Question 1

Moishe can remember only the first two items and the last two items on the grocery list that his wife just read to him over the phone. The other five items in between are gone. This is an example of the
A) encoding specificity effect.
B) serial position effect.
C) TOT effect.
D) reintegrative effect.
E) priming effect.

Accepted Answer

The serial position effect refers to the tendency to remember the first and last items in a list more easily than the items in the middle. This is likely due to the primacy effect (remembering the first items) and the recency effect (remembering the last items), while the items in the middle may not have had enough time for consolidation or may have interfered with each other, leading to poorer recall. The other answer choices are not applicable to this situation.

Question 2

An example of proactive interference is when you
A) forget your birthday.
B) cannot find your car keys.
C) write the previous year on this year's checks.
D) are unable to recall the name of your first-grade teacher.
E) thank your mother for a gift that you received from your brother.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information interferes with the recall of new information. In this case, writing the previous year on this year's checks shows proactive interference because the previously learned behavior is interfering with the new behavior.

Question 3

Writing the previous year on your checks instead of the current year is an example of
A) retroactive interference
B) encoding specificity.
C) proactive interference.
D) repression.
E) transience.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when old information interferes with new information, leading to forgetfulness or errors. In this case, the old information is the previous year, which is interfering with the correct information needed to fill out the check.

Question 4

When given a list of items to remember, people tend to do better at recalling the first items on the list than the middle of the list. This is known as the
A) phi phenomenon.
B) recency effect.
C) chunking effect.
D) primacy effect.
E) impression effect.

Accepted Answer

The primacy effect refers to the tendency for people to remember the first items in a list better than the middle or last items.

Question 5

The forgetting curve noted by Ebbinghaus demonstrates the ________ of memory.
A) transience
B) encoding
C) interference
D) repression
E) durability

Accepted Answer

The forgetting curve discovered by Ebbinghaus characterizes the trend of memory to decrease over time without support or reinforcement. Therefore, A) transience signifies the diminishing of memories over time. B) Encoding pertains to the process of acquiring and storing information. C) Interference relates to the effect of new information displacing and making the old information inaccessible. D) Repression refers to unconscious censorship of repressed memories. E) Durability refers to the endurance of memory over time, which is reverse of Ebbinghaus's findings.

Question 6

If knowing the names of your current teachers makes it difficult to remember the names of your teachers from last year, you are experiencing
A) retroactive interference.
B) proactive interference.
C) misattribution.
D) suggestibility.
E) transience.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when newly learned information interferes with the ability to recall previously learned information. In this case, the names of current teachers are interfering with the ability to recall the names of teachers from last year.

Question 7

________ occurs when newly learned information prevents the retrieval of previously stored, similar information.
A) Implicit amnesia
B) Retroactive interference
C) Proactive interference
D) Suppression
E) Explicit amnesia

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the retrieval of previously stored, similar information. This can happen when we learn something new that is similar to something we have already learned, making it harder to retrieve the original information.

Question 8

Imagine that the first car you learned to drive was a manual transmission with a clutch, but the car you drive now is an automatic. Sometimes you find yourself reaching for the clutch that is no longer there. This example illustrates
A) retroactive interference.
B) proactive interference.
C) retrograde amnesia.
D) anterograde amnesia.
E) eidetic amnesia.

Accepted Answer

This example illustrates proactive interference, where old memories interfere with the recall of new information. In this case, the habit of reaching for a clutch (old memory) interferes with the ability to adapt to driving an automatic car (new situation).

Question 9

In proactive interference, old memories act to
A) cause us to forget other old memories.
B) distort our sensory memory.
C) add additional information to permanent external memory.
D) reverse the order of items in LTM.
E) block our ability to learn new information.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when previously stored information interferes with the ability to learn and remember new information. It blocks our ability to learn new information. Option A is incorrect because old memories do not cause forgetting of other old memories, rather they interfere with the ability to form or retrieve new memories. Option B and D are not related to proactive interference. Option C is incorrect because old memories do not add information to external memory, external memory refers to stored information outside of our brain.

Question 10

Retroactive interference as used in the study of memory refers to when
A) older information already in memory interferes with the retrieval of newer information.
B) newer information interferes with the retrieval of older information.
C) information is not attended to and fails to be encoded.
D) information that is not accessed decays from the storage system over time.
E) previously stored information becomes distorted by personal biases and prejudices.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the retrieval of old information. This is in contrast to proactive interference, which occurs when old information interferes with the retrieval of new information.

Question 11

Shalissa has two exams today. One is in French and the other is in history. Last night she studied French before history. When she gets to her history test, all she can remember is French! Shalissa's memory is suffering from
A) cue-dependent forgetting.
B) proactive interference.
C) decay.
D) retroactive interference .
E) encoding specificity.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference is when previously learned information interferes with the ability to remember new information. In this case, Shalissa's French studying is interfering with her ability to remember the history information.

Question 12

Proactive interference as used in the study of memory refers to when
A) older information already in memory interferes with the retrieval of newer information.
B) newer information interferes with the retrieval of older information.
C) information is not attended to and fails to be encoded.
D) information that is not accessed decays from the storage system over time.
E) older information becomes distorted over time and is retrieved

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when older information already stored in memory makes it harder to retrieve and remember new information. This is because the previously learned information interferes with the new information.

Question 13

Material that is ________ is more susceptible to interference in memory.
A) low in context
B) low in emotional content
C) high in context
D) low in meaningfulness
E) A and D are

Accepted Answer

Material that is low in meaningfulness is more susceptible to interference in memory because it lacks distinctive features that can aid in retrieval. Material that is high in context, emotional content, or both can serve as retrieval cues that can enhance memory recall. Low context information may not have enough information to allow for accurate retrieval, but this is less likely to result in interference compared to low meaningfulness.

Question 14

When newer information interferes with the retrieval of older information, this is called
A) cue-dependent forgetting.
B) proactive interference.
C) decay.
D) retroactive interference.
E) transience.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the retrieval of old information. This means that previously stored information is being forgotten because of the presence of new information.

Question 15

Jessica took psychology in the fall semester and is now taking sociology. Several of the concepts are similar, and Jessica finds that she sometimes has trouble recalling some of the major psychological theorists. She keeps getting them confused with sociological theorists. Jessica's problem is most likely due to
A) decoding failure.
B) retroactive interference.
C) proactive interference.
D) Toronto syndrome.
E) anterograde amnesia.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the ability to recall old information. In this case, Jessica's recently learned knowledge of sociological theorists is making it difficult for her to recall previously learned information about psychological theorists, leading to the confusion.

Question 16

You start out using Firefox, then change to Explorer because your company demands that browsers be Microsoft products. If you have trouble with Explorer, it is most likely due to
A) proactive interference
B) retroactive interference
C) anterograde interference
D) consolidation problems
E) retrograde interference

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when old information (using Firefox) interferes with the ability to learn or use new information (using Explorer).

Question 17

The fact that it is easier to recall items at the beginning and end of a list of unrelated items is known as the
A) phi phenomenon.
B) implicit memory effect.
C) serial position effect.
D) sequestering effect.
E) location parallax.

Accepted Answer

The phenomenon described is known as the serial position effect, which refers to the tendency to better recall items at the beginning (i.e., primacy effect) and end (i.e., recency effect) of a list. The other options (A, B, D, and E) do not refer to this specific phenomenon.

Question 18

Ebbinghaus's studies of memory for relatively unimportant material demonstrate that
A) there is a slow initial loss of memory followed by a steady rate of loss.
B) memories fade rapidly and consistently.
C) memories fade slowly and consistently.
D) there is a slow initial loss of memory, followed by an increasing rate of loss.
E) there is a rapid initial loss of memory, followed by a decreasing rate of loss.

Accepted Answer

Ebbinghaus's studies, particularly his forgetting curve, demonstrate that there is a rapid initial loss of memory, followed by a decreasing rate of loss. This means that most forgetting occurs soon after learning, and the rate of forgetting slows down over time.

Question 19

One of the most common causes of transience comes from ___________ when one item prevents us from forming a robust memory for another item.
A) transduction
B) transference
C) an engram
D) interference
E) misattribution

Accepted Answer

Interference occurs when one memory interferes with the ability to form a robust memory for another item, leading to transience.

Question 20

Shalissa has two exams today. One is in French and the other is in history. Last night she studied French before history. When she gets to her French test, all she can remember is history! Shalissa's memory is suffering from
A) cue-dependent forgetting.
B) proactive interference.
C) decay.
D) retroactive interference.
E) TOT.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new learning interferes with the ability to recall older information. In this case, Shalissa's studying of history interfered with her ability to recall the French information she learned prior.

Quiz 5: Memory

Moishe can remember only the first two items and the last two items on the grocery list that his wife just read to him over the phone. The other five items in between are gone. This is an example of the

An example of proactive interference is when you

Writing the previous year on your checks instead of the current year is an example of

When given a list of items to remember, people tend to do better at recalling the first items on the list than the middle of the list. This is known as the

The forgetting curve noted by Ebbinghaus demonstrates the ________ of memory.

If knowing the names of your current teachers makes it difficult to remember the names of your teachers from last year, you are experiencing

________ occurs when newly learned information prevents the retrieval of previously stored, similar information.

Imagine that the first car you learned to drive was a manual transmission with a clutch, but the car you drive now is an automatic. Sometimes you find yourself reaching for the clutch that is no longer there. This example illustrates

In proactive interference, old memories act to

Retroactive interference as used in the study of memory refers to when

Shalissa has two exams today. One is in French and the other is in history. Last night she studied French before history. When she gets to her history test, all she can remember is French! Shalissa's memory is suffering from

Proactive interference as used in the study of memory refers to when

Material that is ________ is more susceptible to interference in memory.

When newer information interferes with the retrieval of older information, this is called

You start out using Firefox, then change to Explorer because your company demands that browsers be Microsoft products. If you have trouble with Explorer, it is most likely due to

The fact that it is easier to recall items at the beginning and end of a list of unrelated items is known as the

Ebbinghaus's studies of memory for relatively unimportant material demonstrate that

One of the most common causes of transience comes from ___________ when one item prevents us from forming a robust memory for another item.

Shalissa has two exams today. One is in French and the other is in history. Last night she studied French before history. When she gets to her French test, all she can remember is history! Shalissa's memory is suffering from