Cognitive Psychology Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mental processes

The cognitive approach focuses on the effect that the cognitive patterns of the mind have on our behaviour. These include thinking, memory and perception. The learning approach focuses on observable behaviour, the psychodynamic on the unconscious mind and the social approach on the effect that others have on our behaviour.

Answer: Atkinson and Shiffrin

Atkinson and Shiffrin suggested that the mind has three different stores: the sensory store, the short term memory and the long term memory.

Answer: 5-9 items

In 1957 George Miller said that the capacity of the short term memory store is "the magical number 7, plus or minus 2".

Answer: Repression

Repression is the theory that a person pushes a memory into the unconscious mind because it is too painful to remember.

Answer: A Computer

There are many similarities between the human mind and a computer. They both process information and have memories. They also both have outputs.

Answer: True

This is known as semantic processing. The theory was put forward in 1972 by Craik and Lockhart.

Answer: Police

This approach can help improve eyewitness testimony by reducing things such as leading questions and improving the memory of a witness.

Answer: The start and the end

The serial position effect suggests that the beginning of the list will be remembered because these words have had time to be rehearsed (the primacy effect) and the end will be remembered because these were heard the most recently and are still in the short term memory (the recency effect).

Answer: Repression

False memory syndrome is where someone remembers something in therapy which they believe is a memory that they have repressed but it actually never happened.

Answer: False

This is known as flashbulb memory. It often happens at the time someone hears of a major event. For example: it is likely everyone will remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard of the events of 9/11.