Deck 15: Conscious Thought, Unconscious Thought

Question 1

The term "action slip" refers to:

A) an unintended action as the result of clumsy behavior
B) mistakenly relying on a habitual response when a novel response was needed
C) accidents that occur when a patient has blind sight
D) the use of a conscious response rather than an unconscious one, even if it is more time-consuming

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Solomon thought to himself, "I must stay away from the bank." According to the text:

A) Solomon was probably uncertain whether he was thinking about a river's edge or a financial institution
B) this thought would be ambiguous by itself, but subsequent thoughts remove the ambiguity
C) Solomon's thought is clear and well-defined and refers to both a river's edge and a financial institution
D) the ambiguity of this thought is resolved by the unconscious support structure that seems to provide a context for all thought

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The phrase "memory without awareness" is another way of describing a pattern in which:

A) explicit memory tests indicate that a participant remembers an event but implicit memory tests indicate that the participant does not remember
B) implicit memory tests indicate that a participant remembers an event but explicit memory tests indicate that the participant does not remember
C) recognition tests indicate that a participant remembers an event but recall tests indicate that the participant does not remember
D) direct memory testing indicates that a participant remembers an event but indirect testing indicates that the participant does not remember

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of these tasks is LEAST likely to be resolved with the use of unconscious processes?

A) a task that can be guided by habits
B) a task that involves an already established routine
C) a task that elicits strong stimulus-based actions
D) a task that has been previously well practiced but needs to be changed for a particular occasion

Question 5

A patient with blind sight is likely to show all of the following traits EXCEPT if asked to:

A) walk across the room, the patient does so easily
B) reach toward an object, the patient tends to reach in the appropriate direction
C) reach toward an object, the patient tends to reach with the appropriate hand position (e.g., hand wide open if the target is large)
D) guess the identity of a visual stimulus, the patient's guesses are consistently correct

Question 6

Which of these is the BEST example of an action slip?

A) Darren was distracted and so took his usual route home from work instead of turning left at the traffic light to go to his friend's house, as he had intended.
B) David mistakenly pushed over a vase of flowers when he was reaching for his keys.
C) Daniel did not check the address of his dentist as he mistakenly believed he remembered it correctly.
D) Derek reread the paragraph to make sure that he fully understood its content, even though he did not learn anything new from this second reading.

Question 7

In the late 1800s the young science of psychology:

A) considered consciousness to be a central concern of the science
B) argued that consciousness could not be studied scientifically
C) studied consciousness by focusing on the biological roots of conscious thought
D) largely ignored the topic of consciousness

Question 8

Which of these is NOT an example of causal attribution in unconscious thinking?

A) Jenny believes she remembers the color of her last birthday cake.
B) Louise finds a name familiar so she believes it belongs to a famous person.
C) Abby remembers the face of a man so she believes the man was part of a robbery.
D) In an experiment, Jane is willing to experience a higher intensity of electric shock as she believes any adverse reactions are the side effects of a pill that she took prior to the experiment.

Question 9

Much of our current understanding of consciousness derives from:

A) subjective reports, although these had been deemed unscientific in the past
B) studies of what can be done in the absence of consciousness
C) chronometric studies
D) an increased sophistication in our ability to analyze introspective reports

Question 10

Erin has Korsakoff's amnesia and is asked to perform in a memory experiment. Erin is likely to:

A) be capable of learning but do poorly in explicit tests of memory
B) recall explicitly events that she has witnessed but not the things that she has done
C) perform well on tests requiring conscious recollection even though her performance is poor if memory is tested indirectly
D) be unable to recall material learned in the past even though she explicitly recognizes the material when she encounters it

Question 11

Our unconscious thinking about an event:

A) tends to be simple and direct, leading us, for example, to think of the event as familiar or preferable
B) can often be quite complex, involving several steps of reasoning and inference
C) can influence us in small ways but seems not to have larger-scale impact
D) is most influential with novel events; with familiar events, we react in a more reflective fashion

Question 12

Sometimes we reason carefully and deliberately through an argument, scrutinizing each step. In this sort of case:

A) all of our thoughts will be entirely conscious even if we are unconscious of our thoughts in other situations
B) the processes of our thoughts but not the products will be consciously available
C) our sequence of thoughts depends on an unconscious support structure that guides how we interpret the elements of each thought
D) there are no unconscious processes involved

Question 13

A great deal of behind-the-scenes activity is necessary to make possible intellectual achievements like thinking and remembering. This behind-the-scenes activity is referred to by psychologists as:

A) nuts-and-bolts work
B) the cognitive unconscious
C) subconscious production
D) running the program

Question 14

Patients who have experienced damage to the striate cortex sometimes show a phenomenon known as blind sight. In this case MOST patients:

A) can consciously see where an object is but cannot identify it
B) can consciously report the identity of an object but not where it is located
C) are blind yet incorrectly report that they can see the identity and location of an object
D) often guess correctly in response to what they have seen or where an object is located even though they report that they cannot see the object

Question 15

In one study, participants in Group 1 were given a pill and told, "This pill will make you a bit jumpy, will make your palms sweat, and may give you butterflies in the stomach." Participants in Group 2 were given the same pill, but they were told, "This pill may make you a little sleepy." In both cases, the pill was a placebo. All participants were then exposed to electric shocks and were asked to rate how painful each shock had seemed. Given other evidence, we would expect that:

A) there will be no difference between the two groups
B) the participants will not differ in how they rate the shocks, but participants in Group 2 will end up having more positive feelings about the experiment
C) the participants in Group 2 will rate the shocks as less painful than the participants in Group 1
D) the participants in Group 1 will rate the shocks as less painful than the participants in Group 2

Question 16

Which of these is MOST likely to be true about the process of introspection?

A) Introspection acts as a special window, allowing people to report correctly why they acted the way that they did.
B) People often show little confidence about their reasoning when they introspect, although their reasoning is mostly correct.
C) People can often use their confidence ratings to detect whether their introspections are likely to be correct.
D) Introspection often produces mistaken beliefs that arise from plausible after-the-fact inferences.

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT an example of the principle "We are aware of products but not of processes"?

A) Jeff knew that the stimulus seemed familiar, but he didn't know why.
B) Jesse believed that the stimulus was "cake," but he couldn't tell whether he'd seen the stimulus or just inferred it.
C) Jeremy suddenly found himself thinking about marriage, and he couldn't figure out what had brought this idea into his thoughts.
D) Jacob wanted to do well on the spelling test, but he didn't know the best way to study the words.

Question 18

Our thoughts seem to be embedded in a context that is usually not noticed, but the context serves to define and guide the thoughts. Which of the following is NOT an example of this sort of context?

A) Discovery based on mental imagery is influenced by the perceptual reference frame for the image.
B) Decisions are guided by how the decision is framed.
C) The meaning of the terms involved in our thoughts is clarified by the surrounding context of thought.
D) Perception of a word or object is strongly shaped by the other words and objects that surround the target.

Question 19

Several authors have proposed that we are generally aware of the _____ of our own thoughts even though we are usually unaware of the _____ of thought:

A) product; processes
B) decision-making processes; products
C) implicit mechanisms; explicit mechanisms
D) inferences; strategies

Question 20

When asked to introspect about their reasons for making a particular choice, participants:

A) sometimes offer an explanation with great confidence even though the explanation names factors that we know to be irrelevant and leaves out factors that we know to be crucial
B) can usually specify their reasons and can also report on the processes used for selecting the reasons
C) often have no idea about their reasons, but if they are able to report their reasons, they are likely to be correct
D) report their reasons in general terms but do so with little confidence

Question 21

Which of the following is NOT true about introspective reports?

A) They are sometimes correct.
B) They can be the result of after-the-fact reconstructions.
C) They often feel like inferences.
D) They are occasionally wrong.

Question 22

The fact that we are unaware of most of our mental processing is a good thing for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

A) the inferred processes that we are consciously aware of accurately reflect the unconscious processes that occur behind the scenes
B) awareness of all of our processing would send us into information overload
C) in many cases, information about our underlying mental processes would be distracting rather than helpful
D) most tasks would be greatly slowed if we had to sort through all of the underlying processing information

Question 23

Participants in many experiments show clear evidence of implicit memory but fail on comparable tests of explicit memory. Yet the participants could, in principle, rely on their implicit memories to guide their guessing in the explicit test. If they did, they would perform well on the explicit tests. The text indicates that participants fail to do this because:

A) implicit memories are memories of a sort that cannot be applied to a procedure with direct memory testing
B) implicit memories are not detectable by the participant
C) participants seem to treat their implicit memories as though they were unreliable chance associations, so they do not trust them to be actual memories
D) participants seem to rely on implicit memories for perceptually based tasks but not for tasks that are more conceptual

Question 24

In many situations, a reliance on routine is either undesirable or impossible. Which of the following is NOT one of these situations?

A) The participant is performing a task that is highly complex and involves the coordination of many elements.
B) The participant is performing an unfamiliar task.
C) The participant is performing a task that requires frequent choices and adjustments.
D) The participant is performing a task for which a routine is available, but the current circumstances are ones in which it would be best to avoid the habitual routine.

Question 25

Lisa rides the train to work and always gets off at stop A. One Saturday she has to go into town, and rides the same train she takes to work. She is supposed to get off at Stop F, but she starts talking to her mother on the phone and gets off at stop A. What does this tell us about unconscious processing?

A) Unconscious processing is impossible.
B) If not consciously attending to what we are doing, we will rely on habit.
C) Unconscious processing only causes problems.
D) People tend to make the same mistakes over and over again.

Question 26

Although the text suggests that we know what consciousness is for, most researchers agree that defining what consciousness is a hard question. Which of these is LEAST likely to be a part of what consciousness is?

A) subjective feelings, such as what apples taste like or what the color green looks like
B) automatic responses to strong cues in the environment
C) the ability to report and use mental experiences
D) the awareness of self, such as individual memories

Question 27

The term "neural correlates of consciousness" refers MOST accurately to the:

A) changes in the brain that occur when one becomes conscious of a stimulus
B) subjective experience of how it feels to become conscious of a stimulus
C) area of the brain that is damaged when one experiences blind sight
D) electrical activity in the brain that occurs when one is unconscious

Question 28

Which of the following claims about consciousness and memory is NOT true?

A) It is the nature and quality of our conscious experience that persuades us to take information seriously.
B) Outside of laboratory circumstances, we are unlikely to be influenced by the workings of implicit memory.
C) When our conscious experience is rich and detailed, this persuades us that the presented information is more than a fantasy or chance association.
D) When our conscious experience is impoverished, we tend not to take action based on the information gained from that experience.

Question 29

Workspace neurons in the neuronal workspace hypothesis:

A) carry the content (or information) of consciousness
B) dictate the rate at which neurons fire
C) glue together bits of information from different neural systems to create a unified experience
D) detect neural systems that are firing in synchrony with each other in order to amplify the output of the strongest of these systems and suppress the output of the others

Question 30

Most modern psychologists believe that Freud's claims about the unconscious are:

A) still very persuasive
B) pretty much the same as those proposed by current theorists
C) incorrect, as the cognitive unconscious is not threatening
D) correct because the cognitive unconscious is actively suppressed

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT an advantage gained by practicing a task?

A) Only one routine needs to be launched instead of several steps in order to complete a task.
B) Each step in the task no longer needs to be monitored to see when to start the next step.
C) The task can be completed without the need to pay attention so that attention can be allocated elsewhere.
D) Practice allows the mechanics behind the task to enter conscious awareness.

Question 32

Biologically attention seems to:

A) sustain activity within a neural system but does not link the activity between different neural systems
B) link the activities of different neural systems but does not help sustain the activity within a neural system
C) sustain activity within a neural system as well as link the activities between different neural systems
D) bind together neural systems that do not fire in synchrony

Question 33

Blind-sight patients seem able to make many visual discriminations and, when pressed, to locate objects in their visual environment. Yet these same patients cannot walk across a room without bumping into something. The text suggests that blind-sight patients:

A) are able to make discriminations only when the stimuli are particularly clear
B) can make discriminations only in controlled laboratory conditions
C) do not feel they have a reason or justification for using the information that is apparently available to them
D) tend to rely on routine rather than use the information that is apparently available to them

Question 34

Even in cases where we think we are fully conscious of our thoughts or "inner dialogue" there are unconscious factors influencing us, such as "set." Which of the following is NOT true of "sets"?

A) They can keep us focused.
B) They are unnoticed assumptions.
C) They can be an obstacle to problem-solving.
D) They are always a good thing.

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT an advantage gained by relying on routine?

A) Routine allows mental tasks to run more quickly.
B) Routine allows one to focus attention on other aspects of a task, thus improving performance.
C) Routine allows one to expend less effort in deciding how to execute a task.
D) Routine allows one to consider each decision with greater care.

Question 36

Is it possible to study unconsciousness through consciousness?

A) No; any tests would be based on subjective introspections.
B) No; unconscious activity does not exist.
C) Yes; by asking what activities can be done without consciousness.
D) It hasn't been studied successfully yet, but will be in time.

Question 37

The text argues that you will take action based on a memory:

A) only if you are satisfied that the thought you are having is in fact an actual memory
B) as soon as you recall the gist of the remembered information
C) independent of how you assess the memory
D) only if the content of the memory is consistent with your other beliefs

Question 38

In order to detect that a red shape was moving, it is likely that:

A) the neural system detecting motion and the neural system detecting the color red are both firing in synchrony
B) only the neural system detecting the color red is firing, as color is visually more important than motion
C) only the neural system detecting motion is firing, as motion is visually more important than color
D) the neural system detecting motion and the neural system detecting the color red are both firing at an asynchronous rate

Question 39

The neuronal workspace helps us with all of the following EXCEPT it:

A) allows us to think of a stimulus or idea long after the trigger for the stimulus or idea has been removed
B) breaks down a unitary experience into its separate components so that we are explicitly aware of the process behind redness and the process behind roundness every time we see an apple
C) allows us to detect conflicts if two stimuli are leading toward different and incompatible responses or if the elicited response from a stimulus is incompatible with our goals
D) allows us to compare neural systems in order to produce new combinations of ideas or novel behaviors

Question 40

Nisbett and Schacter (1966) gave participants a pill and measured how much pain they would endure. Participants in the placebo condition were able to endure much more pain, because they attributed the pain to the placebo. This thinking was NOT:

A) unconscious
B) complex
C) incorrect
D) causal attribution

Question 41

The anterior cingulated cortex plays a crucial role in:

A) regulating attention
B) regulating prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity
C) binding representations together from different brain areas
D) detecting conflict among brain systems

Question 42

Is it possible that perceptual information has to be conscious before a person will put that information to use?

A) Yes; as in blind-sight patients who think they can't see.
B) Yes; as in blind-sight patients who think they have no implicit memory.
C) No; patients with amnesia are likely to guess, even if not prompted.
D) No; the unconscious will always override the conscious.

Question 43

What does the neuronal workspace suggest about brain activity when sleeping?

A) The brain is less active during sleep.
B) The activities of the various brain areas slow down during sleep.
C) During sleep, the brain's activities are not coordinated.
D) Sleeping is just like being awake.

Question 44

Why is the unconscious called "irresistible"?

A) Our unconscious is inflexible, making it difficult to adjust or overrule routines.
B) It is a sexy topic for psychologists to study.
C) Freud coined the phrase, and it still in use today.
D) There are no limits to what the unconscious can achieve.