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IB Psychology HL practice questions

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Question 1Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

In the biological approach, which neurotransmitter is classified as the main inhibitory transmitter in the central nervous system?

  1. Acetylcholine
  2. Dopamine
  3. Glutamate
  4. GABA Correct answer.

Explanation

GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid, is the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system; it reduces the likelihood that a postsynaptic neuron will fire. Dopamine and acetylcholine are mainly modulatory, whereas glutamate is the main excitatory transmitter.

Question 2Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Which neuroimaging technique produces images by detecting radioactive glucose uptake to show brain metabolic activity?

  1. An EEG scan
  2. An MRI scan
  3. A CT scan
  4. A PET scan Correct answer.

Explanation

PET uses a radioactive tracer such as fluorodeoxyglucose to measure glucose metabolism, so it indexes metabolic activity rather than only anatomy. MRI and CT primarily show structure, and EEG records electrical activity from the scalp.

Question 3Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

What term describes the brain's capacity to reorganize its neural connections in response to learning, experience, or injury?

  1. Lateralization
  2. Myelination
  3. Synaptic pruning
  4. Neuroplasticity Correct answer.

Explanation

Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to change its structure and function through experience, including forming new synapses and reorganizing cortical maps after injury. Lateralization is hemispheric specialization, pruning is synapse elimination, and myelination is insulation of axons.

Question 4Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Patient HM underwent bilateral removal of medial temporal lobe structures, including the hippocampus. Which finding best supports the view that the hippocampus is critical for consolidating new declarative memories?

  1. He could not recall events from his remote past.
  2. He could form new episodic memories but not new procedural skills.
  3. He could learn new motor skills but could not recall new facts. Correct answer.
  4. He lost the ability to produce fluent speech.

Explanation

HM could acquire procedural skills such as mirror drawing while denying having practised them, showing that procedural memory can be supported by other brain regions. His inability to form new declarative memories, including facts and episodes, indicated a specific role for the hippocampus in declarative memory consolidation.

Question 5Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Maguire et al. found that London taxi drivers with more years of navigation experience had larger posterior hippocampi. Which conclusion is most consistent with this finding?

  1. All London taxi drivers inherit a larger posterior hippocampus from birth.
  2. Driving a taxi gradually reduces the posterior hippocampus over time.
  3. Hippocampal volume is completely unrelated to navigation experience.
  4. Navigation experience is linked to hippocampal volume. Correct answer.

Explanation

The study reported a positive association between years of taxi driving and posterior hippocampal volume, supporting experience-dependent plasticity in spatial memory regions. Because the design was correlational, it cannot establish whether experience caused the volume difference or whether pre-existing differences influenced who remained in the profession.

Question 6Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Which hormone is secreted by the adrenal cortex during prolonged stress and has been linked to impaired hippocampal function and memory consolidation?

  1. Testosterone
  2. Oxytocin
  3. Cortisol Correct answer.
  4. Melatonin

Explanation

Cortisol is a glucocorticoid released by the adrenal cortex in the stress response. Chronically elevated cortisol can suppress hippocampal activity and impair declarative memory consolidation.

Question 7Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

In Wedekind et al.'s T-shirt study, women tended to rate shirts worn by men with dissimilar MHC genes as more pleasant-smelling. What is the most direct interpretation of this result?

  1. MHC similarity is the main predictor of attraction.
  2. Pheromones may influence human mate preference. Correct answer.
  3. Olfaction plays no role in human mate choice.
  4. All women prefer the same male body odour.

Explanation

The T-shirt study used body odour as a proxy for pheromonal cues and found a preference for MHC-dissimilar men, suggesting that olfactory cues may shape mate preferences, possibly through kin-recognition mechanisms. It does not show that MHC is the main predictor or that odour cues act alone.

Question 8Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Monozygotic twins show a higher concordance rate for major depression than dizygotic twins. Which conclusion is most defensible from this pattern?

  1. A single gene causes depression.
  2. Depression is entirely determined by genes.
  3. Shared environment has no influence on depression.
  4. Genetic factors contribute to depression. Correct answer.

Explanation

Higher concordance in monozygotic than dizygotic twins indicates a genetic contribution to depression, because monozygotic twins share all their segregating genes. It does not prove complete heritability, exclude environmental effects, or identify a single causal gene.

Question 9Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Rosenzweig and colleagues found that rats housed in enriched environments developed thicker cerebral cortices than rats in impoverished conditions. Which interpretation of this finding is most defensible?

  1. Cortical thickness is fixed at birth and cannot change.
  2. Environmental complexity can alter brain structure. Correct answer.
  3. Enriched environments guarantee higher intelligence in humans.
  4. Genetic inheritance alone explains cortical thickness.

Explanation

The experiment manipulated environmental complexity and observed structural brain differences, supporting the idea that experience can modify neural architecture. Generalizing directly to human intelligence or claiming genetic determinism would overstate the animal evidence.

Question 10Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A researcher uses fMRI to compare brain activity while participants view emotional faces. Which limitation is most relevant when interpreting the results?

  1. fMRI cannot measure changes in blood oxygenation.
  2. fMRI has perfect temporal resolution for neural firing.
  3. fMRI produces only structural images of the brain.
  4. fMRI shows correlation, not causation. Correct answer.

Explanation

fMRI measures the BOLD signal, an indirect index of blood oxygenation that is correlated with neural activity. A task-related increase in activation does not by itself establish that the region causes the observed behaviour or emotional experience.

Question 11Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A decrease in serotonin activity has been most strongly associated with which set of symptoms in the biological approach?

  1. low mood, disturbed sleep, and altered appetite Correct answer.
  2. enhanced declarative memory and increased hippocampal volume
  3. vivid hallucinations caused by GABA excess
  4. muscle paralysis and loss of voluntary movement

Explanation

Serotonin is a monoamine neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood, sleep, and appetite. Reduced serotonin activity is therefore most closely associated with depressive symptoms such as low mood and changes in sleep and eating. The other options describe effects linked to other systems, such as motor pathways or memory structures.

Question 12Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A patient who has suffered a stroke in Broca's area typically shows which pattern of language impairment?

  1. Fluent speech that is empty of meaning, with poor comprehension
  2. Loss of proprioception and balance when standing
  3. Effortful, telegraphic speech with relatively preserved comprehension Correct answer.
  4. Inability to recognize familiar faces despite normal vision

Explanation

Broca's area, usually in the left frontal lobe, supports speech production and grammatical sequencing. Damage produces non-fluent aphasia: speech is slow and effortful, but comprehension is often relatively intact. Fluent but meaningless speech with poor comprehension is more typical of Wernicke's aphasia.

Question 13Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Which neuroimaging method uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed structural images of the brain?

  1. Electroencephalography (EEG)
  2. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
  3. Positron emission tomography (PET)
  4. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Correct answer.

Explanation

MRI applies a strong magnetic field and radio waves to align hydrogen nuclei, producing detailed anatomical images of brain tissue. fMRI uses the same scanner hardware but measures blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal to infer activity rather than anatomy. PET and EEG rely on different physical principles.

Question 14Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

In the biological approach, testosterone is most directly implicated in which behavioural pattern?

  1. Seasonal migration timing in birds
  2. Increased aggression and competitive dominance in males Correct answer.
  3. Entrainment of the sleep–wake cycle by light
  4. Maternal bonding and trust in long-term relationships

Explanation

Testosterone is an androgen produced mainly by the testes and adrenal glands. It influences the development of male sex characteristics and has been associated with aggression and dominance behaviour, although the relationship is complex and bidirectional. Oxytocin, melatonin, and the suprachiasmatic nucleus are more relevant to the other options.

Question 15Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

An adoption study finds that adopted children's scores on a trait correlate more strongly with their biological parents than with their adoptive parents. Which interpretation is most consistent with the biological approach?

  1. Genes contribute substantially to variation in the trait Correct answer.
  2. Measurement error is the most likely explanation for the correlation
  3. Shared family environment is the main source of variation in the trait
  4. The trait is entirely determined by a single gene

Explanation

Adoption studies separate genetic relatedness from rearing environment. A stronger correlation with biological parents than with adoptive parents suggests that inherited factors contribute to the trait. It does not prove single-gene inheritance or complete genetic determination.

Question 16Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A patient with bilateral damage to the amygdala would be most likely to show which pattern?

  1. Reduced fear conditioning and impaired recognition of fearful faces Correct answer.
  2. Loss of voluntary movement on one side of the body
  3. Fluent but meaningless speech with poor comprehension
  4. Inability to form new episodic memories

Explanation

The amygdala is central to threat detection, fear learning, and emotional salience. Bilateral damage typically impairs fear conditioning and recognition of fearful facial expressions while leaving many other cognitive functions intact. Memory and language deficits reflect damage to other structures.

Question 17Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Which structure acts as the brain's primary pacemaker for circadian rhythms by receiving light information from the retina?

  1. Suprachiasmatic nucleus Correct answer.
  2. Hippocampus
  3. Pineal gland
  4. Amygdala

Explanation

The suprachiasmatic nucleus in the hypothalamus receives light input from the retina and synchronizes circadian rhythms to the day–night cycle. It signals the pineal gland to adjust melatonin secretion. The hippocampus and amygdala are not the primary circadian pacemaker.

Question 18Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A child deprived of patterned visual input in one eye during a sensitive period later has reduced visual acuity in that eye despite a healthy eye. Which concept best explains this outcome?

  1. Neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus
  2. Hormonal feedback in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis
  3. Experience-dependent synaptic pruning during a sensitive period Correct answer.
  4. Lateralization of language to the left hemisphere

Explanation

During sensitive periods, synaptic connections compete and those that receive input are strengthened while unused ones are pruned. Deprivation of patterned input can therefore leave permanent deficits even if the eye itself is healthy. This is an example of experience-dependent plasticity, not neurogenesis or lateralization.

Question 19Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A researcher claims that a complex social behaviour can be fully explained by a single gene variant. Which criticism of the biological approach is most directly illustrated?

  1. Demand characteristics, because participants may guess the study's aim
  2. Reductionism, because it explains complex behaviour at a single level Correct answer.
  3. Sampling bias, because the sample may not represent the population
  4. Reactivity, because observed behaviour changes when people know they are watched

Explanation

Reductionism is the criticism that complex psychological phenomena are explained by breaking them down to a single biological factor, such as one gene. This can ignore cognitive, social, and cultural levels of analysis. Demand characteristics, reactivity, and sampling bias are methodological issues, not the main criticism illustrated here.

Question 20Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Two individuals carry the same serotonin-transporter gene variant, but only one develops depression after stressful life events. Which conclusion best reflects current biological understanding?

  1. The variant must be recessive, so only homozygotes can be affected
  2. Environmental stress moderates expression, showing gene–environment interaction Correct answer.
  3. Depression is learned through modelling, so genetic variants are irrelevant
  4. The variant is sufficient to cause depression regardless of environment

Explanation

Current biological explanations emphasize gene–environment interaction rather than fixed genetic determinism. A variant may increase vulnerability, but stressful experiences can moderate whether and how it is expressed, sometimes through epigenetic mechanisms. The same genotype therefore does not guarantee the same outcome.

Question 21Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Which brain structure serves as the main relay station for most sensory information travelling to the cerebral cortex, with the exception of olfactory signals?

  1. Medulla oblongata
  2. Hypothalamus
  3. Thalamus Correct answer.
  4. Cerebellum

Explanation

The thalamus receives and routes visual, auditory, tactile, and other sensory signals to appropriate cortical areas; olfaction is a notable exception. The hypothalamus regulates homeostatic and endocrine functions, the medulla controls vital reflexes, and the cerebellum coordinates movement and balance.

Question 22Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Which method records summed postsynaptic potentials from the scalp and has temporal resolution in the millisecond range, making it suitable for tracking rapid cognitive processes?

  1. Electroencephalography (EEG) Correct answer.
  2. Positron emission tomography (PET)
  3. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
  4. Computed tomography (CT)

Explanation

EEG measures electrical activity generated by large populations of neurons and can detect changes on a millisecond timescale, although its spatial resolution is relatively poor. fMRI tracks blood oxygenation indirectly, CT produces structural X-ray images, and PET uses radiotracers to assess metabolic activity.

Question 23Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Which gland is often called the master gland because its hormones regulate the activity of several other endocrine glands?

  1. Thyroid gland
  2. Pituitary gland Correct answer.
  3. Pineal gland
  4. Adrenal medulla

Explanation

The pituitary gland releases tropic hormones that control other endocrine glands, including the thyroid, adrenal cortex, and gonads. The adrenal medulla secretes catecholamines, the thyroid regulates metabolism, and the pineal gland produces melatonin.

Question 24Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A patient with hippocampal damage can practice and improve on a mirror-drawing task across days but cannot remember having done the task. Which distinction best accounts for this pattern?

  1. Anterograde amnesia versus retrograde amnesia
  2. Explicit memory versus implicit memory Correct answer.
  3. Semantic memory versus episodic memory
  4. Working memory versus long-term memory

Explanation

Mirror drawing is a procedural skill, which is a form of implicit memory that can be preserved after hippocampal damage. Remembering the previous practice sessions requires explicit declarative memory, which is impaired in this patient.

Question 25Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A behaviour geneticist reports a heritability estimate of 0.60 for a trait in a specific population. What is the most appropriate interpretation?

  1. Environmental factors account for exactly 40% of each person's score on the trait.
  2. Sixty percent of the population will express the trait at some point in their lives.
  3. Each individual in that population inherits 60% of the trait from their parents.
  4. About 60% of trait variation in that population is linked to genetic differences. Correct answer.

Explanation

Heritability is a population statistic describing the proportion of observed variation in a trait that is associated with genetic variation within that population. It does not specify how much of an individual's trait comes from genes, nor does it predict the prevalence of the trait or fix the environmental contribution for each person.

Question 26Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A medication prevents the reuptake of norepinephrine and serotonin after release into the synaptic cleft. What is the immediate effect at the synapse?

  1. Reduced binding of the neurotransmitter to postsynaptic receptors
  2. Increased enzymatic breakdown of the neurotransmitter in the cleft
  3. Decreased neurotransmitter synthesis in the presynaptic neuron
  4. Prolonged neurotransmitter presence in the synaptic cleft Correct answer.

Explanation

Reuptake normally removes neurotransmitters from the synaptic cleft, so blocking reuptake leaves more transmitter available for longer. This typically increases postsynaptic receptor stimulation rather than reducing it.

Question 27Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

In a typical split-brain patient, an object placed in the left hand can be used correctly but is difficult to name aloud. Which principle best explains this finding?

  1. Language functions are usually lateralized to the left hemisphere. Correct answer.
  2. The right hemisphere cannot process tactile information from the left hand.
  3. An intact corpus callosum transfers the tactile information to the left hemisphere for naming.
  4. The left hemisphere controls all language, and the right hemisphere controls all voluntary movement.

Explanation

Tactile information from the left hand reaches the right hemisphere, but naming usually depends on left-hemisphere language areas. Because the corpus callosum is severed in split-brain patients, the right hemisphere cannot transfer the information to the left hemisphere for verbal report.

Question 28Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A researcher compares the mating and social behaviour of several closely related primate species that differ in their mating systems. Which question does this comparative approach most directly address?

  1. Whether a behaviour is learned through classical conditioning
  2. Whether a behaviour depends on an intact hippocampus
  3. How evolutionary pressures shaped social behaviour Correct answer.
  4. How neurotransmitters bind to postsynaptic receptors

Explanation

Comparing closely related species that differ in mating systems allows researchers to examine how ecological and reproductive pressures may have shaped social behaviour over evolutionary time. It does not directly test conditioning, receptor binding, or hippocampal dependence.

Question 29Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Lesion studies can suggest that a brain area is necessary for a behaviour, but they cannot by themselves establish that the area is sufficient for that behaviour. Which finding would best support a sufficiency claim?

  1. Stimulating the area evokes the behaviour in an inactive animal. Correct answer.
  2. Damaging the area abolishes the behaviour.
  3. The area is larger in animals that perform the behaviour more often.
  4. The area shows correlated activity while the behaviour occurs.

Explanation

If electrically stimulating an area produces the behaviour, this supports the claim that activity in that area is sufficient to generate the behaviour. Lesion damage supports necessity, while correlations with size or activity do not establish a causal sufficiency claim.

Question 30Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Participants given a placebo for pain report less pain, but this reduction is largely blocked when they receive naloxone, an opioid receptor antagonist. Which conclusion is best supported?

  1. Naloxone increases pain by blocking serotonin receptors.
  2. Placebo analgesia is independent of neurotransmitter systems.
  3. Placebo analgesia depends on endogenous opioid activity. Correct answer.
  4. Placebo effects are entirely due to demand characteristics.

Explanation

Naloxone blocks opioid receptors, and its reversal of placebo analgesia implicates endogenous opioids in the placebo response. Demand characteristics may contribute to placebo effects, but they cannot fully explain why an opioid antagonist reduces the analgesic effect.

Question 31Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

In the biological approach, 'localization of function' refers to which claim?

  1. Behaviour is determined entirely by genes rather than by brain activity.
  2. Specific brain regions are specialised for particular behaviours and cognitive processes. Correct answer.
  3. All brain regions contribute equally to every psychological function.
  4. Neurotransmitters are distributed evenly across the whole nervous system.

Explanation

Localization of function is the principle that different areas of the brain carry out distinct tasks, supported by cases such as Broca's and Wernicke's aphasias. It does not claim that complex behaviours involve only one region, but that particular regions make specialised contributions.

Question 32Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Which hormone is secreted by the adrenal cortex during prolonged stress and can suppress immune-system activity?

  1. Melatonin
  2. Oxytocin
  3. Cortisol Correct answer.
  4. Insulin

Explanation

Cortisol is a glucocorticoid released via the HPA axis during sustained stress; it mobilises energy but prolonged elevation can impair immune function and damage hippocampal neurons. It is not the rapid fight-or-flight catecholamine adrenaline, which comes from the adrenal medulla.

Question 33Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Which neuroimaging technique uses a radioactive tracer to measure metabolic activity such as glucose consumption in the brain?

  1. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
  2. Electroencephalography (EEG)
  3. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
  4. Positron emission tomography (PET) Correct answer.

Explanation

PET injects a radiolabelled substance, often a glucose analogue, and detects gamma rays to map areas of high metabolic activity. EEG records electrical activity, MRI provides structural images, and TMS temporarily alters cortical activity rather than measuring metabolism.

Question 34Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

The case of Phineas Gage, who survived a tamping iron passing through his frontal lobe but showed lasting changes in personality and social conduct, is most often used to illustrate which point?

  1. Frontal lobe damage can alter emotional regulation and social behaviour. Correct answer.
  2. Recovery from brain injury never involves neuroplasticity.
  3. Personality is unaffected by damage to the cerebral cortex.
  4. Language production is localised exclusively in the frontal lobe.

Explanation

Gage's accident damaged ventromedial prefrontal regions and was followed by impulsivity and poor social judgement, supporting a link between frontal lobe integrity and personality and self-regulation. Modern reconstructions qualify the details, but the case remains a classic illustration of localization of function in social behaviour.

Question 35Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is best described as which process?

  1. A persistent strengthening of synaptic connections after repeated stimulation Correct answer.
  2. The temporary disruption of cortical activity caused by magnetic pulses
  3. The release of hormones from the pituitary gland into the bloodstream
  4. The permanent loss of synapses that occurs only during early childhood

Explanation

LTP is a use-dependent increase in synaptic efficacy, involving changes such as increased receptor density and dendritic spine growth, and is a leading cellular model of memory formation. It is distinct from synaptic pruning, endocrine secretion, and TMS.

Question 36Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Which statement best captures the hypothalamus's role in the biological approach to behaviour?

  1. It regulates hunger, thirst, temperature, and endocrine activity through the pituitary. Correct answer.
  2. It stores long-term declarative memories and spatial maps.
  3. It coordinates fine motor movements and balance by integrating cerebellar input.
  4. It processes visual information from the retina before relaying it to the cortex.

Explanation

The hypothalamus maintains homeostasis by monitoring internal states and controlling autonomic and endocrine responses, including releasing hormones that act on the pituitary. It therefore influences motivated behaviours such as eating, drinking, and temperature regulation.

Question 37Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Drugs that block dopamine D2 receptors are most effective in reducing which symptoms in schizophrenia?

  1. Side effects such as tardive dyskinesia
  2. Negative symptoms such as flat affect and social withdrawal
  3. Positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions Correct answer.
  4. Cognitive symptoms such as impaired working memory

Explanation

The dopamine hypothesis links positive symptoms to excess mesolimbic dopamine activity, and D2 antagonists reduce hallucinations and delusions more reliably than they improve negative or cognitive symptoms. This does not mean dopamine is the only cause, but it supports dopamine's role in psychosis.

Question 38Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A researcher applies transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex while participants perform a working-memory task. Performance drops only during stimulation. Which conclusion is best supported?

  1. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is correlated with working memory but not necessary for it.
  2. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is necessary for this task under these conditions. Correct answer.
  3. Working memory is localised entirely in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
  4. TMS permanently damages the stimulated brain region.

Explanation

Because TMS produces a temporary, reversible disruption, a task-specific drop in performance provides causal evidence that the stimulated region is necessary for that task under those conditions. It does not show that the region is the only area involved or that damage is permanent.

Question 39Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

In evolutionary explanations of behaviour, the 'environment of evolutionary adaptedness' (EEA) refers to which concept?

  1. The modern cultural environment created by technology
  2. The current laboratory environment in which behaviour is measured
  3. The ancestral conditions in which an adaptation was selected Correct answer.
  4. The prenatal environment that shapes brain development

Explanation

The EEA is a heuristic concept describing the selection pressures of ancestral environments, not a single time or place, against which adaptations such as fear of snakes or jealousy are hypothesised to have evolved. It is often criticised because the exact ancestral conditions are uncertain and modern environments may mismatch evolved tendencies.

Question 40Biological approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Rats raised in an enriched environment with toys and tunnels develop thicker cortical areas than rats in standard laboratory cages. Which conclusion is most consistent with the biological approach?

  1. Cortical thickness is fixed at birth and cannot change with experience.
  2. Enriched environments remove the need for synaptic pruning.
  3. Only genetic factors influence cortical development.
  4. Environmental experience can alter brain structure through neuroplasticity. Correct answer.

Explanation

Enriched housing increases dendritic branching, synapse formation, and cortical thickness in animals, demonstrating experience-dependent neuroplasticity rather than a fixed brain. This supports the biological approach's interactionist view that biology and environment jointly shape behaviour.

Question 41Cognitive approach to understanding behaviour (core)

In the multi-store model of memory, which process is proposed to transfer information from short-term memory into long-term memory?

  1. Rehearsal Correct answer.
  2. Attention
  3. Sensory registration
  4. Retrieval

Explanation

The multi-store model distinguishes sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Information enters short-term memory through attention and is transferred to long-term memory mainly through rehearsal, which maintains it in the short-term store.

Question 42Cognitive approach to understanding behaviour (core)

According to Baddeley and Hitch's working memory model, which component is responsible for the temporary storage of verbal and auditory information?

  1. Central executive
  2. Visuospatial sketchpad
  3. Phonological loop Correct answer.
  4. Episodic buffer

Explanation

The phonological loop is the working memory slave system that holds verbal and auditory information temporarily, often described as an inner voice. The visuospatial sketchpad handles visual and spatial material, while the central executive allocates attention.

Question 43Cognitive approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Bartlett's 'War of the Ghosts' study is most often cited as evidence that memory is:

  1. reconstructed using existing schemas Correct answer.
  2. unaffected by cultural background
  3. stored only in short-term memory
  4. a literal recording of events

Explanation

Bartlett found that English participants altered an unfamiliar Native American story to fit their own cultural expectations, omitting or changing details. This supports the view that remembering is an active, schema-driven reconstruction rather than exact reproduction.

Question 44Cognitive approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A driver automatically applies the brakes when a child steps into the road before consciously deciding to do so. In dual-process models of thinking, this is best described as:

  1. System 2 thinking
  2. System 1 thinking Correct answer.
  3. the anchoring effect
  4. the availability heuristic

Explanation

Dual-process models distinguish fast, automatic, intuitive System 1 processing from slow, effortful, deliberate System 2 processing. Reflexive braking before conscious deliberation is a classic System 1 response.

Question 45Cognitive approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A recruiter's judgment of a candidate is influenced by the unusually high salary requested in the candidate's first email. Which cognitive bias does this illustrate?

  1. Availability heuristic
  2. Confirmation bias
  3. Representativeness heuristic
  4. Anchoring bias Correct answer.

Explanation

Anchoring bias occurs when an initial value, such as a first salary request, disproportionately influences later judgments. The recruiter's evaluation is pulled toward the starting figure even if it is arbitrary.

Question 46Cognitive approach to understanding behaviour (core)

In Loftus and Palmer's (1974) experiment on eyewitness testimony, participants who were asked how fast a car was going when it 'smashed' into another car later:

  1. refused to answer the question
  2. recalled the event more accurately one week later
  3. showed no difference in speed estimates
  4. estimated higher speeds than those given 'contacted' Correct answer.

Explanation

Loftus and Palmer manipulated the verb in a question about a car crash. Participants given the more intense verb 'smashed' estimated higher speeds, showing that misleading post-event information can distort memory reports.

Question 47Cognitive approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Which statement best characterizes flashbulb memories as described by Brown and Kulik?

  1. They occur only for events that a person experiences directly
  2. They are stored entirely within the phonological loop system
  3. They are always more accurate than ordinary everyday memories
  4. They are vivid and confidently held but can be inaccurate Correct answer.

Explanation

Brown and Kulik proposed that flashbulb memories are vivid, detailed, and held with high confidence after surprising and consequential events. Subsequent research shows that this confidence does not guarantee accuracy, and details can be reconstructed or distorted over time.

Question 48Cognitive approach to understanding behaviour (core)

A researcher replicates a schema study but asks participants to recall a story in the same room where they encoded it. Which potential confound is the researcher most directly controlling?

  1. Inter-rater reliability
  2. Context-dependent memory effects Correct answer.
  3. Demand characteristics
  4. Participant variables in the sample

Explanation

Context-dependent memory effects occur when the encoding and recall environments differ, so matching the room helps prevent this confound. Controlling the room does not directly address demand characteristics, participant variables, or inter-rater reliability.

Question 49Cognitive approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Which statement best reflects a common criticism of the central executive in the working memory model?

  1. Its functions are difficult to test empirically Correct answer.
  2. It has been shown to store visual and spatial information
  3. It is located in the hippocampus
  4. It is identical to the short-term store in the multi-store model

Explanation

The central executive is described as a limited-capacity attentional system that controls the slave systems, but its specific operations are often underspecified. This makes it difficult to generate precise, falsifiable predictions, a common criticism of the model.

Question 50Cognitive approach to understanding behaviour (core)

Research on emotion and cognition suggests that strong emotional arousal at encoding tends to:

  1. Narrow attention to central details Correct answer.
  2. Prevent consolidation of the event entirely
  3. Eliminate the influence of schemas on memory
  4. Increase working memory capacity permanently

Explanation

Emotional arousal at encoding, such as during a weapon-focus or flashbulb event, tends to narrow attention toward central or threatening details. This can enhance memory for those details while reducing memory for peripheral information.