Other Cognitive Principles

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AP Psychology › Other Cognitive Principles

Questions 1 - 10
1

Which of the following is not a symptom of a panic disorder?

Low blood pressure

Nausea

Dizziness

Intense feeling of dread

Chest pain

Explanation

Panic disorders are quite common. During a panic attack, an individual will have a higher heart rate along with physiological symptoms that may make them feel physically ill. Fear of future anxiety attacks also may trigger worse symptoms.

2

What is aphasia?

An impairment in communication through oral and/or written means

Oxygen deprivation in the brain

A popular treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

An impairment in processing visual stimuli

Carbon dioxide deprivation in the brain

Explanation

Aphasia is a language disorder that impacts a person's communication skills. Aphasia typically results from a head injury or stroke, and leaves long-lasting effects on a person's communication abilities depending on the severity and location of the head injury or stroke.

3

Cognitive neuroscience encompasses research in which of the following areas?

All of these

Cognition

Neurology

Linguistics

Computer science

Explanation

Cognitive neuroscience is an interdisciplinary science that touches on cognitive psychology, neuroscience, computer science, psycholinguistics, and any area of research that is involved in the study of the connection between the brain and mental processes.

4

Which of the following processes is not controlled by the frontal lobe?

Hearing

Problem solving

Impulse inhibition

Language

Memory

Explanation

The frontal lobe is responsible for many important processes, including problem solving, certain aspects of producing and comprehending language, controlling one's impulses, and consolidating memories. The frontal lobe is not, however, involved in hearing, which mainly takes place in the parietal lobe.

5

Which of the following is an example of functional fixedness?

Not being able to see how a bucket could act as a step stool when turned upside down

Being able to see how a bucket could act as a ladder when turned upside down

Someone taking on risk to avoid a potential loss

Someone taking on risk to achieve a potential gain

Someone avoiding risk to achieve a potential gain

Explanation

Functional fixedness is the inability to see the different functions of an object (use as a step stool) other than its conventional use (bucket).

The three answer choices about risks and losses/gains explain aspects of prospect theory (people take on risks when avoiding potential loss and avoid risks to achieve potential gain), rather than functional fixedness. Functional fixedness is a theory of creativity, whereas prospect theory is a explanation of decision-making.

6

During which stage of development do humans have the greatest number of synapses?

Infancy

Prenatal

Adolescence

Young Adulthood (18-30 years old)

Late Adulthood (50-65 years old)

Explanation

Humans have the greatest number of synapses in infancy, connecting around 86 billion neurons. As we age, synaptic pruning occurs and unused synapses are systematically eliminated.

7

Which of the following is not assessed on an IQ (cognitive) test?

Reading comprehension

Logical reasoning

Short-term memory

Processing speed

Auditory processing

Explanation

IQ/cognitive tests—for example, WISC-V and WJ-IV—do not assess any academic areas, such as reading, writing, or math. Academic areas are tested on achievement tests, like on the WIAT-III.

Cognitive tests focus on processing skills, such as logic, problem solving, and memory.

8

Which of the following is an instance of cognitive dissonance?

A man steals money from his friend and then experiences a state of stress due to contradicting beliefs. On the one hand, he believed that he was a good person, but he also believes good people don't steal. These two beliefs cannot be true at the same time, so he is in a state of dissonance.

A woman sees her friend in pain and immediately starts to cry. She finds the exact emotions of her friend to be mirrorred within herself. She would then be in a state of dissonance because she finds herself completely immersed in her friend's psychological state of mind.

A person experiences severe disconnection from their surroundings and psychological distress at the thought of the loneliness of their condition. This kind of alienation is termed cognitive dissonance.

A person's consciousness becomes fractured and they start to act like two different people at random times. Their behavior begins to represent two antagonistic forces in their consciousness that are fighting each other.

Explanation

Cognitive dissonance has to do with the beliefs we hold, namely when they come into conflict with one another. For instance, the man has belief number one: Good people do not steal. At the same time, he also believes that he is a good person. When he is confronted with the reality of his actions (that he stole money from his friend), he experiences dissonance since those two beliefs now contradict each other.

9

What term did Carl Jung introduce to represent the form of the unconscious that is common to mankind as a whole and that contains archetypes, or universal primordial images and ideas?

Collective unconscious

Anima mundi

Morphogenetic field

Samsara

Prima materia

Explanation

The collective unconscious is a term used in analytical psychology, especially Jungian psychology, to describe a part of the unconscious mind that is shared by a society, a people, or all mankind.

10

What is confirmation bias?

The tendency to look for evidence that confirms our current beliefs

The tendency to hold on to beliefs despite information that contradicts them

The tendency to overlook details when looking for evidence

None of these

Explanation

Confirmation bias is the tendency to look for evidence that confirms our current beliefs. This can affect many decisions and beliefs we hold in our lives and can impede us from finding out new things about the world and new solutions to problems.

Although the answer "the tendency to hold on to beliefs despite information that contradicts them" might have been confusing, this is not confirmation bias. This would be an instance of belief perseverance, since we actually find and recognize truthful but contradictory information, yet hold on to our beliefs anyways. Confirmation bias is when we simply seek out confirming evidence without recognizing this information.

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