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.

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Name: ____________________   Date: ____________

1.Easy

About how many items can a person hold in short-term memory, according to George Miller's classic estimate?

  1. A20 ± 5
  2. B12 ± 3
  3. C7 ± 2
  4. D3 ± 1
2.Easy

Which type of memory stores facts such as "Paris is the capital of France"?

  1. ASensory memory
  2. BEpisodic memory
  3. CProcedural memory
  4. DSemantic memory
3.Easy

Knowing the usual order of events when eating at a restaurant (being seated, ordering, eating, paying) is called a:

  1. AScript
  2. BHeuristic
  3. CPrototype
  4. DPhoneme
4.Medium

In a lexical decision task, people recognise "nurse" as a word faster after seeing "doctor" than after seeing "bread". This is best explained by:

  1. AThe phonological similarity effect
  2. BRetroactive interference
  3. CIconic memory decay
  4. DSpreading activation in a semantic network
5.Medium

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

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

Which feature is typical of an automatic process, such as reading a familiar word?

  1. AIt is easily disrupted by a second task
  2. BIt is fast and hard to stop once started
  3. CIt needs a lot of conscious effort
  4. DIt can only be done slowly, one step at a time
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. AProcedural memory can survive severe loss of episodic memory
  2. BEpisodic memory is needed to perform any skill
  3. CMusical skills are stored in short-term memory
  4. DAll long-term memory depends on a single system
8.Hard

H.M. practised mirror drawing over several days. His performance improved steadily, yet each day he said he had never done the task before. What does this show?

  1. ASkills can be learned without remembering the practice
  2. BHis improvement came from rehearsal in short-term memory
  3. CH.M. was only pretending not to remember the sessions
  4. DMirror drawing depends mainly on the hippocampus

Answer key

  1. 1. C · 7 ± 2
  2. 2. D · Semantic memory
  3. 3. A · Script
  4. 4. D · Spreading activation in a semantic network
  5. 5. D · The central executive
  6. 6. B · It is fast and hard to stop once started
  7. 7. A · Procedural memory can survive severe loss of episodic memory
  8. 8. A · Skills can be learned without remembering the practice

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