Which term describes private operations of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response?

• A. Internal mental processes
• B. Schema
• C. Inference
• D. Evolution

Answer: (A)

Internal mental processes describe the private operations of the mind such as perception and attention that occur between sensing a stimulus and producing a response. These cognitive activities interpret and transform incoming information, shaping how we respond to things we experience. Schema is a stored framework for organizing knowledge, not the general set of covert processes between stimulus and response. Inference is a specific reasoning step that draws conclusions from information, rather than the broad private operations of the mind. Evolution is a biological change across generations, not a mental operation.