Question 1

In Donders's research on human decision making, he found that it took ____________ to decide which of two buttons to push in response to a stimulus.

Accepted Answer

Donders's research showed that it takes less than one second for humans to decide which of two buttons to push in response to a stimulus, highlighting the rapidity of simple decision-making processes.

Question 2

Ebbinghaus's "memory" experiments were important because they

Accepted Answer

Ebbinghaus's experiments involved memorizing nonsense syllables and measuring how quickly he forgot them over time. He plotted this information on a curve, known as the "forgetting curve," which demonstrated the operation of human memory. This was an important contribution to the field of psychology, as it showed how the mind worked and provided a foundation for later research on memory.

Question 3

By comparing reaction times across different tasks, Donders was able to conclude how long the mind needs to perform a certain cognitive task. Donders interpreted the difference in reaction time between the simple and choice conditions of his experiment as indicating how long it took to

Accepted Answer

Donders interpreted the difference in reaction time between the simple and choice conditions as the time it took to make a decision about the stimulus. This suggests that the additional cognitive processing required for the choice task was focused on decision-making, rather than perception, processing, or attention.

Question 4

The first experiments in cognitive psychology were based on the idea that mental responses can be

Accepted Answer

The first experiments in cognitive psychology were based on the idea that mental responses cannot be directly measured, but rather must be inferred from the participant's behavior. This is because cognitive processes, such as perception, memory, and attention, are not directly observable. Instead, researchers must rely on the participant's behavior as an indication of their mental processes.

Question 5

The relationship between the ____________ is NOT measured directly by cognitive psychologists.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive psychologists directly measure the relationship between cognitive tasks and behavioral outcomes, cognitive tasks and physiological responses, and physiological responses and behavioral outcomes. However, the relationship between a cognitive task and a mental response is more abstract and not directly measured; it involves understanding internal mental processes rather than observable measures.

Question 6

How is the term mind used in this statement: "If you put your mind to it, I'm sure you can solve that math problem"?

Accepted Answer

In this statement, the term "mind" is used to refer to the ability of an individual to solve a problem, suggesting that the mind is a problem solver.

Question 7

Consider the following definition of the mind: The mind is a system that creates representations of the world so that we can act within it to achieve our goals. Which element of the mind does this definition emphasize?

Accepted Answer

This definition emphasizes the mind's role in functioning and survival by highlighting how it creates representations of the world to facilitate action towards achieving goals.

Question 8

Reaction time refers to the time between the _______ of a stimulus and a person's response to it.

Accepted Answer

Reaction time is the time between the presentation of a stimulus and a person's response to it. In other words, it is the time it takes for someone to react to a given stimulus. A stimulus can be anything from a visual cue to a sound or touch, and the response can be anything from movement to speech or thought. The presentation of the stimulus is when it is presented to the person, and the reaction time is measured from that point until the person responds.

Question 9

In Donders's experiment on decision making, when participants were asked to press one button if the light on the left was illuminated and another button if the light on the right was illuminated, they were engaged in a

Accepted Answer

The task described in the question involves a choice between two possible responses depending on the location of the illuminated light. This is the definition of a choice reaction time task, making option C the correct answer. Option A, memory recall, is not relevant to this task. Option B, simple reaction time, would be the case if the participant only had to press one button in response to whichever light was illuminated. Option D, operant conditioning, involves reinforcement or punishment based on behavior, which is not applicable to the task in the question.

Question 10

Wundt's procedure in which trained participants describe their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli presented under controlled conditions is known as

Accepted Answer

Wundt's procedure of trained participants describing their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli presented under controlled conditions is known as analytical introspection. This involved breaking down the experience into its component parts and analyzing each one individually.

Question 11

What is the study of mental processes that includes determining the characteristics and properties of the mind and how it operates?

Accepted Answer

The study of mental processes that includes determining the characteristics and properties of the mind and how it operates falls under the domain of cognitive psychology, which specifically focuses on mental processes such as perception, memory, reasoning, and problem-solving. Psychology as a broad field deals with human behavior and mental processes, but cognitive psychology specifically delves into how the mind processes information. Sociology primarily deals with the study of social behavior and organizational structures, while psychopathology is the study of mental illness and abnormal behavior.

Question 12

Attention, perception, memory, and decision making are all different types of mental processes in which the mind engages. These are known as different types of

Accepted Answer

Attention, perception, memory, and decision making are all cognitive processes, which is the general term used to describe mental processes such as thinking, learning, and problem-solving. Therefore, the best choice is B) cognition. Models, reaction times, and savings are not appropriate terms to describe these mental processes.

Question 13

The branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of the mind is called

Accepted Answer

Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology that focuses on the scientific study of the mind, including perception, attention, memory, language, and problem-solving. It explores how people process information and make decisions, and how factors like emotion and motivation can influence cognition. Introspection was an early method used in psychology to study the mind, but it is now considered unreliable. Behaviorism is a school of psychology that emphasizes observable behavior rather than internal mental states. Memory consolidation is a specific process within cognitive psychology that describes how memories are stored and strengthened in the brain over time.

Question 14

The main point of the Donders's reaction time experiments was to

Accepted Answer

Donders's main focus was on measuring the amount of time it takes to make a decision, specifically the time it takes for a person to go from perceiving a stimulus to making a response. This is known as "decision reaction time." While his experiments did provide insights into differences in reaction times among individuals, this was not the main point of his work, nor did he directly address unconscious inferences.

Question 15

Which of the following methods, often associated with structuralism, was used in the psychology laboratory established by Wilhelm Wundt?

Accepted Answer

Analytic introspection was a method commonly associated with structuralism, and it was used in Wilhelm Wundt's psychology laboratory to study the basic elements of consciousness. Measuring reaction times was also a method used in his laboratory, but it is not specifically associated with structuralism. Operant conditioning and classical conditioning were not methods used by Wundt in his laboratory, as they were developed later by behaviorists.

Question 16

In Donders's experiment on decision making, when participants were asked to press a button upon presentation of a light, they were engaged in a

Accepted Answer

Donders's experiment involving participants pressing a button upon seeing a light is an example of a simple reaction time task, as it measures the time it takes for a participant to respond to a single stimulus with a single response.

Question 17

Donders's main reason for doing his choice reaction time experiment was to study

Accepted Answer

Donders's main reason for doing the experiment was to study decision-making. The experiment measured the time it took for participants to make a decision between two stimuli and respond accordingly, providing insights into the mental processes involved in decision-making.

Question 18

According to Ebbinghaus's research on memory, savings is a function of

Accepted Answer

Ebbinghaus's research on memory found that savings (the difference between the number of repetitions required to learn material originally and the number required to relearn it later) was a function of elapsed time, meaning that the longer the elapsed time, the greater the savings. Word familiarity, sensory modality, and reaction time were not found to be significant factors in savings.

Question 19

With which of the following sentences would the author disagree?

Accepted Answer

The author does not believe that the mind is only considered extraordinary if it is used for extraordinary purposes.

Question 20

How is the term mind used in this statement: "When he talks about his encounter with aliens, it sounds like he is out of his mind"?

Accepted Answer

The statement is suggesting that the person may not be thinking normally or functioning properly if they are describing an encounter with aliens, implying that their mind may be functioning abnormally. Therefore, the term "mind" is being used in association with the concept of normal versus abnormal functioning.

Quiz 1: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology