PY 320
Exam 2
Fall, 2016
This
is a take-home exam. The exam is worth
100 points. Each question is worth 18 points (90 points). I also have a “fudge factor” of 10 points to
take into account neatness, logical thinking, creative examples, etc. You may
use your notes, outside sources (such as the Internet) and your text to answer
the questions, but you MAY NOT collaborate with each other. Do NOT
simply copy from either the text or notes…put things in your own
words. If you do need to use a
quotation, be sure to properly cite the information and provide a reference
list. .
The
exam is due no later than NOONon
Wednesday, October 19, 2016. You may give me a hard copy of the exam or
email me your exam as an email attachment (Word
document or .rtf files only). If you
email me your exam and I am unable to open it, it is considered to be “not
turned in.”
You must answer one
(1) question per group (4 questions).
Your fifth question can be from any group. Your total number of responses=5. Each response should be at least 350-500 words
in length.
Group A:
1. Explain
why working memory capacity, but not short term memory capacity, would relate
to performance on so many other cognitive tasks (such as dichotic listening,
inattentional blindness, problem solving, and reasoning).
2. Describe two ways
that our knowledge of findings from research on working memory can help us
design effective real-world strategies for coping with everyday tasks and
problems.
3. For many decades,
researchers in the area of human memory primarily studied college students who
are enrolled in introductory psychology courses. Why would the research on working memory not
be applicable to a group of people who are currently experiencing major
depression?
4. “H.M.” lost his ability
to transfer new information into long-term memory. Imagine the implications of
this loss for common life scenarios:
moving to a new address, someone in the family having a baby or dying,
and so forth. How do you think a person
like H.M. might cope with the consequences of his memory loss? What strategies might he have to employ?
Group B:
1. Since DNA testing began to
be used in criminal cases, over 200 people have been released from prison
because DNA proved that they were innocent all along. The most common factor in
those false convictions is false recognition by an eyewitness. Knowing what you know about reconstructive
memory and other aspects of memory, what do you think police can do to decrease
the chances of false conviction?
2. Do you have any flashbulb
memories? Why do you think people are so confident about those memories? How do you think errors creep in to flashbulb
memories?
3. Describe the distinction
between declarative and procedural memory and also, between implicit and
explicit memory. Do these two distinctions
fit together well? Explain why you think
so.
4. Describe the debate over
“recovered” versus “false” memories of traumatic events. What are the most important issues for
cognitive psychologists to address, and what issues (pragmatic, ethical, theoretical)
are they likely to face in doing so?
Group C:
1. Consider the basic level
category, “dime”, in contrast to the superordinate-category, “money”, and the
sub-ordinate category, “2005 dime”.
Describe these three levels and then explain how the basic level has
special status when we want to identify objects. Describe the person who would be most likely
to use the (a) superordinate-level name and (b) the subordinate-level name.
Think of an area where you have more knowledge than the average person…when
would you be most likely to use the subordinate-level descriptions?
2. Think of a schema or script
that happens frequently in your life.
Explain how the schema or script might influence your memory in
different types of memory situations (e.g., memory selection, memory
integration).
3. The research on knowledge
representation typically involves laboratory research with participants working
on somewhat artificial tasks (e.g., lexical decision, sentence
verification). Does such research have
much bearing on cognition that occurs in real life? Defend your answer and use specific examples
to illustrate your points.
4. As a child, how do
you think you learned what a “cat” was? Do you remember making any errors in
classifying cats? Which, if any, model
of concept formation does your own experience most resemble?
Group D:
1. Research seems to indicate that language
does not determine how you think. But do
you think that your language influences how you think about certain
situations? Give some examples of how your own vocabulary, or your particular
language, limits or changes the way you think about something.
2. Do Grice’s maxims of
cooperative conversation apply to text messaging? Give some examples of maxims that do and do
not apply to text, or that are applied differently to text conversations than
to phone conversations or in-person conversations.
3. Explain the
competence/performance distinction and the arguments linguists and psychologists
give for making it.
4. If you own a pet
such as a dog, you probably agree that your dog communicate with you, whether
through wagging its tail, “body language,” licking you, or barking. But your
textbook argues that such communication is not what we would call a
“language.” Why is your dog not a true
language-user? (Or would you like to argue that it DOES use language?)
