1. Define automatic and controlled processes.

1 mark for each definition

Automatic processes- requires little or no intentional effort and may occur outside of conscious
awareness. Consumes negligible attentional resources and can be performed by parallel processing.
Eg- letter recognition
Controlled processes- requires intentional effort and full conscious awareness. May consume many
attentional resources and can be performed serially. Eg- reading and comprehension.
2. What is the utility of auditory imagery in day-to-day life?
Any 2 examples of activities where auditory imageries are used- reading a passage which says
“chirping of birds”- imagine the sound; newspaper reading; mimicry
3. List any 2 contributions of Gestalt school to cognitive psychology.

 Laws of perceptual Organization

 Problem Solving
 Decision making
(mention any 2 areas)
4. Explain the construct of autobiographical memory.

 autobiographical memory refers to your memory for experiences and information that are
related to yourself
 usually includes a verbal narrative. It may also include imagery about these events, emotional
reactions, and procedural information
 is a vital part of your identity, because it shapes your personal history and your self-concept
5. Define analog code.

 Imagery debate
 An analog code is a mental representation that closely resembles the physical object.
 the word analog suggests the word analogy, such as the analogy between the real object and
the mental image
6. Briefly explain how spacing effect helps in better recall of learned information

 According to the distributed-practice effect, you will remember more material if you spread
your learning trials over time (spaced learning). You’ll remember less if you try
‘‘cramming,’’ by learning the material all at once (massed learning).
7. Explain the construct of cognitive maps (2 marks). Discuss 3 characteristics of cognitive maps (3
marks).

 A cognitive map is a mental representation of geographic information, including the

environment that surrounds us
 Cognitive Maps emphasizes our mental images of the relationships among objects
 Our cognitive maps typically include survey knowledge, which is the relationship among
locations that we acquire by directly learning a map or by repeatedly exploring an
environment
 Characteristics- Cognitive Maps and Distance; Shape; Relative Position (0.5 mark for naming
and 0.5 mark for explaining)
8. Distinguish between implicit and explicit memory.
1 mark for every point of difference (any 5 points)
Feature of memory Explicit/declarative memory Implicit/procedural memory

mode of awareness conscious unconscious/ conscious

type of information cognitive facts emotional conditions

temporal spatial ever-present atmospheric
mental physical sensory
verbal/ semantic

descriptions of operations automatic capabilities

mediated by (neural descriptions

Hippocampusof procedures automatic
Amygdala,procedures
basal ganglia cerebellum
structure)
age of maturation approx. third year of life from birth

activity during trauma, suppressed activated

flashbacks, dissociation

means of expression/ verbal, narrative, symbolic, somatic, atmospheric, motor,

access scenic, explicit metaphor experiential metaphor, image

schemata

9. Discuss the current status of cognitive psychology with regard to establishing ecological validity
and recent laboratory-based research.

 The cognitive approach has permeated most areas of psychology that had not previously
emphasized people’s thought processes.
 Current researchers frequently study real-life issues
 Ecological validity
 Psychologists are also studying how cognitive processes operate in our everyday social
interactions
 In general, most cognitive psychologists acknowledge that the discipline must advance by
conducting both ecologically valid and laboratory-based research.
1 study for establishing ecologically based research and 1 study for recent lab-based research- current
findings. (2.5 marks for ecological validity- definition and study; 2.5 marks for recent lab research-
definition and study)
10.Write a short note on neural networks of brain and attention.
Any 5 points- findings.

 Petersen and his colleagues (Petersen, Fox, Snyder, & Raichle, 1990) in which research
participants were shown words, nonwords that resembled words, and consonant strings. As
 shown in Figure, the areas activated for words and regular nonwords (but not consonant
strings) were the ones shown with an oval (left figures). Curiously, patients who suffer lesions
to these areas frequently are unable to read words but may read letter by letter. For example,
shown the word sand, these patients cannot read it but can say the letters one by one (s-a-n-d).
 The current state of knowledge of the role of the cerebral cortex in awareness and attention is
that the attentional system produces the contents of awareness in the same way as other parts
of the brain, such as the visual system, and organizes the way other sensations are processed,
such as how the visual world is perceived
 Hemineglect
 Frontal lobe and posterior parietal lobe

11. Compare Atkinson and Shiffrin’s concept of STM with Baddeley’s concept of working memory.
1 mark for each point- 5 points

 Definition of STM and WM

 Capacity of STM and WM
 Components of STM and WM
 Decay of STM and WM
 Tasks of STM and WM
 Relation to LTM
12. What is spatial cognition (2 marks)? Explain the relationship between spatial cognition and visual
imageries (3 marks).
Spatial cognition primarily refers to three cognitive activities:

 our thoughts about cognitive maps;

 how we remember the world we navigate;
 how we keep track of objects in a spatial array
2 marks for the above points

 Individual differences in spatial-cognition skills are quite large. People tend to be accurate in
judging their ability to find their way to unfamiliar locations. In other words, your
metacognition about your spatial ability may be reasonably correct.
 Furthermore, these individual differences in spatial cognition are correlated with people’s
scores on tests of the visuospatial sketchpad
  Spatial-cognition scores are also correlated with performance on the spatial. For example,
people who are good at mental rotation are more skilled than others in using maps to find a
particular location
 Fortunately, people with poor spatial skills can improve their performance.
 Suppose that you are visiting an unfamiliar college campus. You park your car, and you set
out to find a specific building. You’ll increase your chances of finding your way back to your
car if you periodically turn around and study the scene you’ll see on your return trip. As you
might expect, it’s also important to notice specific landmarks along this route. These
strategies should improve the accuracy of your cognitive maps
3 marks for the above points
13. Explain any 2 tasks of selective attention that have been studied by researchers in the field of
cognitive psychology.
Any 2 of the following:

 Visual Search
 Stroop Effect
 Dichotic Listening
 Saccadic Eye Movements
(0.5 mark for naming, 2 marks for explaining each task)
14. Discuss number-cancellation task as a test of sustained attention.

 1 mark- defining sustained attention

 2 marks- describing test
 2 marks- administration and scoring
15. You were absent from class and missed a few lectures. You have borrowed your friend’s notebook
to read the notes and catch up on the missed lectures. Your friend’s handwriting is sloppy and not
quite legible.
(i) Which type of processing would you use to “recognize” the words written (1 mark)? Justify your
answer (3 marks).
Both bottom up and top down processing- 0.5 mark for naming each.
Explanation- 3 marks

 Cognitive psychologists believe that both bottom-up and top-down processing are
necessary to explain the complexities of object recognition (Riddoch & Humphreys,
2001).
 For example, you recognize a coffee cup because of two almost simultaneous processes:
(1) Bottom-up processing forces you to register the component features, such as the curve
of the cup’s handle; and (2) the context of a coffee shop encourages you to recognize the
handle on the cup more quickly, because of top-down processing.
(ii) How does the Gestalt approach help to explain visual perception (6 marks)?
Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization
Any 3 Laws

 1 mark for naming and defining the law

  1 mark for explaining the law with diagram
16. When a student is studying or preparing for examinations, discuss 4 techniques that the student
could use to enhance his/ her memory (8 marks).
Any 4 of the following (1 mark for naming, 1 mark for explaining)

 Deeper level of processing; elaboration

 self-reference effect
 The Total-Time Hypothesis
 The Retrieval-Practice Effect
 The Distributed-Practice Effect
 The Testing Effect
 Mnemonics (Chunking, Hierarchy Technique, First Letter technique, method of Loci)
(ii) Explain with an example, how self-reference effect helps in retaining information better (2
marks).

 According to the self-reference effect, you will remember more information if you try to
relate that information to yourself- 1 mark
 Example- 1 mark