2016 Exam October-November

Question 1

According to the theory of dialectic thinking that is used to describe the progression of ideas, a
statement of belief is first proposed. This second statement is called the ___.
1) antithesis
2) synthesis
3) thesis
4) syllogism

Answer 1

1) antithesis

Reasoning: The dialectical method involves the integration of two opposing propositions, a thesis
and an antithesis, into a new statement that integrates aspects of both propositions and offers
something of a compromise. The new statement is called a synthesis.

Question 2

Which one of the following is not consistent with the ideas of functionalism?

1) The study of the organism independent of its environment
2) The study of mental processes
3) The study and uses of consciousness
4) The study of the relationship between the organism and its environment

Answer 2

1) The study of the organism independent of its environment

Reasoning: Functionalism attempts to understand how the mind works by trying to uncover
functional relationships between stimuli and responses

Question 3

Which one of the following statements reflects a legitimate criticism of Behaviourism?

1) The behaviouristic principles do not offer a satisfactory explanation of language learning
2) The law of effect did not generalise to humans
3) Classical and operant conditioning only works on animals
4) All of the above are legitimate criticisms

Answer 3

1) The behaviouristic principles do not offer a satisfactory explanation of language learning

Reasoning: Behaviourism was challenged on many fronts such as language acquisition, production
and comprehension. The following criticisms were stated:
1) It did not account for complex mental activities, such as language learning and problemsolving.
2) More than understanding people’s behavior, psychologists were interested on what goes
on inside the mind.
3) Using behaviourism techniques to study non-human animals were often easier than
studying human ones.

Question 4

• • • • • is a cognitive psychological theme that is concerned with the use of highly controlled
          experiments versus naturalistic techniques
          1) Biological versus behavioural methods
          2) Validity of causal inferences versus ecological validity
          3) Rationalism versus empiricism
          4) Structures versus processes

Answer 4

2) Validity of causal inferences versus ecological validity

Reasoning: We can combine a variety of methods, including laboratory methods and more
naturalistic ones, to converge on findings that hold up, regardless of the methods of study.

Question 5

The major assumption about studies using visual imaging technology to examine blood flow to the
brain is that ___.
1) some types of neurons require more blood than others
2) the areas with the lowest neural activity represent cognitive activity
3) cognitive activity can only be measured by blood flow
4) high levels of blood is required for cognition

Answer 5

4) high levels of blood is required for cognition

Reasoning: When the brain is active, it needs energy, which is transported to the brain in the form
of oxygen and glucose by means of the blood.

Question 6

Which of the following structures comprise the forebrain?

1) Corpus callosum, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex
2) Hippocampus, medulla, pons, and thalamus
3) Cerebral cortex, basil ganglia, the limbic system, thalamus, and hypothalamus
4) Amygdala, reticular activating system, and corpus callosum

Answer 6

3) Cerebral cortex, basil ganglia, the limbic system, thalamus, and hypothalamus

Reasoning: The forebrain is the anterior part of the brain, including the cerebral hemispheres, the
thalamus, and the hypothalamus. The main three structures of the forebrain are the limbic
system, the thalamus and the hypothalamus. The basil ganglia is situated at the base of the
forebrain

Question 7

All of the following are central interconnected cerebral structures of the limbic system except the___.

1) primary motor cortex
2) septum
3) amygdala
4) hippocampus

Answer 7

1) primary motor cortex

Reasoning: The limbic system is a set of structures in the brain that deal with emotions and
memory.
The limbic system is associated with learning, memory, emotion, and motivation. It consists of the
amygdala, the septum, and the hippocampus.

Question 8

Jennifer has damage to a certain area of her brain. She can remember people and events from long
ago, but she cannot remember where she ate lunch today. Judging by her symptoms, Jennifer
probably has damage to the - - - - -
1) hypothalamus
2) hippocampus
3) thalamus
4) corpus callosum

Answer 8

2) hippocampus

Reasoning: Hippocampal damage can result in anterograde amnesia: loss of ability to form new
memories, although older memories may be safe. Thus, someone who sustains an injury to the
hippocampus may have good memory of his childhood and the years before the injury, but
relatively little memory for anything that happened since

Question 9

A code blue has just been announced in a hospital. A patient has stopped breathing. Doctors and
medics rush to the scene and quickly determine that brain death has not yet occurred. How did the
medics know whether the patient was brain dead or not?
1) They found that there was still activity in the frontal lobe of the patient’s brain
2) Once breathing stops, brain death occurs
3) They found that there was still activity in the brainstem
4) They found that the pons was still active

Answer 9

3) They found that there was still activity in the brainstem

Reasoning: Brain-death is defined as unresponsiveness and lack of receptivity, the absence of
movement and breathing, and most importantly - the absence of brain-stem reflexes.

Question 10

A researcher wants to investigate the neural structures involved in a cognitive process, and has
developed a research design that involves the disruption of activity in a small area in the brain,
thereby creating a ‘virtual lesion’. Which of the following techniques would be the most appropriate
for the researcher to employ for the study?
1) Magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI) technique
2) Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
3) Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
4) Positron emission tomography (PET) scan

Answer 10

2) Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Reasoning: TMS: When applied to the scalp, the magnetic field induces electrical activity in the
underlying brain tissue, temporarily disrupting local cortical information processing. This transient
interference effectively creates a short-lasting “virtual lesion”

Question 11

Which abilities have been found to be localised on the right side of the brain for most spilt-brain
patients?
1) Language functions
2) The ability to follow conversations or stories
3) Skilled movement
4) Finding patterns

Answer 11

3) Skilled movement

Reasoning: The right hemisphere of the cortex excels at nonverbal and spatial tasks, whereas the
left hemisphere is more dominant in verbal tasks, such as speaking and writing. In a cognitive
sense the right hemisphere is responsible for recognition of objects and timing, and in an
emotional sense it is responsible for empathy, humor and depression.

Question 12

Adrian has Alzheimer’s and has a difficult time with his memory. The doctors say that his memory
difficulties are associated with low levels of - - - - -.
1) acetylcholine
2) dopamine
3) GABA
4) serotonin

Answer 12

1) acetylcholine

Reasoning: Acetylcholine is associated with memory functions, and the loss of acetylcholine
through Alzheimer’s disease has been linked to impaired memory functioning in Alzheimer’s
patients.

Question 13

This particular neurotransmitter is Important for regulating impulsivity and is associated with eating
behaviour, and aggressive behaviour
1) Acetylcholine
2) Dopamine
3) Norepinephrine
4) Serotonin

Answer 13

4) Serotonin

Reasoning: Serotonin plays an important role in eating behavior and body weight regulation. High
serotonin levels play a role in some types of anorexia, specifically anorexia resulting from illness or
treatment of illness. Serotonin is also involved in aggression and regulation of impulsivity. Drugs
that block serotonin tend to result in an increase in aggressive behavior.

Question 14

This static imaging technique uses a strong magnetic field to analyse magnetic changes in the energy of the orbits of nuclear particles in the molecules of the body. These molecular changes are then analysed by computer to produce a 3-D picture of structures in the brain. The technique can be used, amongst other applications, for detecting lesions in the brain

1) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
2) Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
3) Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
4) Position Emission topography (PET)

Answer 14

1) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Question 15

This type of disorder is caused by an interruption in the flow of blood to the brain and often
contributes to noticeable loss in cognitive functioning
1) Vascular disorder
2) Aphasic stroke
3) Haemorrhagic stroke
4) Neoplasms

Answer 15

1) Vascular disorder

Reasoning: This definition applies to vascular disorder, a brain disorder caused by a stroke
• Option 3 is incorrect because it is not clear whether a blood vessel actually ruptured
(haemorrhagic stroke) or because of a fatty build up that dislodged, causing a blockage in
an artery in the brain.
• Option 4 is incorrect because a neoplasm is a brain tumour.

Question 16

Julie sees a flower, she notes that it is red and appears to be a rose. What is the distal object?

1) The photon absorption in the rods and cones
2) The reflection of light off the rose
3) The actual rose
4) Molecules released by the smell of the rose

Answer 16

3) The actual rose

Reasoning:
Distal stimuli are objects and events out in the world about you.
Proximal stimuli are the patterns of stimuli from these objects and events that actually reach your
senses (eyes, ears, etc.)
Options 1, 2 and 4 are proximal stimuli.

Question 17

Transduction of electromagnetic light energy into neural electrochemical impulses occurs in this part
of the eye
1) Cornea
2) Crystalline lens
3) Retina
4) Vitreous humour

Answer 17

3) Retina

Reasoning: The retina is where electromagnetic light energies transduced-that is, converted-into
neural electrochemical impulses.

Question 18

These long thin photoreceptors work well in situations when the light is dim.

1) Cones
2) Crystalline lens
3) Rods
4) Ganglion cells

Answer 18

3) Rods

Reasoning: The rods are long, thin photoreceptors that are responsible for night vision and are
sensitive to light and dark stimuli.
• Cones (option 1) are short and thick photoreceptors and allow for the perception of
colour.

Question 19

• • • • • perception refers to a key view of perception which asserts that the perceiver ‘builds’ the
          stimulus that is perceived by using sensory information as the foundation for the structure, but also
          considering the existing knowledge and thought processes of the person
          1) Synthetic
          2) Unconscious
          3) Direct
          4) Constructive

Answer 19

4) Constructive

Reasoning: Constructive perception, is the theory of perception in which the perceiver uses
sensory information and other sources of information to construct a cognitive understanding of a
stimulus

Question 20

Gibson’s direct perception model is sometimes referred to as a(n)- - - - -, because of
his concern with perception as it occurs in the everyday world rather than in laboratory situations
1) anti-laboratory view
2) virtual model
3) world-like model
4) ecological model

Answer 20

4) ecological model

Reasoning: In this theory of direct perception Gibson maintains that there is enough contextual
information available in the world to interpret visual stimuli and that it is unnecessary to postulate
the need for higher-order cognitive operations in perception. Because he stresses the role of
contextual information in the world, his approach can be classified as an ecological approach.Remember that the term ‘ecological’ is used to describe research that can be validly generalized
to everyday experience, and does not just hold for the laboratory in which the study is conducted.

Question 21

After sustaining a head injury in a motor car accident, Alice has a peculiar perceptual deficit because
she does not recognise her own face when she looks in a mirror. However, her visual abilities are
normal in all other respects. Alice suffers from - - - - -
1) spatial agnosia
2) prosopagnosia
3) simultagnosia
4) Visual-object agnosia

Answer 21

2) prosopagnosia

Reasoning: Prosopagnosia refers to a specific impairment in the ability to identify human faces. A
very interesting exposition of the complexities surrounding prosopagnosia.

Question 22

According to the - - - - - theory of object perception, objects are recognized on the basis of the
distinctive arrangement of various geons (a set of three dimensional geometrical elements) that
compose each object.
1) feature-matching
2) prototype
3) template
4) recognition-by-components

Answer 22

4) recognition-by-components

Reasoning: The idea that the object recognition is based on three-dimensional shapes called
“geons” is the main assumption of Biederman’s recognition-by-components theory of perception.

Question 23

This part of the brain seems to play an important role in the recognition of faces

1) Fusiform gyrus of the temporal lobe
2) Inferior colliculi
3) Dorsal raphe nuclei
4) Lateral geniculate nuclei

Answer 23

1) Fusiform gyrus of the temporal lobe

Reasoning: The fusiform gyrus is part of the temporal lobe. Though the functionality of the
fusiform gyrus is not fully understood, it has been linked with various neural pathways related to
recognition. Additionally, it has been linked to various neurological phenomena such as
synesthesia, dyslexia, and prosopagnosia. Prosopagnosia is a neurological disorder characterized
by the inability to recognize faces

Question 24

Texture gradients, relative size, interposition, linear perspective, and aerial perspective are all
examples of-----
1) binocular depth cues
2) monocular depth cues
3) a type of depth perception
4) perceptual stimuli

Answer 24

2) monocular depth cues

Reasoning:
• Monocular depth clues (texture gradient, relative size, interposition, aerial perspective
location in picture plane, motion parallax)
• Binocular depth clues (binocular convergence, binocular disparity)

Question 25

What did Hubel and Wiesel discover about animal visual perception in their important study using
single cell recording techniques?
1) The cells of the visual cortex just respond randomly to spots of light, and do not take specific
position or orientation of visual stimuli into account.
2) Individual neurons in the visual cortex can be mapped to specific positions on the retina, but
these cells all have unspecific responses so that each cell can respond to a variety of
different positions and orientations of the stimuli.
3) Hypercomplex cells form cell assemblies which resonate when stimulated and therefore
function as a memory store which represents the temporal properties of incoming visual
information.
4) Some cells in the visual cortex respond preferentially to lines with a particular orientation
and position in the visual field, and these cells therefore function as feature detectors.

Answer 25

4) Some cells in the visual cortex respond preferentially to lines with a particular orientation
and position in the visual field, and these cells therefore function as feature detectors.

Reasoning: Hubel and Wiesel found that most of the cells in the cortex do not respond simply to
spots of light. Therefore option 1 is incorrect.