AP Psychology : Cognition

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology

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Example Questions

Example Question #31 : Memory

What is mood-congruent memory?

Possible Answers:

None of these answers is accurate.

The tendency not to remember things when we are depressed

The tendency to recall memories that are congruent with your current emotional state

The tendency to warp all of our memories according to current negative feelings

The tendency to warp all of our memories according to current positive feelings

Correct answer:

The tendency to recall memories that are congruent with your current emotional state

Explanation:

Mood-congruent memory is the tendency to recall memories that are congruent with your current emotional state, often leading to temporarily biased views of the past. For instance, if we are mad at someone, we are more likely to remember negative memories associated with them as opposed to the potentially large amount of positive ones. This has a tendency to reinforce and perpetuate our current emotional states.

Example Question #31 : Memory

What did Elizabeth Loftus reveal about the nature of memories?

Possible Answers:

That no one truly remembers anything

That through suggestion and questioning, memories could be easily planted and hence false

All of these answers are accurate.

That we have a surprisingly good ability to record memories, almost like cameras

That memories can be traced to certain parts of the brain

Correct answer:

That through suggestion and questioning, memories could be easily planted and hence false

Explanation:

Elizabeth Loftus revealed that many memories could be planted or fabricated by using subtle ways to make people believe they remembered a particular event, such as suggesting, questioning, or making a person doubt themselves by claiming they may have repressed the memory of it.

Example Question #32 : Cognition

What does the context-dependent theory of memory posit?

Possible Answers:

None of these answers is accurate.

That in certain contexts we are prone to forget certain things

That in certain contexts we will only remember physical details but nothing else

That certain memories are more accessible in the physical place in which they were experienced

That how good your memory is depends on the context in which you were raised

Correct answer:

That certain memories are more accessible in the physical place in which they were experienced

Explanation:

The context-dependent theory of memory posits that certain memories are more accessible in the physical place in which they were experienced. That is, they may be harder to access in areas where the memory was not experienced. This is a classic example of going back to a place and having a "rush of memories" coming back to you.

Example Question #634 : Individual Psychology And Behavior

What is anterograde amnesia?

Possible Answers:

Memory loss for events that transpired following immediately after trauma.

Memory loss for events that occurred later in life

None of these answers is accurate.

All of these answers are accurate.

Memory loss for events that occurred before the age of three.

Correct answer:

Memory loss for events that transpired following immediately after trauma.

Explanation:

Anterograde amnesia is memory loss for events that transpired following immediately after trauma. Retrograde amnesia refers to memory loss for events that preceded the traumatic event.

Example Question #32 : Memory

Which of the following psychologists is famous for research on false memories?

Possible Answers:

George A. Miller

Wolfgang Köhler

Elizabeth Loftus

Noam Chomsky

Hermann Ebbinghaus

Correct answer:

Elizabeth Loftus

Explanation:

Elizabeth Loftus has had a long and distinguished career studying eyewitness memory and the creation of false memories. In one of her well-known experiments, participants remembered the speed of a car as being faster or slower depending on the wording of the question. In another experiment, she demonstrated that about 25 percent of people could be convinced that they remembered being lost in a mall as a small child, even though this event never actually happened to them. 

Example Question #31 : Memory

After suffering damage to her hippocampus, Pauline can still remember her past perfectly; however, she constantly forgets information she learned only moments earlier. Which of the following diagnoses best identifies Pauline’s condition?

Possible Answers:

Echoic memory

Retrograde amnesia

Amnesia

Anterograde amnesia

Correct answer:

Anterograde amnesia

Explanation:

“Anterograde amnesia” is caused by damage to the hippocampus and results in the inability to create new memories. “Retrograde amnesia” is also caused by damage to the hippocampus, but is characterizes with the inability to remember anything that occurred before a certain time. These individuals can still form new memories. “Amnesia” is too general of term and is incorrect. Last, “echoic memory” is not associated with forgetting information. 

Example Question #32 : Memory

Which of the following is not an example of an implicit memory?

Possible Answers:

Episodic memory

Procedural memory

Classically conditioned learning

Priming

Correct answer:

Episodic memory

Explanation:

Episodic memory (i.e. memories of lived experiences), together with semantic memory (i.e. known facts), forms the category explicit memory. Explicit memories are available for conscious reflection and can be called up and described. The other three choices are all types of implicit memory, or memory that is drawn upon outside of conscious awareness. Procedural memory refers to the knowledge of how to perform physical actions. Priming refers to the unintended influence of frequent or recent experiences. Classically conditioned learning refers to trained associations between frequently paired stimuli.

Example Question #31 : Cognition

Esther is trying to memorize digits of pi——by reading them in order and reciting them back from memory. She notices herself having to look back at her cheat sheet each time she gets about seven digits out from:

Which of the following theorists’ work best explains this phenomenon?

Possible Answers:

George Miller

Noam Chomsky

George Lakoff

Stanley Milgram

Correct answer:

George Miller

Explanation:

George Miller’s research on short-term memory established that humans are typically limited to dealing with “seven plus or minus two” pieces of information at one time. Noam Chomsky is most famous for theorizing universal grammar and language acquisition. George Lakoff’s work concerns the relationship between cognition and metaphor. Stanley Milgram is a social psychologist, controversial for his work on obedience.

Example Question #33 : Memory

Which of the following examples best displays the spacing effect?

Possible Answers:

Studying for exams is only helpful if the subject matter covers familiar material.

Studying throughout the week yields better retention than studying all night before an exam.

Studying in multiple contexts facilitates recall during the exam.

Studying for multiple subjects at the same time facilitates later performance on exams.

Studying in space is more effective than studying under water.

Correct answer:

Studying throughout the week yields better retention than studying all night before an exam.

Explanation:

In the field of psychology, the spacing effect is the phenomenon in which humans more easily remember items when they are spaced out over a long period of time as opposed to repeatedly studied in a short period of time.

Example Question #31 : Memory

The common saying—“It’s like riding a bike”—reflects the idea that learning to ride a bike is often firmly stored in one’s memory. The ability to ride a bike would be stored in a person’s __________.

Possible Answers:

procedural memory

short term memory

semantic memory

episodic memory

Correct answer:

procedural memory

Explanation:

"Procedural memory" refers to a memory of “knowing how.” If you can ride a bike, then you might not be able to word-for-word verbalize your memory of how to do so; therefore, "semantic memory" is not the best choice. Psychologists would also distinguish between remembering how to ride a bike and remembering when you learned to ride a bike—the latter would be considered "episodic memory." Additionally, "short term memory" refers to information held immediately in consciousness for a very brief time, often in order to carry out a certain task, which is then lost if not transferred to long term memory.  The general knowledge of riding a bike would not be permanently stored in short term memory.

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