Free Cognitive Psychology MCQs with Answers

• A. Phonological
• B. Syntactic
• C. Semantic
• D. Acoustic

Explanation: Craik and Lockhart’s levels-of-processing framework predicts that semantic processing creates the deepest and most durable memory trace…

• A. anterograde amnesia
• B. retrograde amnesia
• C. anterograde interference
• D. retrograde interference

Explanation: Retrograde amnesia is the loss of memories formed before a damaging event, such as the accident.

• A. retroactive inhibition
• B. anterograde amnesia
• C. proactive inhibition
• D. retrograde amnesia

Explanation: Anterograde amnesia impairs the formation of new long-term memories after brain damage, while memories from before the damage may remain…

• A. visual perception
• B. eidetic perception
• C. verbal codes
• D. auditory perception

Explanation: Echoic memory is the brief sensory register for auditory information, such as hearing a sound for a few seconds after it stops.

• A. Bartlett
• B. Chomsky
• C. Craik
• D. Ebbinghaus

Explanation: Hermann Ebbinghaus introduced the savings method, measuring memory by how much faster previously learned material can be relearned.

• A. medulla
• B. hippocampus
• C. pons
• D. hypothalamus

Explanation: The hippocampus is central to consolidating new information into long-term memory, although long-term storage ultimately involves wider…

• A. adults
• B. depressed adults
• C. children
• D. mentally-retarded children

Explanation: Eidetic imagery, often called photographic memory, is reported more frequently in children than in adults and generally declines with age.

• A. encoding specificity
• B. semantic memory
• C. implicit memory
• D. deductive reasoning

Explanation: Ebbinghaus’s savings method measured retained learning through faster relearning, even when a person could not freely recall the material…

• A. a characteristic of sound
• B. techniques used to improve memory
• C. the scientific term for a memory location in the brain
• D. the sound produces when two notes an octave apart are played simultaneously

Explanation: Mnemonics are deliberate strategies that improve encoding and retrieval, such as acronyms, imagery, and method of loci.

• A. encoding specificity
• B. chunking
• C. the method of Loci
• D. cognitive mapping

Explanation: The method of loci links each item to a familiar location in a mental route, allowing the places to cue recall.

• A. method of Loci
• B. Recognition
• C. savings method
• D. free recall

Explanation: A multiple-choice test mainly requires recognition because you identify the correct answer from options that are presented.

• A. at the receptor cite
• B. only in the external receptors
• C. in the brain
• D. only under intense stimulus levels

Explanation: Gate-control theory holds that pain is not produced solely at the skin receptor; spinal-gate activity regulates signals that are…

• A. linear perspective
• B. interposition
• C. similarity
• D. convergence

Explanation: Linear perspective is the depth cue in which parallel lines, such as railway tracks, appear to converge as they extend into the distance.

• A. larger
• B. smaller
• C. nearer
• D. farther away

Explanation: With size held constant, the object reflecting more light is usually judged as nearer, while the dimmer one is judged as farther away.

• A. perceptual set
• B. retinal disparity
• C. perceptual constancy
• D. convergence

Explanation: Perceptual constancy allows an object to be recognized as stable even though its retinal image changes with viewing angle and distance.

• A. primary color theory
• B. signal detection theory
• C. opponent process theory
• D. trichromatic theory

Explanation: The trichromatic theory proposes three types of color-sensitive receptors, most responsive to red, green, and blue wavelengths.

• A. convergence
• B. interposition
• C. relative clarity
• D. relative motion

Explanation: Relative motion, also called motion parallax, occurs when nearby objects appear to move faster across the visual field than distant…

• A. interposition
• B. relative height
• C. linear perspective
• D. texture gradient

Explanation: A texture gradient is formed when a surface pattern becomes progressively finer and denser with distance, helping create the impression of…

• A. proximity
• B. closure
• C. similarity
• D. continuity

Explanation: The Gestalt principle of proximity states that elements close together in space or time are grouped and perceived as belonging together.

• A. proximity
• B. similarity
• C. contrast
• D. closure

Explanation: Proximity, similarity, and closure are classic Gestalt grouping principles that organize separate elements into meaningful patterns.