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Cognitive Psychology Exam Study Guide: Principles, Exams of Contract Law

This exam study guide focuses on cognitive psychology, covering spatial and mental imagery, psychosocial development, and cognitive processes like casual inference and entrainment. It explores memory models, attention, problem-solving, and consciousness's impact on cognition. Detailed explanations and examples aid understanding, making it valuable for exam preparation. Questions and answers cover key concepts and theories, such as Baddeley's model and Piaget's theory. It also touches on autobiographical memories, deep processing, and stereotypes' effects. Designed to help students grasp cognitive psychology principles and apply them to real-world scenarios, enhancing understanding and retention. The structured content facilitates effective learning and exam preparation.

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Unlocking the Mind: A
Comprehensive Guide to
Cognitive Psychology Principles
in WGU D570.
A Comprehensive Exam Study
Guide Latest Updated 2025/2026
What is measured by the paper folding test? - ansSpatial Imagery
What is mental imagery? - ansThe ability to recreate sensory information without physical
stimuli
What is a component of psychosocial development? - ansPersonality
A child reads the following incorrect sentence: "The car was traveling down the hills were
beautiful." Which cognitive process illustrates casual inference? - ansThe child infers that the
hills being beautiful are caused by the motion of the moving car
Which conversation between two students demonstrates the process of entrainment? - ansThe
students both start speaking loudly and gesturing.
Which cortex of the frontal lobe is activated when someone determines whether another
person appears to be physically attractive? - ansFrontal Cortex
What is the the electrical impulse fired down the axon of a neuron? - ansAction Potential
Which part of a neuron transports an electrical signal? - ansAxon
Which types of tasks have revealed cognitive deficits in people with a substance abuse
disorder? - ansWorking Memory Tests
Which example shows how sensory memory results in the persistence of vision when
watching fireworks? - ansFireworks appear as falling trails of light due to iconic memories
lasting fractions of a second.
Which explanation shows how multiple forms of memory would contribute to effective
execution of a mental math problem? - ansNumbers are held in short-term memory and
manipulations are conducted on the numbers in working memory when solving the math
problem.
Which scenario exemplifies how the articulatory rehearsal process contributes to a student's
short-term memory for course lecture material, according to Baddeley's model? - ansThe
student repeats silently what their instructor has said before writing it down.
A person is trying to recall the names of a set of seven actors whose pictures were briefly
presented upside down. What explains how the episodic buffer enhances working memory in
this scenario? - ansThe episodic buffer connects with long-term memory of the actors' faces
and names, bringing content into working memory.
How does activity-silent working memory help performance on mental rotation problems? -
ansStrengthening of connections between neurons helps performance on mental rotation
problems
How is the primacy effect related to attention for a set of words presented sequentially? -
ansThe first word presented receives the persons full attention.
Which example shows Westmacott and Moscovitch's concept of autobiographically
significant semantic memories? - ansPerson recalls the name of the actor that they saw in the
airport years ago.
A person is studying a list of types of fish for a wildlife test that will occur in one week.
Which example illustrates the combined long-term memory encoding strategies of visual
imagery and organization? - ansThe person imagines each fish on a tree structure
corresponding to categories of fish types.
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Comprehensive Guide to

Cognitive Psychology Principles

in WGU D570.

A Comprehensive Exam Study

Guide Latest Updated 2025/

What is measured by the paper folding test? - ansSpatial Imagery What is mental imagery? - ansThe ability to recreate sensory information without physical stimuli What is a component of psychosocial development? - ansPersonality A child reads the following incorrect sentence: "The car was traveling down the hills were beautiful." Which cognitive process illustrates casual inference? - ansThe child infers that the hills being beautiful are caused by the motion of the moving car Which conversation between two students demonstrates the process of entrainment? - ansThe students both start speaking loudly and gesturing. Which cortex of the frontal lobe is activated when someone determines whether another person appears to be physically attractive? - ansFrontal Cortex What is the the electrical impulse fired down the axon of a neuron? - ansAction Potential Which part of a neuron transports an electrical signal? - ansAxon Which types of tasks have revealed cognitive deficits in people with a substance abuse disorder? - ansWorking Memory Tests Which example shows how sensory memory results in the persistence of vision when watching fireworks? - ansFireworks appear as falling trails of light due to iconic memories lasting fractions of a second. Which explanation shows how multiple forms of memory would contribute to effective execution of a mental math problem? - ansNumbers are held in short-term memory and manipulations are conducted on the numbers in working memory when solving the math problem. Which scenario exemplifies how the articulatory rehearsal process contributes to a student's short-term memory for course lecture material, according to Baddeley's model? - ansThe student repeats silently what their instructor has said before writing it down. A person is trying to recall the names of a set of seven actors whose pictures were briefly presented upside down. What explains how the episodic buffer enhances working memory in this scenario? - ansThe episodic buffer connects with long-term memory of the actors' faces and names, bringing content into working memory. How does activity-silent working memory help performance on mental rotation problems? - ansStrengthening of connections between neurons helps performance on mental rotation problems How is the primacy effect related to attention for a set of words presented sequentially? - ansThe first word presented receives the persons full attention. Which example shows Westmacott and Moscovitch's concept of autobiographically significant semantic memories? - ansPerson recalls the name of the actor that they saw in the airport years ago. A person is studying a list of types of fish for a wildlife test that will occur in one week. Which example illustrates the combined long-term memory encoding strategies of visual imagery and organization? - ansThe person imagines each fish on a tree structure corresponding to categories of fish types.

Comprehensive Guide to

Cognitive Psychology Principles

in WGU D570.

A Comprehensive Exam Study

Guide Latest Updated 2025/

A person is studying a list of names of pastries for their new job at a bakery. Which example shows the interaction between the deep processing strategies of generation and self- reference? - ansThe person creates flashcards for the names of the pastries, pairing each with an estimate of how appetizing the pastry appears. A person surprises themself in recalling the name of an artist most have not heard of. Which process occurs when the person tries to remember how they learned that fact? - ansSource monitoring Researchers Robert Nash and Kimberley Wade ran an experiment in which participants played a gambling game on a computer and were later shown a modified video of themselves cheating. What did this experiment reveal about false confessions? - ansParticipants confessed to cheating after being shown the modified video, even though they did not recall cheating indicating the power of suggestive questioning and tactics Which example reflects the impact of the self-image hypothesis? - ansA person remembers graduating from law school What is a primary concern of behaviorism according to John Watson? - ansIdentifying the relationship between environmental stimuli and behavior Which concept supports the paired-associate learning results? - ansConceptual peg hypothesis Which component of Broadbent's flow diagram of the mind blocks unattended messages? - ansFilter Which evidence disproves Aristotle's assertion that "thought is impossible without an image"? - ansPeople who cannot visualize images are still capable of thinking Which stage of Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory does an individual begin to understand mathematical reasoning? - ansConcrete Operational Which term describes a child's tendency to fixate on just one aspect of a problem or object according to Piaget? - ansCentration Which stage in Piaget's theory of cognitive development is represented by a child's ability to mentally represent objects and events with words and images? - ansPreoperational Which kind of intelligence reflects abilities drawn from experience? - ansCrystalized Which mental framework is used in learning according to Piaget? - ansSchemas A child reads the following incorrect sentence: "The car was traceling down the hills were beautiful." Which cognitive process illustrates the garden path model of parsing? - ansThe child changes their mind from the subject being the car to the hills A student reads these two sentences: A dog was running. It slipped and fell. which thought process is an example of an anaphoric inference? - ansThe student infers that the word "it" refers to the dog Why is establishing common ground important to conversations? - ansIt aids in having an engaging discussion Which property of words contributes to the word frequency effect? - anshow often a word is used within a language While studying in a noisy coffee shop, a student is able to focus solely on their textbook, tuning out the surrounding conversations and background music. Which cognitive phenomenon does this scenario illustrate? - ansSelective attention

Comprehensive Guide to

Cognitive Psychology Principles

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A Comprehensive Exam Study

Guide Latest Updated 2025/

A first-year university student readily makes new friends with their engineering classmates. The student assumes that all engineers must be outgoing like their classmates. How does this case demonstrate misuse of the representativeness heuristic? - ansThe student shows a bias involving a small sample of the population. Some states apply rules such as "if a citizen reaches the age of 16, then they may obtain a driver's license." how does deductive reasoning govern such rules? - ansby applying permission schemas Which conclusion is drawn from performance on conditional reasoning tasks, such as the Watson four-card problem? - ansPerformance improves when problems are stated in real- world terms Why do humans naturally gravitate toward using the oblique effect when constructing our own environments? - ansBecause horizontals and verticals occur more frequently in the natural world How do intentions influence mirror neurons? - ansMirror neurons address the cause of actions, and respond with varying degrees of activity based on intentions and context. A community construction project is proposed in two different ways to an environmentally conscious audience. Group A is told that only 20% of the trees will be torn down, while group B is told that 80% of the trees will be saved. Which statement accurately describes the groups' anticipated responses to the community project, based on the principles of the framing effect? - ansGroup B is more likely to favor the project since the focus is on retention and gain of 80% of the trees, rather than the 20% loss of trees. A student is in a study lounge watching a video for a class and can fuly focus on the video despite people chatting in the background and a clock loudly ticking. How does the student process different stimuli in order to focus on the desired task? - ansThe student filters stimuli through the cocktail party effect. A person plans to attend a reception later that night and needs to select an out for the event. Which statement demonstrates an automatic decision for the person? - ansThey quickly decide on an outfit they typically wear to events without being consciously aware that they selected it. How did strayer and johnston's research influence the study of attention? - ansBy demonstrating that both attention and response time are negatively impacted by talking on a mobile device while driving A researcher presents a video of a street intersection and asks that participants count how many people walked through the intersection. In the video, a limousine passes through the intersection. Which example would demonstrated in-attentional blindness? - ansSome participants do not notice the limousine because they are focused on the people A hiker walks along a trail looking for a spot for a picture when an unseen snake hisses from the nearby woods. Which statement is true regarding the hiker's ability to notice the snake? - ansThey will notice the snake's hiss if they recognize it as a danger signal Why is binding important in attention? - ansBinding makes it possible to perceive a whole object rather than a collection of it parts

Comprehensive Guide to

Cognitive Psychology Principles

in WGU D570.

A Comprehensive Exam Study

Guide Latest Updated 2025/

A traveler can attend to what the hotel's concierge says about lunch options based on how loudly they are speaking, while disregarding other verbal communications happening in the noisy lobby. How is Broadbent's model of attention used in this scenario? - ansThe traveler uses filtering to focus on the lunch options over the lobby noise A person went on a trip to the ocean. Which example shows the concept of autobiographical memory as an integration of episodic and semantic memories for this scenario? - ansThe person remembers jumping in the waves and the outdoor temperature that day. How does the generation effect relate to attention in a paired-associate task? - ansHaving participants engage in word completion focused attention longer on each word pair, compared to shallow word processing. Which stimuli are remembered best in a long-term memory task according to Nairne's evolutionary theory of encoding? - ansStimuli judged as useful for providing protection Which example shows the difference between the standard model of consolidation and the multiple trace model of consolidation regarding encoding episodic memories about a trip to a lake? - ansThe standard model of consolidation argues that the hippocampus is involved only in the early development of lake trip memories, but the multiple trace model argues that the hippocampus remains active in long-term trip memories. What has research determined about the association between neutral language r profanity and enhanced memory? - ansarousing words that reference profanity or explicit content are more memorable than neutral words Which example demonstrates the application of Bartlett's repeated reproduction when a student is tested on course content? - ansA student discusses the content in their study guide four times, then five times, daily for two days before a test to concisely recall the information. Which example demonstrates the Proust effect? - ansA person smells freshly chopped wood and recalls a cabin vacation with their family. which significant findings did the "war of ghosts" experiment demonstrate regarding the effect of repeated reproduction on recall? - ansIncreased time passage led to greater inaccuracies and omissions in recall of the stories based on cultural context Which factor affects the accuracy and reliability of eyewitness testimony? - ansEyewitnesses may not see all aspects of a given incident What was the source of the imagery debate? - ansWhether imagery is spatial or propositional Which aspect of lifespan development examines creativity? - anscognitive What is an example of lexical priming? - ansa student is able to determine the meaning of a word after recently encountering a similar word What does the term in-attentional blindness suggest? - ansA person fails to notice stimuli when their attention is focused elsewhere What determines an individual's chronotype? - ansThe genes they inherit from both parents How does methadone affect opioid withdrawal? - ansIt decreases the severity of the symptoms An engineer notices a colleague's leaking cup and then thinks about how paper degrades and applies this observation to a design for planter pots that leave no carbon footprint. Which

Comprehensive Guide to

Cognitive Psychology Principles

in WGU D570.

A Comprehensive Exam Study

Guide Latest Updated 2025/

approach to psychology explained perception as the adding up of small elementary units called sensations - ansstructuralism procedure used by early psychologists in which trained participants described their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli - ansanalytic introspection What was Hermann Ebbinghaus known for? - ansdetermining nature of memory and forgetting Original time to learn minus time to relearn. determined magnitude of memory left from initial learning. - anssavings What term refers to Ebbinghaus's finding that relearning lists of syllables takes less time than the original session? - ansSavings curve What did Watson suggest that psychologists study when using a stimulus response approach?

  • ansbehavior Which experimental framework was inspired by artificial intelligence and sought to study mental process either in stages or as sequential mental operations? - ansinformation processing Which model of memory includes 3 stages: sensory store, short-term memory, and long-term memory? - ansAtkinson-Shiffrin model of memory In which of piagets stages of cognitive development do children develop abstract thinking? - ansFormal operational What did Chomsky discover about the cognitive development of language in babies and young children? - ansLanguages is acquired through a natural propensity for learning language. What is the purpose of crystallized intelligence with regard to cognition? - ansfor gaining knowledge Which sub-domain of cognitive psychology focuses on the conditions under which new information is acquired? - anslearning What is the role of dendrites in the brain? - ansTo receive signals from other neurons How does a neuron transmit a signal after a neural impulse travels the length of the axon? - ansBy releasing a neurotransmitter If brain damage occurs in the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex, how will cognitive ability suffer? - ansThe damage will affect the ability to comprehend language. When is structural connectivity present in the brain? - ansWhen communication between two areas occurs by neural pathways How does mental imagery improce memory according to Pavio's research? - ansBy pairing words that are concrete nouns How does propositional representation describe the relationship between objects in mental imagery? - ansit emphasizes the descriptive characteristics of an image Daniel tells a story of a visit to a large waterfall and remembers the light refracted off the spray of the water to create rainbows. How does Daniel re-experience this visit? - ansby using visual imagery to imagine the falls How is the method of Loci used to improve memory? - ansby visualizing items in different spatial locations.

Comprehensive Guide to

Cognitive Psychology Principles

in WGU D570.

A Comprehensive Exam Study

Guide Latest Updated 2025/

What is a lexicon within cognitive psychology? - ansmade of stored entries for all the words we know and is similar to a mental dictionary. What did Rayner and Duffy discover about fixation times? - ansFixation times are longer for low-frequency words. How does syntactic coordination help establish common ground? - ansIt helps people coordinate their grammatical statements during conversation How does the constraint-based approach explain how humans understand language? - ansby parsing sentences and not only using syntactic influences Begins with examination of the mind's dual perspectives, emphasizing control and goal- oriented representation. - ansExploration of the human cognition What does the physiological foundations of cognition explain? - ansrole of neurons, brain organization, distributed representation, neural networks, history of imagery and its impact on memory, and encoding and organization principles through method of Loci How is language examined? - ansAs a hierarchical, rule-based system with historical ties to psycholinguistics. Where are spatial representations held? - ansin a specific location how are propositional representations formed? - ansas an equation or statement how is the visual cortex organized? - ansas a topographic map how does the pegword technique assist in memory? - ansby placing objects with a concrete word which term did Wundt's theoretic approach use regarding sensations? - ansstructuralism what is the second stage of Piaget's cognitive development theory? - ansPre-operational, 2- 7 years old Which theory was developed by Piaget - ansfour stage theory what is defined as intelligence that refers to information processing abilities? - ansfluid intelligence Which aspect of lifespan development examines language? - anscognitive which specialized area of the temporal lobe allows a person to identify someone familiar in a crowded room? - ansfusiform face area What is an example of localization of function in the brain? - ansan area in the temporal lobe is responsible for recognizing faces which lobe integrates sensory information and uses it to guide behavior? - ansfrontal what are neurons that respond to specific visual properties called? - ansfeature detectors which lobe of the brain contains areas associated with facial recognition, object recognition, and language acquisition? - anstemporal Which term refers to a person's knowledge of what words mean, how they sound, and how they are used in a sentence? - anslexicon What is meant by given information in the given-new contract? - ansinformation the listener already knows what is an example of lexical ambiguity? - ansthe word light has more than one meaning Why do children use word segmentation? - ansit helps them recognize individual words within continuous speech

Comprehensive Guide to

Cognitive Psychology Principles

in WGU D570.

A Comprehensive Exam Study

Guide Latest Updated 2025/

Which is an example of the post-identification feedback effect? - ansa person implants false memories of them going to camp so they believe they had a happy childhood .What is an example of selective attention? - ansa person intentionally tunes out sound of crew fixing street outside while they focus on a video call Which function does the suprachiasmatic nucleus help regulate? - ansthe brain's biological clock Which area of the brain is responsible for regulating sleep cycles by helping the body recognize day and night? - ansSuprachiasmatic nucleus What is dual processing? - ansthe unconscious processing of information alongside conscious processing An individual drives along a familiar route to work, consciously making decisions like signaling and checking for traffic, while unconsciously maintaining a steady speed and reacting to hazards. Which cognitive phenomenon does this scenario illustrate? - ansDual Processing Which sleep stage is characterized by decreased respiration, heart rate, body temperature, muscle tension, and is easy to wake? - ansNon-rapid eye movement (NREM) What are depressant drugs - anssubstances that reduce central nervous system activity and consciousness Which part of the brain controls the biological clock of the body impacting sleep-wake cycles? - anshypothalamus Which term is described as being "a special dual processing state of 'split consciousness'?" - ansdissociation Which substance causes a euphoric high, feelings of intense elation, or pleasure? - ansmethamphetamine How does an individual solve problems using the Gestalt approach? - ansby picturing the problem in one's mind and then representing it in a different way How do individuals solve the Tower of Hanoi Problem? - ansby implementing means-end analysis, individuals move discs from one set of pegs to another between the initial and goal states by creating subgoals. A brother and sister are arguing over who should get the last slice of pizza. How do the siblings use the trade-off strategy to decide who get s the last piece of pizza? - ansthe brother realizes that he wants the pepperoni topping and sister wants the crust, so he takes pepperoni and she takes crust. A team of computer programmers is trying to find a solution to fix a problem with their company's email system. After working on the problem for several hours, they have yet to solve it. How can the programmers use incubation to solve the problem? - ansThe programmers agree to take a 2 hour lunch break, and once they return, they come up with several possible solutions Sophia is a mental health therapist and her client, oliver, expressed grief over recent death of his mother. Sophia also finds herself sad. How do mirror neurons explain sophia's empathy for her client? - answhen she observed her client's sadness, Mirror neurons in her brain fired, allowing her to feel empathy for him as a result.

Comprehensive Guide to

Cognitive Psychology Principles

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How does top-down processing explain perception? - ansperception is shaped by an individual's prior knowledge and experience How do psychologists view the role of experience in perception according to Gestalt's principles? - ansGestalt Principles believe role experience in forming what perception is minor compared to built in perception principles of organism How does Natural selection explain the oblique effect? - ansThrough evolution visual system was shaped to contain neuron that respond to things frequently found in the environment What does the phrase "leaky filter" mean in Treisman's attenuation model - anssome unattended messages pass through the attenuator. Jack was excited and cheered when his child scored at a soccer game and then became confused when the ref called a foul and siallowed the goal. How does inattentional blindness explain Jack's confusion over the ref's call? - ansJack was directing his attention to his child, so he did not see the foul his kid's teammate committed, even though it was in plain sight, which is why he was confused when the goal didn't count. How does attention affect information processing? - ansIt improves processing when directed at a particular location What is the relationship between perceptual load and a person's processing capacity? - ansperson carrying out a difficult, high-load task is less likely to be distracted because they have the lower limits of processing capacity. Travis took a vacation to a foreign country. While there, he was robbed. Travis now believes that everyone from that country is a thief. How do illusory correlations contribute to making judgements that result in stereotyping? - ansBy creating a perceived relationship between certain groups of people and specific behaviors All of the dogs are hungry. some hungry animals are aggressive. Some of the dogs are aggressive. What causes some people to mistakenly think this is a valid syllogism? - ansa syllogism is valid due to the belief bias Mateo goes to vegas. Considers cost of playing, potential payoff, and idea that Slot machine is a losing position because casino is rigged. Despite this, he plays and loses 500. How can concept of expected utility approach to decision-making be used to explain Mateo's decision to play the slot machines? - ansConsiders how people are expected to behave but does not always reflect how people actually behave; people sometimes make decisions not in their best interest. Dr. Kalani is a psychologist that specializes in treating children and adolescents with depression and anxiety. He uses a computer game as part of a weekly therapy session with a 12 year old. Why would a psychologist use a computer game as a form of mental health treatment? - ansComputer games strengthen the client's engagement with treatment How does the initial state differ from the goal state in Newell and Simon's problem solving approach - ansinitial state is the situation surrounding the problem at the begining. the goal state is the solution to the problem How does defining the problem allow a student to initiate the problem solution process? - ansdefining the problem helps identify goals and their related soltions.

Comprehensive Guide to

Cognitive Psychology Principles

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Which example is a risk factor associated with SIDS - ansbeing exposed to hyperthermia Which sleep difficulty does a person with insomnia experience - anstrouble falling and staying asleep at night how does sleep apnea reduce a person's sleep quality - ansby causing a person to wake up several times a night what type of treatment reduces symptoms of narcolepsy - anstaking a stimulant medication how does hypnosis alter a person's state of consciousness - ansby creating global changes in brain functioning how does ketamine create an altered state of consciousness - ansmodifying time perception how does alcohol alter a person's state of consciuosness - ansincreases the amount of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid in the brain how does codeine alter a person's state of consciousness - ansreducing minor feelings of pain How did Tulving's idea of mental time travel strengthen the field's understanding of long- term memory - ansintroduced distinction between the experiences of long-term episodic memory and semantic memory Which example shows how semanticization of remote memories relates to loss of episodic memory details - ansperson knows the names of the continents but cannot remember where they learned them which example shows how state-dependent learning differs from encoding specificity - anssdl is a match between a person's mood during encoding and retrieval, but encoding specificity contexts of encoding and retrieval are matched. Which scenario shows how sensory and short-term memory combine to allow a person to recall the name of a prospective new co-worker during a job interview? - ansinterviewee hears the name of potential co-worker, then silently repeats their name to be able to correctly greet them by name Student is reviewing small set of new spelling words. Which example shos how attention can facilitate short-term memory for spelling words in line with Atkinson's and Shiffrin's modal model of memory - ansstudent focuses on elements of the words that are particularly complicated Which scenario is consistent with the self-image hypthesis - ansolder adult's memory is enhanced when they look back on the birth of their first child at age 25 How does having an emotionally stressful argument affect memory consolidation - ansmemory for this incident will be strengthened for a duration of time after the argument how is stress associated with process of consolidating memories - ansstress releases hormones that impact the central nervous system, affecting memory transformation A person is recalling an event that started a war. Which scenario describes a flashbulb memory? - ansPerson can recall the goosebumps they felt when they first heard about the war events on a new broadcast What was the significant outcome of Saul Kassin's research on false confessions? - ansrecommendation to forbid the practice of presenting false evidence during police interrogations

Comprehensive Guide to

Cognitive Psychology Principles

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analytic introspection - ansa technique used by Wilhelm Wundt that involved trained participants describing their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli artificial intelligence - ansa field of study aiming to make machines behave in ways that would be considered intelligent if a human were behaving that way as defined by John McCarthy during the Dartmouth conference behaviorism - ansan approach to psychology founded by John Watson that emphasizes the study of observable behavior and rejects introspection and the investigation of unobservable mental processes classical conditioning - ansa form of learning introduced by Ivan Pavlov and associated with John Watson, wherein a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, resulting in a learned response cognition - ansall mental abilities, including perceiving, learning, remembering, thinking, reasoning, and understanding cognitive psychology - ansthe study of mental processes, encompassing characteristics and properties of the mind and how it operates cognitive paradigm - ansthe approach of focusing on understanding mental processes and the operation of the mind which emerged during the cognitive revolution cognitive revolution - ansa shift in psychology from behaviorism to a focus on understanding mental processes, which occurred during the 1950s and was marked by events such as conferences on artificial intelligence and information theory decision-making process - ansthe mental process involved in making choices as inferred from behavior in Donder's experiment filter model of attention - ansa flow chart proposed by Donald Broadbent in the 1950s that depicts the operation of the mind in terms of processing stages, particularly in directing attention to stimuli in the environment Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) - ansa brain imaging technique introduced in 1990 that allows the observation of activated areas in the human brain during cognitive activity without radioactive tracers higher mental processes - ansthe complex cognitive functions, such as thinking, problem- solving, and long-term remembering considered in the study of cognitive psychology Operant Conditioning - ansa form of learning introduced by B. F. Skinner that focuses on how behavior is strengthened by the presentation of positive reinforcers or the withdrawal of negative reinforcers Stimulus-response relationships - ansthe association between a stimulus and the resulting behavior, a central focus of behaviorism scientific revolution - ansa significant shift in scientific thinking from one paradigm to another, marked by changes in dominant ideas and approaches Sensory memory - ansa stage in Atkinson and Shiffrin's model of memory that holds incoming information for a fraction of a second Short-term Memory - ansa stage in Atkinson and Shifrin's model of memory with limited capacity, holding information for seconds Biological Milestones - ansuniversal developmental events such as puberty

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Dissociations - anscases in which there is a separation or difference between two cognitive functions, such as imagery and perception frontal lobe - ansfront part of the brain which is involved in various cognitive functions, including perception and imagery Imagery - ansmental representation of visual or sensory experiences; a central element in the cognitive revolution. imageless thought debate - ansdiscussion arising from Wundt's proposal linking imagery and thinking, debating whether thought can occur without mental images Method of Loci - ansusing familiar spatial layouts such as house or campus to remember events. Pick five to seven things, create an image for each, and place them at locations. Follow a specific order or path to encounter images in the correct sequence Paired-associate learning - ansmethod employed by Paivio, wherein participants recall words paired during a study period, revealing differences in memory for concrete and abstract nouns Pegword technique - ansa technique involving imagery and associating items with concrete words, create a list of nouns rhyming with numbers, forming a retrieval cue. Perception - ansthe process of interpreting and understanding sensory information from the environment propositional representations - ansrepresentations in which relationships can be depicted using abstract symbols, not necessarily corresponding to spatial layouts spatial correspondence - ansthe idea that there is a spatial relationship between imagery and perception, supported by experiments involving mental scanning Working Memory - ansThe system responsible for temporarily holding and manipulating information for cognitive tasks anaphoric inference - ansinference that involves connections between words or phrases in different sentences. For example, inferring that pronouns like "he/she" in one sentence refer to a specific person or object mentioned earlier Casual inference - ansprocess of inferring that events described in one clause or sentence were caused by events that occurred in a previous sentence Comprehension - ansunderstanding spoken and written language including processing language sounds; understanding words, sentences, and stories; and engaging in conversations heuristic - ansrule that is rapidly applied to make a decision, such as those involved in parsing during sentence processing lexical ambiguity - ansa condition in which words can have multiple meanings lexical priming - ansmethod involving the presentation of words with similar meanings to observe the priming effect on response times parsing - ansthe process of grouping words into phrases while reading or hearing a string of words psycholinguistics - ansfield concerned with the psychological study of language, focusing on cognitive mechanisms, such as comprehension, representation, speech production, and language acquisition

Comprehensive Guide to

Cognitive Psychology Principles

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Representation - anshow language is represented in the mind, involving grouping words into phrases to create meaningful sentences and making connections between different parts of a story Semantic Segmentation - ansthe process of perceiving individual words in speech, often achieved through contextual cues, statistical regularities, and knowledge of word meanings Statistical Regularities - anspatterns or recurring sequences in the speech signal that aid in speech segmentation, showcasing the role of statistical properties of language in understanding spoken words Syntactic Coordination - anstendency of individuals in conversation to use similar grammatical constructions, leading to coordination of syntactic form; this is influenced by syntactic priming Syntactic Priming - ansphenomenon where hearing a statement with a specific syntactic construction increases the likelihood of producing a sentence with the same construction; this reduces the computational load in conversation visual world paradigm - anstechnique measuring eye movements to understand how information in a scene influences sentence processing articulatory suppression - ansphenomenon that occurs when a person is prevented from rehearsing items to be remembered by repeating an irrelevant sound, such as "the, the, the" Central Executive - anscontrol center of the working memory system; coordinates how information is used by the phonological loop and visuospatial sketch pad chunking - ansprocess of grouping small units of information into larger, meaningful units, increasing the capacity of short-term memory control processes - ansdynamic processes associated with the structural features of the modal model of memory that can be controlled by the person and may differ from one task to another delayed-response task - ansa memory task used in animal research, such as with monkeys, where the subject is required to hold information in working memory during a delay period before retrieving and responding based on that information echoic memory - ansthe persistence of sound in the mind for a few seconds after the presentation of the original auditory stimulus encoding - ansthe process of transferring information into long term memory, illustrated in the modal model when Rachel memorizes the phone number for Mineo's Pizza Episodic buffer - ansan additional component proposed by Baddeley to address the abilities of working memory to hold more than expected and to facilitate interchange between working memory and long-term memory Event-related potential (ERP) - ansa measured brain response recorded using electrodes placed on the scalp that reflects neural activity associated with cognitive processes such as working memory iconic memory - ansa short-lived sensory memory for visual stimuli that registers all or most of the information hitting visual receptors but decays within less than a second

Comprehensive Guide to

Cognitive Psychology Principles

in WGU D570.

A Comprehensive Exam Study

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Semantic Coding - ansrepresentation of information based on meaning, observed in both STM and LTM visual viewpoint - ansperspective from which a person "sees" or observes an event, whether from above, at eye level, or below eye level episodic memories - ansmemories of specific events, including the time and place of an event fragile state - ansstate in which a memory becomes susceptible to change or disruption free recall - ansprocedure where participants are asked to recall words or events without specific cues generation effect - ansenhancing learning and retention by actively generating material yourself rather than passively receiving it graded amnesia - anscharacteristic of retrograde amnesia where the amnesia tends to be most severe for events that happened just before the injury and becomes less severe for earlier events illusion of learning - ansphenomenon where certain study techniques, such as rereading or highlighting, may create the illusion of effective learning without necessarily resulting in better memory for the material Long-term Potentiation (LTP) - ansenhanced firing of neurons after repeated stimulation, resulting in the strengthening of synaptic transmission memory reactivation - ansprocess during consolidation where the hippocampus replays neural activity associated with a memory and sends this information to the cortex multiple trace model - ansmodel of consolidation proposing that the hippocampus remains in active communication with cortical areas, even for remote memories prefrontal cortex - ansfront part of the brain involved in decision-making, problem-solving, and other complex conitive unctions reconsolidation - ansprocess by which a retrieved memory becomes fragile and needs to be consolidated again, making it susceptible to modification or elimination sleep-dependent memory consolidation - ansidea that sleep enhances the consolidation of memories state-dependent learning - ansidea that memory retrieval is better when a person's internal state, such as mood or awareness, during retrieval matches their internal state during encoding tone-shock pairing - ansan association between a neutral stimulus and an aversive stimulus in classical conditioning work in progress - ansconcept that memory is not static or fixed but is constantly being constructed and remodeled in response to new learning and changing conditions autobiographical memory - ansmemory that pertains to personal experiences and events in one's life constructive nature of memory - ansmemories are constructed based on actual events, along with additional factors like knowledge, experiences, and expectations Crystallized intelligence - ansaspect of intelligence that relies on accumulated knowledge, experience, and skills, often measured through tasks involving vocabulary, problem-solving, and comprehension

Comprehensive Guide to

Cognitive Psychology Principles

in WGU D570.

A Comprehensive Exam Study

Guide Latest Updated 2025/

fluid intelligence - anscomponent of intelligence associated with information processing abilities, such as logical reasoning, spatial ability, and reaction time, which tends to decline with age misinformation effect - ansmisleading information presented after a person witnesses an event that can change how the person describes that event later neural mechanisms - ansresponsible for the functioning of the nervous system, particularly in the context of memory reminiscence bump - ansa phenomenon where people over 40 tend to remember events from adolescence and young adulthood better than events from other periods repeated recall - ansa method involving testing participants multiple times after an event to assess changes in memory over time stress hormones - ansreleased during and after emotionally arousing stimuli, impacting memory consolidation, i.e. cortisol vividness ratings - ansassessments of how detailed memories are analogical encoding - ansprocess by which two problems are compared and similarities between them are determined creative incubation - ansthe phenomenon where solutions to problems appear after putting the problem aside for a certain period divergent thinking - ansthinking that is open-ended, involving a large number of potential solutions Executive control network (ECN) - ansa brain network that is involved in directing attention as a person carries out tasks, playing a crucial role in creativity functional connectivity - ansmeasure of the connectivity between different brain networks during specific tasks or stages of a process incubation period - ansperiod during which participants carry out a task with a low or high rate of mind wandering before attempting to solve a problem Means-end Analysis - ansproblem-solving strategy that aims to reduce the difference between the initial and goal states by creating subgoals, which are intermediate states closer to the goal mental set - anspreconceived notion about how to approach a problem, influenced by past experiences and preconceptions about object functions problem space - ansthe set of all possible states, including initial, goal, and intermediate states, in a problem-solving process restructuring - ansprocess emphasized by Gestalt psychologists, involving a change in the representation of a problem leading to a solution without relying on mathematical equations target problem - ansanalogical transfer, the problem the participant is trying to solve, which shares some similarities with the source problem Tower of Hanoi Problem - ansproblem used to illustrate the Newell-Simon approach to problem-solving, involving moving discs from an initial state to a goal state using specified rules and operators transcranial direct current stimulation - ansprocedure for stimulating the brain using electrodes to deliver direct current, influencing the excitability of neurons in specific areas