Lesson 2.6.1

2.6.1 Issues and debates in cognitive psychology Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Psychology, Unit 2

20 questions

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Lesson 2.6.1, Issues and debates in cognitive psychology: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Psychology (9PS0), Unit 2: Cognitive psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which issue in cognitive psychology concerns breaking memory into parts such as short-term and long-term memory for the purposes of study?

    • Holism
    • Reductionism
    • Idiographic approach
    • Determinism

  2. Which ethical issue is linked to the case of Henry Molaison (HM)?

    • Confidentiality, since the patient's medical information and identity must be protected
    • Protection from risk, since the patient was given a financial reward that he could only keep if he continued
    • Deception, since the patient was told that the study was about his heart when it was about his memory
    • Right to withdraw, since the patient was forced to continue the tests for several months against his wishes

  3. Which issue in cognitive psychology is illustrated by comparing different models of memory?

    • Nature-nurture, illustrated by the comparison of the blood types of participants in each memory model
    • Culture and gender, illustrated by the study of the physical size of the brain across different populations
    • Comparisons of ways of explaining behaviour using different themes, such as the different memory models
    • Psychology as a science, illustrated by the use of animal research in the study of memory models

  4. A critic argues that the working memory model splits memory artificially. Which issue is being raised?

    • Culture and gender, because the model ignores differences between men and women in memory
    • Holism, because memory is seen as a whole system that cannot be divided into any parts at all
    • Reductionism, because memory is broken into parts that may be studied in isolation
    • Psychology as a science, because the model is based on methods that cannot be tested in a laboratory

  5. Which issue concerns whether memory can be studied with the same rigour as the natural sciences?

    • Nature-nurture, which concerns the role of genes and experience in shaping the contents of memory
    • Psychology as a science, which concerns the use of laboratory experiments and controls
    • Ethics, which concerns the protection of patients' confidentiality and their wellbeing in the study
    • Reductionism, which concerns the breaking of memory into smaller parts for the purposes of the study

  6. Which issue is linked to memory being reconstructed differently across cultures or genders?

    • Culture and gender, since reconstruction may be based on cultural or gender stereotypes
    • Ethics, since patients must be protected from harm during the study of memory in clinical settings
    • Reductionism, since memory is broken into parts that are studied separately in the laboratory
    • Psychology as a science, since laboratory experiments are used to test memory in controlled conditions

  7. Which example illustrates nature-nurture in memory research?

    • Bartlett's War of the Ghosts as a nature influence, with the participants' age as a nurture influence in the study
    • Milgram's shock generator as a nature influence, with the voltage switches as a nurture influence in the study
    • Henry Molaison's brain function as a nature influence, with reconstructive memory as a nurture influence
    • Baddeley's word lists as a nature influence, with the participants' tests as a nurture influence in the study

  8. What does the issue of 'practical issues in design' refer to in cognitive research?

    • How to choose the colour of the walls in the laboratory so that the lighting is comfortable for participants
    • How to decide the number of cups of tea offered to participants during the breaks in the testing session
    • How to decide the font size used in the consent form so that all participants can read it comfortably
    • How to measure memory validly and the validity of experimental design

  9. Which issue is linked to the risk of focusing on one part of the brain in memory research?

    • Idiographic research, which may over-emphasise the unique experiences of individuals in the memory study
    • Reductionism, which may under-emphasise the interconnections between brain parts involved in memory
    • Holism, which may over-emphasise the interconnections between all brain parts involved in memory at once
    • Determinism, which may over-emphasise the role of free choice in the operation of memory in the brain

  10. Which evaluation point links the issue of 'psychology as a science' to memory research?

    • Laboratory experiments with controls support scientific rigour, but may not reflect everyday memory
    • Laboratory experiments cannot be controlled at all, so they can never provide scientific evidence of memory
    • Laboratory experiments are never used in memory research, so the issue of science does not apply to memory
    • Laboratory experiments always reflect everyday memory exactly, so there are no limits to their scientific value

  11. Which issue is linked to the use of a case study of HM in memory research?

    • Nature-nurture, along with the use of a standardised questionnaire about the patient's dietary habits
    • Ethics of animal welfare, along with the use of large samples of rats in the memory laboratory
    • Ethics and confidentiality, along with the reductionism of focusing on one patient's brain damage
    • Culture and gender, along with the study of male and female participants with identical memory scores

  12. Which of these is an example of a comparison between ways of explaining memory using different themes?

    • Comparing the size of the hippocampus in one patient with the size of the hippocampus in a group of patients
    • Comparing the working memory model's account of memory with the multi-store model's account of memory
    • Comparing the speed of reaction in men and women with the speed of reaction in children of the same age
    • Comparing the colour of the walls in the laboratory with the colour of the walls in the classroom

  13. Which issue is linked to the consideration of how psychological understanding has developed over time?

    • The development of the working memory model over time, or how the multi-store model informed later memory models
    • The development of the size of the laboratory equipment over time, which has changed little since the first studies
    • The development of the colour of the laboratory walls over time, which has changed little since the first studies
    • The development of the price of questionnaires over time, which has changed little since the first studies

  14. Which issue is raised when a single patient such as HM is used to make claims about all human memory?

    • Culture and gender, since a single patient is always a representative sample of men and women in the population
    • Generalisation and reductionism, since one unusual case may not represent how memory works in everyone
    • Determinism, since a single patient is always shown to have no free will in any aspect of memory use
    • Holism, since a single patient is always studied as a complete system with all its interconnections

  15. Why might a researcher be cautious about treating memory as a set of separate stores?

    • Because separate stores never exist in any model, so the research has no basis for distinguishing them at all
    • Because memory is always a single store in every person, so separate stores are never needed for any study
    • Because memory stores are always identical across people, so the distinction has no value in any research
    • Because treating memory as separate parts may under-emphasise how the parts interact in real brain function

  16. Which of these is a practical issue in testing memory?

    • Deciding how many chairs to place in the waiting room so that participants can sit down while they wait
    • Deciding how much to pay the lab cleaner so that the laboratory stays clean throughout the research period
    • Deciding how to measure memory so that the measure is valid and the experimental design is sound
    • Deciding which colour to paint the walls of the laboratory so that the testing room looks more attractive

  17. Why is the ethics issue of confidentiality important in memory research with patients?

    • Because patients' personal and medical information is sensitive and must be protected from disclosure
    • Because patients are always paid for their participation, so the data they provide are not private at any stage
    • Because patients' memory scores are always published publicly in newspapers, so privacy is never an issue
    • Because patients' memory is never affected by research, so confidentiality is not a relevant concern at all

  18. Which issue links the comparison of memory models with the idea of how understanding develops over time?

    • Comparing the size of two memory samples shows how understanding of memory has changed over several decades
    • Comparing models such as the multi-store and working memory models shows how memory understanding has changed
    • Comparing the price of two questionnaires shows how understanding of memory has changed over several decades
    • Comparing the colour of two laboratory rooms shows how understanding of memory has changed over several decades

  19. Which evaluation point links the nature-nurture issue to memory research?

    • Brain function is always learned from experience, so inherited factors have no effect on memory at any stage
    • Memory is always unaffected by both brain and experience, so the nature-nurture debate does not apply to it
    • Memory contents are always fixed at birth, so experience has no influence on memory in any individual
    • Brain function may be inherited while memory contents are shaped by experience, so both matter

  20. Which issue is raised when memory is studied only in the laboratory, with word lists, and then used to explain everyday life?

    • Culture and gender, since word lists are always the same for men and women across all cultures in the world
    • Holism, since word lists are always studied as complete systems with all their connections to daily life
    • Nature-nurture, since word lists are always inherited from parents and cannot be learned from experience at all
    • Psychology as a science, since laboratory control may come at the cost of everyday relevance

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