Question 1

Which one of the following best illustrates a worldview at work?

Accepted Answer

A)   Ophelia is convinced that no one at school likes her.
B)   Daniella thinks that the earth is round only in the way that a pancake is round.
C)   On his first trip to the ocean, Eli looks toward the horizon and wonders how far the water goes.
D)   When Mick falls down and sprains his ankle, Rachel says, "That must be your punishment for you for calling me nasty names yesterday." D

Question 2

Knowledge about the general plot of a novel one has read is probably stored in long-term memory as:

Accepted Answer

A)   productions
B)   propositions
C)   verbal codes
D)   images B

Question 3

Three of the following teaching strategies may foster students' acquisition of a theory about phenomena in the natural world. Which strategy is least likely to be effective in fostering students' theory development?

Accepted Answer

A)   Show a diagram of the human digestive system.
B)   Ask students to memorize a one-paragraph summary of how mitosis occurs.
C)   Describe heat as something that "flows" from one object to another.
D)   Engage students in a discussion about the forces that affect an arrow's movement as it is shot from a bow. B

Question 4

Explain what theorists mean when they say that long-term memory is associationistic. Describe two different theoretical models regarding how long-term memory might be organized.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain what theorists mean when they say...

Question 5

Lenesa sees a picture of a beach and then later tries to draw the picture from memory. She draws shells on the beach even though the beach in the picture had no shells. Using cognitive psychologists' concept of schema, how could we explain Lenesa's error?

Accepted Answer

A)   Lenesa has a schema for shells but does not have one for beaches.
B)   Lenesa has a schema for beaches but does not have one for shells.
C)   Lenesa's schema for a typical beach includes shells.
D)   Lenesa's schemas of beaches and shells are interfering with each other.

Question 6

Luana is taking her first course in psychology. With regard to her knowledge of psychology, Luana is probably in Alexander's ______ stage in the development of expertise:

Accepted Answer

A)   acclimation
B)   competence
C)   implicit knowledge
D)   undergeneralization

Question 7

You know how to use long division to solve a math problem; you also know that 28 divided by 4 equals 7. The difference between these two pieces of knowledge can best be characterized as a difference between:

Accepted Answer

A)   procedural vs. declarative knowledge
B)   semantic vs. episodic memory
C)   conceptual vs. conditional knowledge
D)   explicit vs. implicit memory

Question 8

Gina attends a wedding ceremony conducted in a culture very different from her own, and many of the rites performed during the ceremony seem strange and unfamiliar to her. Later, she finds that she can best remember those parts of the ceremony that were similar to how weddings are performed in her own culture. In which one of the following ways would a cognitive psychologist be most likely to explain this situation?

Accepted Answer

A)   Schemas encourage us to elaborate on the wide variety of stimuli we encounter over the course of our daily lives.
B)   We often learn new concepts by forming and testing hypotheses about defining and correlational features.
C)   Concepts are often stored in terms of exemplars.
D)   We can more accurately remember events that are consistent with familiar scripts.

Question 9

The textbook describes Patricia Alexander's theory regarding the development of expertise. Which one of the following statements best characterizes Alexander's theory?

Accepted Answer

A)   People develop expertise primarily by turning verbal codes and images into propositions and productions.
B)   People develop expertise primarily by learning certain skills and practicing them over and over until they can perform the skills almost without thinking.
C)   The development of expertise is characterized by a series of five stages of increasingly abstract problem-solving strategies.
D)   The development of expertise is characterized by the acquisition of more and better integrated knowledge about a topic.

Question 10

Which one of the following is the best example of a symbol as psychologists define the term?

Accepted Answer

A)   The word carpet
B)   The honking sound that a goose makes
C)   A leaky faucet 
D)   Snow

Question 11

Three of the following teachers are following recommended practices for teaching concepts. Which one is not?

Accepted Answer

A)   Mr. Adams teaches the concept fruit by showing examples of many different fruits and many different non-fruits.
B)   Mr. Benito teaches the concept reptile by focusing his students' attention on pictures of dinosaurs-animals that the students especially enjoy studying.
C)   Mr. Carlson teaches the concept vertebrate by giving a definition of the concept.
D)   After a lesson on the concept carbohydrate, Mr. Danielson asks his students to give their own examples of the concept.

Question 12

Which one of the following is the best example of an abstract concept rather than a concrete concept?

Accepted Answer

A)   Green
B)   Pleasure
C)   Rectangle
D)   Cantaloupe

Question 13

Which one of the following illustrates conceptual change?

Accepted Answer

A)   As a Boy Scout, Andy has learned how to cook a wide variety of foods over an open fire.
B)   Brad misinterprets the scientific explanation of fire to fit what he believes-that fire is an object with substance and weight.
C)   Charlotte used to think that fire was an actual substance, but now she knows that it's a chemical change.
D)   Dana wasn't aware of how much damage fire could really do until the house next door burned down.

Question 14

Which one of the following alternatives best illustrates the notion of a personal theory?

Accepted Answer

A)   Agnes has memorized the formula a2 + b2 = c2, but she cannot remember what the formula is called or what it's used for.
B)   Bert has memorized the formula a2 + b2 = c2 and also knows that it's called the Pythagorean theorem; however, he doesn't know in what situations it is useful.
C)   Christine is familiar with the formula a2 + b2 = c2; furthermore, she knows that the Pythagorean theorem provides a means of predicting the hypotenuse of a right triangle when the lengths of the other two sides are known.
D)   Darnell thinks of living creatures as being defined in terms of their biological origins, but he thinks of manmade objects as being defined in terms of their functions.

Question 15

Eight-year-old Mary was asked if the shark at the aquarium was a fish. She responded: "no, because that shark is too big to be fish". Kristen was not able to identify that the shark is a _______________ of fish.

Accepted Answer

A)   correlational feature
B)   defining feature
C)   positive instance
D)   negative instance

Question 16

After seeing many different examples of a dog, Joe begins to form an idea of what a typical dog looks like. This process best illustrates which one of the following views of concept learning?

Accepted Answer

A)   Learning defining features
B)   Prototype
C)   Exemplars
D)   Hypothesis testing

Question 17

Describe what contemporary psychologists mean by the terms schema, script, personal theory, and worldview, and explain how each of these can influence learning and memory. Use concrete examples to illustrate your discussion.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe what contemporary psychologists mean by the...

Question 18

Which one of the following is the best example of conceptual knowledge?

Accepted Answer

A)   Knowing who shot Martin Luther King, Jr.
B)   Remembering the twelve months of the year in their correct order
C)   Knowing how to keep your balance on a bicycle even on a bumpy road
D)   Knowing why the moon has different phases e.g., half moon, full moon)

Question 19

Which of the following formative assessments is most likely to promote cognitive change?

Accepted Answer

A)   A multiple-choice exam because it allows the learner to compare the correct answer with misconceptions.
B)   A fill in the blank exam because it allows the learner to generate their own knowledge.
C)   An oral exam because verbal explanation allows the learner to expand on their ideas.
D)   A written report because the tactile experience allows the learner to solidify their knowledge.

Question 20

Which one of the following is a defining feature of the concept island?

Accepted Answer

A)   A name e.g., "Bear Island") 
B)   Inaccessible by automobile
C)   Completely surrounded by water
D)   At least 100 feet wide in any direction

Exam 9: Cognitive-Developmental Perspectives