Cognition in Action: Short Answer Style Essays (Assessment 2)
Below are six questions relating to a range of different topics covered during the module. You must produce answers to ALL six of these questions in the style of short essays. All questions are equally weighted and therefore, all should be given equal consideration. The word limit for each short essay is 250 words maximum, meaning that you will have a total word count of ~1,500 excluding the references (6 X 250 = 1,500 words). You will need to ensure that your answers are written in a clear and concise manner. All answers must be supported with relevant empirical evidence. Include in-text citations for each essay and just one reference list that includes all sources at the very end of your work.
Weighting: 60%
1. What differentiates human spoken languages from animal communication systems? Use at least five of Hockett’s (1960) design features of language to support your answer.
2. What is or are the best explanations offered for human failures at the Wason selection task? Why are certain poorer (candidate) explanations to be rejected?
3. How can Optic Ataxia support the argument for the existence of separate ‘what’ and ‘how/where’ pathways within the brain?
4. Discuss evidence that declarative and non-declarative memories exists as separate stores in LTM.
5. Critically discuss the differences between Marr’s (1982) computational model of object recognition and Biederman’s (1987) recognition-by-components theory.
6. We use a number of biases in decision making. Explain at least two of these, providing research evidence for their existence.
