option 1 is correct. Cognitive psychology emerged mainly in reaction to the extreme assumptions of the behaviourists. They argued that only observable aspects should be studied and that the internal mechanisms of mind cannot be explored in a scientific manner (see CP, p. 8). The big problem with the behaviourist methodology is that one is forced to postulate cognitive factors that are not directly observable, in order to explain reasonably complex psychological processes such as language, memory, and reasoning. QUESTION 5 The primary contribution that Hermann Ebbinghaus made in his memory research to contemporary cognitive psychology was his 1. objections to the excessive emphasis placed on ecological validity in memory studies 2. use of research employing large samples of subjects 3. emphasis on a systematic, well-controlled approach to the study of memory 4. development of a theory of top-down memory processing Option 3 is correct. Ebbinghaus is mainly known for conducting systematic research on his own memory processes (see CP, p. 8). Option 2 is incorrect because Ebbinghaus’s memory research was based on a single subject design in which he used himself as the only subject. Option 1 is wrong since he did not object to ecological validity, and did not use a strict laboratory and controlled environment typical of experimental approaches but experimented on himself. Option 4 is also incorrect because Ebbinghaus followed a rather data-oriented, bottom-up approach and did not focus on the effect that top-down factors such as background knowledge and context have on memory recall. QUESTION 6 The landmark experiment in which dogs salivate at the sight of the person who feeds them, exemplifies early behaviourist experimentation on the process of 1. classically conditioned learning. 2. instrumental learning. PYC3703 - Previous Assignments Page 3 of 104 3. social learning. 4. operant conditioning Option 4 is correct. Descartes is mainly known for his use of reasoning to explore the difference between mind and the body, and to prove that the “I” (of the mind) exists as an independent being. He did not conduct any empirical research on the mind, but relied on rational analysis to prove his dualist position, namely infer that the mind exists separately from the body (see Tutorial Letter PYC303B/501/2009, pp. 22-23). QUESTION 7 This major theme of cognitive psychology deals with the factors that determine who we are, and specifically the issue of whether these factors are primarily genetically based, or derive from the environment in which we grew up? 1. Structure versus process 2. Nature versus nurture 3. Biological versus behavioural methods 4. Rationalism versus empiricism Option 2 is correct. The theme referred to in the question is the ‘nature-nurture’ controversy. The issue in the theme is whether the development of cognition is mainly determined by genetic factors or by environmental variables (CP, p. 24). QUESTION 8 The approach to studying the brain in order to understand what specific part of it controls a specific skill or cognitive process is called - - - - -. 1. synthesis 2. localisation of function 3. static imaging 4. lobotomy Option 2 is correct. As the name suggests “localisation of function” refers to the process of determining where a specific cognitive ‘function’ is located in the brain. For example, cognitive neuroscience research suggests that the cognitive function or process of auditory perception is controlled by the temporal lobe, because injury to this lobe results in impairment in the perception and processing of sound (see CP, p. 34). Please note that localization of function is an attempt to map the brain, but that many higher-level cognitive processes cannot be narrowly localised in the brain because they are spread out over different areas. QUESTION 9 Signals between neurons occur when these chemical messengers transmit information from one neuron to the next across the synaptic gap. 1. synapse 2. hormones