Chapter: Chapter01: an Introduction to Cognitive Psychology

Chapter: Chapter 03: Perceptual Processes II: Attention and Consciousness

Multiple Choice

1. A person who is performing a divided-attention task is attempting to: a) respond to one source of information (e.g., one message), while ignoring other information (e.g., another message). b) attend to two or more simultaneous sources of information (e.g., messages) and to respond to each as needed. c) perform an attention-demanding task for several minutes, then perform a different task for several minutes. d) switch attention between sensory modalities (e.g., vision and audition) more than twenty times per second.

Ans: b Feedback: See page 72

2. If you try to update Facebook, text your friends and listen to your professor’s lecture, you are trying to use ______. (By the way, most research suggests you are not as successful as you think!) a) divided attention b) dichotic listening c) the attentional spotlight d) bottom-up processing

Ans: a Feedback: See page 72

3. Recent experiments compared people using a hand-held cell phone while driving, people who were using a hands-free cell phone, and people who were not using a cell phone at all. The researchers found that: a) there is no evidence for any driving problems that are attributable to either hand-held or hands-free cell phones. b) driving problems occur when using a hand-held cell phone but not when using a hands-free cell phone. c) driving problems occur when a person is dialing a number (or sending a text message) but not when listening or talking on a cell phone. d) driving problems occur even when a person is listening or talking to another person while using a hands-free set.

Ans: d Feedback: See page 73

4. A person who is performing a selective-attention task is attempting to: a) respond to one source of information (e.g., one message), while ignoring other information (e.g., another message). b) attend equally to two or more simultaneous sources of information (e.g., messages) and respond to each as needed. c) perform an attention-demanding task for several minutes, then perform a different task for several minutes. d) switch attention between sensory modalities (e.g., vision and audition) more than twenty times per second.

5. Many experiments on selective attention use a situation in which a person simultaneously hears two different messages, one in each ear. This situation is called: a) backward masking. b) shadowing. c) attenuating. d) dichotic listening.

6. Early attention researchers devised a method to control a person's attention and to ensure that they were attending to a message. The person was asked to listen to a spoken message and repeat it after the speaker. This task of repeating is called: a) dichotic listening. b) divided attention. c) shadowing. d) regeneration.

Ans: c Feedback: See page 74

7. In the ______, there is a cognitive conflict between reading words and naming colors. Generally, the reading wins out. a) Rapid Automatized Naming task b) Stroop effect c) Babinski’s sign d) parietal lobe

8. The Stroop effect refers to the finding that people take longer to name: a) a color in which a word is printed when the word's meaning conflicts with the name of the color. b) a color in which a word is printed when the word's meaning matches the name of the color. c) a word when the letters forming the word are colored differently than when they are all black-colored. d) a word that is presented following a series of words in a meaningful sentence than to name a word in isolation.

9. One explanation for the Stroop effect is that: a) a pathway involved in one task (e.g., naming a color) may interfere with a pathway involved in another task (e.g., reading a word). b) a less automatic process (e.g., reading a common word) may interfere with a more automatic process (e.g., naming a color). c) two different processes may be performed simultaneously without any mutual interference effects (e.g., reading words). d) two attention-demanding processes will show little or no mutual interference if the processes involve similar kinds of materials.

10. The frequent and rapid movement of the eyes is known as ______eye movement. a) random b) programmed c) saccadic d) optogenetic

Ans: c Feedback: See page 80

11. Studies of saccadic eye movements, which are important in reading and other tasks, reveal that: a) a wide variety of cognitive factors influence the pattern and speed of them. b) regression movements are very uncommon, especially in people with reading problems. c) good readers pause for a longer time before making the next saccadic movement. d) All of the above are correct.

Ans: a Feedback: See pages 81 - 82

12. The orienting attention network, as revealed by recent research: a) is intimately involved in tasks such as visual search. b) develops during the first year of life. c) relies on activity in the parietal region of the right cerebral hemisphere. d) All of the above are correct.

Ans: d Feedback: See pages 84 - 85

13. Unilateral neglect refers to the finding that people who have damage in the parietal lobe of one cerebral hemisphere (e.g., the left parietal lobe) will: a) display enhanced sensitivity to a visual stimulus that appears in the same-side visual field (e.g., to their left). b) display enhanced sensitivity to a visual stimulus that appears in the opposite-side visual field (e.g., to their right). c) have difficulty noticing a visual stimulus that appears in the same-side visual field (e.g., to their left). d) have difficulty noticing a visual stimulus that appears in the opposite-side visual field (e.g., to their right). Ans: d Feedback: See page 84

14. According to Treisman’s feature integration theory: a) automatic parallel processing (distributed attention) may lead to a "pop out" effect. b) in a focused attentional search, the number of elements in a display does not matter. c) illusory conjunctions are more likely when people perform a relatively easy task. d) focused attention operates more quickly and yields more errors than distributed attention.

15. According to Treisman's feature-integration theory, when a person is attending to a scene there are two processing stages: a) focused attention and distributed attention. b) feature analysis and prototype identification. c) automatic processing and unconscious processing. d) automatic attention and uncontrolled attention.

16. Focused attention, which must be used if a task is difficult or when visual objects are more complex, requires: a) automatic processing. b) serial processing. c) parallel processing. d) distributed processing.

17. The binding problem is a result of the way in which the nervous system processes information. For example: a) the auditory system analyzes a message coming into both ears by using exactly the same neurons. b) the auditory system analyzes two messages, one coming into each ear, by using exactly the same neurons. c) the visual system analyzes various features of an object (e.g., color, shape) holistically. d) the visual system analyzes various features of an object (e.g., color, shape) separately.

18. A region of the cerebral cortex called the orienting attention network, which is active when a person is visually searching for an object, is located in the: a) frontal cortex (lobe). b) temporal cortex (lobe). c) parietal cortex (lobe). d) occipital cortex (lobe). Ans: c Feedback: See pages 83 - 84

19. A region of the cerebral cortex called the executive attention network, which is active during the Stroop task and other tasks focused on word meaning, is located in the: a) frontal cortex (lobe). b) temporal cortex (lobe). c) parietal cortex (lobe). d) occipital cortex (lobe).

Ans: a Feedback: See pages 84 - 85

20. Consciousness is related to which cognitive concept? a) working memory b) long-term memory c) decision making d) attention

21. Many studies investigating thought suppression (e.g., trying not to think about food or about a white bear), reveal that people: a) can easily suppress all automatic and controlled processes that involve the unwanted thought. b) can effectively suppress all automatic processes that involve the unwanted thought by engaging only in controlled processes. c) cannot engage in a controlled search for thoughts that are not the unwanted thought. d) show ironic effects, such as a rebound effect following a period of thought suppression.

22. The conclusion that people can sometimes perform a cognitive task quite accurately, but with no conscious awareness that their performance is accurate, is suggested by recent findings on the topic of: a) the Stroop effect. b) illusory conjunctions. c) thought suppression. d) blindsight.