Deck 7: Brain States and Consciousness

Question 1

The simultaneous processing of information on many parallel tracks is most closely associated with

A) REM rebound.
B) sleep apnea.
C) narcolepsy.
D) unconscious mental activity.

Answer 1

unconscious mental activity.

Question 2

Consciousness is most important for the correct performance of behaviors that

A) depend on information processing.
B) require physical coordination skills.
C) have been learned through repeated practice.
D) are novel and challenging.

Answer 2

are novel and challenging.

Question 3

A teenager texting while crossing the street is not likely to notice a car rounding the corner and about to cross her path. This best illustrates the impact of

A) choice blindness.
B) selective attention.
C) dual processing.
D) sequential processing.

Answer 3

selective attention.

Question 4

Since 1960, psychology has regained an interest in consciousness as psychologists of all persuasions affirmed the importance of

A) evolution.
B) choice blindness.
C) selective attention.
D) cognition.

Question 5

Which specialty area would be most interested in identifying the cortical activation patterns associated with a person's perception of different objects?

A) evolutionary psychology
B) cognitive neuroscience
C) behavior genetics
D) behaviorism

Question 6

The simultaneous processing of information at both conscious and unconscious levels is called

A) the cocktail party effect.
B) the pop-out phenomenon.
C) dual processing.
D) selective attention.

Question 7

As defined by the text, consciousness includes which of the following?

A) focused attention
B) sleeping
C) hypnosis
D) all of these conditions

Question 8

Christy failed to notice that she received her ice cream in a sugar cone rather than a waffle cone as she had requested. She later indicated to another customer that she preferred sugar cones over waffle cones. Christy's behavior most clearly illustrates

A) parallel processing.
B) dual processing.
C) choice blindness.
D) the pop-out phenomenon.

Question 9

Which of the following best illustrates dual processing?

A) Jack notices the one person scowling when everyone else was laughing.
B) Despite the loud conversations around her, Karen is able to concentrate on what her friend is saying.
C) At the soccer game, Gavin misses seeing a goal kick when his cell phone rings.
D) While listening to the symphony, Marisol concentrates on what the pianist plays while automatically responding to the tempo and theme of the overall performance.

Question 10

Selective attention is best illustrated by

A) hypnagogic sensations.
B) neuroadaptation.
C) change blindness.
D) narcolepsy.

Question 11

Although we may be unaware of our gender prejudices, they often influence the way we consciously perceive males and females. This best illustrates

A) the hollow face illusion.
B) dual processing.
C) the pop-out phenomenon.
D) the cocktail party effect.

Question 12

At its beginning, psychology focused on the study of

A) observable behavior.
B) consciousness.
C) abnormal behavior.
D) all of these behaviors.

Question 13

The perceptual error in which we fail to see an object when our attention is directed elsewhere is

A) dual processing.
B) inattentional blindness.
C) perceptual adaptation.
D) divided consciousness.

Question 14

A specialty area that focuses on the connections between brain activity and mental processes is known as

A) evolutionary psychology.
B) behavior genetics.
C) personality psychology.
D) cognitive neuroscience.

Question 15

Selective attention is best illustrated by

A) blindsight.
B) the hollow face illusion.
C) choice blindness.
D) the cocktail party effect.

Question 16

Consciousness is

A) the ability to solve problems, reason, and remember.
B) the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information.
C) effortless encoding of incidental information into memory.
D) our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Question 17

Consciousness is defined in the text as

A) mental life.
B) selective attention to ongoing perceptions, thoughts, and feelings.
C) information processing.
D) our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Question 18

Professor Rodriguez studies how activating specific regions of the brain affects dream content. Her work best illustrates the subfield of

A) psychoanalysis.
B) behaviorism.
C) cognitive neuroscience.
D) evolutionary psychology.

Question 19

A car driver's ability to navigate a familiar route while carrying on an animated conversation with passengers best illustrates the importance of

A) hypnagogic sensations.
B) REM rebound.
C) biological rhythms.
D) dual processing.

Question 20

The school of thought in psychology that turned away from the study of consciousness during the first half of the last century was

A) behaviorism.
B) psychoanalysis.
C) humanistic psychology.
D) evolutionary psychology.

Question 21

Shown the hollow face illusion, people will mistakenly perceive the inside of a mask as a protruding face. Yet, they will accurately reach into the inverted mask to flick off a buglike target stuck on the face. This best illustrates the capacity for

A) selective attention.
B) change blindness.
C) dual processing.
D) experiencing the pop-out phenomenon.

Question 22

A condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it is known as

A) the pop-out phenomenon.
B) change blindness.
C) the cocktail party effect.
D) blindsight.

Question 23

The pop-out phenomenon illustrates that some stimuli almost inevitably trigger

A) a visual action track.
B) parallel processing.
C) selective attention.
D) change blindness.

Question 24

If asked to watch a video and press a key each time a black-shirted player passed a basketball, most research participants remained unaware of an umbrella-toting woman strolling across the video screen. This illustrated

A) a visual action track.
B) inattentional blindness.
C) the pop-out phenomenon.
D) dual processing.

Question 25

Drivers are slower to detect traffic signals if they are talking on a cell phone. This best illustrates the impact of

A) parallel processing.
B) selective attention.
C) change blindness.
D) choice blindness.

Question 26

While reading a novel, Raoul isn't easily distracted by the sounds of the TV or even by his brothers' loud arguments. This best illustrates

A) dual processing.
B) sequential processing.
C) choice blindness.
D) selective attention.

Question 27

A capacity to monitor simultaneously the color, shape, and motion of an object best illustrates

A) the pop-out phenomenon.
B) parallel processing.
C) the cocktail party effect.
D) change blindness.

Question 28

Consciousness is to unconsciousness as ________ is to ________.

A) selective attention; the cocktail party effect
B) sequential processing; parallel processing
C) the hollow face illusion; the pop-out phenomenon
D) choice blindness; change blindness

Question 29

Although unable to report the width of a block in front of her, a woman identified as D. F. could grasp the block with just the right finger-thumb distance. Her experience best illustrates

A) blindsight.
B) the cocktail party effect.
C) change blindness.
D) the pop-out phenomenon.

Question 30

When their attention is focused on a task such as reading, people are less likely to ________ than when their mind is wandering.

A) tap their fingers
B) touch their face
C) blink their eyes
D) scratch their arms

Question 31

Compared with unconscious information processing, conscious information processing is relatively

A) fast and especially effective for solving new problems.
B) slow and especially effective for solving new problems.
C) fast and especially effective for solving routine problems.
D) slow and especially effective for solving routine problems.

Question 32

The cocktail party effect provides an example of

A) choice blindness.
B) sequential processing.
C) selective attention.
D) cognitive neuroscience.

Question 33

A bank teller was so distracted by the sight of a bank robber's weapon that she failed to perceive important features of the criminal's physical appearance. This best illustrates

A) the pop-out phenomenon.
B) change blindness.
C) selective attention.
D) dual processing.

Question 34

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere is called

A) the pop-out phenomenon.
B) parallel processing.
C) sequential processing.
D) inattentional blindness.

Question 35

Even if musically inclined, it is difficult to tap a steady three times with your left hand while tapping four times with your right hand because both tasks require

A) parallel processing.
B) selective attention.
C) change blindness.
D) conscious attention.

Question 36

Our inability to consciously process all the sensory information available to us at any single point in time best illustrates the necessity of

A) meditation.
B) selective attention.
C) cortical activation.
D) change blindness.

Question 37

Focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus is called

A) blindsight.
B) self-consciousness.
C) change blindness.
D) selective attention.

Question 38

While a man provides directions to a construction worker, two experimenters rudely interrupt by passing between them carrying a board. The man's failure to notice that the construction worker was replaced by a different person during this interruption illustrates

A) the pop-out phenomenon.
B) a visual perception track.
C) parallel processing.
D) change blindness.

Question 39

A visual perception track enables most people to recognize objects at nearly the same time that a visual action track enables them to avoid bumping into the objects. This best illustrates

A) sequential processing.
B) change blindness.
C) dual processing.
D) blindsight.