ch 8 test
66) Woolfolk makes the following point about the role of memorization in learning: A) There can be a place for rote memorization, such as memorizing terms, names, facts, and dates. B) Rote learning is especially harmful for children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. C) Teachers should use more rote memorization activities to encourage students to think critically and abstractly. D) Teachers should never encourage memorizing because it will lead to frustration on the part of students.
Answer: A Explanation: A) Teachers should be cautious about an "either/or" approach and there can be a place for rote memorization, such as memorizing terms, names, facts, and dates. Page Ref: 310 Skill: Understanding
43) Claire, a three-year-old, has difficulty remembering her street address. According to research on short-term memory use, what is a likely cause of Claire's problem? A) Both limited memory capacity and ineffective strategy use B) Ineffective strategy use, but not limited memory capacity C) Limited memory capacity, but not ineffective strategy use D) Neither limited memory capacity nor effective strategy use
Answer: A Explanation: A) A three-year-old child such as Claire is likely to have limited working memory capacity and to use strategies for remembering ineffectively. By age five or six, Claire will naturally begin to use other strategies including rehearsal. Page Ref: 288 Skill: Understanding
Bill is having considerable difficulty remembering names, terms, and facts in his American History class. On the last exam, he identified General Sherman as a Vietnam War hero, and Saigon as the capitol of Japan. Historical dates are so confusing to him that he does not even try to remember them. The result is that, although he typically does satisfactorily on essay questions (he purposely leaves out any names that he is uncertain about and always omits dates), his scores are extremely low on objective items such as multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank items. Given this scenario, answer the following items: 62) If Bill wants to begin memorizing specific historical events, what strategy would prove to be most useful? A) Distributed practice B) Figurative learning C) Metacognitive differentiation D) Procedural memory
Answer: A Explanation: A) Bill's problem with memorizing would be assisted by using distributed practice in addition to using mnemonic strategies (not a response choice for this item). Page Ref: 309 Skill: Understanding
31) Little Billy was accustomed to seeing Officer Sam O'Reilly walking around the block, but then one day he met Officer Sally Murdock. Billy gave her a suspicious look and said, "You can't be an officer, you're a lady." Billy's concept of a police officer was probably A) based on a male prototype. B) derived primarily from defining attributes. C) refined from a complex schema. D) verbal rather than intellectual.
Answer: A Explanation: A) Billy's conception of a police officer was probably based on a male prototype, as a consequence of seeing only male exemplars. Thus, he failed to recognize Sally as a police officer because she was female. Page Ref: 246 Skill: Understanding
14) Mr. Kawicki is teaching his sixth-grade science students about the scientific method. Students are instructed about each component of the method first in order to understand the whole process. This instructional strategy is based on what concept? A) Bottom-up processing B) Memory strength C) Propositional network D) Top-down processing
Answer: A Explanation: A) Bottom-up processing, called "feature analysis," involves analyzing a stimulus into components and assembling the components into a whole pattern. This process is exemplified by Mr. Kawicki's expecting his science students to achieve understanding of the scientific method by first learning each component. Page Ref: 286 Skill: Understanding
3) In the cognitive approach to learning, learning A) depends a great deal on individual perception. B) is dependent on elicited responses. C) is determined by acquired traits. D) is primarily a consequence of other people's actions.
Answer: A Explanation: A) Cognitive theorists view learning as the result of an individual's attempts to make sense of the world and these theorists believe that learning depends a great deal on individual perception. Page Ref: 283-284 Skill: Knowledge
4) Maria has excellent study habits. She seems to know just what to review and how long to spend on each part of every course. Maria is applying what type of knowledge? A) Conditional B) Declarative C) Domain-specific D) Procedural
Answer: A Explanation: A) Conditional knowledge provides the "when and why" for applying other types of knowledge. In this example, it helps Maria to identify and use good strategies. Page Ref: 297 Skill: Understanding
55) Consuela is a fourth-grade student who is studying geography. Tomorrow, she has a quiz over the Great Lakes. She creates a mnemonic device, HOMES (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior), to help her remember the names of the lakes. What type of mnemonic device is she using? A) Acronym B) Chain C) Keyword D) Peg-type
Answer: A Explanation: A) Consuela is using an acronym, which is a word formed from the first letter of each word or phrase. In contrast, a chain involves using the same procedure to create a sentence or jingle. Page Ref: 308 Skill: Understanding
40) According to the levels of processing theory, the length of time information is remembered is determined by A) how completely the initial learning was accomplished. B) when we first encountered the information. C) where it is stored in our memory. D) why we have chosen to attend to the information.
Answer: A Explanation: A) Levels of processing theory propose that the more completely we learn something initially and analyze the information, the longer we retain it. Deeper processing leads to stronger connections in long-term memory. Page Ref: 306 Skill: Knowledge
60) What can teachers do to help their students develop an automated basic skill? A) Ensure that students have the necessary prerequisite knowledge and provide practice with feedback. B) Focus on executive control processes in order to guide the flow of information through students' information processing systems. C) Teach domain-specific strategies for solving problems and control processes for guiding knowledge. D) Train students to use a variety of strategies for retrieving knowledge from long-term memory.
Answer: A Explanation: A) Most psychologists identify three stages in the development of an automated skill. In order to help students pass through these stages, it appears that two factors are critical: prerequisite knowledge and practice with feedback. Page Ref: 310 Skill: Knowledge
53) "I before E except after C" is an example of the use of what memory method? A) Chain B) Loci C) Keyword D) Peg-type
Answer: A Explanation: A) One application of the chain mnemonics method is to incorporate all items to be memorized into a jingle, such as "I before E except after C." Consequently, the information becomes easier to recall. Page Ref: 308
61) In order to help students become better learners, it is recommended that they A) be provided a variety of strategies and practices. B) be taught strategies, but not specific tactics. C) master one effective strategy before introducing another. D) receive strategies training that focuses on procedures.
Answer: A Explanation: A) Research has suggested that students should be exposed to a variety of different strategies. Also, specific tactics, such as mnemonic techniques, should be learned. Page Ref: 308-310 Skill: Knowledge
21) You are given a math problem to solve. As you try to remember the formula involved, what memory system is being searched? A) Long-term semantic B) Schematic C) Sensory register D) Working procedural
Answer: A Explanation: A) Schemas, or schemes, are structures or patterns that people must develop in order to understand large amounts of information inherent in complex concepts and problems. Therefore, schematic memory is a feature of long-term memory. Page Ref: 300 Skill: Understanding
1) Compared to the behavioristic orientation, the cognitive perspective recognizes people as what type of learners? A) Active B) Egocentric C) Passive D) Social
Answer: A Explanation: A) The cognitive perspective views people as active processors of information who interpret stimulus material based on prior knowledge and interest rather than passively receiving it. Page Ref: 282 Skill: Knowledge
18) Our ability to conserve something in working memory is most directly affected by the A) executive control processes. B) perceptual factors that we apply to the stimulus. C) reinforcement of information. D) strength and intensity of the initial stimulus.
Answer: A Explanation: A) The executive control processes such as rehearsal increase our ability to maintain information in our working memory. Page Ref: 288 Skill: Knowledge
8) One of the educational implications of sensory memory is that A) attention is necessary if children are to remember information. B) children can take in and comprehend almost a limitless amount of information. C) information seen is brought into consciousness almost immediately. D) reinforcement is a requirement if children are to retain information.
Answer: A Explanation: A) The key implication of sensory memory and perception is that our senses are constantly bombarded by a multitude of stimuli. We only learn the limited amount we attend to. The rest are not perceived and fade from sensory memory after a few seconds. Attention is, therefore, necessary for learning and remembering. Page Ref: 286 Skill: Understanding
47) You are asked to learn the 50 U.S. states, so you divide the country into geographic areas and set about your task. You are more likely to succeed than someone who begins to learn the states at random, because your system A) capitalizes on the serial-position effect by fragmenting the task. B) employs cues to organize your transfer from sensory memory. C) helps you encode the names of states at the time of recall. D) minimizes proactive interference through the 'blocking' effect.
Answer: A Explanation: A) The serial-position effect is that recall of items at the beginning and the end of a list is higher than of items in the middle of a list. Part learning, as occurs in this geography example, reduces the number of items in the middle. Consequently, verbal recall should increase. Page Ref: 309 Skill: Understanding
32) When Mr. Wilson wants his students to learn about a familiar concept and practice thinking skills at the same time, he should stress A) concept attainment. B) exemplar of the concept. C) nonexamples of the concept. D) positive instances of the concept.
Answer: A Explanation: A) The strategy that Mr. Wilson should use is to stress concept attainment. This strategy is focused on methods of helping students to construct an understanding of specific concepts and, at the same time, practice thinking skills such as hypothesis testing. Page Ref: 299 Skill: Understanding
16) Items can typically be stored in working memory for approximately how long? A) About 20 seconds B) A day C) One minute D) One week
Answer: A Explanation: A) Working memory, with its limited duration, can hold information for about 20 to 30 seconds. By comparison, long-term memory is assumed to be permanent; the problem there is retrieving the information. Page Ref: 288 Skill: Knowledge
26) Because memories are organized in propositional networks, recall of one bit of information often A) blocks the recall of other information. B) leads to recall of another bit of information. C) leads to the integration of organized patterns. D) requires specific, external memory cues
Answer: B Explanation: B) A propositional network is an interconnected set of bits of information. Because the bits are meaningfully related to one another in the network, recall of one bit (e.g., thinking of a spoon) may trigger the recall of another bit of information (e.g., fork). Page Ref: 298 Skill: Knowledge
Bill is having considerable difficulty remembering names, terms, and facts in his American History class. On the last exam, he identified General Sherman as a Vietnam War hero, and Saigon as the capitol of Japan. Historical dates are so confusing to him that he does not even try to remember them. The result is that, although he typically does satisfactorily on essay questions (he purposely leaves out any names that he is uncertain about and always omits dates), his scores are extremely low on objective items such as multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank items. Given this scenario, answer the following items: 63) With what type of knowledge is Bill having difficulty? A) Conditional B) Declarative C) General D) Procedural
Answer: B Explanation: B) Bill's learning difficulty is with declarative knowledge, i.e., the ability to integrate existing knowledge to construct understanding of American history. Rote learning methods, mnemonics, and distributed practice are methods for aiding declarative knowledge. Page Ref: 296 Skill: Understanding
39) Ms. Gentry took her tenth-grade biology students to the Horticulture Garden. The students were able to observe and classify a wide variety of exotic plants. Students in her class are likely to remember the names and characteristics of those plants because of A) automaticity. B) context. C) meta-components. D) retrieval.
Answer: B Explanation: B) Context represents the physical environment and our emotional states. It is learned together (associated) with other information. Learning the names of plants in a realistic setting, such as Ms. Gentry's class is in, should provide contextual cues to facilitate memory of the names. Page Ref: 305 Skill: Understanding
15) Megan tries to remember the address, 10 Anchor Street, by imagining a ten-dollar bill attached to the anchor of a ship. She is using a memory strategy called A) chunking. B) elaborative rehearsal. C) maintenance rehearsal. D) part learning.
Answer: B Explanation: B) Elaborative rehearsal involves associating the information one is trying to remember with existing knowledge in long-term memory. In this example, Megan is relating the address to a mental image combining familiar objects. Page Ref: 296 Skill: Understanding
27) Traditional views of concept learning suggest that we recognize examples of a concept by A) deductive reasoning. B) identifying defining features or attributes. C) imaging prototypes. D) top-down processing.
Answer: B Explanation: B) For many years, it was thought that examples of concepts were recognized by identifying their distinctive attributes or defining features. The traditional view emphasizes bottom-up processing over top-down processing. Page Ref: 299-300 Skill: Knowledge
23) Mark can answer the physics problem because of patterns of knowledge stored in his long-term memory, which he did not intentionally try to learn. This situation involves Mark using his A) explicit memory. B) implicit memory. C) short-term memory. D) episodic memory.
Answer: B Explanation: B) Implicit memory is knowledge that is not readily available to conscious recall, however, it does influence one's behavior or thought without awareness. Page Ref: 297 Skill: Understanding
48) An educational application designed to reduce the impact of the serial-position effect is to A) begin teaching important materials at the beginning of class and deal with administrative tasks later. B) break down the lesson into small parts that can be handled quite easily. C) provide a preview of the next period at the end of class rather than a review of what was covered today. D) start a class with seatwork, teach new information, and end the class with seatwork whenever possible.
Answer: B Explanation: B) In order to reduce the impact of the serial-position effect, it is important for the teacher to break down the information or concept into small parts that can be handled easily by students. It is meaningful to teach important content at the beginning of the class period and leave administrative tasks for later, but it is even more crucial to break down the information to be learned into small parts. Page Ref: 309 Skill: Knowledge
44) Josh's history teacher wants Josh to learn important events that occurred during the Civil War. What type of knowledge would be most directly involved in this learning? A) Conditional declarative B) Domain-specific declarative C) General declarative D) Procedural declarative
Answer: B Explanation: B) Knowing information about a particular area (Civil War), as is expected of Josh, is domain-specific declarative knowledge. General declarative knowledge is knowing general information, such as the reason that lists are often alphabetized. Conditional knowledge is knowing when and why to apply information. Page Ref: 284 Skill: Understanding
10) While Mr. Lindsey was explaining the social studies assignment, Missy was finishing homework due for her next class. When the class began the assignment, Missy did not know what to do. According to the information processing model of cognitive learning, Missy was lost because A) her perception of the activity was different from that of other students. B) she did not pay attention to the instructions that were given. C) the instructions for the assignment were out of context. D) the instructions were not transferred from working to long-term memory
Answer: B Explanation: B) Missy was apparently lost because she did not pay attention to the instructions given by Mr. Lindsey. Attention is necessary for perception (and learning) to occur, but it is a limited resource. That is, we can pay attention to only one demanding task at a time. Page Ref: 287 Skill: Understanding
29) Noah counted the legs on a bug and came up with eight. He then decided the bug was an arachnid (spider) because an arachnid has eight legs. His decision was based upon what aspect of concept learning? A) Algorithm B) Defining attribute C) Heuristic D) Prototype
Answer: B Explanation: B) Noah determined that a defining attribute of arachnids is having eight legs. Defining attributes are distinctive features that characterize all members of the concept category. Page Ref: 246 Skill: Understanding
46) Forgetting due to the serial-position effect can be reduced through the use of A) massed practice. B) part learning. C) relearning. D) rote memorization.
Answer: B Explanation: B) Part learning breaks up a long list of items into a shorter list. As a result, there are fewer items in the middle that, due to the serial-position effect, are more difficult to remember than items at the beginning or end of a list. Page Ref: 309 Skill: Knowledge
51) The first step in peg-type mnemonics is to A) associate new material with a familiar place or location. B) memorize a random list of places, words, or facts. C) organize the new material into meaningful patterns. D) visualize each element of the new material.
Answer: B Explanation: B) Peg-type mnemonics first require that you memorize a random list of places, words, or facts. This process works to serve as pegs to which new information can be associated. Page Ref: 308 Skill: Knowledge
5) Alec still remembers how to touch-type, even though it has been three years since he has practiced. The memory system most directly involved here is A) episodic. B) procedural. C) semantic. D) short-term.
Answer: B Explanation: B) Procedural memory is memory for how to do things, such as to roller skate, translate a paragraph into a second language, or ride a bicycle. In this example, Alec remembers touch typing. [Episodic memory concerns events in our lives, not procedures.] Page Ref: 296 Skill: Understanding
42) A student provides an explanation of why water evaporates, but his description leaves out some of the details the teacher provided, while including some new information. Cognitive theorists would attribute this to A) elaboration. B) reconstruction. C) repression. D) time decay.
Answer: B Explanation: B) Reconstruction involves recalling information based on what we actually remember, what we fill in based on related experiences, or what seems logical to us. Because of these variables, different people will often remember very different things after experiencing the same event. Page Ref: 306 Skill: Understanding
35) A script is viewed by cognitive theorists as useful A) as a note-taking strategy in lecture classes. B) in directing everyday activities in different situations. C) in formalizing interactions between students. D) in outlining the main ideas of a story.
Answer: B Explanation: B) Scripts are schemas representing the typical sequence of events in everyday situations. For example, most adults have different scripts for weekdays than for Saturdays and Sundays. Page Ref: 2302 Skill: Knowledge
57) Stacey is trying to learn the abbreviations and names for the chemical elements, such as Au (gold). He connects the Au with a mental picture of Auric Goldfinger, the villain in a James Bond novel. This is an example of using what learning strategy? A) Chaining B) Keyword C) Loci D) Metacognitive
Answer: B Explanation: B) Stacey is using the keyword method by linking a new item to be remembered (AU) with an image that incorporates the item (an image of Auric Goldfinger, the James Bond villain). Page Ref: 308 Skill: Understanding
33) In discussing the concept "fruit," the teacher says "...and fruits come in practically all colors." The teacher is identifying a(n) A) defining attribute. B) irrelevant attribute. C) nonexample. D) prototype.
Answer: B Explanation: B) The attribute, color, is an irrelevant attribute in this case because it cannot be used to determine which objects are fruit and which are something else. For example, if you know that an object is green, you are no better off than you were without this information in guessing whether it's a fruit, a vegetable, or a refrigerator. Page Ref: 299 Skill: Understanding
17) Research has shown that the capacity of the working memory is limited to about how many chunks? A) Two to four B) Five to nine C) 11 to 12 D) 13 to 15
Answer: B Explanation: B) The capacity of working memory is from five to nine separate "bits" or chunks of information. By comparison, long-term memory is theorized to have an unlimited capacity. Page Ref: 288 Skill: Knowledge
49) Based on the serial-position effect, what group of letters of the alphabet should be the most difficult to remember for someone who is first learning the alphabet? A) ABC B) MNO C) XYZ D) All of the above groups should be of equal difficulty.
Answer: B Explanation: B) The letters MNO would be most different to learn because they occur in the middle of the alphabet. The serial-position effect makes beginning or ending letters easier to remember. Page Ref: 309 Skill: Knowledge
50) According to Woolfolk, the basic purpose of mnemonic aids is to A) increase students' motivation to learn material requiring rote memorization. B) make connections between the information to be memorized. C) rehearse old information in order to implant it in the working memory. D) set up a system of rewards for remembering items that are not connected.
Answer: B Explanation: B) The main function of mnemonic aids is to help us make connections between information to be memorized. Commonly used strategies involve imagery and verbal associations (e.g., acronyms). Page Ref: 2308 Skill: Knowledge
Bill is having considerable difficulty remembering names, terms, and facts in his American History class. On the last exam, he identified General Sherman as a Vietnam War hero, and Saigon as the capitol of Japan. Historical dates are so confusing to him that he does not even try to remember them. The result is that, although he typically does satisfactorily on essay questions (he purposely leaves out any names that he is uncertain about and always omits dates), his scores are extremely low on objective items such as multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank items. Given this scenario, answer the following items: 64) What type of learning should Bill's teacher be most concerned about in order for Bill to be able to use consciously applied skills of organizing thoughts and actions to reach a learning goal? A) Condition-action strategies B) Domain-specific strategies C) General strategies D) Production strategies
Answer: B Explanation: B) The specific type of learning with which Bill's teacher is most concerned is with domain-specific strategies. These strategies involve consciously applied skills of organizing thoughts and actions to reach a goal. In this scenario, the goal involves Jerry learning names, terms, and facts of American history. The teacher needs to provide many opportunities for Jerry to practice these learning skills. Page Ref: 312 Skill: Understanding
28) Which one of the following behaviors is a defining attribute for the concept "bird"? A) Building nests B) Eating insects C) Growing feathers D) Vocalizing its territorial boundaries
Answer: C Explanation: C) A defining attribute of a concept is a distinctive feature. For birds, the growth of feathers is the only distinctive feature of the choices listed. Building nests, eating insects, and territorial vocalization apply to many other animals. Page Ref: 246 Skill: Understanding
24) Propositional networks are defined most accurately as A) a process by which verbal information reaches short-term memory. B) a technique used to increase the capacity of short-term memory. C) the organization of information according to its meaning. D) the process by means of which information reaches the sensory register.
Answer: C Explanation: C) A proposition is defined as the smallest unit of information that can be judged true or false. The sentence, "The truck is red," represents one proposition. Propositional networking involves the organization of such information according to its meaning. Page Ref: 298 Skill: Knowledge
56) The use of imagery techniques of learning, such as the keyword method, seems most appropriate for what age group? A) Early elementary school B) Kindergarten C) Late elementary school and older D) Preschool
Answer: C Explanation: C) Because younger students have difficulty forming their own images, the use of the keyword method is more appropriate for children in late elementary school and beyond. Younger children seem more successful with rhymes and chaining methods.
19) The basic purpose of chunking as a memory strategy is to A) increase the capacity of information in all of the sensory registers. B) increase the amount of information to be stored in the long-term memory. C) reduce the amount of information to be stored in the working memory. D) reduce the amount of time for processing information in long-term memory.
Answer: C Explanation: C) By grouping individual bits of information in a meaningful way (as when letters are combined to form words), chunking reduces the amount of information to be stored in working memory.
6) Cliff is good at solving math problems, but has difficulty solving problems in his computer class. His problem-solving ability in math represents what type of knowledge? A) Conditional B) Declarative C) Domain-specific D) Procedural
Answer: C Explanation: C) Cliff has domain-specific knowledge because he is able to solve problems in a particular subject-math. He is weaker at general problem-solving knowledge given his difficulty in computer class. Page Ref: 284 Skill: Understanding
67) The following statement is TRUE about the most recent version of the information processing system: A) Sensory memories first are stored in long-term memory before they are stored in working memory. B) There are five separate components to the memory system (sensory, short-term memory, executive memory, long-term memory, and schemas) C) Attention plays a key role in the sensory memory, working memory, and long-term memory. D) Eposidic memory is another term for sensory memory.
Answer: C Explanation: C) In the current model of the human information processing system, researcher have evidence that attention plays a key role in the sensory memory, working memory, and long-term memory. Page Ref: 285 Skill: Knowledge
20) Which one of the following persons most clearly illustrates the concept of elaboration? A) Alicia asks the teacher to define percentages in a different way than how they were defined in the text. B) Bart calculates percentages for the homework problems assigned by the teacher. C) John recognizes that he can use percentages in calculating his team's batting average. D) Mary rehearses the steps for computing the statistics needed to describe the school population.
Answer: C Explanation: C) John is relating his study of percentages to his existing knowledge about baseball. As a result of this elaboration, the material on percentages will be better connected with other information in long-term memory, and thus be more easily remembered. Page Ref: 303 Skill: Understanding
36) Long-term memory for how to do things is called A) elaboration. B) episodic memory. C) procedural memory. D) productions.
Answer: C Explanation: C) Long-term memory for how to do things is called procedural memory. Page Ref: 296 Skill: Knowledge
37) According to current cognitive theories, information may be lost from long-term memory in all of the following ways EXCEPT by A) interference. B) lack of use. C) substitution. D) time decay.
Answer: C Explanation: C) Substitution has nothing to do with why information may be lost from long-term memory. Current explanations emphasize interference and time decay. Also, when not used, neural connections grow weak over time. Page Ref: 294 Skill: Knowledge
9) A photographer shoots a flashbulb directly into your eyes. For the next few seconds, all you can see are big blue dots everywhere you look. What type of memory is most directly involved in this phenomenon? A) Long-term B) Semantic C) Sensory D) Working
Answer: C Explanation: C) The image of the flashbulb would reside in sensory memory. The content of sensory memory resembles the sensations from the original stimulus, with visual sensations coded as images that fade rapidly. Page Ref: 301 Skill: Understanding
22) Long-term memory that is memory for meaning is called A) episodic. B) procedural. C) semantic. D) working
Answer: C Explanation: C) The long-term semantic memory is our memory for meaning. This information represents our knowledge of the world (formulas, facts, scripts, words, etc.). Page Ref: 2296 Skill: Knowledge
7) A jogger is startled by the feeling of a moving object on his right side. It could have been a ferocious dog, but it turns out to be a newspaper page blown by the wind. What memory component was most directly involved? A) Episodic B) Schematic C) Sensory memory D) Working memory
Answer: C Explanation: C) The sensory memory records the immediate sensation of the object. If the jogger now attends to the "moving object," it will be perceived as a particular thing (the newspaper, hopefully, but perhaps the ferocious dog). Page Ref: 286 Skill: Understanding
54) In order to avoid confusing entomology (the study of insects) with etymology (the study of the history of words), Vicky associates the sound "en" of entomology with the sound "in" of insects. What specific type of mnemonic is she using? A) Acronym B) Chain C) Keyword D) Peg-type
Answer: C Explanation: C) Vicky is using the keyword approach to avoid the confusion of terms. She is using a common English word ("insects") to associate with the new word ("entomology"). Further elaboration might also invoke images to strengthen the association. Page Ref: 309 Skill: Understanding
30) When you mention "dogs," both Bethany and Ashley would picture collies. In relation to the concept "dog," what would the image of a collie be? A) Algorithm B) Attribute C) Heuristic D) Prototype
Answer: D Explanation: D) A prototype is the best representative of a category for individuals. Apparently Bethany's and Ashley's experiences with dogs have frequently involved collies, because both girls view collies as a prototype of the concept "dogs." Page Ref: 246 Skill: Understanding
65) Anderson (2010) recently proposed that some items from long-term memory may be forgotten because: A) the information is no longer useful. B) there are more toxins and hazards in the physical environment that are negatively impacting our neural systems. C) we have come to rely too much on computers to store information and we don't use our brains to capacity. D) with age, some neurons simply die.
Answer: D Explanation: D) According to Anderson the decline in neural connections that naturally comes with age can have a negative impact on our ability to retrieve information from long-term memory. Page Ref: 307 Skill: Knowledge
58) Within the information processing perspective, learning declarative knowledge involves A) applying rules for the purpose of categorizing specific objects or ideas. B) developing new strategies for performing various cognitive activities. C) generating ways to organize thoughts and actions in order to meet a goal. D) integrating new ideas with existing knowledge to create an understanding.
Answer: D Explanation: D) According to the information-processing perspective, learning declarative knowledge involves integrating new ideas with existing knowledge to create an understanding. In this manner, learning becomes meaningful instead of rote. Page Ref: 296 Skill: Knowledge
13) Bottom-up processing refers to the way people examine a new stimulus for A) contextual cues. B) contrasting details. C) perceptual closure. D) recognizable features.
Answer: D Explanation: D) Bottom-up processing involves analyzing the recognizable features of incoming stimuli. We then mentally "build" the pattern or whole from the parts. In contrast, top-down processing involves using the context of a situation to recognize a stimulus. Page Ref: 286 Skill: Knowledge
2) Which one of the following statements is consistent with the cognitive approach to learning? A) Feedback serves as a consequence of a person's actions. B) Learning is independent of elicited responses. C) Learning is independent of external circumstances. D) The same event means different things to different people.
Answer: D Explanation: D) Consistent with the cognitive approach to learning is the statement that the same event means different things to different people, because individuals have different motivations, background knowledge, and current interests. Page Ref: 282-283 Skill: Understanding
52) Dr. Beach used to be a typical 'absent minded professor.' However, she found that she could remember the things her husband asked her to pick up at the grocery store by imagining the items she needed placed on her desk, bookshelf, and file cabinet. The mnemonic device that she used is A) an acronym. B) chunking. C) the keyword method. D) the loci method.
Answer: D Explanation: D) Dr. Beach is using the loci method. Specifically, she is associating an already learned set of locations (or pegs) through imagery with the new information (the items to purchase). Page Ref: 308 Skill: Understanding
25) When we intentionally try to learn something new, we are involving what type of long-term memory? A) Crystallized memory B) Episodic memory C) Working memory D) Explicit memory
Answer: D Explanation: D) Explicit memory is knowledge from long-term memory that can be recalled and consciously considered. It involves knowledge that was gained through deliberate or intentional learning processes. Page Ref: 297 Skill: Understanding
45) While taking his final exam, Jerry recalled one item of information that caused him to remember another piece of information related to the question. What phenomenon has he just experienced? A) Distributed recall B) Massed practice C) Serial-position effect D) Spread of activation
Answer: D Explanation: D) Jerry's recall of one bit of information that led him to associate it with another piece of information is called the of spread of activation phenomenon. None of the other three response choices relates to this phenomenon. Page Ref: 2306 Skill: Understanding
34) In order to understand the large amounts of information inherent in complex concepts, people must develop structures or patterns called A) levels. B) mnemonics. C) propositions. D) schemas.
Answer: D Explanation: D) Schemas are defined by cognitive psychologists as mental patterns, structures, or guides for understanding events, concepts, or ideas. [Mnemonics are memory devices; propositions are units of information.] Page Ref: 300 Skill: Knowledge
38) Based on studies of context, in what location would a student be likely to perform best on an educational psychology test? A) In a familiar room such as a dorm room B) In a small comfortable room with soft music playing C) In a very quiet area, such as a library D) In an educational psychology classroom
Answer: D Explanation: D) Studies of context indicate that aspects of the physical surroundings (e.g., the room we are in; the time of day) become associated with other information that we are attending to. Thus, theoretically, students would perform best if they took their exams in the same room in which they studied the material being tested (e.g., the educational psychology class). Page Ref: 305 Skill: Understanding
59) What type of knowledge do experts have that involves an understanding of how to perform various cognitive activities? A) Conditional B) Declarative C) Organizational D) Procedural
Answer: D Explanation: D) The type of knowledge that involves an understanding of how to perform various cognitive activities is procedural knowledge. Declarative knowledge involves verbal information and facts, while conditional knowledge involves manipulating declarative and procedural knowledge to solve problems. Page Ref: 296 Skill: Knowledge
11) Top-down processing is distinguished by its reliance on a(n) A) assembly of elements into a meaningful pattern. B) downward scanning of the eyes. C) search for familiar features or elements. D) understanding of the context of a situation.
Answer: D Explanation: D) Top-down processing involves using the context of the situation as a basis for recognizing (or perceiving) something. In contrast, bottom-up processing bases perception on analyzing specific features of the stimulus and "mentally assembling" the whole from the parts. Page Ref: 286 Skill: Knowledge
41) Marc starts talking to Wynoma about the field trip to the zoo, which reminds him of the book he read on tigers last week. He concludes by telling Wynoma that the new library is very easy to use. This phenomenon illustrates the concept of A) construction of the working memory. B) deactivation of the active memory. C) reconstruction of the working memory. D) spread of activation.
Answer: D Explanation: D) When a particular proposition or image is active, closely associated knowledge can be activated as well. Talk about the field trip activated Marc's memory of reading the book about tigers. This process is called the spread of activation. Page Ref: 2306 Skill: Understanding
12) What you are thinking about right now is being held in what type of memory? A) Long-term B) Schematic C) Sensory D) Working
Answer: D Explanation: D) Your working memory contains the information that you are thinking about at the present moment. Due to this function, it is frequently called "working memory." Page Ref: 288 Skill: Understanding
