Chapter 8 Final

Question 1

Which action is an example of a cognitive skill?

• running
• tying one’s shoes
• climbing a ladder
• balancing a checkbook

Answer 1

Balancing a checkbook

Question 2

An example of a closed skill is _____, and an example of an open skill is _____.

• surfing; tying one’s shoes
• tying one’s shoes; playing pat-a-cake
• surfing; playing pat-a-cake
• playing pat-a-cake; surfing

Answer 2

Playing pat-a-cake; surfing

Question 3

Which statement is TRUE?

• Massed practice is more effective than spaced practice for long-term retention.
• Constant practice is more effective than variable practice overall.
• Massed practice requires less total practice time than spaced practice.
• It is unclear whether constant practice or variable practice is more effective.

Answer 3

It is unclear whether constant practice or variable practice is more effective.

Question 4

If one is driven from home to school, one may learn the route without consciously trying to do so. This is an example of:

• massed practice.
• implicit learning.
• skill decay.
• the power law of practice.

Answer 4

Implicit learning.

Question 5

A person who is just learning to drive a car needs to listen carefully to all of the steps involved as his instructor is telling. Which stage of skill acquisition is the person in?

• cognitive
• associative
• autonomous
• expert

Answer 5

Cognitive

Question 6

A person who has a very hard time learning to play the piano but, with practice, becomes a concert pianist:

• has talent but is not an expert.
• has talent and has become an expert.
• does not have talent but has become an expert.
• does not have talent and is not an expert.

Answer 6

Does not have talent but has become an expert.

Question 7

Suppose a baby learns to eat using a spoon. According to the idea of transfer specificity, which action would the baby have the easiest time learning?

• eating with a slightly larger spoon
• eating with a fork
• cutting her food with a knife
• drinking from a cup

Answer 7

Eating with a slightly larger spoon

Question 8

Which statement is TRUE regarding skill decay?

• It can occur because of interference from newer skills.
• It happens more for perceptual-motor skills than for cognitive skills.
• It occurs at a fairly steady rate.
• There is less decay if multiple skills are practiced on the same day.

Answer 8

It can occur because of interference from newer skills.

Question 9

The basal ganglia:

• are especially important for performing skills that require precise timing.
• are active when people learn cognitive skills.
• send most of their output to the spinal cord.
• are mainly involved in controlling complex actions.

Answer 9

Are active when people learn cognitive skills.

Question 10

Imagine a ballerina who has performed a particular ballet so many times that she doesn’t even need to think about the movements anymore. She has developed:

• apraxia.
• an open skill.
• a motor program.
• a talent.

Answer 10

A motor program

Question 11

Which statement is TRUE regarding the cerebral cortex?

• Animals without much cerebral cortex cannot learn perceptual-motor tasks.
• Practicing a perceptual-motor skill leads to increased cortical activity.
• Practicing a skill leads to a decrease in the amount of cortical gray matter.
• It is particularly important for tasks that involve tracking a target.

Answer 11

Practicing a perceptual-motor skill leads to increased cortical activity.

Question 12

According to the power law of practice, performance during learning:

• starts slowly and then rapidly improves.
• improves rapidly at first and then slows down.
• improves at a steady rate.
• improves rapidly at first and then declines.

Answer 12

Improves rapidly at first and then slows down.

Question 13

The cerebellum is:
- important for learning motions that involve precise timing.

• only present in a few species.
• particularly important for linking sensory events to motor responses.
• involved in performing skills but not in learning them by watching others perform them.

Answer 13

Important for learning motions that involve precise timing

Question 14

A procedure that delivers an electrical current into a patient’s brain through one or more implanted electrodes is known as:

• transcranial therapy.
• deep brain stimulation.
• electroconvulsive therapy.
• perceptual motor therapy.

Answer 14

Deep brain stimulation.

Question 15

Which treatment is used to alleviate tremors and other motor symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease?

• electroconvulsive therapy
• perceptual motor therapy
• transcranial therapy
• deep brain stimulation

Answer 15

Deep brain stimulation.