Applied Cognitive Psychology - Practice exam mc questions - Leiden

Multiple choice sample exam questions - Leiden University (2019)

Lecture 2: Fundamentals

The classic version of Broadbents Attentional Filter refers to an early selection of sensory information to enter perception, based on:

• modality (e.g. auditory vs visual)
• physical properties (pitch, color, loudness)
• attended channel (e.g. left ear versus right ear)
• all of the above - correct!

(Lecture 2: Fundamentals) 

According to the phonological loop model, remembering a series of digits in a language with longer number words, as compared to a language with shorter number words, will lead to:

• a lower digit span correct!
• a higher digit span
• a slower digit span
• a faster digit span

(Lecture 2: Fundamentals) 

Which of the below is not a core aspect of Miyake and Friedman's theory of executive functions?

• inhibition
• retention correct!
• shifting
• updating

(Lecture 2: Fundamentals) 
 

You are performing an experiment and notice that so far all your participants have to come to the lab wearing white sneakers. From this observation you generate the hypothesis that all students that will come to lab wear white sneakers. This is an example of:

• Conductive reasoning
• Logical reasoning
• Deductive reasoning
• Inductive reasoning correct!

(Lecture 3: HCI)
In Human Computer Interaction we typically - as described in the ACP model - manipulate aspects of [...] in order to improve [...]

• The training of users; sales and production
• The digital environment; usability and user experience correct!
• The cognitive abilities; mental workload and stress management
• The physical environment; ergonomics and office safety

(Lecture 2: Fundamentals)

 During the lecture you’ve learned about three theories of working memory. While helping out a friend who missed the lecture you explain to her two of the three theories. During the exam you’ve forgotten all about the third theory. This is an example of:

• interference
• decay
• reconsolidation
• induced forgetting correct!

(Lecture 2: Fundamentals) 

A smart advertiser has made a poster where a woman is looking at the advertised product, this is:

• an exogenous cue, drawing your covert attention
• an endogenous cue, drawing your covert attention
• an exogenous cue, drawing your overt attention correct!
• an endogenous cue, drawing your overt attention

(Lecture 3:  HCI) 

You are in a plane flying towards your holiday destination and decide to take a picture of the beautiful sunset. You take out your digital camera, turn it on, and then you realise you don't know which buttons zoom in or out, despite the fact you have done this before using this very camera. After 10  minutes of trial and error you manage to locate the proper buttons. The plane has altered course, however, so the sunset is no longer visible.

Which usability goal is not well supported by the camera's display design?

• Learnability
• Safety
• Memorability correct!
• User manual

(Lecture 3: HCI)

Modern television sets and smartphone operating systems allow users to use their speech to control the device (e.g., commands like "go to next channel" or "send email to")

Which design principle may be the dominant issue in such speech control?

• Decision complexity
• Knowledge in the world correct!
• Distinction
• Feedback

(Lecture 3: HCI) 

In supporting complicated tasks that consist of multiple steps, many systems provide a series of dialog screens with a "next" button at the bottom of each screen. The final screen shows "Finalize" button. Pressing this button completes the task.  

These step-wise mechanisms are helpful in completing these complicated tasks, mainly because they provide:

• Explicit structure correct!
• Information access
• Meaningfulness
• Multiple resources

(Lecture 3: HCI) 

When Windows 95 was introduced, many users criticized it for the "START" button in the bottom left corner. In order to shut down the system a user had to press "START" and then "shut down". That criticism most likely arose from [...]. However, in Windows 8, the "START" button was removed. Again, users complained as they now could no longer locate their applications. This criticism most likely arose from [...]

• A discrepancy between mental models; lack of consistency correct!
• Lack of informative feedback; a discrepancy between mental models
• Lack of consistency; lack of informative feedback
• Low accuracy in pressing the button; lack of informative feedback

(Lecture 4: Safety) 

Forgetting to take away the original on the glass plate of the copy machine is a typcial example of a

• slip
• lapse correct!
• mistake
• violation

(Lecture 4: Safety) 

In routine situations the optimal control mode is

• Skill-based correct!
• Rule-based
• Knowledge-based
• Application-based

(Lecture 5:  Gaming) 

Boot, Blakely and Simons (2011) give recommendations for properly conducting video-game training studies. Among other things, they argue it is best to (overtly) ask participants about their video game experience: 

• At the beginning of the study
• During the study
• At the end of the study correct!
• Never

(Lecture 5: Gaming) 

Lampit et al. (2014) investigated whether a multi-domain computerize cognitive training (CCT) intervention could improve (….), and found improved performance after training for CCT group, as compared to a (….) group. 

• Cognitive flexibility; arithmetic training
• Cognitive flexibility; no-contact control
• Bookkeeping skills; arithmetic training correct!
• Bookkeeping skills; no-contact control

(Lecture 6: Drugs & Food) 

When differences in the effect of a serotonin manipulation are found, what population tends to demonstrate the most pronounced effect?

• Women
• Men
• Elderly correct!
• There are no differences

(Lecture 6: Drugs & Food) 

Colzato and colleagues (2010), investigated variations of the COMT gene, which are linked to higher or lower levels of prefrontal (…), and found that the variation of the gene leading to (…), was associated with greater cognitive flexibility.

• Serotonin; slightly higher than moderate serotonin levels
• Dopamine; slightly higher than moderate dopamine levels
• Dopamine; slightly lower than moderate dopamine levels correct!
• Serotonin; slightly lower than moderate serotonin levels

(Lecture 7: Justice) 

Psychological expert witness reports about the suspect's guilt 

• are mostly supporting the defense
• are mostly supporting the victim
• are based on clinical analyses of the suspect
• are invading the province of the court correct!

(Lecture 7: Justice) 

Footballers who 'dive'  (falsely pretend to be hindered) when they are close to an adversary player, make use of: 

• Principles in perceiving performance
• Principles in perceiving causality correct!
• Principles in emotion perception
• Principles in justice perception

(Lecture 8: Aging) 

Studies showing positive effects of lab-based interventions for older adults, such as playing computer games or group-based physical exercise, might not generalize well to home-based application of such interventions, this is a problem of (…). 

• construct validity
• ecological validity correct!
• internal validity
• criterion validity

(Lecture 8: Aging) 

Feng, Spence & Pratt (2007) found that performance on spatial attentions as measured by the Useful Field of View task was (…) for women than for men at baseline. However, after women and men received action video-game training, this gender difference disappeared almost completely, suggesting a (...) effect.

• better; compensation
• better; magnification
• worse; magnification
• worse; compensation correct!