cog psych exam questions #1

What is a scene schema? a. Knowledge of what a scene typically contains b. Knowledge of the meaning of a scene c. Knowledge of the events leading to a scene d. Knowledge of why a scene should be visualized

a. Knowledge of what a scene typically contains

In the resting potential, the inside of the cell is: a. Negative relative to the outside b. Positive relative to the outside c. Electrically neutral relative to the outside d. Rapidly fluctuating between a positive and negative charge relative to the outside

a. Negative relative to the outside

Communication between neurons takes place across: a. Synapses b. Dendrite c. Axons d. Cell body

a. Synapses

A neuron cell body reaches threshold and depolarizes. The depolarization propagates down the length of the ______, is chemically transmitted across the ______, and directly affects the electrical potential in the ______ of the successive neuron. a. axon; synapse; dendrites b. dendrites; synapse; axon c. myelin; synapse; dendrites d. dendrites; receptor; axon

a. axon; synapse; dendrites

Controlled processing involves a. close attention. b. ease in performing parallel tasks. c. overlearning of tasks. d. few cognitive resources.

a. close attention.

Brain imaging has made it possible to a. determine which areas of the brain are involved in different cognitive processes. b. view individual neurons in the brain. c. show how environmental energy is transformed into neural energy. d. view propagation of action potentials.

a. determine which areas of the brain are involved in different cognitive processes.

After a freak boating accident, Arlo's hippocampus was lost at sea. Although he has recovered in all other respects, Arlo will have difficulty a. forming new memories of events after the accident. b. speaking fluently in his native language. c. making controlled, purposeful movements. d. smiling.

a. forming new memories of events after the accident.

You look at a rope coiled on a beach and are able to perceive it as a single strand because of the law of a. good continuation. b. simplicity. c. familiarity.

a. good continuation.

1. A bottom-up process is involved in fixating on an area of a scene that a. has high stimulus salience. b. fits with the observer's interests. c. is familiar. d. carries meaning for the observer.

a. has high stimulus salience.

Broadbent's early selection model proposes that the filter identifies the attended message based on a. meaning. b. modality. c. physical characteristics. d. higher order characteristics.

a. meaning.

The use of a machine that tracks the movement of one's eyes can help reveal the shifting of one's __________ attention. a. overt b. covert c. divided d. dichotic

a. overt

Neurons communicate across the synapse by means of neurotransmitters, which bind to special proteins on the postsynaptic membrane like a key fitting into a lock. In this analogy, the neurotransmitter is the key and the ______________ is the lock. a. receptor b. axon c. postsynaptic potential d. dendrite

a. receptor

Alex is on a ritual fast in which he will avoid eating any food for the next 48 hours. As the fast continues, Alex finds that he thinks more and more about food, but he does not eat. While watching television, though, he notes that there seem to be more ads for food than usual. There are actually no more food ads today than there usually are, but Alex's perception best illustrates a. top-down processing. b. bottom-up processing. c. feature analysis. d. visual dominance.

a. top-down processing.

Lucas and his brother Jonathan are lying on their backs, staring up at the clouds. Jonathan says that he sees a poodle-shaped cloud and points it out to Lucas. Lucas tries to see another shape in the cloud, but now all he can see is the poodle. The fact that Jonathan's telling Lucas what he saw in the cloud biased Lucas's perception of the cloud is an example of a. top-down processing. b. bottom-up processing. c. Fechner's law. d. framing.

a. top-down processing.

After a stroke, Juanita has great difficulty with speech. Words come slowly and haltingly and her speech is often grammatically incorrect. The stroke probably damaged a. Wernicke's area. b. Broca's area. c. the cerebellum. d. the hippocampus.

b. Broca's area.

Which part of a neuron is specialized to receive signals from other neurons? a. Axon b. Dendrites c. Synapse d. Neurotransmitter

b. Dendrites

At a recent family reunion, the Boltinis were all told to wear red, white, and green to show their Italian pride. The few people who did not wear these colors stood out from the group. This occurred because of what grouping principle? a. Proximity b. Closure c. Similarity d. Continuity

c. Similarity

A neurotransmitter is released from the end of an axon, floats across the synapse, and binds to an appropriate receptor. The resulting changes make the body of the second neuron more negatively charged relative to the surrounding environment (i.e., hyperpolarized); which of the following terms describes this best? a. Excitatory postsynaptic potential b. Inhibitory postsynaptic potential c. Excitatory presynaptic potential d. Inhibitory presynaptic potential

b. Inhibitory postsynaptic potential

During the action potential, the inside of the cell is: a. Negative relative to the outside b. Positive relative to the outside c. Electrically neutral relative to the outside d. Rapidly fluctuating between a positive and negative charge relative to the outside

b. Positive relative to the outside

When Frieda first looked at an advertisement, she noticed only that it showed a glass of cola on a tray. After her friend Cal told her that he saw two people dancing in the blur on the left ice cube, Frieda instantly noticed the dancers. "You're right; I can see them," said Frieda, "but I think I see them mostly due to ___, since you made me expect them to be there." a. Bottom-up processing b. Top-down processing c. Common fate d. Similarity

b. Top-down processing

Shaun's parents decorate their home each winter with a string of white lights. When the lights are turned on, there seems to be one light moving across the string, constantly circling the house. This apparent perception of movement is due to the motion illusion known as a. perceptual constancy. b. apparent movement c. looming. d. common fate

b. apparent movement

The _____ lobe of the cortex serves higher functions such as language, thought, and memory. a. subcortical b. frontal c. occipital d. parietal

b. frontal

In the flanker compatibility procedure, flanker stimuli and target stimuli must necessarily differ in terms of: A. Location b. identity c. size d. color

b. identity

The temporal lobe is a. the first place in the cerebral cortex where visual information is received. b. important for language, memory, hearing, and vision. c. important for higher functions such as language, thought, and memory, as well as motor functioning. d. where signals are received from the auditory system.

b. important for language, memory, hearing, and vision.

The main difference between early and late selection models of attention is that in late selection models, selection of stimuli for final processing doesn't occur until the information is analyzed for a. modality. b. meaning. c. physical characteristics. d. location.

b. meaning.

A neuron evokes the action potential of another neuron by releasing the ______________ into the ______________ that fit into the ______________ of the other neuron. a. receptors; synapse; neurotransmitters b. neurotransmitters; synapse; receptors c. dendrites; axon; synapse d. axon; dendrites; neurotransmitters

b. neurotransmitters; synapse; receptors

In a dichotic listening experiment, _______________________refers to the procedure that is used to force participants to pay attention to a specific message in one ear among competing messages in the other ear. a. rehearsing b. shadowing c. echoing d. delayedr epeating

b. shadowing

The Stroop effect occurs when participants a. are told to divide their attention between colors and shapes. b. try to name colors and ignore words. c. try to select some incoming information based on meaning. d. are told to shadow two messages simultaneously

b. try to name colors and ignore words.

1. Results of precueing experiments show that participants respond more rapidly to a stimulus that appeared at the location. a. fixated b. valid cued c. rightmost d. invalid cued

b. valid cued

According to Broadbent's early selection model of attention, which of the following messages would likely by identified by the filter? a. All messages within earshot b. A message with an unfamiliar foreign accent c. All sensory messages

c. All sensory messages

A neuron receives signals from other neurons that cause positively charged ions to enter the cell, making it more likely to generate an action potential. This is known as a(n)______________. a. Refractory period b. Repolarization c. Excitatory postsynaptic potential d. Inhibitory postsynaptic potential

c. Excitatory postsynaptic potential

Ramon is looking at pictures of scantily clad women in a magazine. He is focusing on their body parts, particularly their chest and legs. Which part of Ramon's brain is activated by this viewing? a. Fusiform face area (FFA) b. Parahippocampal place area (PPA) c. Extrastriate body area (EBA) d. Functional magnetic area (FMA)

c. Extrastriate body area (EBA)

"While watching a crowd of people, one does not focus on individual colors, movements, and shapes. Instead, one perceives the event as a whole." This statement has most likely been made by a. cognitive psychologist. b. functionalist. c. Gestalt psychologist. d. structuralist.

c. Gestalt psychologist.

8. If you are folding towels that have just come out of the laundry while watching television, you may find that you don't have to pay much attention to the process of folding the towels. This sort of familiar task that does not require much of your attention would be an example of a(n) task. a. Attenuated b. high-load c. low-load d. filtered

c. low-load

Compared to brain-imaging techniques, ERP occurs on a a. much slower time scale. b. similar time scale. c. much faster time scale. d. more precise scale for understanding which brain structures are active.

c. much faster time scale.

The landmark discrimination problem is more difficult to do if you have damage to your _____ lobe. a. frontal b. temporal c. parietal d. occipital

c. parietal

Location-based attention is when a. the enhancing effect of attention spreads throughout an object. b. attention is divided across two or more tasks simultaneously. c. people move their attention from one place to another. d.attention affects an entire object, even if it is occluded by other objects

c. people move their attention from one place to another.

According to Treisman's feature integration theory, the first stage of perception is called the stage. a. feature analysis b. focused attention c. preattentive d. letter analysis

c. preattentive

The fusiform face area (FFA) in the brain is often damaged in patients with a. Broca's aphasia. b. Wernicke's aphasia. c. prosopagnosia. d. Alzheimer's disease.

c. prosopagnosia.

When little Rosario quickly flipped the pages of her new "flip" book, Sniffy the rat appeared to run around, eat cheese, and scratch himself. Rosario's perception of Sniffy's movements is due to a. looming. b. optical flow. c. stroboscopic motion. d.motion parallax.

c. stroboscopic motion.

Research on the use of cell phones while driving indicates that a. the negative effect can be decreased by using "hands-free" units. b. the problem with cell phones is that attention is distracted from the task of driving by the need to hold the phone and drive with one hand. c. the main effect of cell phone use on driving safety can be attributed to the fact that attention is used up by the cognitive task of talking on the phone. d. both a and b are correct

c. the main effect of cell phone use on driving safety can be attributed to the fact that attention is used up by the cognitive task of talking on the phone.

Which of the following is most closely associated with Treisman's attenuation theory of selective attention? a. Late selection b. Stroop experiments c. Precueing d. Dictionary unit

d. Dictionary unit

In support of late selection models, Donald MacKay showed that the presentation of a biasing word on the unattended ear influenced participants' processing of when they were of that word. a. letter pairs; aware b. letter pairs; unaware c. ambiguous sentences; aware d. ambiguous sentences; unaware

d. ambiguous sentences; unaware

Indiana looks at the ground near his feet. He hears a hissing sound and sees a long, thin shape with scales. From this information only, he determines the object is a snake. He is using ______________ processing. a. sequential b. top-down c. ecological d. bottom-up

d. bottom-up

After turning to wave at one of her friends during lunch, Jessica fails to notice that her new cell phone, which had been right next to her lunch plate, has disappeared. Her oversight best illustrates A) parallel processing. B) inattentional blindness. C) dual processing. D) change blindness.

d. change blindness.

Neurotransmitters are ______________ that travel across the ______________ to another cell. a. electrical signals; receptors b. electrical signals; synapse c. chemicals; receptors d. chemicals; synapse

d. chemicals; synapse

When recording from a single neuron, stimulus intensity is represented in a single neuron by the a. size of the action potentials. b. size of the synapse. c. firing rate of the neurotransmitters. d. firing rate of the action potentials.

d. firing rate of the action potentials.

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere is called A) blindsight. B) parallel processing. C) the cocktail party effect. D) inattentional blindness.

d. inattentional blindness.

When Cade was tackled during a football game, he hit the back of his head on the turf, which resulted in a concussion. Cade now has trouble with his vision. Cade most likely injured his ______ lobe. a. frontal b. parietal c. temporal d. occipital

d. occipital

. A neuron will have an excitatory postsynaptic potential when ______________ ions rush into the ______________. a. negative; synapse b. positive; synapse c. negative; neuron d. positive; neuron

d. positive; neuron