Psych 256 Exam #3

Question 1

1. The chess skills of a young prodigy are likely due to
   a. IQ alone
   b. the amount of time he or she practice chess
   c. chunking
   d. both b and c

Answer 1

d. both b and c**

Question 2

2. Baddeley would say the best way to study is to
   a. sit down and get done all your studying in one sitting.
   b. study in intervals while taking breaks in between.
   c. it doesn’t matter how you study; how well you do is predetermined by your genetics.
   d. his theory only has to do with the circular nature of depth of processing.

Answer 2

b. study in intervals while taking breaks in between.**

Question 3

11. As part of a psychological experiment, Susan is asked to remember a string of letters, she does this by sorting them into sets of easily recognized groups in her head such as FBI and YMCA, this would be an example of ___________
    a. Patterning
    b. Subliminal Advertising
    c. Chunking
    d. Grouping

Answer 3

c. Chunking **

Question 4

36. While classical conditioning _______have an effect on environment, operant conditioning _______ have an effect on environment.
    a. does not; does
    b. does; does not
    c. might; definitely
    d. certainly; also

Answer 4

a. does not; does**

Question 5

11. What area of the left hemisphere in the brain is specialized for language?
    a. Broca’s area
    b. Angular gyrus
    c. Wernicke’s area
    d. All of the above

Answer 5

d. All of the above **

Question 6

14. Which of the following is NOT a possible problem for the Fits-Posner theory of skill development?
    a. Performance suffers when too much attention is paid to a task
    b. Some skills can’t be easily verbalized
    c. The content of skill knowledge needs to be specified
    d. Skills get more automatic with more practice

Answer 6

d. Skills get more automatic with more practice **

Question 7

5. According to Noam Chomsky, the fact that people can recognize “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously” as a syntactically acceptable sentence means that
   a. Syntax and semantics are highly interdependent
   b. Syntax and semantics are independent
   c. People need less reinforcement
   d. People need more reinforcement

Answer 7

b. Syntax and semantics are independent ***

Question 8

6. Mean length of utterance is
   a. The average number of morphemes per utterance in a speech sample
   b. The average number of words per utterance in a speech sample
   c. How many seconds pass between the start of a phrase and its end
   d. How cruel an utterance is

Answer 8

a. The average number of morphemes per utterance in a speech sample**

Question 9

9. Which of the following provides evidence for a Critical Period of Language
   a. The inability of “feral children” to learn language if rescued after puberty, contrasted with their ability to learn language if rescued before puberty
   b. The development Nicaraguan Sign Language
   c. The inability of babies to speak before twelve months
   d. Both a and b

Answer 9

d. Both a and b**

Question 10

8. Tim is working on solving a problem with a method of problem solving that involves steps in order to eventually reach his final goal. This concept is also referred to as Hill Climbing. Which method is Tim using?
   a. Tower of Hanoi problem
   b. Difference - Reduction Method
   c. Creating analogies
   d. General Problem Solver (GPS)

Answer 10

b. Difference - Reduction Method**

Question 11

16. Your knee moving after being tapped by the doctor is an example of:
    a. short loop reflex
    b. long loop reflex
    c. voodoo
    d. sexual attraction

Answer 11

a. short loop reflex **

Question 12

17. The parietal lobe is located in:
    a. the front of the brain
    b. the right side of the brain
    c. the left side of the brain
    d. above the occipital lobe *

Answer 12

d. above the occipital lobe **

Question 13

25. According to the Information Theory, 1 gigabyte is equivalent to
    a. 1 billion bits
    b. 8 bits
    c. 8 million bits (or 1 million 8-bit bytes)
    d. None of above

Answer 13

c. 8 million bits (or 1 million 8-bit bytes) **

Question 14

1. In neuroscience, which of the following is false?
   a. Signals go toward the cell body of a neuron through dendrites and away from the cell body via axons.
   b. Ramon y Cajal discovered the gaps between neurons, called synapses.
   c. According to Dale’s Law, a neuron emits only one type of neurotransmitter.
   d. The effect of a given type of neurotransmitter is only excitatory, regardless of the post-synaptic receptor.

Answer 14

d. The effect of a given type of neurotransmitter is only excitatory, regardless of the post-synaptic receptor. **

Question 15

4. If your hippocampus were severely damaged, you would have trouble
   a. Learning meanings of new words
   b. Learning a new neighborhood
   c. a and b
   d. None of the above

Answer 15

c. a and b**

Question 16

9. The process by which a problem solver extracts the operators used to solve one problem and maps them onto a solution for another problem is known as
   a. Means-End Analysis
   b. Difference Reduction
   c. General Problem Solver
   d. Analogy

Answer 16

d. Analogy**

Question 17

3. William’s syndrome relates to:
   a. A condition where language is fine, but spatial knowledge is poor
   b. An inability to form new memories
   c. A chronic illness inhibiting speech
   d. An inability to hear music

Answer 17

a. A condition where language is fine, but spatial knowledge is poor **

Question 18

13. Which statement is true about hemispheric specialization ?
    a. Left hand controlled by right hemisphere, which sees the left visual field. Right hand controlled by left hemisphere, which sees the right visual field
    b. Right hand controlled by right hemisphere, which sees the right visual field. Left hand controlled by left hemisphere, which sees the left visual field
    c. Right hand controlled by right hemisphere, which sees the left visual field. Left hand controlled by left hemisphere, which sees the right visual field
    d. Left hand controlled by right hemisphere, which sees the left visual field. Left hand controlled by left hemisphere, which sees the left visual field

Answer 18

a. Left hand controlled by right hemisphere, which sees the left visual field. Right hand controlled by left hemisphere, which sees the right visual field **

Question 19

15. What is the Bell Magendie Law?
    a. Axons entering the cranium side of the spinal cord serve sensory function.
    b. Axons entering the dorsal side of the spinal cord serve a sensory function.
    c. Axons exiting the ventral side of the spinal cord serve a motor function.
    d. Both b and c

Answer 19

d. Both b and c **

Question 20

1. How many bits are there if 3 yes/no questions are needed to supply the unique answer?
   a. 2
   b. 4
   c. 6
   d. 8 *

Answer 20

d. 8 **

Question 21

1. According to the “Genetic Roots Alcoholism” article, why are some drinkers more prone to alcohol than others?
   a. They are missing a brain receptor for dopamine
   b. Alcoholism is unrelated to genetics
   c. Everyone enjoys the taste of alcohol to the same degree
   d. Alcoholism is not an addiction

Answer 21

a. They are missing a brain receptor for dopamine ***

Question 22

In a study, a rat was given food every time a small light came on. The rat eventually associated the light with food, causing an increase in the amount of gastric acid whenever the light turned on. Later, the light was paired with a tone. However, the tone did not aid in the prediction of the conditioned stimulus. The tone was not beneficial, reflecting

a. Stimulus generalization
b. extinction
c. Temporal generalization
d. Kamin’s blocking effect

Answer 22

?

Question 23

According to Michael Merzenich’s experiment where he surgically removed the middle finger of a monkey, he discovered that neurons that previously used to respond to touching of the middle finger were now:

a. considered “dead” neurons and no longer served any purpose
b. allocated to the response of touching of the toes
c. allocated to the response of touching of the belly
d. allocated to the response of touching of other digits

Answer 23

d. allocated to the response of touching of other digits