Self-test Questions

Click on the answer you consider correct.

All questions © William Glassman and Marilyn Hadad, 2004.

1		The phenomenon of latent learning illustrates that
			A)	learning may take place without the organism performing the behaviour.
			B)	organisms actually have more information than they can remember readily.
			C)	much of what people learn is forgotten before they have a chance to use it.
			D)	thinking about what we are learning often increases the time it takes to learn.
2		When doing this test, you are primarily answering by means of
			A)	short term memory.
			B)	sensory memory.
			C)	recall.
			D)	recognition.
3		The first stage in the processing of information in memory is
			A)	attention.
			B)	short-term memory.
			C)	sensory memory.
			D)	maintenance rehearsal.
4		Your memory of the names of the months of the year is part of
			A)	procedural memory.
			B)	episodic memory.
			C)	semantic memory.
			D)	echoic memory.
5		Which of the following represents an example of maintenance rehearsal?
			A)	Making a rhyme to remember a list of terms.
			B)	Repeating material over and over to remember it.
			C)	Organising information into a clear hierarchy.
			D)	All of the above.
6		We forget information from short-term memory mainly because
			A)	it spontaneously decays over time.
			B)	new incoming information tends to push out the previous contents of STM.
			C)	we misuse mnemonic devices and so we misfile information.
			D)	of none of the above.
7		Deirdre learned French in high school and now, in university, she is learning Spanish. She finds that the more she learns Spanish, the more she seems to forget French. Deirdre is showing the effects of
			A)	retroactive interference.
			B)	proactive interference.
			C)	sensory interference.
			D)	amnesia.
8		Walter got drunk and left his umbrella in the bar. The next morning, when he was sober, he couldn't remember where his umbrella was, but that night, when he got drunk again, he remembered leaving it in the bar. Walter is showing
			A)	lack of availability.
			B)	episodic unlearning.
			C)	proactive inhibition.
			D)	state-dependent forgetting.
9		Research on the testimony of eyewitnesses to crimes indicates that
			A)	memory for emotional events is generally very good.
			B)	distortions and errors can arise due to reconstruction of memories.
			C)	traditional line-ups are better for identification than courtroom testimony.
			D)	all of the above.
10		Studies have shown that when people fail to solve problems, it is often because
			A)	their set of possible options was too wide.
			B)	they spent too long trying to define the problem.
			C)	they prematurely evaluated possible solutions before exploring the full range of possibilities.
			D)	all of the above.
11		Which of the following is the best example of a divergent problem?
			A)	What is the average of my marks?
			B)	What is the fastest route to get to school?
			C)	How can I improve my relationship with my brother?
			D)	How do you spell "conflagration"?
12		Which of the following is the best example of functional fixedness?
			A)	Trying to find the single right answer to the problem of reducing world hunger.
			B)	Using the information from animal studies to understand people.
			C)	Believing that the same lie you told to get out of trouble with your mother will work on your professor.
			D)	Not realising that when you need a little flowerpot, you can use a teacup.
13		Which of the following is the best example of creativity?
			A)	Trying mustard on your hot dog for the first time.
			B)	Making a lamp out of your used psychology textbook.
			C)	Telling your professor that your essay is late because the printer ran out of ink.
			D)	Wrapping a birthday present with slices of roast beef.
14		In order to qualify as language, a system of symbols or gestures used for communicating must
			A)	be open-ended.
			B)	show no variability within the species.
			C)	be dependent on learned responses.
			D)	have only one clear meaning.
15		Which of the following statements about language learning is false?
			A)	Children typically have less trouble learning a second language than do adults.
			B)	The average 6 year old has spent over 10,000 hours speaking.
			C)	By age 3, a typical child knows more than 1,000 words.
			D)	The speed and ease of language learning in children is best explained by the Behaviourist approach.
16		Randi spent months trying to decide which of two brand new (and expensive!) cars to buy. She finally decided on one. According to the theory of cognitive dissonance, what is Randi most likely to think after buying the car?
			A)	"I made a terrible mistake. The other car was better."
			B)	"The car I bought is really the better car. I should have seen that all along."
			C)	"Both cars are good. I would have also been happy with the other one."
			D)	"I should have bought a bicycle."
17		The Shachter and Singer experiment discussed in the text is consistent with cognitive appraisal theory, in that
			A)	the interpretation of emotions depended on how the other person was reacting.
			B)	individuals only felt emotional when they were given the drug, not the placebo.
			C)	emotions have been shown to influence how we think.
			D)	emotional expression doesn't differ across cultures.