Cognition Exam: Memory, Thinking, and Intelligence
Psychology AP
Sample AP Multiple Choice Questions -
1. The invention of computers and the useful research in cognitive psychology prompted psychologists to understand human memory as a(n):
a. Filing cabinet
b. Library
c. File folder
d. Dictionary
e. Information-processing system
2. Echoic memory is to iconic memory as:
a. Sound is to sight
b. Rehearsal is to encoding
c. Short-term memory is to long-term memory
d. Working memory is to sensory memory
e. Sight is to sound
3. When individual items are grouped into larger units that have meaning, this is called:
a. Encoding
b. Chunking
c. Elaborating
d. Mapping
e. Schemas
4. When a person reads a question, she /he most likely does not store images of the look of the letters and words. Instead, she/he is probably using ______encoding by thinking about the words' meaning and utilizing ______encoding if she/he silently says the words to her /hirnself.
a. Phonological; visual
b. Visual; motor
c. Phonological; semantic
d. Semantic; phonological
e. Visual; phonological
5. The serial position effect refers to how:
a. People tend to remember words presented at the beginning and end of a list better than words presented in the middle
b. Elaborative rehearsal is more effective than maintenance rehearsal for storing information in long-term memory
c. Information tends to be remembered better if it is processed more deeply
d. People tend to use automatic processing to encode words presented at the beginning and end of a list and use effortful processing to encode the words presented in the middle
e. Information associated with numbers are remembered accurately
6. Encoding that is done on purpose and requires our conscious attention, like making a grocery list or taking notes for a class, is referred to as ____ _
a. Context-dependent memory
b. Automatic processing
c. Maintenance rehearsal
d. State-dependent memory
e. Effortful processing
7. Schemas influence the encoding process by:
a. Reducing retroactive interference
b. Grouping individual units of information into one larger unit
c. Creating a readiness to perceive information in a particular way
d. Increasing the amount of maintenance rehearsal
e. Developing a plan by which memories are formed
8. Hermann Ebbinghaus's studies of the process of forgetting revealed that memory:
a. Decreased at a more or less constant rate over time
b. Decreased slowly at first and then sharply decreased after 9 to 10 days
c. Remained constant for the first 3 to 4 days and gradually decreased thereafter
d. Decreased rapidly at first and then slowed noticeably afterward
e. Increased at first, then decreased over time
9. One morning, you are on the phone with Sally talking about what book she is reading.
You agree to pick up a copy of that book and read it along with Sally. An hour or so later, your brother Ingvar calls and you discuss the book he is reading. The next day as you drive to the bookstore, you cannot remember which book it was that Sally was reading. The details about Ingvar's book are getting in the way of your memory of Sally's book.
This example best illustrates which of the following?
a. Retroactive interference
b. Retrograde amnesia
c. Implicit memory
d. State-dependent memory
e. Proactive interference
10. Alzheimer's disease involves a disruption in the functioning of several different neurotransmitters, but one particularly important one is:
a. Dopamine
b. Acetylcholine
c. Serotonin
d. Epinephrine
e. Endorphins
11. Since the human brain has changed little over the past 50,000 years and realistic cave paintings did not appear for another 35,000 years, the fact that written language did not develop until 3,000 years ago indicates that:
a. The human brain stopped developing around 1000
b. Cognitive and linguistic skill do not depend on the specialized human brain
c. The human brain has evolved significantly over the past 50,000 years
d. Human cognitive and linguistic skill have continued to develop
e. Human thought and behavior are completely determined by the structure of the brain
12. Consider the statement, "Last night, I shot a raccoon in my pajamas." Since this sentence has at least two different interpretations (the pajamas could be worn by the man, or they could be worn by the raccoon), this means that this sentence has:
a. One different surface structure and no syntactical symmetry
b. Two different surface structures and one deep structure
c. Two different surface structures and two different deep structures
d. One surface structure and one deep structure
e. Two different deep structures and one surface structure
13. In every language, the rules of _____ determine how ______can be combined to create morphemes.
a. Semantics; phonemes
b. Syntax; phonemes
c. Grammar; morphemes
d. Syntax; words
e. Semantics; words
14. Research suggests that children in all cultures have the ability to master the rules of any language early in life without formal education. This points to the possibility that:
a. Children use deductive reasoning to learn language
b. Language acquisition may have a biological basis
c. The triarchic theory of intelligence adequately explains language acquisition
d. The learning of language is largely shaped by the environment
e. Children are born knowing all languages
15. Children who are deprived of language early in life are generally unable to acquire normal language skills if they are not developed before puberty. This data can be explained by:
a. Sensitive periods
b. Lateralization
c. Displacement
d. Reaction range
e. Linguistic relativity hypothesis
16. ______are typical and familiar members of a particular class, while ______are more difficult to describe by words alone.
a. Schemas; heuristics
b. Concepts; propositions
c. Concepts; prototypes
d. Phonemes; morphemes
e. Prototypes; concepts
17. "If all birds are warm-blooded, and if all parrots are birds, then all parrots are warmblooded."
This is an example of a(n) _____ which is a(n) ______argument.
a. Syllogism, inductive
b. Analogy, heuristic
c. Syllogism, deductive
d. Algorithm, inductive
e. Syllogism, heuristic
18. Functional fixedness and mental sets are similar in that they are both:
a. Errors that are produced by the availability heuristic
b. Examples of inductive reasoning
c. Consistent with the predictions of the linguistic relativity hypothesis
d. Are representativeness biases
e. Mental phenomena that interfere with problem solving
19. The concept of overconfidence is most closely associated with which of the following?
a. Confirmation bias
b. The availability heuristic
c. A mental set
d. Functional fixedness
e. Algorithm
20. A(n) ______has an advantage in problem solving because if you use it correctly, it will always generate the correct answer.
a. Means-ends analysis
b. Algorithm
c. Mental set
d. Heuristic
e. Schema
21. Which of the following does research show to be least similar to each other on intelligence tests?
a. Girl and boy twins raised together
b. Identical twins raised apart
c. Fraternal twins raised together
d. Identical twins raised together
e. Fraternal twins raised apart
22. A school psychologist gives an IQ test to a lO-year-old child. The child's score on the test indicates that she has the mental abilities of a typical 12-year-old. If the psychologist is using David Wechsler's conception of IQ, which of the following statements can be made?
a. The child has an IQ score of 75 (IQ = 10/12 X 100)
b. The child has an IQ score of 1.20 (IQ = 12/10)
c. The child has an IQ score of 120 (IQ = 12/10 X 100)
d. The child has an IQ score of 100
e. The child has an IQ score of 150
23. Factor analysis is a:
a. Technique used to determine the validity of a psychological test
b. Statistical technique used to determine the reliability of a psychological test
c. Technique used to standardize a psychological measure
d. Technique to reduce a large number of correlations to a smaller number of clusters
e. Technique used to create clusters of traits
24. Charles Spearman noted that performances on different measures of intelligence are highly correlated with each other. He therefore proposed that:
a. Intelligence is mostly determined by the s factor
b. Intelligence is mostly determined by the g factor
c. Factor analysis is an inappropriate psychometric technique
d. Intelligence cannot be measured by statistical techniques
e. Factor analysis produces specific abilities
25. Research shows that fluid and crystallized intelligence:
a. Appear to decline with age
b. Increase or remain stable well into late adulthood
c. Fluid intelligence improves or remains stable with age but crystallized intelligence appears to decline in late adulthood
d. Crystallized intelligence improves or remains stable with age but fluid intelligence appears to decline in late adulthood
e. Crystallized intelligence is identified only in young, gifted children
26. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences is most unique from other theories because he:
a. Believes that a general g factor is largely responsible for intelligence
b. Argues that additional abilities such as musical talents and interpersonal skills should also be considered part of intelligence
c. Asserts that there are only three different types of intelligence: linguistic, mathematical, and visual-spatial
d. Believes that intelligence consists of several distinct abilities
e. Believes that an s factor is largely responsible for intelligence
27. A test is said to have high ______if the individual items on a test are all highly correlated with one another.
a. Reliability
b. Test-retest reliability
c. Internal consistency
d. Content validity
e. Interjudge reliability
28. You and a friend are shopping for the best overall vacation package. Each of you shops the same travel companies for the same packages. After you are done downloading identical information, you decide to compare notes on what you each thought of the different location packages. Your friend loved the Hawaii package and raved about all its special features. You, on the other hand, did not think very much of the Hawaii deal, and you strongly encourage your friend to go to Mexico. This example is most relevant to which of the following concepts?
a. Interjudge reliability
b. Test-retest reliability
c. Internal consistency
d. Test construction
e. Construct validity
29. The extent to which a measure is consistent is referred to as ______whereas the extent to which a measure actually measures what it is intended to measure is called ______.
a. Rigor; vigor
b. Internally consistent; rigorous content
c. Validity; reliability
d. Fluid state; crystallized state
e. Reliability; validity
30. A distribution shaped like a bell with most scores clustering around the center of the curve is called a ______distribution.
a. Skewed
b. Standard
c. Biased
d. Normal
e. Bimodal
31. Species adaptation refers to the process of how:
a. Learning modifies the genes of an organism
b. Learning modifies the genes of a species
c. Observational learning can be passed from generation to generation
d. Genetically based features that enhance an organism's ability to survive are passed to the next generation
e. The laws of learning and past and present environments determine the behavior of organisms
32. When the CS is presented repeatedly without the UCS, the CR will gradually weaken in a process called:
a. Habituation.
b. Counterconditioning
c. Discrimination
d. Extinction
e. Generalization
33. During the process of extinction, it is not uncommon for a CR to recur if, after a period of time has passed, the CS is presented again. This is known as:
a. Relative recovery
b. Primary recovery
c. Automatic recovery
d. Natural recovery
e. Spontaneous recovery
34. In operant conditioning, learning occurs because a behavior is influenced by the:
a. Extinction of a fixed action pattern
b. Generalization of the CS
c. Consequences it produces
d. Stimuli with which it is associated
e. Neutral stimulus
35. In negative reinforcement, when an aversive stimulus is______, it makes the behavior that removed the aversive ______likely to occur.
a. Extinguished; less
b. Removed; more
c. Presented; less
d. Presented; more
e. Removed; less
36. Which schedule of reinforcement would random drug tests and roadside speed traps be examples of?
a. Fixed-interval schedule
b. Fixed-ratio schedule
c. Variable ratio schedule
d. Variable interval schedule
e. This is not an example of any of these
37. A reinforcement system that "pays" children stars or happy faces as points that can be redeemed later for rewards is called:
a. A token economy
b. Bribery conditioning
c. Shaping
d. Latent learning
e. Gambling conditioning
38. Edward Tolman's research demonstrated that rats in a maze seemed to have developed mental (cognitive) maps of the maze even though they had not received any reinforcement. Tolman's research provided evidence of the concept of:
a. Vicarious learning
b. Preparedness
c. Insight
d. Latent learning
e. Observational learning
39. Someone watching tennis being played at Wimbleton and then buys a racket and tries to copy the experienced players is most likely making use of which learning strategy?
a. Secondary reinforcement
b. Observational learning
c. Positive reinforcement
d. Operant conditioning
e. Insight
40. In the original of Albert Bandura's "Bobo doll" experiments, children who saw a child acting aggressively later performed ______aggressive acts when placed in a room with various toys.
a. fewer
b. sexually
c. sadistically
d. no
e. more
41. Try as you might, you are unable to teach your dog to do a somersault. He will roll around on the ground, but he refuses to execute the gymnastic move you desire because of
a. equipotentiality
b. preparedness
c. instinctive drift
d. chaining
e. shaping
42. Tina likes to play with slugs, but she can find them by the shed only after it rains. On what kind of reinforcement schedule is Tina’s slug hunting?
a. continuous
b. fixed-interval
c. fixed-ratio
d. variable-interval
e. variable-ratio
43. With which statement would B.F. Skinner most likely agree?
a. Pavlov’s dogs learned to expect that food would follow the bell.
b. Baby Albert thought the white rat meant the loud noise would sound.
c. All learning is observable.
d. Pigeons peck disks knowing that they will receive food.
e. Cognition plays an important role in learning.