Question 1

George Miller demonstrated that we can briefly hold only about 12 pieces of information in memory at any given moment.

Accepted Answer

George Miller demonstrated that the average number of objects an individual can hold in working memory is about 7 (plus or minus 2), not 12.

Question 2

Noam Chomsky was an outspoken supporter of B.F.Skinner's theory of language.

Accepted Answer

Noam Chomsky was actually a strong critic of B.F. Skinner's theory of language. Chomsky argued that language acquisition involves innate, biological processes and that Skinner's behaviorist approach overlooked the deeper complexities of human language.

Question 3

B.F.Skinner focused on the consequences of behavior as determinants of whether or not it would reoccur.

Accepted Answer

This is a basic tenet of Skinner's theory of operant conditioning. He believed that behavior was shaped by the consequences that followed it, and that behavior that was reinforced or followed by positive consequences was more likely to be repeated in the future.

Question 4

If a behavior is reinforced,it is more likely to occur again.

Accepted Answer

Reinforcement increases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated in the future. This is a basic principle of operant conditioning. Therefore, if a behavior is reinforced, it is more likely to occur again.

Question 5

By studying how quickly rats pressed levers for food pellets before and after surgery that removed parts of their brains,Karl Lashley hoped to discover the precise spot in the brain where learning occurs.

Accepted Answer

Lashley's research did not aim to find a specific location for learning in the brain but rather to demonstrate that learning is not localized to a single area.

Question 6

Frederic Bartlett demonstrated that our expectancies play a large role in the accuracy of our memories.

Accepted Answer

Frederic Bartlett's research on memory showed that our previous knowledge, beliefs, and expectations influence how we perceive, interpret, and remember new information. This is known as the "schema theory" of memory, which suggests that our existing mental frameworks, or "schemas," shape the way we encode, store, and retrieve information, leading to errors and distortions in our recall.

Question 7

John Watson believed that fears were largely innate and the result of our evolutionary history.

Accepted Answer

John Watson believed that fears were largely learned rather than innate, as demonstrated in his famous Little Albert experiment where he conditioned a child to fear a white rat.

Question 8

With the advent of computers,cognitive psychologists began conceptualizing the mind as hardware and the brain as software.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive psychologists conceptualize the mind as software and the brain as hardware, drawing an analogy where the brain's physical structures are like a computer's hardware, and mental processes (the mind) are like the software that runs on that hardware.

Question 9

Jean Piaget demonstrated that even toddlers grasp the concept that the mass of an object remains constant even if it is divided.

Accepted Answer

Jean Piaget's experiments showed that toddlers do not grasp the concept of conservation (the idea that quantity, mass, and volume remain the same despite changes in the forms or shapes of objects). According to Piaget, children typically develop this understanding at a later stage, around the age of 7 or 8.

Question 10

Frederic Bartlett conceptualized memory as a photographic representation of a past experience.

Accepted Answer

Bartlett did not believe in the photographic model of memory. Instead, he proposed that memory is reconstructive and influenced by a person's prior knowledge and beliefs.

Question 11

Jean Piaget studied the perceptual and cognitive errors of children in order to understand the development of the human mind.

Accepted Answer

Jean Piaget is known for his research on cognitive development in children, which involved studying their errors in perceptual and cognitive tasks in order to gain insight into how the human mind develops over time.

Question 12

Gestalt psychologists believed that the mind imposes organization on what it perceives.

Accepted Answer

Gestalt psychologists emphasized that perception is a process of active organization rather than passive reception of information. They believed that the mind imposes organization on sensory information, resulting in the perception of patterns, forms, and structures.

Question 13

Gestalt psychology was a Russian movement influenced by the work of Ivan Pavlov.

Accepted Answer

Gestalt psychology was a German movement influenced by the work of philosophers and psychologists such as Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka, among others. It focused on the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and emphasized the importance of perception and context in shaping the way we understand and interpret our experiences. It was not influenced by Ivan Pavlov, who was a Russian physiologist known for his work on classical conditioning.

Question 14

The Gestaltists' view was diametrically opposed to the functionalists' claim that experience can be broken down into separate elements.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Gestaltists' view was diametrically opposed to...

Question 15

In his classic studies on memory,Hermann Ebbinghaus demonstrated that meaningful information is easily forgotten.

Accepted Answer

Hermann Ebbinghaus actually showed that meaningless information is easily forgotten, while meaningful information is better remembered. This is known as the "meaningful learning hypothesis."

Question 16

To test his theories,B.F.Skinner raised his daughter in a conditioning chamber,or "Skinner Box."

Accepted Answer

B.F. Skinner did not raise his daughter in a conditioning chamber. The misconception arises from his invention of the "baby tender" or "air crib," a device designed to maintain a comfortable environment for babies, but it was not a conditioning chamber or "Skinner Box" used for experiments.

Question 17

Gestalt psychologists believed that the entirety of a perceptual experience can be greater than the sum of its component parts.

Accepted Answer

This statement accurately summarizes the core belief of gestalt psychology, which emphasizes the importance of holistic perception and the integration of sensory inputs into meaningful patterns and structures. According to gestalt principles, our brains organize sensory information into coherent wholes that are more than just the sum of their individual parts. This perspective contrasts with reductionist approaches that focus on breaking down perception into its constituent elements, such as individual sensory receptors or neural circuits.

Question 18

John Watson developed the concept of reinforcement with rats pressing levers for food.

Accepted Answer

B.F. Skinner developed the concept of reinforcement, particularly through his experiments with rats pressing levers for food, not John Watson. Watson is known for founding behaviorism, but Skinner expanded on these ideas with his work on operant conditioning.

Question 19

The advent of computers led,in part,to the rise of cognitive psychology.

Accepted Answer

The advent of computers in the mid-20th century provided a new metaphor for thinking about the mind, which helped to inspire the development of cognitive psychology.

Question 20

B.F.Skinner believed that humans did not have free will.

Accepted Answer

According to Skinner's theory of behaviorism, human behavior is determined by environmental reinforcement and punishment, rather than by free will or individual choice. Therefore, Skinner believed that humans did not have true free will.

Quiz 1: Evolution of Psychological Science-Part C