Free EPPP Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior Practice Questions

The Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior content area represents 13% of the EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) and covers intelligence, learning, memory, motivation, emotion, and cognitive processes. Review each answer and explanation as you practice.

The EPPP format is 225 questions in 255 minutes; this page is a focused content-area sample.

What Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior Covers on the EPPP

ASPPB's test specifications for this content area include:

How to Study Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior

EPPP Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior Sample Questions with Answers

Sample Question 1 — Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior

Spearman proposed that performance on any mental test reflects which combination of influences?

  1. A. Separate analytical, creative, and practical abilities that work together
  2. B. A general ability shared by all tests plus an ability specific to that test (Correct answer)
  3. C. Several independent primary abilities with no overarching general factor
  4. D. Fluid reasoning and crystallized knowledge that change differently with age

Correct answer: B

Explanation: B is correct because Spearman's two-factor theory holds that every test draws on general intelligence (g), which explains why mental tests intercorrelate, plus a specific factor (s) unique to that test. A is incorrect because this describes Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence. C is incorrect because this describes Thurstone's primary mental abilities, which Thurstone originally argued made a single general factor unnecessary. D is incorrect because this is the fluid-crystallized distinction of Cattell and Horn, not Spearman's account.

Sample Question 2 — Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior

Using factor analysis, which theorist concluded that intelligence consists of about seven relatively distinct primary mental abilities, such as verbal comprehension, number, and spatial visualization?

  1. A. Spearman
  2. B. Gardner
  3. C. Guilford
  4. D. Thurstone (Correct answer)

Correct answer: D

Explanation: D is correct because Thurstone's factor analyses yielded about seven primary mental abilities, including verbal comprehension, word fluency, number, space, memory, perceptual speed, and reasoning. A is incorrect because Spearman emphasized a single general factor, g, underlying performance on all mental tests. B is incorrect because Gardner's multiple intelligences were derived from evidence such as brain damage, savant abilities, and cultural roles rather than from factor analysis of test scores. C is incorrect because Guilford's structure-of-intellect model crossed operations, contents, and products to yield well over 100 abilities.

Sample Question 3 — Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior

The Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory, which guides the design of many modern intelligence tests, is BEST described as:

  1. A. A model of eight separate intelligences that are not ranked under g
  2. B. A two-factor model of general ability plus abilities unique to each test
  3. C. A model in which intelligence is the capacity to adapt to real-world settings
  4. D. A hierarchical model with general ability above broad and narrow abilities (Correct answer)

Correct answer: D

Explanation: D is correct because CHC theory combines Cattell and Horn's fluid-crystallized theory with Carroll's three-stratum model, placing g at the top, broad abilities such as fluid reasoning and crystallized knowledge in the middle, and many narrow abilities below. A is incorrect because this describes Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, which rejects a hierarchy under general ability. B is incorrect because this is Spearman's two-factor theory, which lacks the broad ability level central to CHC theory. C is incorrect because adaptation to everyday contexts is the practical component of Sternberg's triarchic theory.

Sample Question 4 — Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior

A 74-year-old retired editor scores well above average on vocabulary and general information tasks but well below their earlier level on timed tasks that require solving unfamiliar puzzles. This pattern is MOST consistent with which conclusion?

  1. A. Crystallized ability is maintained while fluid ability has declined (Correct answer)
  2. B. Fluid ability is maintained while crystallized ability has declined
  3. C. General ability has declined evenly across all areas of functioning
  4. D. The pattern most likely shows an early major neurocognitive disorder

Correct answer: A

Explanation: A is correct because knowledge-based crystallized intelligence tends to remain stable or grow into late adulthood, while fluid intelligence, the capacity to reason with novel material, declines gradually from early adulthood onward. B is incorrect because the pattern is reversed: vocabulary and information reflect crystallized ability, which is the preserved area here. C is incorrect because the decline is selective to novel, timed reasoning rather than spread across all abilities. D is incorrect because this selective profile is the expected course of normal cognitive aging and does not by itself indicate a neurocognitive disorder.

Sample Question 5 — Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior

A high school student earns average grades but is the person classmates seek out to resolve conflicts, because the student quickly senses others' moods and motives. In Gardner's theory, this student shows a strength in which intelligence?

  1. A. Interpersonal intelligence (Correct answer)
  2. B. Naturalist intelligence
  3. C. Linguistic intelligence
  4. D. Intrapersonal intelligence

Correct answer: A

Explanation: A is correct because Gardner's interpersonal intelligence is the capacity to understand other people's moods, intentions, and motivations and to work effectively with them. B is incorrect because naturalist intelligence involves recognizing and classifying plants, animals, and other features of the natural world. C is incorrect because linguistic intelligence is sensitivity to the meanings, sounds, and uses of words, not understanding of other people. D is incorrect because intrapersonal intelligence is the capacity to understand one's own feelings and motives.

Sample Question 6 — Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior

A small business owner did poorly in school and scores near average on IQ tests, yet consistently reads customers well, solves day-to-day problems, and moves the business into markets where it can succeed. In Sternberg's triarchic theory, this owner's strength is BEST described as:

  1. A. Creative intelligence
  2. B. Crystallized intelligence
  3. C. Practical intelligence (Correct answer)
  4. D. Analytical intelligence

Correct answer: C

Explanation: C is correct because practical (contextual) intelligence in Sternberg's theory is the ability to adapt to, shape, and select real-world environments, which is often only weakly related to school performance. A is incorrect because creative (experiential) intelligence concerns dealing with novel situations and generating new ideas, not adapting to everyday settings. B is incorrect because crystallized intelligence is accumulated knowledge from the Cattell-Horn framework, not a part of Sternberg's theory. D is incorrect because analytical (componential) intelligence involves the abstract reasoning and problem analysis that IQ tests and schoolwork mostly measure.

Sample Question 7 — Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior

An employee can accurately identify what coworkers are feeling from their faces and voices but has repeated angry outbursts in meetings and cannot calm down once upset. In Mayer and Salovey's ability model of emotional intelligence, the employee's main weakness lies in which branch?

  1. A. Using emotions to facilitate thought
  2. B. Perceiving emotions
  3. C. Understanding emotions
  4. D. Managing emotions (Correct answer)

Correct answer: D

Explanation: D is correct because the managing branch is the ability to regulate emotions in oneself and others, which this employee lacks despite strong emotion perception. A is incorrect because this branch concerns harnessing emotions to support thinking and problem solving, which the vignette does not address. B is incorrect because the employee reads others' emotions accurately, which is the perceiving branch. C is incorrect because this branch involves knowing how emotions blend and change over time, while the problem here is controlling an emotion once it arises.

Sample Question 8 — Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior

Parents ask whether their 15-month-old's above-average score on an infant developmental scale means the child will have an above-average IQ as an adult. Which response is MOST accurate?

  1. A. Infant scores predict adult IQ well if the scale is given by a trained examiner
  2. B. IQ is not stable at any age, so no single score can predict later IQ
  3. C. Infant scores predict adult IQ poorly; stability rises with age and shorter retest gaps (Correct answer)
  4. D. Infant scores predict adult IQ well, because intelligence is largely fixed at birth

Correct answer: C

Explanation: C is correct because infant scales mostly tap sensorimotor skills and correlate weakly with later IQ, whereas IQ scores become fairly stable from the early school years, especially across short intervals. A is incorrect because examiner skill improves reliability but cannot overcome the weak predictive validity of infant scales for later IQ. B is incorrect because IQ is among the most stable psychological characteristics from school age onward, even though it can change for individuals. D is incorrect because heritability does not make infant test scores stable, and infant scales measure different skills than later IQ tests.

Sample Question 9 — Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior

In a longitudinal study, adoptive siblings raised in the same home have IQ scores that correlate modestly in early childhood but near zero by late adolescence, while the IQ correlation between identical twins rises over the same period. Which conclusion is BEST supported?

  1. A. Shared family environment becomes a stronger influence on IQ with age
  2. B. Heritability of IQ increases with age as shared family influences fade (Correct answer)
  3. C. Heritability of IQ must stay constant, because genes do not change
  4. D. IQ scores become less stable from early childhood to late adolescence

Correct answer: B

Explanation: B is correct because rising identical-twin similarity alongside vanishing similarity of unrelated children reared together shows that genetic influence on intelligence grows across development while the influence of shared family environment declines, a robust behavioral genetic finding. A is incorrect because the adoptive siblings, who share only their environment, become less alike over time, which shows shared environmental influence shrinking. C is incorrect because heritability is a population statistic that can change across ages even though each person's genome is fixed. D is incorrect because the data concern similarity between relatives rather than each person's stability over time, and IQ actually becomes more stable with age.

Sample Question 10 — Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior

A parent usually ignores a child's tantrums but occasionally gives in, sometimes after two tantrums and sometimes after eight. The parent then decides never to give in again. Compared with a child who had been given in to after every tantrum, this child's tantrums will MOST likely:

  1. A. Stop at about the same rate, because both children were reinforced
  2. B. Persist longer, because intermittent reinforcement resists extinction (Correct answer)
  3. C. Stop sooner, because partial reinforcement produces weaker learning
  4. D. Decrease steadily without the temporary increase seen in extinction

Correct answer: B

Explanation: B is correct because giving in after an unpredictable number of tantrums is a variable-ratio schedule, which produces responding that is much more resistant to extinction than continuous reinforcement. A is incorrect because the schedule of reinforcement, not just its presence, determines resistance to extinction. C is incorrect because the partial reinforcement extinction effect shows the opposite: intermittently reinforced behavior lasts longer once reinforcement stops. D is incorrect because an extinction burst is common after reinforcement is withdrawn, and the schedule history does not prevent it.

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