Cognitive Psychology and Processes Flashcards

Which concept describes the tendency to seek information that confirms existing beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence?

Answer: Confirmation bias

Confirmation bias is the tendency to favor information that supports one's preexisting beliefs and to discount evidence that contradicts them.

In Baddeley's model of working memory, which component is responsible for coordinating the other subsystems?

Answer: Central executive

The central executive serves as the supervisory attentional system in Baddeley's model, controlling and coordinating the other slave systems.

Which phenomenon occurs when learning new information interferes with the recall of previously learned information?

Answer: Retroactive interference

Retroactive interference occurs when newly acquired information disrupts the retrieval of older, previously stored memories.

A patient can recognize objects visually but cannot name them, despite having intact language. This condition is called:

Answer: Visual object agnosia

Visual object agnosia is the inability to name or recognize objects visually despite intact basic visual processing and language ability.

The 'magic number 7, plus or minus 2' proposed by George Miller refers to the capacity of:

Answer: Short-term memory

Miller's (1956) classic paper established that short-term memory can hold approximately 7 ± 2 chunks of information at one time.

Which type of thinking involves generating multiple creative solutions to a problem, rather than converging on a single correct answer?

Answer: Divergent thinking

Divergent thinking involves generating many possible solutions or ideas, and is considered a hallmark of creative cognition.

The tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon is best explained as a failure of:

Answer: Retrieval

The TOT state occurs when a memory is stored but temporarily inaccessible, reflecting a retrieval failure rather than a storage or encoding problem.