AP Psychology : Conscious Thought and Problem Solving

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology

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Example Questions

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Example Question #51 : Conscious Thought And Problem Solving

Which of the following scenarios best demonstrates functional fixedness?

Possible Answers:

Joanne needs to open a keychain ring to add a key, but her nails are too short to easily do so. She does not think of using the teeth of the staple remover on her desk as an alternative to using her nails.

Marie has a bad habit: she always responds to her younger sister by aggressively snapping at her. This always happens, even though she wishes to change her behavior.

Tom does not know how to use the operating system on his workplace’s computers, so he brings his own laptop, which has a familiar operating system on it, in to use.

Eric has been playing piano since early childhood, and now he can play certain songs almost by muscle memory.

Correct answer:

Joanne needs to open a keychain ring to add a key, but her nails are too short to easily do so. She does not think of using the teeth of the staple remover on her desk as an alternative to using her nails.

Explanation:

Functional fixedness is a cognitive bias that limits the way a person thinks about an object, restricting his or her view of that object’s uses to the “traditional” or typical uses of that object. The example with Joanne is the best choice, as it reflects functional fixedness restricting her view of the staple remover. She is probably used to using the staple remover to remove staples, so when she realized she could not open the keychain ring with her nails, she felt stuck. She did not think of being able to use the staple remover to hold open the keychain ring. 

Example Question #51 : Conscious Thought And Problem Solving

According to psychoanalysis, the preconscious includes thoughts that are unconscious at the moment, but can be recalled at a later time. Which of the following famous psychologists would be most likely to examine a patient's preconscious thoughts?

Possible Answers:

Phil McGraw

Ruth Ginsberg

Stanley Milgram

Sigmund Freud

B.F. Skinner

Correct answer:

Sigmund Freud

Explanation:

Sigmund Freud is considered to be "the father" of psychoanalysis. This theoretical orientation believes that people can be cured of psychiatric illnesses by bringing their unconscious thoughts to the surface to be addressed. This allows repressed emotions and behaviors to be released and dealt with by the therapist and patient. 

Example Question #227 : Cognition And Consciousness

Which of the following is best described as a basic and clear definition for cognition?

Possible Answers:

Cognition is a process of police investigation

Cognition is the process of remember significant events in one's life

None of these

Cognition is when the brain is performing logical reasoning

Cognition relates to almost any activity in the brain, particularly thinking, reasoning and remembering

Correct answer:

Cognition relates to almost any activity in the brain, particularly thinking, reasoning and remembering

Explanation:

A succinct and clear definition for cognition could be the following: "thinking, reasoning, remembering or almost any other activity in the brain." Cognition drastically changes throughout our lifetimes and is the object of much psychological study. In other words, the correct choice for the basic and clear definition of cognition is the following: "cognition relates to almost any activity in the brain, particularly thinking, reasoning and remembering."

Example Question #52 : Conscious Thought And Problem Solving

Visiting a political website that only has content you agree with is an example of which of the following?

Possible Answers:

Gambler's fallacy

Ingroup bias

Halo effect

Status quo bias

The confirmation bias

Correct answer:

The confirmation bias

Explanation:

The confirmation bias is a fallacy almost all of us are prone to. The premise of the confirmation bias is that we seek out things in the world the confirm our preformed thoughts about the world. That is, in terms of what we think, believe, do and are interested in we tend to be very narrow! That's why throughout a lifetime people will not change political beliefs and are often found browsing the same political website they have for years.

Example Question #753 : Individual Psychology And Behavior

Believing that your university is generally smarter than all others is an example of which of the following?

Possible Answers:

Ingroup bias

Anchoring effect

Negativity bias

Current moment bias

Bandwagon bias

Correct answer:

Ingroup bias

Explanation:

The incorrect answers are biases mainly to do with decision making and selective focus. The "ingroup bias" has more to do with our beliefs about what "groups" we belong to and how we measure our groups to the "others". The essential bias is that we are prone to believe that OUR group is better than all the others. Indeed in the past we have identified with racial groups and this bias was the source of violent racism. On the flipside, the ingroup bias also maintains our solidarity with others and creates morale.

Example Question #754 : Individual Psychology And Behavior

Which of the following sectors are most affected by the "negativity bias"?

Possible Answers:

News and media

Hospitality industry

Food and beverage industry

Auto industry

Technology industry

Correct answer:

News and media

Explanation:

The negativity bias that we as humans are prone to affects news and media the most. The other industries listed have more of an interest in promoting the positive things about their products to attract consumers. Though we may not like to hear that the car we're going to buy is going to break down in five years when it comes to learning about the world we like to hear bad news! This is most likely due to natural selection: it may be more important for our survival to pay attention to bad news than good.  

Example Question #755 : Individual Psychology And Behavior

Which of the following is an example of the status quo bias?

Possible Answers:

Thinking your nation is better

Thinking your group of friends is better

Only wanting to do things you want to do

Not wanting to change the way you do things

None of these

Correct answer:

Not wanting to change the way you do things

Explanation:

The status quo bias refers to our tendency to keep things the way they are. This provides a sense of stability for us that makes day-to-day living manageable and we avoid a sense of cognitive dissonance. This can be damaging though, when the status quo itself is toxic or damaging to others.

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