Question 1

Which statement regarding cognitive errors is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

Cognitive errors can manifest in different ways, including errors in attention, perception, or memory. Option A is partially correct in that cognitive errors impair thinking, but not all cognitive errors are logical errors. Option B is incorrect as cognitive errors are common in human cognition. Option D is incorrect as thinking errors are often a result of cognitive errors.

Question 2

Which statement is TRUE about human perceptual abilities?

Accepted Answer

While humans do perceive a significant portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, they have also extended their perception with the use of tools and instruments such as telescopes and microscopes. Background knowledge also strongly guides human perception, as it allows individuals to interpret and make sense of sensory information. Despite this, it is difficult to make a definitive comparison between human perceptual abilities and those of other animals.

Question 3

Psychologically speaking, a sensed presence MOST likely results from a:

Accepted Answer

A sensed presence is often associated with hallucinations, which are perceptions experienced without any external stimuli.

Question 4

In a class demonstration, Professor Rendon asks chocolate-loving students to rate two boxes containing the same chocolates. She explains that one box contains expensive chocolates, while the other box contains inexpensive chocolates. Based on the research reviewed in this chapter, the students MOST likely will rate:

Accepted Answer

The research reviewed in the chapter suggests that people often perceive higher-priced items as being of higher quality. Therefore, the students are likely to rate the expensive box as containing higher-quality chocolate, even if the chocolates in both boxes are the same.

Question 5

Detective Park watched a surveillance video. He watched the video again, slowed it down, and then noticed a cup on the floor that he had not seen previously. The detective's failure to see the cup on the first viewing can MOST likely be attributed to:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Detective Park watched a surveillance video. He...

Question 6

According to the text, the sleep deprivation experienced by Charles Lindbergh during his transatlantic flight MOST likely contributed to his experiencing:

Accepted Answer

During his transatlantic flight, Charles Lindbergh experienced extreme sleep deprivation, which can lead to various cognitive impairments, including hallucinations. Lindbergh reported hallucinations in the form of presences that seemed to guide and support him, a phenomenon that can occur under severe fatigue and sensory deprivation conditions.

Question 7

Thorne and Himelstein (1984) tested whether groups of students would report hearing satanic words in rock songs played backward when instructed under three different conditions. The group instructed to listen for satanic words heard the most satanic words due to the researchers' finding that:

Accepted Answer

The researchers found that the group instructed to listen for satanic words heard the most satanic words, indicating that expectations can bias perception. This suggests that the group's preconceived beliefs about the presence of satanic content in rock songs influenced their perception of the backward lyrics.

Question 8

As participants in a study by Simon and Chabris (1999) counted passes of a basketball on a video they watched, they failed to see a person walking around in a gorilla suit. This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

This is an example of inattentional blindness, where participants were so focused on counting the passes that they failed to notice the unexpected stimulus of a person in a gorilla suit walking around.

Question 9

Some people reported seeing a face on the surface of Mars in data sent back from the Viking spacecraft that flew to Mars in 1976. Psychologists would suggest _____ as the MOST likely explanation for this interpretation

Accepted Answer

Visual pareidolia is the tendency for people to see meaningful images or patterns in random or vague stimuli. In this case, people may have interpreted the vague, rock formation on Mars as a face due to their tendency for visual pareidolia.

Question 10

The "change blindness blindness" effect found by Levin, Momen, Drivdahl, and Simons (2000) shows that people often:

Accepted Answer

The "change blindness blindness" effect found by Levin, Momen, Drivdahl, and Simons (2000) shows that people are often unaware that they do not accurately detect changes. Therefore, option D is the correct answer. Options A and B are related to perception but not specifically related to the "change blindness blindness" effect. Option C is partially correct as people do miss changes from one scene to another, but it does not encompass the full effect found in the study.

Question 11

Tabatha drew the well-reasoned conclusion from the literature that eyewitness memory is often inaccurate. She thought about the issue some more and decided that, in general, memory is inaccurate and cannot be trusted in other situations as well. She seems to be committing the thinking error of:

Accepted Answer

Tabatha is making a sweeping generalization by applying the conclusion about eyewitness memory to all situations, without considering any possible exceptions or qualifications.

Question 12

Palmer (1975) conducted a classic experiment in which participants viewed a kitchen scene, after which they rapidly viewed images of a loaf of bread, a similarly shaped mailbox, and a drum. Which statement BEST explains the participants' better recognition of the bread than the other objects?

Accepted Answer

Palmer's experiment demonstrated that participants were more likely to recognize an object in context with a previously viewed scene. This suggests that knowledge of the usual context in which an object appears facilitates its perception.

Question 13

Which concept BEST explains why a person would mistake the planet Venus for a UFO?

Accepted Answer

Venus can appear as an unusually bright light in the sky, and if a person has never seen or learned about this phenomenon, their visual perception may lead them to mistake it for an unidentified flying object.

Question 14

Magicians' feats of "magic" are MOST consistent with an explanation from psychological research about the:

Accepted Answer

Magicians often use visual illusions and distractions to manipulate what the audience focuses on, leading to inattentional blindness where observers fail to notice something fully visible because their attention was engaged elsewhere. This psychological phenomenon explains many magic tricks where the audience misses the trick due to focusing on something else the magician directs their attention to.

Question 15

Many studies have shown that driving while talking on a cell phone puts drivers at greater risk of accident due to:

Accepted Answer

Divided cognitive resources refers to the fact that talking on a cell phone while driving requires the use of attention and cognitive resources that would otherwise be used for driving. This can result in slower reaction times and impaired driving ability, increasing the risk of accidents. The other answer choices do not accurately describe the risks associated with cell phone use while driving.

Question 16

When people believe that they have seen a ghost, that experience is MOST likely:

Accepted Answer

Hallucinations involve perceiving something that isn't present, which aligns with the experience of seeing a ghost.

Question 17

Which statement about hallucinations is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

Hallucinations are not limited to individuals with mental disorders; many people experience them at some point in their lives due to various factors such as stress, sleep deprivation, or certain substances. This makes the statement that most people experience a hallucination at some point in their lives true.

Question 18

A stage magician moved her right hand with a flourish that made a snapping sound, and then quietly dropped an object she had been holding in her left hand. A cognitive psychologist would MOST likely explain the audience's belief that the object had disappeared as an effect created by:

Accepted Answer

The magician created a distraction, which led to the audience experiencing inattentional blindness and not noticing the object being dropped. This explains their belief that the object had disappeared. There was no visual or auditory illusion or hallucination, and the experience was not based on a schema.

Question 19

Which statement is TRUE about attention?

Accepted Answer

The statement that cognitive resources available for attention are limited is true. This is supported by research on attention and cognitive load, which suggests that individuals have a limited capacity for attending to and processing information.

Question 20

Simons and Levin (1998) conducted an experiment in which a participant gave directions to a confederate or a person secretly working with the experimenter. This was suddenly interrupted as a panel was carried between the participant and the confederate. At this time, the confederate switched places with a second confederate carrying the panel. Participants often did not notice the switch and resumed giving directions to the new man, showing an effect called:

Accepted Answer

The experiment by Simons and Levin (1998) demonstrates "change blindness," which is the failure to notice a change in a visual stimulus when the change coincides with a visual disruption, such as a brief occlusion.

Quiz 6: Errors in Attention, Perception, and Memory That Affect Thinking