Deck 6: Consciousness

Question 1

Introspection was one of the earliest methods for studying internal phenomena. Why are most modern psychologists wary of introspective data?

A) Words describing our own internal states are often hard to interpret.
B) When we think about our own mental processes, we tend to be unrealistically negative in our self-appraisals.
C) It is too time-consuming to gather data using introspection.
D) All of the above answers are correct.

Answer 1

Words describing our own internal states are often hard to interpret.

Question 2

What is meant by saying that conscious experiences are ineffable?

A) Conscious experiences are highly personable.
B) Conscious experiences are not utterly indescribable.
C) Conscious experiences are not scientifically measureable.
D) Conscious experiences cannot be shared.

Answer 2

Conscious experiences are not utterly indescribable.

Question 3

What is true of processes such as blindsight and automatization?

A) They confirm Freud's basic ideas about the role of anxiety in repression.
B) They are independent ways of substantiating what Freud meant by the term unconscious.
C) They demonstrate that complex processes can be inaccessible to consciousness.
D) All of the above answers are correct.

Answer 3

They demonstrate that complex processes can be inaccessible to consciousness.

Question 4

Which of the following is an example of the inverted spectrum problem?

A) having an individual who is color-blind report the color he is seeing
B) naming an object in multiple languages
C) dialect differences such as calling a soda pop either a "pop" or a "soda"
D) all of the above

Question 5

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Conscious supervision is necessary for perception.
B) Perception does not involve cognition.
C) Perception never occurs without awareness.
D) Perception can occur without awareness.

Question 6

An utterly indescribable conscious experience might be called a(an) __________ experience.

A) shared
B) effable
C) ineffable
D) notated

Question 7

Paul suffered a head injury in a car accident, and has damage in and around his hippocampus. As a result, he shows anterograde amnesia. Which of the following symptoms is he likely to exhibit because of this damage?

A) He will suffer complete loss of his implicit memory.
B) He will show no conscious recollection of a previously memorized list, even when given cues about that list.
C) He will have difficulty navigating around a new furniture arrangement in a room.
D) All of the above.

Question 8

Consciousness may be defined as __________.

A) wakefulness and attentiveness
B) being cognitively aware of one's environment
C) any state other than sleep
D) a critical awareness of one's own situation and identity

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT an example of introspection?

A) asking a child "how hungry are you?"
B) asking a patient if she feels pain after an injury
C) asking a subject "Do these lines appear the same length or not?"
D) asking a patient to track how many times his blood sugar drops below a certain level

Question 10

Which of the following is a reason why some people might choose not to reveal what they are really thinking or experiencing?

A) They are unclear regarding what they are experiencing.
B) They lack the vocabulary to report what they are experiencing.
C) The social consequences of reporting what they are thinking are too high.
D) All of the above are examples of reasons why individuals might misreport.

Question 11

The difference between consciousness and the cognitive unconscious is that __________.

A) unlike consciousness, the cognitive unconscious has no effect on behavior
B) although both drive behavior, one is only aware of the effects of the conscious mind
C) unlike consciousness, the cognitive unconscious involves habits
D) unlike the conscious mind, the cognitive unconscious stores behaviors that were obtained without trying

Question 12

Psychologists in the 19th century were keenly interested in consciousness. Why did this interest wane during most of the 20th century?

A) Psychologists believed that most of the fundamental issues around consciousness were solved, so psychologists began to examine behavior with rigorous experimental methods.
B) Psychologists believed that the conscious experience was too subjective for scientific study.
C) There were no methods available with which to study consciousness until neurophysiology discovered how synapses work and how neurons conduct nerve impulses.
D) Computers had not yet been invented, and the data from research on consciousness were simply too voluminous and complex to work with by hand.

Question 13

Which of the following is an example of an individual showing consciousness?

A) attending to a lecture and taking notes
B) a Buddhist monk engaging in deep meditation
C) undergoing hypnosis
D) all of the above

Question 14

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Memory retrieval often takes place without conscious awareness.
B) The term cognitive unconscious can be used interchangeably with the Freudian term unconscious.
C) Studying behaviors that are done automatically can improve our understanding of consciousness.
D) Some people are unaware that they can see.

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT one of the difficulties scientists have when studying consciousness?

A) Consciousness involves moment-by-moment awareness of ourselves.
B) Consciousness is entirely personalized.
C) Consciousness cannot be made measureable.
D) Consciousness involves many different states.

Question 16

How reliable is introspection when used as a method to study mental imagery?

A) Generally, introspection is unreliable.
B) Introspection is very reliable, but only for the study of mental imagery.
C) Introspection is very reliable when used in other fields of study, but not for the study of mental imagery.
D) Researchers cannot agree on whether or not introspection is a reliable way to study mental imagery.

Question 17

Implicit memory refers to __________.

A) memory that is separate from conscious awareness
B) memory that is closely tied to conscious awareness
C) memory for the past
D) anterograde memories

Question 18

Which of the following is an example of introspection?

A) asking a child "how hungry are you?"
B) asking a patient if they feel pain after an injury
C) asking a subject "Do these lines appear the same length or not?"
D) all of the above

Question 19

Blindsight and automatization are studied __________.

A) by asking the participants in the research to look within and to describe the processes involved
B) by comparing the processes involved with those of complex computers
C) by examining what happens in the absence of conscious awareness
D) in ways that have little or no relevance to issues about the way or ways that consciousness might be related to behavior

Question 20

You are interviewing a psychologist on the role of the unconscious. According to this psychologist, she feels that her goal as a therapist is to "make the unconscious conscious". You immediately know that this therapist uses which approach?

A) neuroscience
B) behavioral
C) psychoanalytic
D) cognitive

Question 21

What is true of blindsight?

A) It is seen in patients with multiple personalities, one of which has sight, the other being blind.
B) It refers to the development of acute sensitivity to touch in many blind people, such that they are actually conscious of seeing things when they touch them.
C) It describes dissociation between perception and the conscious experience of perception.
D) It describes people who think that they can see, but when tested they fail badly at most visual tasks.

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT a limitation of our introspections?

A) Introspections are sometimes wrong.
B) Introspections are not always easily communicated.
C) We may misappropriate the cause of our introspections.
D) Introspections are never able to be studied scientifically.

Question 23

The term blindsight refers to __________.

A) seeing, but without the conscious experience of seeing.
B) a type of hysterical blindness brought on by extreme anxiety, as in post-traumatic stress disorders.
C) an objective blindness, as shown by the inability to orient to objects that appear suddenly in the visual field.
D) the inability to use vision by partially blind people who have become highly skilled in using touch and hearing.

Question 24

Brain areas that control the various contents for consciousness include the__________.

A) hippocampus
B) cortical structures in the forebrain such as the FFA or PPA
C) structures in the brain stem such as the reticular activating system
D) cedulla

Question 25

Unconscious processing tends to be fast and efficient. This raises the question, "Which of the following summarizes what consciousness is good for?"

A) It forces different brain areas to make connections with one another.
B) It allows us to break away from routine and habit.
C) It tends to produce insights that are more creative.
D) It allows for incubation.

Question 26

Which of the following represent the two broad categories or aspects of consciousness?

A) alertness and content
B) alertness and cognition
C) cognition and content
D) content and control

Question 27

Orianna has a stroke, which affected her striate cortex. As a result, she shows blindsight. Which of the following symptoms is she likely to exhibit as a result of this damage?

A) complete loss of her implicit memory
B) no conscious recollection of a previously memorized list, even when given cues about that list
C) difficulty navigating around a new furniture arrangement in a room
D) all of the above

Question 28

What is meant by the neural correlates of consciousness?

A) The brain models the changes that occur in the mind during consciousness.
B) Specific states of the brain correspond to the exact content of an individual's conscious experience.
C) The body models changes that occur in the mind during consciousness.
D) Specific states of the body correspond to the exact content of an individual's mental experience.

Question 29

Which of the following best describes the organization of the attention in the brain?

A) Attentional mechanisms are probably implemented through mechanisms in the prefrontal cortex, but influences activity in many other areas.
B) Attentional mechanisms are implemented primarily through the reticular activating formation and do not involve the prefrontal cortex.
C) Attention is very disperse and modulated by most parts of the brain, including the brain stem and cortex.
D) The mechanisms of attention remain unknown, due to the limitations of understanding consciousness.

Question 30

Early scholars, such as Descartes, believed which brain organ served as the portal between the mind and the body?

A) striate cortex
B) hippocampus
C) pineal gland
D) medulla

Question 31

A participant sits in front of a screen in which one picture is presented to one eye while an entirely different picture is presented to the other eye. What experience will the person report?

A) the picture shown to the dominant eye
B) the picture shown to the left eye
C) the picture shown to the right eye
D) an apparent flip-flop of the images

Question 32

According to Descartes, how do the mind and body interact?

A) Physical inputs cause conscious experiences.
B) Thoughts can lead to actions.
C) The pineal gland is the portal for mind-body interaction.
D) All of the above.

Question 33

A participant in a study is shown a series of buildings. Which brain area should show the most activity?

A) the fusiform face area
B) the prehippocampal processing area
C) the parahippocampal place area
D) the occipital cortex

Question 34

A person reports being totally deaf, yet she gives vigorous startle responses to loud sounds. Of such occasions she reports, "I just felt I had to crouch quickly." These findings would be most similar to findings from studies on __________.

A) selective attention and the cocktail-party effect
B) people with blindsight
C) the effects of mental set on the perception of ambiguous figures
D) people who have reasonably good generic memory but virtually no procedural memory

Question 35

Brain areas that control alertness or sensitivity, independent of what the person is alert or sensitive to, include the __________.

A) hippocampus
B) reticular activating system
C) frontal cortex
D) medulla

Question 36

A participant in a study is shown a series of faces. Which brain area should show the most activity?

A) the fusiform face area
B) the facial fusion area
C) the parahippocampal place area
D) the occipital cortex

Question 37

An individual is given a placebo pill and told that the side effects of the pill may include jitteriness, feelings of apprehension, and nervousness. They are then given a series of simple math problems to solve, but during the math tests the investigator sets off the fire alarm. Compared to the people who did not receive the placebo pill, these individuals reported much less fear or anxiety regarding the unexpected fire alarm, even though their physiological measures showed just as much fear reactions as those who did not receive pill. Why might the individuals who received the pill fail to attribute their physiological reactions to the unexpected fire alarm?

A) The individuals unconsciously attributed their fear and anxiety to the pill, not the fire alarm.
B) The pill made the individuals unresponsive cognitively to the fire alarm.
C) Unconscious attributions regarding fear were blocked by thoughts about the pill.
D) The pill effects made the people less responsive to the effects of the fire alarm

Question 38

Binocular rivalry occurs when a subject is shown two different pictures, one to each eye, and the subject reports seeing __________.

A) only the picture shown to the dominant eye
B) only the picture shown to the left eye
C) only the picture shown to the right eye
D) both images, which appear to flip-flop back and forth.

Question 39

Unconscious processing tends to be __________, while conscious processing tends to be __________.

A) fast and effortless; slower and effortful
B) slower and effortful; fast and effortless
C) fast and effortful; slower and effortless
D) slow and effortless; fast and effortful

Question 40

According to Descartes' interpretation of the mind-body problem, the mind is __________.

A) separate from the brain
B) how the brain processes thoughts and ideas
C) governed by the same rules as the body
D) identical to the brain

Question 41

What is an important function of workspace neurons?

A) They play an important role in working memory.
B) They assist in the shifting of visual attention.
C) The form the primary center for visual processing.
D) They are the primary center for auditory processing.

Question 42

Which of the following individuals require the most sleep?

A) babies
B) adolescents
C) adults
D) the elderly

Question 43

Memory loss during anesthesia is most likely due to the breakdown of connectivity and activation of __________.

A) glia cells in the brain
B) the hippocampus
C) workspace neurons
D) medulla

Question 44

According to the activation-synthesis hypothesis, activation of the lateral geniculate nuclei results in stimulation of which brain area?

A) reticular formation
B) lateral geniculate nuclei
C) occipital cortex
D) frontal cortex

Question 45

In REM sleep, the hallmark behavior is __________.

A) snoring
B) difficulty waking
C) rapid eye movements
D) all of the above

Question 46

Workspace neurons __________ but do not __________.

A) specify the content of consciousness; integrate neural activity
B) integrate neural activity; specify the content of consciousness
C) integrate conscious experiences; specify neural activity
D) specify neural activity; integrate conscious experiences

Question 47

Manifest content is to __________ as latent content is to __________.

A) the characters and events we observe in a dream; the actual wishes and desires that are being expressed
B) the actual wishes and desires that are being expressed; the characters and events we observe in a dream
C) the characters and events of a dream; the experiences of those characters and events of a dream
D) the characters, but not their experiences, contained in a dream; the wishes and desires of those characters in the dream

Question 48

Which area of the brain seems to play a direct and central role in many aspects of thought and memory?

A) the hindbrain
B) the brain stem
C) the forebrain
D) the midbrain

Question 49

Which of the following parts of the brain are likely involved in variations in consciousness?

A) workspace neurons of the prefrontal cortex
B) hypothalamus
C) auditory cortex
D) lateral geniculate nuclei

Question 50

Why are certain images more likely to be experienced than others during dreams, according to the activation-synthesis hypothesis?

A) PGO activity in conjunction with priming by other neural activity produces predictable dreams.
B) The occipital cortex only processes certain images.
C) The memory centers can only process certain images during sleep.
D) We only remember certain experiences, but all are activated.

Question 51

The hypothesis that dreams are a by-product of other brain activities is called the __________.

A) workspace hypothesis
B) consolidation hypothesis
C) activation-synthesis hypothesis
D) REM rebound hypothesis

Question 52

Susan is asked to move her hands randomly and to report the exact location of a series of dots on a screen as she moves her hands. Interestingly, her reports of the dot location showed that __________.

A) there was a delay between her movement and her report, showing that she moved before she actually detected she moved her hands
B) there occurred a brief gap between her moment of decision and the actual movement, with the decision coming first
C) the report and the movement occurred at the same exact time
D) she was unable to detect when she moved her hands because she was concentrating on the dots

Question 53

During which state are dreams most likely to be reported?

A) stage 1 sleep
B) stage 2 sleep
C) stage 3 or 4 sleep
D) REM sleep

Question 54

How many hours of sleep does the typical adult need?

A) 16 hours
B) 12 hours
C) 8 hours
D) 6 hours

Question 55

A scientist has a recording of brain activity which shows a readiness potential. What does her reading show?

A) Her subject showed a marked change in brain activity before the subject reported any awareness of a decision to move.
B) Her subject showed a marked change in brain activity only after the subject reported an awareness of a decision to move.
C) Her subject showed no brain changes unless they were prepared for an upcoming unconscious movement.
D) Her subject showed brain changes only when appropriately prompted to move.

Question 56

According to the global workspace hypothesis, integrated neural activity is made possible by __________.

A) readiness neurons
B) workspace neurons
C) the fusiform face area
D) the parahippocampal place area

Question 57

Why do animals need to sleep?

A) Sleep is restorative.
B) Sleep may allow important brain circuits to remain activated.
C) Sleep may allow consolidation of memories.
D) All of the above are likely true.

Question 58

According to the activation-synthesis hypothesis, pons activation results in stimulation of which brain area?

A) reticular formation
B) lateral geniculate nuclei
C) occipital cortex
D) frontal cortex

Question 59

Which of the following individuals require the least sleep?

A) babies
B) adolescents
C) adults
D) the elderly

Question 60

Which of the following brain parts are not implicated by the activation-synthesis hypothesis?

A) reticular formation
B) medulla
C) lateral geniculate nuclei
D) pons

Question 61

Frank is awake but relaxed. He is sitting quietly with his eyes partially closed. Which of the following brain wave rhythms would Frank likely show if you were to obtain an EEG recording while Frank is in this state?

A) alpha rhythm
B) beta rhythm
C) delta rhythm
D) slow-wave sleep rhythm

Question 62

Which of the following is NOT one of the stages of consciousness or sleep typically found during an EEG?

A) alpha rhythms
B) beta rhythms
C) delta rhythms
D) omega rhythms

Question 63

Which area(s) of the brain show diminished activated during dreaming?

A) the limbic system
B) motor cortex
C) prefrontal cortex
D) none of the above

Question 64

Bernadette shows a variety of changes in the body across the day, including increases and decreases in arousal, body temperature, and states of consciousness. Together these changes are typically called the __________.

A) workspace hypothesis
B) circadian rhythm
C) sleep state
D) REM

Question 65

Orianna experiences a vivid, detailed, and highly pictorial dream. She most likely experienced this dream during which stage of sleep?

A) stage 1 sleep
B) stage 2 sleep
C) slow-wave sleep
D) REM sleep

Question 66

Each night when you fall asleep, which area of your brain regulates the change in body rhythm as you move from wakefulness to the state of sleep?

A) the prefrontal cortex
B) the reticular activating system
C) a specialized segment of the hypothalamus
D) the lateral geniculate nuclei

Question 67

Ellyse has been blind since birth. She was born without an optic nerve. Based on what you know about circadian rhythm and sleep cycles, which of the following is likely true about Ellyse.

A) Her circadian rhythm is likely to be typical to that of most individuals with intact optic nerves.
B) She should show no differences in circadian rhythm, but may have difficulty with sleep.
C) She will have distinct disruptions in circadian rhythm and sleep cycles.
D) There is not enough information to determine the effects on Ellyse's circadian rhythm or sleep.

Question 68

Which of the following is typical of dreams?

A) They contain experiences or people you have never met or experienced.
B) They are always illogical and weird.
C) They are often thematic over the course of a year or years.
D) They always involve self-censorship.

Question 69

Which of the following is NOT typical content of dreams?

A) experiences or people you have met or experienced
B) sexual content
C) recurring themes
D) odd combinations of everyday events

Question 70

Hannah is just starting to fall asleep. She is falling into a light dozing sleep, but startles easily when her roommate walks into the room. She also appears to be experiencing hypnagogic imagery. Which of the following brain-wave rhythms would you likely find if you were to obtain an EEG recording while Hannah is in this state?

A) alpha rhythm
B) stage 1 sleep rhythms
C) delta rhythm
D) slow-wave sleep rhythm

Question 71

Which of the following is a criticism of Freud's theory of dreams?

A) The theory is based on his own interpretation of dreams.
B) It is difficult, if not impossible, to know if the dream interpretations are correct as his theory is not testable.
C) There are little data to support Freud's contentions.
D) All of the above.

Question 72

Ryan dreams of riding a motorcycle across the country during his summer break. The manifest content of this dream would be __________.

A) the motorcycle
B) the trip
C) the wishes or desires the motorcycle trip represents
D) both a and b

Question 73

Ryan dreams of riding a motorcycle across the country during his summer break. The latent content of this dream would be __________.

A) the motorcycle
B) the trip
C) the wishes or desires the motorcycle trip represents
D) both a and b

Question 74

Gabriella is thinking actively, attending to the lecture and working out the math problems as the professor shows them on the board. Which of the following brain-wave rhythms would you likely find if you were to obtain an EEG recording while Gabriella is in this state?

A) alpha rhythm
B) beta rhythm
C) delta rhythm
D) slow-wave sleep rhythm

Question 75

Which of the following is NOT likely to be a typical content of a dream?

A) everyday events
B) familiar people and objects
C) weird or illogical elements of familiar experiences, objects, or people
D) events or elements of experiences, objects, or peoples you have never experienced

Question 76

The difference between dreams experienced during REM sleep versus dreams experienced during slow-wave sleep is that __________.

A) REM sleep dreams are more vivid and pictorial
B) slow-wave sleep dreams are pictorial but sparse in details
C) slow-wave sleep dreams are likely to be highly complex
D) REM sleep dreams are likely give only sparse details

Question 77

According to Freud, what do dreams contain?

A) self-censorship
B) primitive and forbidden wishes that are hidden from our conscious thoughts
C) events or people we have never experienced
D) all of the above

Question 78

Which area(s) of the brain are most activated during dreaming?

A) the limbic system
B) motor cortex
C) prefrontal cortex
D) both a and b

Question 79

Petre experiences a dream, but he reports that it was very patchy, like he was thinking about something and the dream contained very few details. He most likely experienced this dream during which stage of sleep?

A) stage 1 sleep
B) stage 2 sleep
C) slow-wave sleep
D) REM sleep

Question 80

Desiree is having difficulty sleeping. She has heard of a natural substance that might help her sleep, as it naturally occurs in the brain and apparently mediates the circadian rhythm and sleep. You are sure that she is referring to __________.

A) melatonin
B) serotonin
C) endorphins
D) norepinephrine