Candidate Number
809C8
THE UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX
MSc Examination January 2016 (A1)
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
SAMPLE PAPER
Assessment Period:
DO NOT TURN OVER UNTIL INSTRUCTED
TO BY THE CHIEF INVIGILATOR
INSTRUCTIONS
Do not write your name anywhere on the question sheet.
Do not tear off any part of the question sheet.
At the end of the examination the question paper and any answer books/answer
sheets, used or unused, will be collected from you before you leave the examination
room
Time allowed: 2 hours
Answer ALL parts of Section A and Section B, and ONE further question from
Section C.
Section A carries 20%, Section B carries 30%, and Section C carries 50% of
the marks.
SECTION A
The answers to this section, one to each question, should be
marked on the answer sheet provided.
[20 multiple choice questions each with 4 alternatives.]
SECTION B
The answers to this section, should be marked on this exam paper.
[10 open-ended questions]
SECTION C
Answer ONE question from this section in the answer book provided.
[8 choices of essay question.]
809C8 Cognitive Psychology – Sample Paper
Section A
1. The method of constant stimuli is where:
a) You present the same stimuli on each psychophysical trial
b) You preselect stimulus levels and the participant responds yes or no
depending on whether they detected the stimulus
c) The stimulus levels on each trial are set by the participant’s response and
the participant responds as to whether they detected the stimulus
d) The stimuli are fixed and participants are asked to respond as to whether
they detected a difference.
2. Which of these cells are found at the last stage in retinal processing and provide
signals to magnocellular layers of the LGN?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Parasol ganglion cells
Koniocellular cells
Extrastriate cells
Midget ganglion cells
3. What visual illusion demonstrates colour opponency in action?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Chromatic troxler effect
Colour aberration
Colour observation
Colour after-effect
4. The main function of the middle ear is:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Sound filtering
Frequency analysis
Impedance matching
Transduction
5. Two different vowels spoken at the same pitch have:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Different harmonic frequencies and amplitudes
Different harmonic amplitudes but the same harmonic frequencies
Different harmonic frequencies but the same harmonic amplitudes
The same harmonic frequencies and amplitudes
6. The consonants in the syllables /ba/, /da/ and /ga/ differ by:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Their place of articulation only
Their place of articulation and their voice onset time
Their voice onset time only
None of the above
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809C8 Cognitive Psychology – Sample Paper
7. With respect to speech, categorical perception refers to:
a)
b)
c)
d)
A poor ability to distinguish speech sounds from the same category
Improved discrimination at phoneme boundaries
Discrimination that is predictable from categorisation
All of the above
[Note: that if d is the correct answer no credit will be given for answering a, b, or c]
8. Which of these hypothesis cites sexual selection as one of the forces behind the
evolution of language:
a)
b)
c)
d)
The Social gossip hypothesis
The Machiavellian intelligence hypothesis
The Social brain hypothesis
The Scheherazade effect hypothesis
9. During a very perceptually demanding task people are:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Less vulnerable to distraction
More vulnerable to distraction
More vulnerable to “inattentional blindness”
a and c
[Note: that if d is the correct answer, no credit will be given for answering a or c]
10. Covert attention refers to:
a)
b)
c)
d)
A shift of attention accompanied by an eye movement
A shift of attention in the absence an eye movement
The ability to focus attention on a single source of information
The ability to focus attention on more than one thing at the same time
11. Morphemes are the smallest:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Units of sound in a language that change meaning
Units of meaning in a language that change sound
Pronounceable units of a language
Units of meaning in a language
3
/Turn over
809C8 Cognitive Psychology – Sample Paper
12. Why do we need concepts?
a) Concepts enable us to generalise from past experiences to a new instance
b) Concepts enable us to make predictions about other instances of a
category
c) Conceptual hierarchies provide economy of representation
d) All of the above
[Note: that if d is the correct answer no credit will be given for answering a, b, or c]
13. The set of properties that an object must have to be a member of a particular class
of things is termed its:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Superordinate
Attributes
Intension
Extension
14. Which are the two components of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Probabilistic determinism and linguistic relativity
Linguistic determinism and social relativity
Linguistic determinism and linguistic relativity
Probabilistic determination and social relativity
15. Which of the following is defined as a temporary storage system that can hold
and integrate information from other structures in working memory?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Visuo-spatial sketchpad
Episodic buffer
Central executive
Phonological loop
16. Memories of historical facts are to __________ memory, as memories of your
breakfast this morning are to __________ memory.
a)
b)
c)
d)
Episodic; procedural
Procedural; semantic
Semantic; episodic
Long-term; short-term
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809C8 Cognitive Psychology – Sample Paper
17. An area of the brain of particular importance for encoding long-term memories:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Hippocampus
Parietal lobe
Habenula
Medulla
18. Which of the following experiences are people most likely to volunteer to repeat
after the event?
a) 60 seconds with one hand immersed in water at 14°C
b) 90 seconds with one hand immersed in water at 14°C
c) 60 seconds with one hand immersed in water at 16 °C followed by 30
seconds with the same hand immersed in water at 14 °C
d) 60 seconds with one hand immersed in water at 14°C followed by 30
seconds with the same hand immersed in water at 16 °C
19. To say that people are loss averse means they:
a) Do not like losing things
b) Dislike losing goods of a certain value more than they like gaining goods
of the same value
c) Are risk seeking in the domain of losses
d) Are risk averse in the domain of losses
20. I begin a major project which is rather different from projects I have undertaken
before, though other people have undertaken such projects and completed
them in about 5 years, I am likely to predict I will take:
a)
b)
c)
d)
3 years to complete the project and actually take 5
5 years to complete the project and actually take 3
3 years to complete the project and actually take 3
5 years to complete the project and actually take 5
5
/Turn over
809C8 Cognitive Psychology – Sample Paper
SECTION B
Answer ALL the questions in this section in the space provided on this
question paper. Each question is worth 3 marks.
21. How did Blakemore and Cooper (1970) show that there are critical periods for
the development of orientation selective neurons in the cortex? (in a maximum of
2 sentences)
22. Explain the concept of exaptation. (in a maximum of 2 sentences)
23. Cite the three dimensions of a sound signal that are represented on a
spectrogram.
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809C8 Cognitive Psychology – Sample Paper
24. What is the definition of a proposition in a text?
25. What are three main theories of concept representation?
26. List three main types of behavioural evidence for the phonological store
component of Baddeley & Hitch’s (1974) working memory model.
27. Order the following types of retrieval tasks from easiest to hardest:
Cued Recall
Single Item
Forced Choice
Free Recall
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809C8 Cognitive Psychology – Sample Paper
28. Tasks with __________ perceptual load exhaust capacity. Tasks with
___________ perceptual load leave spare capacity.
29. Describe what regression to the mean is using a real world example.
30. Describe the four-fold pattern of risk seeking and risk aversion.
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809C8 Cognitive Psychology – Sample Paper
SECTION C
Answer ONE question from this section in the answer book provided
31.
Evaluate whether experience influences visual perception.
32.
Explain how the main acoustic components of the human voice are
produced, what information they encode, and how they are perceived.
33.
Using specific examples, discuss the extent to which the categorisation of
speech sounds is innately or culturally determined.
34.
How might individual differences in perceptual processing capacity or
working memory capacity be expected to affect attention?
35.
What is the evidence for the Dual-Route model of word naming, and how
can different types of acquired dyslexia be accounted for in this model?
36.
Outline one model of text comprehension and critically evaluate the
evidence that supports it.
37.
Critically evaluate the evidence for a distinction between episodic and
semantic memory
38.
With reference to specific empirical studies, outline the main facts that a
psychological theory of decision making has to explain. Which of these
facts are readily accommodated in a utility theory framework, which are
not, and why?
End of Paper
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809C8 Cognitive Psychology – Sample Paper
CORRECT ANSWERS
Section A
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
B
A
D
C
B
A
D
D
D
B
D
D
C
C
B
C
A
D
B
A
Section B
21. Kittens raised in striped tubes from birth where they were deprived of exposure
to all but one single orientation of line. After 5 months, it was found that the kittens
showed no response to any other orientation of line, and electrophysiological
investigations found that there were no neurons responsive to other orientations.
22. In evolutionary biology, exaptation refers to the process by which a trait (or a
feature) acquires a function for which it was not originally selected. An exaptation is
therefore a trait (or a feature) whose function is unrelated to the reasons for its
origination.
23. Time, Frequency and Amplitude.
24. A proposition in a text is the smallest unit of meaning that has a "truth value”,
which means that we can say is either true or false, given appropriate background
knowledge.
25. the Classical View (includes semantic networks and feature models), the
Prototype View, the Theory Theory
26. Phonological Similarity Effect, Word Length Effect, Irrelevant Speech Effect
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809C8 Cognitive Psychology – Sample Paper
27. Forced Choice, Single Item, Cued Recall, Free Recall
28. When performance or quality of an outcome is variable, a person or thing that is
known to have an extreme score is likely to have a less extreme score on reexamination. For example, a really excellent meal at a restaurant on one visit is likely
to be followed by a slightly less good (and therefore perhaps disappointing) one on
the next visit.
(other examples from the lecture: well and poorly executed flying manoeuvres by
trainee pilots followed by less good or bad manoeuvres; double marking - if one
marker's mark is known the other's is likely to be less extreme)
29. For high probability outcomes, people are risk averse for gains (e.g. seeking safe
investments) and risk seeking for losses. For low probability outcomes people are
risk seeking for gains (buying lottery tickets, or gambling more generally) and risk
averse for losses (taking insurance).
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