WGU D570 COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY OA AND PRE
ASSESSMENT EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (VERIFIED
ANSWERS) LATEST UPDATE 2025/2026
What is measured by the paper folding test?
Spatial Imagery
What is mental imagery?
The ability to recreate sensory information without physical stimuli
What is a component of psychosocial development?
Personality
A person surprises themself in recalling the name of an artist most have not heard of. Which process
occurs when the person tries to remember how they learned that fact?
Source monitoring
Researchers Robert Nash and Kimberley Wade ran an experiment in which participants played a
gambling game on a computer and were later shown a modified video of themselves cheating. What did
this experiment reveal about false confessions?
Participants confessed to cheating after being shown the modified video, even though they did not
recall cheating indicating the power of suggestive questioning and tactics
Which example reflects the impact of the self-image hypothesis?
A person remembers graduating from law school
What is a primary concern of behaviorism according to John Watson?
Identifying the relationship between environmental stimuli and behavior
Which concept supports the paired-associate learning results?
Conceptual peg hypothesis
Which component of Broadbent's flow diagram of the mind blocks unattended messages?
Filter
Which evidence disproves Aristotle's assertion that "thought is impossible without an image"?
People who cannot visualize images are still capable of thinking
Which stage of Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory does an individual begin to understand
mathematical reasoning?
Page 1 of 40
,Concrete Operational
Which term describes a child's tendency to fixate on just one aspect of a problem or object according to
Piaget?
Centration
A child reads the following incorrect sentence: "The car was traveling down the hills were beautiful."
Which cognitive process illustrates casual inference?
The child infers that the hills being beautiful are caused by the motion of the moving car
Which conversation between two students demonstrates the process of entrainment?
The students both start speaking loudly and gesturing.
Which cortex of the frontal lobe is activated when someone determines whether another person
appears to be physically attractive?
Frontal Cortex
What is the the electrical impulse fired down the axon of a neuron?
Action Potential
Which part of a neuron transports an electrical signal?
Axon
Which types of tasks have revealed cognitive deficits in people with a substance abuse disorder?
Working Memory Tests
Which example shows how sensory memory results in the persistence of vision when watching
fireworks?
Fireworks appear as falling trails of light due to iconic memories lasting fractions of a second.
Which explanation shows how multiple forms of memory would contribute to effective execution of a
mental math problem?
Numbers are held in short-term memory and manipulations are conducted on the numbers in working
memory when solving the math problem.
Which scenario exemplifies how the articulatory rehearsal process contributes to a student's short-term
memory for course lecture material, according to Baddeley's model?
The student repeats silently what their instructor has said before writing it down.
A person is trying to recall the names of a set of seven actors whose pictures were briefly presented
upside down. What explains how the episodic buffer enhances working memory in this scenario?
The episodic buffer connects with long-term memory of the actors' faces and names, bringing content
into working memory.
Page 2 of 40
,How does activity-silent working memory help performance on mental rotation problems?
Strengthening of connections between neurons helps performance on mental rotation problems
How is the primacy effect related to attention for a set of words presented sequentially?
The first word presented receives the persons full attention.
Which example shows Westmacott and Moscovitch's concept of autobiographically significant semantic
memories?
Person recalls the name of the actor that they saw in the airport years ago.
A person is studying a list of types of fish for a wildlife test that will occur in one week. Which example
illustrates the combined long-term memory encoding strategies of visual imagery and organization?
The person imagines each fish on a tree structure corresponding to categories of fish types.
A person is studying a list of names of pastries for their new job at a bakery. Which example shows the
interaction between the deep processing strategies of generation and self-reference?
The person creates flashcards for the names of the pastries, pairing each with an estimate of how
appetizing the pastry appears.
Which stage in Piaget's theory of cognitive development is represented by a child's ability to mentally
represent objects and events with words and images?
Preoperational
Which kind of intelligence reflects abilities drawn from experience?
Crystalized
Which mental framework is used in learning according to Piaget?
Schemas
A child reads the following incorrect sentence: "The car was traceling down the hills were beautiful."
Which cognitive process illustrates the garden path model of parsing?
The child changes their mind from the subject being the car to the hills
A student reads these two sentences: A dog was running. It slipped and fell. which thought process is an
example of an anaphoric inference?
The student infers that the word "it" refers to the dog
Why is establishing common ground important to conversations?
It aids in having an engaging discussion
Which property of words contributes to the word frequency effect?
how often a word is used within a language
Page 3 of 40
, While studying in a noisy coffee shop, a student is able to focus solely on their textbook, tuning out the
surrounding conversations and background music. Which cognitive phenomenon does this scenario
illustrate?
Selective attention
A person is enjoying a day at the beach. They hear children playing see the ocean waves feel the warm
sun taste the salty air and smell sunscreen. Which state of consciousness is this person experiencing?
wakeful state
How does rotating shift work affect consciousness?
it can affect a person's sleep regulation, leading to insomnia and fatigue.
Which statement describes circadian rhythm in the sleep-wake cycle and consciousness?
Circadian rhythms regulate the sleep-wake cycle and impact alertness
Which test measures brain activity to determine a person's stage of sleep or sonsciousness?
Electroencephalogram EEG
What does the Stroop interference task use to demonstrate a slower reaction time?
By displaying color words in different color fonts
A kindergarten student is trying to solve a handheld maze. The student focuses on the last step of the
maze, causing them to miss earlier steps. What process describes why the student has a difficult time
discovering the first step required to solve the maze?
Fixation causes the student to focus too much on the last part of the maze and to overlook important
steps at the beginning
A teenager's car won't start because the battery is drained after leaving the headlights on overnight. He
realizes he needs jumper cables after recalling a childhood memory of his parents jump-starting the
family car after the battery died. Which recognition and memory retrieval processes were involved in
this problem-solving?
Noticing, mapping, and applying
Which example demonstrates Newell and Simon's approach to problem solving?
A person planning an event makes a list of to-dos and begins working on one task at a time until they are
all completed
Which example demonstrates the importance of how a problem statement is presented for effective
problem solving?
A person reads a prompt for an essay question and notices that the teacher used certain language,
which helped the person eliminate incorrect answers.
Page 4 of 40
ASSESSMENT EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (VERIFIED
ANSWERS) LATEST UPDATE 2025/2026
What is measured by the paper folding test?
Spatial Imagery
What is mental imagery?
The ability to recreate sensory information without physical stimuli
What is a component of psychosocial development?
Personality
A person surprises themself in recalling the name of an artist most have not heard of. Which process
occurs when the person tries to remember how they learned that fact?
Source monitoring
Researchers Robert Nash and Kimberley Wade ran an experiment in which participants played a
gambling game on a computer and were later shown a modified video of themselves cheating. What did
this experiment reveal about false confessions?
Participants confessed to cheating after being shown the modified video, even though they did not
recall cheating indicating the power of suggestive questioning and tactics
Which example reflects the impact of the self-image hypothesis?
A person remembers graduating from law school
What is a primary concern of behaviorism according to John Watson?
Identifying the relationship between environmental stimuli and behavior
Which concept supports the paired-associate learning results?
Conceptual peg hypothesis
Which component of Broadbent's flow diagram of the mind blocks unattended messages?
Filter
Which evidence disproves Aristotle's assertion that "thought is impossible without an image"?
People who cannot visualize images are still capable of thinking
Which stage of Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory does an individual begin to understand
mathematical reasoning?
Page 1 of 40
,Concrete Operational
Which term describes a child's tendency to fixate on just one aspect of a problem or object according to
Piaget?
Centration
A child reads the following incorrect sentence: "The car was traveling down the hills were beautiful."
Which cognitive process illustrates casual inference?
The child infers that the hills being beautiful are caused by the motion of the moving car
Which conversation between two students demonstrates the process of entrainment?
The students both start speaking loudly and gesturing.
Which cortex of the frontal lobe is activated when someone determines whether another person
appears to be physically attractive?
Frontal Cortex
What is the the electrical impulse fired down the axon of a neuron?
Action Potential
Which part of a neuron transports an electrical signal?
Axon
Which types of tasks have revealed cognitive deficits in people with a substance abuse disorder?
Working Memory Tests
Which example shows how sensory memory results in the persistence of vision when watching
fireworks?
Fireworks appear as falling trails of light due to iconic memories lasting fractions of a second.
Which explanation shows how multiple forms of memory would contribute to effective execution of a
mental math problem?
Numbers are held in short-term memory and manipulations are conducted on the numbers in working
memory when solving the math problem.
Which scenario exemplifies how the articulatory rehearsal process contributes to a student's short-term
memory for course lecture material, according to Baddeley's model?
The student repeats silently what their instructor has said before writing it down.
A person is trying to recall the names of a set of seven actors whose pictures were briefly presented
upside down. What explains how the episodic buffer enhances working memory in this scenario?
The episodic buffer connects with long-term memory of the actors' faces and names, bringing content
into working memory.
Page 2 of 40
,How does activity-silent working memory help performance on mental rotation problems?
Strengthening of connections between neurons helps performance on mental rotation problems
How is the primacy effect related to attention for a set of words presented sequentially?
The first word presented receives the persons full attention.
Which example shows Westmacott and Moscovitch's concept of autobiographically significant semantic
memories?
Person recalls the name of the actor that they saw in the airport years ago.
A person is studying a list of types of fish for a wildlife test that will occur in one week. Which example
illustrates the combined long-term memory encoding strategies of visual imagery and organization?
The person imagines each fish on a tree structure corresponding to categories of fish types.
A person is studying a list of names of pastries for their new job at a bakery. Which example shows the
interaction between the deep processing strategies of generation and self-reference?
The person creates flashcards for the names of the pastries, pairing each with an estimate of how
appetizing the pastry appears.
Which stage in Piaget's theory of cognitive development is represented by a child's ability to mentally
represent objects and events with words and images?
Preoperational
Which kind of intelligence reflects abilities drawn from experience?
Crystalized
Which mental framework is used in learning according to Piaget?
Schemas
A child reads the following incorrect sentence: "The car was traceling down the hills were beautiful."
Which cognitive process illustrates the garden path model of parsing?
The child changes their mind from the subject being the car to the hills
A student reads these two sentences: A dog was running. It slipped and fell. which thought process is an
example of an anaphoric inference?
The student infers that the word "it" refers to the dog
Why is establishing common ground important to conversations?
It aids in having an engaging discussion
Which property of words contributes to the word frequency effect?
how often a word is used within a language
Page 3 of 40
, While studying in a noisy coffee shop, a student is able to focus solely on their textbook, tuning out the
surrounding conversations and background music. Which cognitive phenomenon does this scenario
illustrate?
Selective attention
A person is enjoying a day at the beach. They hear children playing see the ocean waves feel the warm
sun taste the salty air and smell sunscreen. Which state of consciousness is this person experiencing?
wakeful state
How does rotating shift work affect consciousness?
it can affect a person's sleep regulation, leading to insomnia and fatigue.
Which statement describes circadian rhythm in the sleep-wake cycle and consciousness?
Circadian rhythms regulate the sleep-wake cycle and impact alertness
Which test measures brain activity to determine a person's stage of sleep or sonsciousness?
Electroencephalogram EEG
What does the Stroop interference task use to demonstrate a slower reaction time?
By displaying color words in different color fonts
A kindergarten student is trying to solve a handheld maze. The student focuses on the last step of the
maze, causing them to miss earlier steps. What process describes why the student has a difficult time
discovering the first step required to solve the maze?
Fixation causes the student to focus too much on the last part of the maze and to overlook important
steps at the beginning
A teenager's car won't start because the battery is drained after leaving the headlights on overnight. He
realizes he needs jumper cables after recalling a childhood memory of his parents jump-starting the
family car after the battery died. Which recognition and memory retrieval processes were involved in
this problem-solving?
Noticing, mapping, and applying
Which example demonstrates Newell and Simon's approach to problem solving?
A person planning an event makes a list of to-dos and begins working on one task at a time until they are
all completed
Which example demonstrates the importance of how a problem statement is presented for effective
problem solving?
A person reads a prompt for an essay question and notices that the teacher used certain language,
which helped the person eliminate incorrect answers.
Page 4 of 40
