Cognitive psychology worksheet with answers

Free printable Cognitive psychology worksheet: 8 problems from easy to exam level, with an answer key. Print it or save it as a PDF.

New worksheetPractise online with hints

For teachers: free to print, copy and use in class. Every new worksheet has new values and its own answer key. A link to ExamProblems on your course page is appreciated.

Name: ____________________   Date: ____________

1.Easy

Functional fixedness is the tendency to:

  1. AForget the purpose of an object after a delay
  2. BSolve every problem with the same algorithm
  3. CSee an object only in terms of its usual use
  4. DRemember objects better than words
2.Easy

Selective attention is best illustrated by:

  1. ARecognising a face you have seen before
  2. BRemembering a phone number for a few seconds
  3. CSolving an arithmetic problem
  4. DFollowing one conversation at a noisy party
3.Easy

The tendency to search for information that supports what we already believe is called:

  1. AFundamental attribution error
  2. BAnchoring
  3. CConfirmation bias
  4. DHindsight bias
4.Medium

The serial position effect predicts that items in a list are recalled best when they are:

  1. AOnly at the beginning of the list
  2. BIn the middle of the list
  3. CAt the beginning and end of the list
  4. DRandomly placed, whatever the length of the list
5.Medium

Which working memory component is most heavily used when you switch between two tasks and decide what to focus on?

  1. AThe central executive
  2. BThe phonological loop
  3. CThe visuospatial sketchpad
  4. DIconic memory
6.Medium

Students given a coffee mug ask for a much higher price to sell it than other students will pay to buy it. This is the:

  1. AEndowment effect
  2. BSunk cost fallacy
  3. CGambler's fallacy
  4. DAnchoring effect
7.Hard

Clive Wearing developed severe amnesia after a brain infection and cannot remember events from moment to moment, yet he can still play the piano and conduct music. This shows that:

  1. AEpisodic memory is needed to perform any skill
  2. BProcedural memory can survive severe loss of episodic memory
  3. CMusical skills are stored in short-term memory
  4. DAll long-term memory depends on a single system
8.Hard

Moray found that people often noticed their own name in the unattended ear during shadowing. Why was this a problem for Broadbent's filter model?

  1. AIt shows names are stored in iconic memory
  2. BIt shows that people cannot shadow at all
  3. CIt shows some unattended input is analysed for meaning
  4. DIt proves that both ears are always attended to equally

Answer key

  1. 1. C · See an object only in terms of its usual use
  2. 2. D · Following one conversation at a noisy party
  3. 3. C · Confirmation bias
  4. 4. C · At the beginning and end of the list
  5. 5. A · The central executive
  6. 6. A · Endowment effect
  7. 7. B · Procedural memory can survive severe loss of episodic memory
  8. 8. C · It shows some unattended input is analysed for meaning

Full step-by-step solutions: practise this topic on examproblems.com.