Deck 7: A: Brain States and Consciousness

Question 1

A large amount of our mental activity occurs outside our awareness thanks to our capacity for

A) selective attention.
B) blindsight.
C) visual perception.
D) dual processing.

Answer 1

dual processing.

Question 2

Behaviorism encouraged psychologists to ignore the study of

A) dual processing.
B) consciousness.
C) socialization.
D) evolution.

Answer 2

consciousness.

Question 3

Prior to the twentieth century, psychology was considered to be the study of

A) behavior.
B) selective attention.
C) consciousness.
D) dual processing.

Answer 3

consciousness.

Question 4

The interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with our mental processes is known as

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

Question 5

A person is able to accurately point to the current location of certain moving objects that she is unable to consciously see. This best illustrates

A) selective attention.
B) the pop-out phenomenon.
C) the visual action track.
D) blindsight.

Question 6

Damage to the brain's visual perception track without any damage to the brain's visual action track is associated with a condition known as

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

Question 7

Because she was listening to the news on the radio, Mrs. Schultz didn't perceive a word her husband was saying. Her experience best illustrates

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

Question 8

Inattentional blindness is best described as a by-product of

A) blindsight.
B) parallel processing.
C) selective attention.
D) daydreaming.

Question 9

One study of long-haul truck drivers showed that they were at 23 times greater risk of a collision while texting. This best illustrates the impact of

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

Question 10

The experience of blindsight in certain people who have suffered brain damage best illustrates the importance of our normal human capacity for

A) change blindness.
B) dual processing.
C) selective attention.
D) meditation.

Question 11

The ability to consciously recognize and name the color of an object while we simultaneously and unconsciously monitor the object's shape and movement illustrates

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

Question 12

The ability to pay attention to only one voice at a time is called

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

Question 13

Felix was so preoccupied with his girlfriend's good looks that he failed to perceive any of her less admirable characteristics. This best illustrates the dangers of

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

Question 14

Parallel processing is to sequential processing as ________ is to ________.

A) daydream; sleep dream
B) sleep dream; daydream
C) unconsciousness; consciousness
D) consciousness; unconsciousness

Question 15

Standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, Jerry kept looking at his watch to see the time. As a result, he failed to see that a store employee was being robbed by a person just in front of him. Jerry most clearly suffered

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

Question 16

You typically fail to consciously perceive that your own nose is in your line of vision. This best illustrates

A) the pop-out phenomenon.
B) change blindness.
C) a visual action track.
D) selective attention.

Question 17

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment is called

A) biological psychology.
B) behaviorism.
C) consciousness.
D) neuroscience.

Question 18

Brain activity indicative of conscious awareness is most likely to involve synchronized activity across various regions of the

A) cerebral cortex.
B) hypothalamus.
C) limbic system.
D) dopamine reward system.

Question 19

About one-third of a second before participants in one study decided to move their wrist, their ________ indicated a readiness potential to move.

A) dual processing
B) eye movements
C) brain-wave activity
D) visual action track

Question 20

Unconscious information processing is more likely than conscious processing to

A) occur slowly.
B) be limited in capacity.
C) contribute to effective problem solving.
D) occur simultaneously on several tracks.

Question 21

People at one Swedish supermarket were invited to taste two markedly different jams and then pick their preferred jam to retaste. Fooled by trick jars, they readily explained their jam preference without realizing that they had actually retasted their nonpreferred jam. Their failure to notice anything odd best illustrated

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

Question 22

When Jason briefly turned to summon the waiter, his wife quickly switched her glass of red wine with his glass of white wine. Jason's failure to notice that his chosen wine had been replaced best illustrates

A) choice blindness.
B) parallel processing.
C) change blindness.
D) sequential processing.