CHAPTER 1: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Flashcards
Which statement about the mind focuses on its role in cognitive processes, that is, what the mind does?
a. I haven’t made up my mind about what movie to go to.
b. An individual must be of sound mind in order to lawfully sign a will or contract.
c. The UNCF, which provides scholarships to black students, uses the slogan “mind is a terrible thing to waste.”
d. Mathematician John Nash had a brilliant mind although he struggled with schizophrenia.
a. I haven’t made up my mind about what movie to go to.
Restaurant reviewers often describe their meals in terms of their sensory experiences - the glistening of the melted sugar on top of a crème brûlée, the crack as it is broken, the smooth, warm custard, and its eggy, vanilla richness. Reviewers who focus on this combination of sensory experiences might be described as _____.
a. behaviorists
b. functionalists
c. structuralists
d. analysts
c. structuralists
Ebbinghaus used _____ to study the mind.
a. analytic introspection
b. memory for nonsense syllables
c. animal models like pigeons
d. primitive neural recording methods
b. memory for nonsense syllables
Watson objected to the method of introspection in part because it _____.
a. was only suitable for research using animals
b. could only be used in a limited number of situations
c. produced highly variable results from person to person
d. focused on quantitative rather than qualitative outcomes
c. produced highly variable results from person to person
Little Albert, a nine-month-old-boy, learned to be afraid of a rat when a loud noise was made every time a rat (which Albert had originally liked) came close to the child. Little Albert learned to fear the rat through _____ conditioning.
a. operant
b. instrumental
c. social
d. classical
d. classical
By allowing rats to explore a maze without providing food reward and then rewarding them for going to a particular place in the maze (as opposed to turning in a particular direction), Tolman was able to demonstrate the existence of what he referred as _____.
a. schemas
b. cognitive maps
c. memory traces
d. heuristics
b. cognitive maps
Which approach to cognitive psychology analyzes the operation of the mind in terms of a sequence of stages?
a. analytic introspection
b. structuralism
c. information processing
d. behaviorism
c. information processing
Timo has developed a computer system that scans mammograms, looking for abnormalities that might be indicative of cancer in the same way that radiologists review the images. Timo’s work is best described as being in the field of _____.
a. information processing
b. concept formation
c. cognitive networks
d. artificial intelligence
d. artificial intelligence
In his paper “The Magical Number Seven Plus or Minus Two,” George Miller argued that there were limits to the _____.
a. ability of humans to study the mind
b. programming possibilities of artificial intelligence
c. useful conceptualizations in cognitive psychology
d. information processing capacity of humans
d. information processing capacity of humans
Melinda studies vision, focusing on the brain’s pulvinar nucleus, the lateral geniculate nucleus and superior colliculus. Melinda most likely makes use of a(n) _____ model.
a. structural
b. process
c. integrative
d. systems
a. structural
Tulving proposed a model of memory in which long term memory had three components: episodic memory, semantic memory, and procedural memory. Tulving proposed a(n) _____ model.
a. integrative
b. systems
c. process
d. structural
c. process
According to your text, the biggest challenge of research is _____.
a. gaining the approval of the institutional review board
b. conducting the statistical analyses
c. picking the right questions to ask
d. getting the research published in a journal
c. picking the right questions to ask
While George takes the bus home, he is thinking about how to resolve a difficult issue at work. This example particularly highlights the value of ___.
a. working to solve a problem
b. visualizing
c. remembering
d. making a decision
a. working to solve a problem
The statement “If you put your mind to it, I’m sure you can solve that math problem” highlights how the mind can be used ___.
a. in memory
b. making decisions or considering possibilities
c. as a problem-solver
d. to show normal functioning
b. making decisions or considering possibilities
Joe and Meg are doing a study in psychology. Joe is asked to push a button as soon as he sees a red light whereas Meg is asked to push a red button if she sees a red light and a green button if she sees a green light. From the information, ___ appear to be involved in a task measuring choice reaction time.
a. only Joe
b. only Meg
c. neither Joe nor Meg
d. both Joe and Meg
b. only Meg
Which one of these early pioneers in cognitive psychology was the first to undertake quantitative measurements of mental processes?
a. Donders
b. Ebbinghaus
c. James
d. Wundt
b. Ebbinghaus
___ founded behaviorism which ___ the study of inner mental processes.
a. John Watson ; rejected
b. John Watson ; accepted
c. William James ; rejected
d. William James ; accepted
a. John Watson ; rejected
An animal might learn the general conception of a maze through the use of ___.
a. the savings curve
b. analytic introspection
c. a cognitive map
d. artificial intelligence
c. a cognitive map
Noam Chomsky argued that language development was primarily determined by ___.
a. reinforcement
b. imitation
c. inborn biological processes
d. cultural differences
c. inborn biological processes
The cognitive revolution, which marked a rebirth of the study of the mind, began in the ___.
a. 1920s
b. 1950s
c. 1960s
d. 1990s
b. 1950s
The predominant theme of the information-processing approach holds that the operation of the mind occurs ___.
a. only through observed behaviors
b. via unconscious proceses
c. merely through reinforcement
d. in a number of stages
d. in a number of stages
In a flow diagram of the mind, messages first enter a(n) ___.
a. unit
b. filter
c. detector
d. cognitive map
b. filter
In a classic paper from the 1950s, George Miller argued that the information-processing of the mind is ___.
a. unlimited
b. limited to about seven items
c. limited to about 100 items
d. limited to about one million items
b. limited to about seven items
The structural model refers to representations of ___.
a. mental configurations
b. physical structures
c. real or imagined structures
d. the brain
b. physical structures