AP PSYCH - UNIT 5

[Identifying Problem Solving Techniques] A logical, systematic procedure for solving a problem is known as A. an algorithm B. an action potential C. an analogy D. a conditioned reflex E. a heuristic

A. an algorithm

[False Memories] Which of the following is most likely to be a false memory? A. A young child's memory of a day at the beach B. A high school student's memory of the prom C. A person's memory of going to a restaurant after college graduation D. A job applicant's memory of the clothes the applicant wore to an interview E. A couple's memory of their first dance at their wedding

A. A young child's memory of a day at the beach People are much more susceptible to false memories about their childhood than about memories formed later in life.

[Source Monitoring Failure] An example of a failure of source monitoring is A. Amir telling Jorge the same story Jorge told him earlier in the week, because Amir forgot Jorge already told him the story B. Katie being unable to recall the information for her English exam while feeling anxious when taking it, because she was feeling sad when she studied for the exam C. Jose forgetting the information he learned in class because he took his final in a different room D. Hanson confusing his old locker combination numbers with his new locker combination numbers E. James confusing his new address with his old address

A. Amir telling Jorge the same story Jorge told him earlier in the week, because Amir forgot Jorge already told him the story Source monitoring refers to the ability to track the origin of a piece of information.

[Theory of Executive Functioning and Intelligence] Which of the following examples is most consistent with the theory that executive functioning provides the basis for general intelligence? A. Geoff is able to easily remember a long list of instructions after hearing them only once and also scores higher than average on intelligence tests. B. Reilly began walking earlier than most children and also scores higher than average on intelligence tests. C. Amir is good at understanding other peoples' emotions and also scores higher than average on intelligence tests. D. Jake can read very quickly and also scores higher than average on intelligence tests. E. Rose has perfect pitch and also scores higher than average on intelligence tests.

A. Geoff is able to easily remember a long list of instructions after hearing them only once and also scores higher than average on intelligence tests. Being able to remember a long list of instructions is a measure of working memory capacity (related to executive function). Geoff's having strong executive functioning and higher than average intelligence is consistent with the theory.

[Gardner-Type Of Intelligence] Keisha performs well in her geometry course in school, and her classmates often ask her for help with understanding word problems and writing formal proofs. Her friends describe her as very rational and analytical. According to Howard Gardner, which type of intelligence is Keisha most likely to possess? A. Logical-mathematical B. Bodily-kinesthetic C. Interpersonal D. Intrapersonal E. Verbal-linguistic

A. Logical-mathematical This term refers to the ability to use logic and mathematical skills in problem solving.

[Divergent Thinking] An example of divergent thinking is A. Reagan brainstorming as many uses of a toothpick as possible in a two-minute period B. Sharon picking her favorite restaurant from a list C. Martin drawing a picture of a bicycle from memory D. Eleni studying for a spelling test by rehearsing the words and their spellings multiple times E. Dmitry using a map to determine the fastest driving route

A. Reagan brainstorming as many uses of a toothpick as possible in a two-minute period Divergent thinking involves brainstorming as many potential solutions as possible.

[Elaborative Encoding] An example of using elaborative encoding to improve memory is A. Sam remembering which tree is the ginkgo by using the phrase "stinko ginkgo" because the fruit of the ginkgo tree smells bad B. Trevor remembering to buy milk at the grocery store by putting a note on the refrigerator C. Emilia remembering a new acquaintance's name by silently repeating the name after learning it D. Arthur remembering to pick up a cake before leaving work by asking a coworker for a reminder at the end of the workday E. Diego remembering the meanings of Spanish vocabulary words by creating flash cards and studying them

A. Sam remembering which tree is the ginkgo by using the phrase "stinko ginkgo" because the fruit of the ginkgo tree smells bad Elaborative encoding occurs when something new is associated with something meaningful or with an existing memory.

[State-Dependent Memory] An example of state-dependent memory is A. Tommy finding it easier to remember the materials on an exam while taking it because he was sad while studying for the exam B. Jeremy saying he knew his favorite football team was going to lose all along after they lost the game C. Josef remembering only the first five linking verbs during his English exam despite studying to remember the entire list D. Wilda believing she is always sad when it rains despite her being sad sometimes when it is sunny E. Geoff liking Francine more than when he had met her the first day of class after sitting next to her in class each week

A. Tommy finding it easier to remember the materials on an exam while taking it because he was sad while studying for the exam

[Memory Organization] The fact that Lori finds herself thinking about dogs and other pets after seeing a cat is evidence that human memory is organized into A. an association network B. a hierarchy C. a mental set D. a schema E. mnemonics

A. an association network An association network representation predicts that activation of a concept will also activate related concepts.

[Mental Set] A mental set is A. an established way of thinking about or perceiving something B. a link between two memories in which recall of one prompts recall of the other C. a strategy in which items are grouped to make them easier to remember D. a type of learning that happens suddenly during a critical phase of development E. an ability of the mind to retain information over time

A. an established way of thinking about or perceiving something A mental set is based on previous experience and may or may not be helpful solving problems.

[Consolidation] Consolidation can be described as the process of A. long-term memories being formed from short-term memories B. the body trying to keep itself in a set state of being C. new information becoming integrated with previous knowledge D. determining where information is coming from E. retrieving information from long-term memory

A. long-term memories being formed from short-term memories Consolidation is the process by which short-term memories are transformed into long-term memories.

[Identifying Research Study Laws] A researcher wanted to test the psychometric properties of a new intelligence test for children. She administered the test twice, two months apart, to children in a fourth-grade classroom. On the second administration, she noticed that the children who performed well were not the same children who performed well on the first administration and that there appeared to be no relationship between student performance on the first and second administration of the test. Based on this scenario, the psychological construct missing from this intelligence test is A. test-retest reliability, because the researcher is administering the same test twice B. test-retest reliability, because the researcher is administering equivalent forms of the test twice C. split-half reliability, because the researcher is administering the same test twice D. split-half reliability, because the researcher is administering equivalent forms of the same test twice E. internal-consistency reliability, because the researcher is administering the same test twice

A. test-retest reliability, because the researcher is administering the same test twice Test-retest reliability refers to when repeated administration of the same test yields consistent results, which this test did not.

[Reasoning Process] John went to the beach for vacation shortly after having watched a documentary film about shark attacks. Overestimating the possibility of encountering a shark in the water, he decided to spend the day sunbathing and reading instead of going for a swim. John's reasoning can be explained through A. the availability heuristic B. the gambler's fallacy C. source monitoring D. confirmation bias E. counterfactual thinking

A. the availability heuristic John recently watched the documentary about shark attacks, and information about shark attacks can be easily retrieved from memory. Because this information is fresh in his mind, he is hesitant to get in the water for fear of encountering a shark.

[Identifying Psychologists] Which of the following psychologists is best associated with studying the function of memory? A. Mary Whiton Calkins B. Hermann Ebbinghaus C. Erik Erikson D. Carl Rogers E. Carl

B. Hermann Ebbinghaus Hermann Ebbinghaus studied memory by memorizing nonsense syllables and seeing how many he could remember.

[Schemas] Which of the following describes the concept of schema? A. Gustav uses the method of loci to study for all of his classes. B. Marsha thinks the waiter asked her whether she wanted water even though he did not, because she thinks waiters ask patrons whether they want water. C. Tracy grouped the information she needed to learn into categories that made sense to her. D. Kevin thinks David is not motivated because he showed up late for a meeting, but actually a traffic jam made David late. E. Naman makes up a story about the information he has to learn to help him remember the information.

B. Marsha thinks the waiter asked her whether she wanted water even though he did not, because she thinks waiters ask patrons whether they want water. Marsha has created a schema, or way of thinking, about what should happen in a restaurant.

[Memory Enhancement Technique] David was studying some important historical dates for a test. He noticed that the day and month of one of the dates was the same as his own birthday, and he tried to use that fact to help him remember the date for his test. What is David using to enhance his memory? A. Method of loci B. Self-reference C. Retroactive interference D. Overlearning E. The recency effect

B. Self-reference This refers to the fact that information that is personally relevant is more easily remembered than personally irrelevant information.

[Short-Term Memory Capacity] Jeanette is curious to see how many numbers she can hold in her mind at once. She asks her friend to test her on lists of random digits to see how many she can remember. Based on what is known about the average limits of short-term memory capacity, what is the most likely number of digits Jeanette will be able to remember? A. Two B. Seven C. Ten D. Eleven E. Twelve

B. Seven Short-term memory capacity is roughly seven (plus or minus two).

[Chomsky Explanation of Behaviour] Rodrigo's three-year-old sister says the phrase "We goed to the store" instead of "We went to the store." According to Noam Chomsky, what is the best explanation for her behavior? A. Her parents have not presented her with the appropriate corrective feedback to teach her not to use the incorrect form. B. She is overregularizing her use of the past tense. C. She has heard other children using the incorrect form and has learned that it is correct. D. She has not yet entered the concrete operational stage of cognition, in which she will be able to learn the correct form of the word. E. She has a specific language impairment, which has prevented her from acquiring the correct form.

B. She is overregularizing her use of the past tense. Chomsky described children's errors in using irregular past tense forms as overregularizing past tense forms.

Encoding Technique] To remember a list of words, Jerry tries walking through his bedroom and making associations between words on the list and various areas he visits in his bedroom. Jerry is trying to improve his memory encoding by using A. distributed learning B. the method of loci C. maintenance retrieval D. echoic memory E. lateral inhibition

B. the method of loci This is an example of using the method of loci to remember something.

[Primary Effect] Which of the following illustrates the primacy effect? A. Jason remembers the last two digits of his doctor's phone number but not any other digits. B. Susam left his grocery list at home and can remember only the first two items on the list. C. Frederick thinks people are paying attention to him when they actually are not. D. Paul gets a reward every time he gets on the bus for school on time. E. When his son Fekru cries because he wants a candy bar, Mr. Debebe gives the boy the candy to stop him from crying.

B. Susam left his grocery list at home and can remember only the first two items on the list. This is an example of the primacy effect, which refers to having a better memory for items occurring earliest in a list.

[Predictable-World Bias] For a person planning to hold a party outside, an example of the predictable-world bias would be A. hoping the weather will be nice this year B. believing that nice weather is due this year because it rained a lot the last three years C. believing the party will be fun outside regardless of the weather D. remembering only past parties with good weather, not those with bad weather E. believing the weather can be controlled if one wishes hard enough

B. believing that nice weather is due this year because it rained a lot the last three years This is an example of predictable-world bias, which occurs when people see patterns in things that are random. They may make predictions based on past events rather than on actual probabilities of future events.

[Error In Thinking] Patrick believes his basketball coach doesn't like him and subsequently focuses on all the times the coach criticizes his playing and ignores all the times the coach praises his performance. Patrick's behavior is best explained by the concept of A. the Flynn effect B. confirmation bias C. retroactive interference D. groupthink E. overregularization

B. confirmation bias Patrick is choosing to focus on things that confirm his theory and ignore those that do not, which is confirmation bias.

[Inter-Rater Reliability] Professor Gustafson is developing a new intelligence test and wants to ensure the test has good inter-rater reliability. Which of the following strategies will most directly help him achieve this goal? A. Allowing only a small subset of highly trained researchers to grade the test, because this ensures standardization of test conditions B. Allowing only a small subset of highly trained researchers to grade the test, because this ensures validity, which is crucial to establish reliability C. Allowing only trained researchers to grade the test, as they will have a good understanding of the proper way to score certain things and will be more likely to agree D. Ensuring that a representative sample of participants take the test, as this is the best way to establish reliability E. Comparing scores from the test to scores from a similar test designed to measure the same construct, because this will establish reliability between the tests

C. Allowing only trained researchers to grade the test, as they will have a good understanding of the proper way to score certain things and will be more likely to agree Inter-rater reliability refers to having all people scoring the test in the same way, which will be more likely to happen if they are highly trained.

[Memory Enhancement Technique] A teacher asks Yvonne to go to another classroom to get a student whom Yvonne has never met. As she walks, she repeats the student's name to herself over and over to help her remember. Yvonne is boosting her memory by using A. elaborative rehearsal B. distributed learning C. maintenance rehearsal D. a mnemonic device E. imagery

C. maintenance rehearsal Simple thinking of words over and over again is a form of maintenance rehearsal.

[Automatic Vs. Effortful Processing] Which of the following statements about automatic processing or effortful processing is true? A. Effortful processing does not require conscious awareness B. Effortful processing makes other processing more difficult. C. Automatic processing requires little mental effort. D. Automatic processing does not improve with practice. E. Effortful processing is affected by intelligence.

C. Automatic processing requires little mental effort. Automatic processing requires little mental effort, whereas effortful processing requires mental effort and use of short-term memory.

[Sternberg Types of Intelligence] Arthur is helping his friend set up her new phone. Arthur has never used this type of phone, but he uses his knowledge of setting up his own phone to help figure out how to use the new phone. According to Robert Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence, Arthur is using which type of intelligence? A. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence B. Practical intelligence C. Creative intelligence D. General intelligence E. Visual-spatial intelligence

C. Creative intelligence Sternberg defined creative intelligence as using one's prior experiences to help solve new problems.

[Theories of Behaviour] Vandana, a 12-month-old infant, is listening to her father talk to her and suddenly repeats a word that he just said. Her father praises her and gives her a cookie. After she gets the cookie, she repeats the word again. Vandana's behavior can be best explained by using the theory of A. universal grammar B. linguistic determinism C. behaviorism D. attachment E. classical conditioning

C. behaviorism Central to behaviorism is the idea of rewards reinforcing a behavior. In this example, the initial behavior (repeating the word) may have been spontaneous, but the cookie was a reward that reinforced the behavior.

[Short-Term Memory] Short-term memory is best described as A. memory of how to perform an activity, such as riding a bike B. memory of facts and general knowledge C. memory that can hold only a small amount of information D. memory of specific events E. memory of a surprising event

C. memory that can hold only a small amount of information Memory that can hold only a few items, generally about seven, for a short period is known as short-term memory.

[Interpreting IQ Score] Mary has an IQ score within one standard deviation above the mean score. This indicates her score was A. high enough for Mary to be considered a genius B. higher than at least 75% of people who took the test C. within the middle 68% of people who took the test D. lower than exactly 7% of people who took the test E. higher than exactly 93% of people who took the test

C. within the middle 68% of people who took the test About 34% of people score between the mean and one standard deviation below the mean, and about 34% of people score between the mean and one standard deviation above the mean.

[Implicit Vs. Explicit Memory] If Jess has a type of amnesia that affects the formation of explicit memories but not implicit ones, which of the following will she be most likely to remember? A. The date of her last basketball lesson B. The name of her basketball coach C. The location of the gym D. The arm position to throw the ball E. The rules of the game

D. The arm position to throw the ball Skills such as how to hold one's arm to throw a ball are implicit memories. Jess will improve at basketball over time, as would any person with practice.

[Explicit Memories] Explicit memories are A. retrieved from the amygdala B. created in the thalamus C. retrieved from the cerebellum D. created in the hippocampus E. stored in the basal ganglia

D. created in the hippocampus Various studies, including that of H. M., show that damage to the hippocampus inhibits the ability to create explicit memories.

[Generational Language Differences] Sometimes people who speak different languages are in a community together and must develop a way of communicating. Similarly, their offspring must also find a way to communicate. The main difference between the speech of the first generation and the speech of the second generation is A. the speech of the first generation tends to include a larger vocabulary B. the speech of the second generation tends to include a larger vocabulary C. the speech of the first generation tends to have more complex grammar rules D. the speech of the second generation tends to have more complex grammar rules E. minor because there is typically no difference between the speech of the first generation and the speech of the second generation

D. the speech of the second generation tends to have more complex grammar rules The first-generation language tends to have very little grammatical structure; this is called a pidgin language. The second generation tends to impose its own grammatical structure on the makeshift language; this is called a creole language. The fact that children develop grammatical rules without any training is often cited as evidence that people have a built-in language acquisition device.

[Long-Term Potentiation] Which of the following scenarios is best explained by long-term potentiation? A. Erik and Harry don't like each other when they are first assigned to the same a room during a class trip, but after spending a great deal of time together, they begin to like each other more. B. When Sruthi first enters a dark room after coming in from outside, she can't see anything, but her eyes adjust after a few minutes. C. At first, Benjamin needs to drink only a small amount of a caffeinated beverage to feel its effects, but after drinking it regularly for a while, he needs more to feel the same effects. D. Alan wants to stop studying to go to a party but stops himself by thinking about his future career. E. The first time Colleen tries to remember Leo's name it takes her a long time, but over time she remembers it more quickly.

E. The first time Colleen tries to remember Leo's name it takes her a long time, but over time she remembers it more quickly. Long-term potentiation is the mechanism behind memory formation.