About this Study Set
This study set covers Cognitive Psychology through
25 practice questions.
An overview of key concepts in human cognition, including memory, attention, and decision-making processes. Every question includes the correct answer so you can learn as you go — pick any format above to get started.
Questions & Answers
Browse all 25 questions from the
Fundamentals of Cognitive Psychology study set below.
Each question shows the correct answer — select a study format above to practice interactively.
1
Which model of memory suggests that information must pass through sensory memory and short-term memory before being stored in long-term memory?
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A
The Levels of Processing Model
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B
The Atkinson-Shiffrin Multi-Store Model
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C
The Working Memory Model
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D
The Connectionist Model
2
What is the term for the inability to form new long-term memories following a brain injury?
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A
Retrograde amnesia
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B
Anterograde amnesia
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C
Source amnesia
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D
Dissociative amnesia
3
According to George Miller's research, what is the approximate capacity of short-term memory for unrelated items?
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A
3 plus or minus 1
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B
5 plus or minus 2
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C
7 plus or minus 2
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D
10 plus or minus 3
4
The 'Cocktail Party Effect' describes the cognitive ability to do what?
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A
Focus on a single auditory stimulus while filtering out background noise
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B
Remember faces better than names in social settings
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C
Switch attention rapidly between two complex tasks
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D
Retrieve memories triggered by specific scents
5
What type of memory is responsible for the conscious recollection of facts and personal experiences?
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A
Procedural memory
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B
Implicit memory
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C
Declarative memory
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D
Priming
6
Which psychological phenomenon explains why individuals remember the first and last items in a list more effectively than those in the middle?
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A
The Zeigarnik effect
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B
The Serial Position Effect
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C
The Availability heuristic
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D
The Framing effect
7
What is the 'central executive' a primary component of according to Baddeley and Hitch?
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A
Long-term memory
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B
Sensory register
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C
Working memory
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D
Procedural memory
8
Which heuristic involves judging the probability of an event based on how easily examples come to mind?
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A
Representativeness heuristic
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B
Availability heuristic
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C
Anchoring and adjustment
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D
Confirmation bias
9
What is the term for memory that is retrieved without conscious effort, such as riding a bicycle?
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A
Episodic memory
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B
Semantic memory
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C
Implicit memory
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D
Explicit memory
10
Who is known for developing the 'Forgetting Curve', which demonstrates that memory loss is most rapid shortly after learning?
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A
B.F. Skinner
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B
Hermann Ebbinghaus
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C
Jean Piaget
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D
Sigmund Freud
11
What cognitive bias occurs when a person's prior beliefs influence their interpretation of new evidence?
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A
Confirmation bias
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B
Hindsight bias
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C
Dunning-Kruger effect
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D
Fundamental attribution error
12
Which part of the brain is primarily associated with the consolidation of new explicit memories?
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A
Cerebellum
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B
Hippocampus
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C
Amygdala
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D
Occipital lobe
13
What is the difference between 'Top-down' and 'Bottom-up' processing?
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A
Bottom-up is driven by sensory input, top-down is driven by knowledge and expectations
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B
Top-down is faster, bottom-up is more accurate
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C
Bottom-up involves memory, top-down involves sensation
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D
There is no scientific difference between the two
14
In cognitive psychology, what is 'chunking'?
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A
A method to forget unwanted memories
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B
The grouping of information into meaningful units to improve memory capacity
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C
The process of retrieving information from the long-term store
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D
The mechanism of sensory adaptation
15
What is the term for the tendency to overestimate one's ability to have predicted an outcome after it has already occurred?
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A
The overconfidence effect
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B
Hindsight bias
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C
The anchoring effect
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D
The placebo effect
16
Which memory system holds information for a very short duration, usually less than a few seconds?
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A
Short-term memory
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B
Sensory memory
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C
Working memory
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D
Long-term memory
17
Which term refers to the mental framework or blueprint that helps humans organize and interpret information?
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A
Schema
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B
Heuristic
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C
Algorithm
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D
Prototype
18
What does 'metacognition' refer to?
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A
The study of animal cognition
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B
Thinking about one's own thinking processes
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C
The speed of neural transmission
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D
The chemical basis of memory
19
Which of these is considered a 'procedural' memory task?
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A
Recalling the capital of France
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B
Describing your first day at school
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C
Knowing how to tie your shoelaces
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D
Remembering a telephone number
20
What is the 'phonological loop' in working memory responsible for?
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A
Processing visual information
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B
Storing and rehearsing verbal and auditory information
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C
Coordinating attention
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D
Long-term storage of sounds
21
Which concept describes the difficulty of naming the color in which a word is written when the word itself names a different color?
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A
The Stroop Effect
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B
The McGurk Effect
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C
The Serial Position Effect
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D
The Hawthorne Effect
22
What is 'semantic memory'?
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A
Memory for specific life events
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B
Memory for general world knowledge and facts
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C
Memory for physical skills
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D
Memory for emotional experiences
23
Which cognitive theory suggests that we perceive the world as a whole rather than just a collection of parts?
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A
Behaviorism
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B
Gestalt psychology
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C
Structuralism
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D
Functionalism
24
What is the primary function of the amygdala in cognitive processing?
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A
Motor coordination
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B
Processing emotional significance and fear responses
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C
Regulating body temperature
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D
Language production
25
Which process involves focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus while ignoring others?
-
A
Divided attention
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B
Selective attention
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C
Habituation
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D
Sensory adaptation
