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

Trying to perform two tasks at the same time, such as texting while listening to a lecture, involves:

  1. ASustained attention
  2. BDivided attention
  3. CIconic memory
  4. DSelective attention
2.Easy

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

  1. ASensory memory
  2. BProcedural memory
  3. CSemantic memory
  4. DEpisodic memory
3.Easy

Functional fixedness is the tendency to:

  1. ASolve every problem with the same algorithm
  2. BRemember objects better than words
  3. CForget the purpose of an object after a delay
  4. DSee an object only in terms of its usual use
4.Medium

Lists of similar-sounding letters (B, G, V, T) are harder to recall immediately than dissimilar letters (F, K, Y, W). This suggests short-term memory:

  1. AStores letters mainly as visual images of their shapes
  2. BMainly codes information by meaning
  3. CMainly codes verbal information acoustically
  4. DHas unlimited capacity for letters
5.Medium

Counting the windows in your house by picturing walking around it mainly uses which working memory component?

  1. AThe visuospatial sketchpad
  2. BThe episodic buffer
  3. CLong-term procedural memory
  4. DThe phonological loop
6.Medium

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

  1. AAt the beginning and end of the list
  2. BRandomly placed, whatever the length of the list
  3. COnly at the beginning of the list
  4. DIn the middle of the list
7.Hard

Participants practise retrieving some items from a studied category (e.g. "fruit – orange"). Later, unpractised items from the same category (e.g. "fruit – banana") are recalled worse than items from unpractised categories. This is:

  1. ARetroactive interference from a new list
  2. BDecay over time
  3. CRetrieval-induced forgetting
  4. DThe testing effect
8.Hard

Morris, Bransford and Franks found that words processed for rhyme were better recognised in a rhyming test than words processed for meaning. This challenges levels of processing because:

  1. AMemory depends on the match between encoding and test, not only on depth
  2. BMeaning cannot be processed during learning
  3. CRhyming words are stored in iconic memory
  4. DShallow processing is always better than deep processing

Answer key

  1. 1. B · Divided attention
  2. 2. C · Semantic memory
  3. 3. D · See an object only in terms of its usual use
  4. 4. C · Mainly codes verbal information acoustically
  5. 5. A · The visuospatial sketchpad
  6. 6. A · At the beginning and end of the list
  7. 7. C · Retrieval-induced forgetting
  8. 8. A · Memory depends on the match between encoding and test, not only on depth

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