Deck 6: Introduction to Cognitivism

Question 1

Julia sees a set of twelve circles arranged like this: O O O O O O
O O O O O O
Using Gestalt principles, we can predict that Julia will perceive them as:

A) 2 groups of 6 circles each.
B) 6 groups of 2 circles each.
C) 3 groups of 4 circles each.
D) 4 groups of 3 circles each.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In a series of experiments, Tolman investigated the role of reinforcement in learning. Which one of the following conclusions emerged from his research?

A) Reinforcement is essential for learning, but not for performance.
B) Reinforcement is distracting, so interferes with learning.
C) Responses can be learned even when they are not reinforced.
D) Reinforcement is important only if the organism is unmotivated.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The basis for verbal learning theory came from which of the following research discoveries?

A) Language based learning could not be described by the behaviorist perspective alone.
B) Behaviorists did not want to be associated with language learning research.
C) All humans can learn language at an early age.
D) Humans can proficiently learn more than one language.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Frank sees an egg-shaped ball that he later "remembers" as being perfectly round. Frank's mistaken recollection is an example of the Gestalt principle of:

A) Proximity
B) Closure
C) Prägnanz
D) Restructuring

Question 5

Sarah needs to learn how to spell 40 words for a spelling test tomorrow. Sarah wants to perform as well as she possibly can on the test. Based on findings from verbal learning research, which one of the following would be the best advice to give Sarah?

A) "Spell each word at least 5 times, saying the letters silently to yourself."
B) "Spell each word at least 5 times, saying the letters out loud."
C) "Spell the words until you know them all perfectly."
D) "Spell the words until you know them all perfectly, and then continue to practice spelling them several more times."

Question 6

Three of the following are assumptions that underlie contemporary cognitive theories of learning. Which one is not such an assumption?

A) Mental events can be studied indirectly by observing behavior.
B) Humans often learn by relating new information to what they already know.
C) Researchers can study mental events only by abandoning objectivity.
D) Humans sometimes learn differently than other species do.

Question 7

You perceive a shape as a rectangle even though two of its lines are too short to connect at one corner. Which one of the following Gestaltist concepts best accounts for this phenomenon?

A) Closure
B) Prägnanz
C) Similarity
D) Proximity

Question 8

Ms. McDevitt's class has learned how to calculate the area of a rectangle. Ms. McDevitt then asks Teresa how to calculate the area of a square. Which one of the following alternatives best describes the Gestalt perspective of how Teresa would solve this problem?

A) She would engage in trial and error behavior, attempting one solution after another, until she eventually solved the problem.
B) She would solve the problem on her own only after watching the teacher solve the problem.
C) She would think about the problem for a while and, once she realized that a square was a kind of rectangle, be able to solve the problem.
D) Through a process of shaping, with her teacher reinforcing her for appropriate responses, she would eventually solve the problem.

Question 9

Which one of the following statements best describes the history of contemporary cognitive theory?

A) It has been a major force guiding learning research ever since computers were used to understand cognition.
B) It has been the dominant perspective in learning research only in the past six or seven decades.
C) Its roots can be traced to the work of verbal learning theory, which in turn evolved from Jean Piaget's research in Switzerland.
D) It gained prominence only when psychologists began to cast aside the need for objectivity in psychological research.

Question 10

Mr. Fremont tells his French class, "La plume means 'pen.'" Which one of the following students in his class is exhibiting Tolman's notion of latent learning?

A) Alicia immediately repeats the sentence, "La plume means 'pen.'"
B) Bethany also repeats the sentence immediately, but she mispronounces the French word plume as "plum."
C) Caroline is reading a novel hidden between the pages of her French book and so isn't paying attention.
D) Donna says nothing at the time, but she correctly recites the French word for "pen" the next day.

Question 11

The theories of Edward Tolman and the Gestalt psychologists were similar with respect to one of the following alternatives. Which one?

A) An emphasis on how knowledge is organized
B) An emphasis on cognitive maps
C) Research with human subjects
D) The law of Prägnanz

Question 12

Which one of the following statements reflects Tolman's notion of purposive behaviorism?

A) Organisms sometimes reinforce themselves
B) Organisms behave in order to attain particular goals.
C) Behavior can be altered by reinforcement, but not by punishment.
D) When organisms discover that a particular response is no longer reinforced as it has previously been, they increase the frequency of that response for a short time.
E)g., by feeling proud).

Question 13

Which one of the following is the best example of paired associate learning?

A) Learning how to fly a kite
B) Learning the months of the year in order
C) Learning French grammar
D) Learning the capitals of European countries

Question 14

Which one of the following best illustrates Tolman's notion of a cognitive map?

A) You study a map of Australia until you can reproduce it with considerable accuracy.
B) You study a map of Australia but reproduce it with many distortions in shape and location.
C) After walking around campus for a few days, you learn where buildings are in relation to one another.
D) The concepts table and chair are more closely associated in memory than the words bed and refrigerator.

Question 15

Contemporary cognitive theory asserts that humans are actively involved in their own learning. This assertion is most closely aligned to which theory?

A) Cognitive developmental
B) Social cognitive
C) Cognitive behavioral
D) Cognitive neuroscience

Question 16

Mrs. Pike's class is learning to spell twenty new words. They learn 5 words per day for four days Monday through Thursday). On Friday the students are given a spelling test on all 20 words. When Mrs. Pike is grading the tests, she notices that most students remembered the words that we taught on Thursday, but not on Monday through Wednesday. Which verbal learning principle can explain Mrs. Pike's spelling test results?

A) Primacy effect
B) Recency effect
C) Overlearning
D) Proactive inhibition

Question 17

People are more likely to perceive this configuration of shapes: ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
$ $ $ $
• • • •
As four rows rather than as four columns. Which one of the following Gestaltist concepts best accounts for this phenomenon?

A) Closure
B) Prägnanz
C) Proximity
D) Similarity

Question 18

Tolman was interested in examining the role of expectations in behavior. Which one of the following statements most accurately describes the method he used to study expectations?

A) He never reinforced any given response in the same way twice.
B) He reinforced a response the same way for several trials, then abruptly changed the type or amount of reinforcement.
C) He asked subjects what they were expecting a particular response to accomplish.
D) He gave his subjects a lengthy survey that included two or three questions concerning their expectations about the experiment.

Question 19

Three of the following illustrate the Gestalt notion that "the whole is more than the sum of its parts." Which one does not reflect this idea?

A) Abby notices that a row of flashing lights look like a single moving light.
B) Bobby gazes at the stars and notices how a cluster of seven stars forms the shape of a tennis racket.
C) Cubby is learning the concept brighter. He is shown a dim light and a bright light and told that the second light is brighter. When he later sees the same bright light and an even brighter one, he correctly identifies the new light as being brighter.
D) Debby learns that "2 plus 2 equals 4" and repeats this fact to herself over and over again until she knows it perfectly.

Question 20

Which one of the following is the best example of serial learning?

A) Learning how to fly a kite
B) Learning the months of the year in order
C) Learning French grammar
D) Learning the capitals of European countries

Question 21

Describe what is meant by serial learning and paired associate learning and give a real-life example of each.

Question 22

Early behaviorists argued that because thinking cannot be observed, it cannot be studied objectively and scientifically. How would a cognitive psychologist be most likely to respond to this argument?

A) "Modern technology allows us to study thought processes very precisely."
B) "By studying people's responses to various stimuli, we can draw inferences about thought processes that may underlie those responses."
C) "We study mental events, which aren't the same thing as thinking."
D) "We can determine what people are thinking simply by asking them to describe their thoughts. The things they say are observable behaviors that we can measure objectively."

Question 23

Identify two contributions that each of the following made to contemporary cognitive learning theory:
a. Edward Tolman
b. Gestalt psychologists
c. Verbal learning theorists

Question 24

Contemporary cognitive learning theories share a number of common underlying assumptions. Describe four of these assumptions.

Question 25

These four teachers claim to be practicing principles from cognitive psychology. Based on the following information, which one is not?

A) Ms. Anthony, a high school biology teacher, draws a hierarchy on the board showing how mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians are all vertebrates, and how vertebrates and invertebrates are both animals.
B) Mr. Bottenberg, a fourth grade teacher, suggests that his students try to learn their spelling words by thinking about similarly spelled words that they already know.
C) Mr. Conrad, a junior high school soccer coach, asks his players to practice passing the ball to one another as they run down the field, then openly praises those players who are passing skillfully.
D) Ms. Danforth, a third grade teacher, introduces her class to the topic of multiplication by showing them how it relates to addition.
Essay Questions

Question 26

John and Jenny are both taking the same math test on Friday. John studies for 6 hours on Thursday. Jenny studies for 2 hours per day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. According to research consistent with the verbal learning theory, which student should perform better on the math exam and why?

A) Jenny, because she studied for more days overall.
B) Neither, they would perform the same because they both studied for the same amount of time overall.
C) John, because all of his studying was massed together.
D) Jenny, because her studying was distribute over time.

Question 27

Which one of the following scenarios best reflects the basic idea of individual constructivism?

A) A student tries to make sense of a poorly written and confusing magazine article.
B) A teacher assigns a laboratory activity using cumbersome equipment that students can only use successfully by working in pairs.
C) A student practices playing the F major scale on his violin until he can play it perfectly.
D) Four students in a study group divide the day's reading assignment into four sections. Each student reads a section and then teaches the material to the other group members.

Question 28

Harry and Sam are both taking French; Harry is also taking German, but Sam is not. Harry and Sam learn these French vocabulary words in their French class: head - la tête
Eye - l'œil
Mouth - la bouche
The following day, Harry learns these German vocabulary words in his German class:
Head - der Kopf
Eye - das Auge
Mouth - der Mund
A week later the two boys are given a French vocabulary quiz in which they are asked to give the French words for head, eye, and mouth. Other things being equal, findings from verbal learning research would lead us to predict that:

A) Due to retroactive inhibition, Harry will get a lower grade on the quiz than Sam.
B) Due to proactive inhibition, Harry will get a higher grade on the quiz than Sam.
C) Due to retroactive facilitation, Harry will get a lower grade on the quiz than Sam.
D) Due to proactive facilitation, Harry will get a higher grade on the quiz than Sam.

Question 29

Over the course of history, science has continued to evolve as new data emerge and scientists offer new ideas to explain those data. This continuing process of change in scientific thinking over the years best reflects the idea of:

A) information processing theory
B) individual constructivism
C) social constructivism
D) Prägnanz

Question 30

Which one of the following statements best describes contextual views of learning?

A) Information stored in long-term memory is highly interrelated, such that everything is either directly or indirectly connected with everything else.
B) Learners can tackle complex tasks more successfully when they have familiar concrete tools to assist them in their efforts.
C) Practice in applying principles of deductive and inductive reasoning leads to more logical thought processes in a variety of contexts.
D) People of all ages-but especially young children-learn most effectively when they can relate a new concept to their own experiences.

Question 31

Contemporary information processing theories of learning can best be described as theories that:

A) Focus on how people solve problems
B) Propose that people learn in distinctly computer-like ways
C) Deal primarily with how people develop the ability to think abstractly
D) Explain how people interpret and remember the events they experience

Question 32

Explain what Gestalt psychologists meant by the phrase, "The whole is more than the sum of its parts." Give two examples-one related to perception and one related to learning-to illustrate your explanation.

Question 33

Based on findings from verbal learning research, which list of 3-letter syllables should be easiest to learn?

A) CAR, DOG, BUN
B) BUX, RIJ, NOP
C) TUN, FOT, AOR
D) XDP, MFC, RLJ

Question 34

Jennifer was given a random list of 20 words to study. Jennifer was then asked to recall as many of the words as she could remember in a free recall task. Consistent with verbal learning research, which of the following orders is Jennifer most likely to recall the words in?

A) Random order
B) The same order the words were presented in
C) In categories organized by the words' meanings
D) Alphabetical order

Question 35

A number of learning principles emerged from early verbal learning research. Which one of the following statements contradicts what verbal learning theorists found?

A) People tend to organize unorganized information.
B) People are more likely to remember general ideas than word-for-word information.
C) Practicing for a long time all at once is more effective than practicing for short periods on different occasions.
D) People sometimes change information into a form they can learn and remember more easily.

Question 36

Describe three general implications of cognitive learning theories for classroom practice. Illustrate each implication with a concrete example of what a teacher might do.