Deck 12: Development and Aging: Learning and Memory Across the Lifespan

Question 1

Studies in which infants were conditioned to kick at a mobile to make it move showed that infants:

A)as young as 2 months could learn this response.
B)needed reminders in order to remember the response the next day.
C)maintained the response despite changes in context.
D)could remember the response for several weeks without any reminders.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Eyeblink conditioning:

A)can be learned by infants when delay conditioning is used.
B)cannot be learned by infants when delay conditioning is used.
C)can be learned by infants when trace conditioning is used.
D)is learned more slowly by infants when trace conditioning is used.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A fetus is sufficiently developed to start perceiving and learning about sounds by about ___ gestational age.

A)1 week
B)2 weeks
C)10 weeks
D)25 weeks

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is a possible reason for the slow maturation of episodic memories in children?

A)The hippocampus is immature at birth and takes time to develop.
B)Very young children do not have a sense of self.
C)Very young children cannot express their memories verbally.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 5

Which of the following is true regarding imprinting?

A)The time window for imprinting cannot be extended.
B)Imprinting can be reversed.
C)It is an example of a critical period.
D)It does not seem to affect the animal's behavior as an adult.

Question 6

The research on the development of episodic and semantic memory discussed in your textbook showed that:

A)semantic memory,but not episodic memory,is present in young children.
B)episodic memory,but not semantic memory,is present in young children.
C)semantic memory seems to develop more slowly than episodic memory.
D)episodic memory seems to develop more slowly than semantic memory.

Question 7

In children,the dominant process in language learning is _____,while in adults it is _____.

A)semantic memory;social imitation
B)semantic memory;episodic memory
C)social imitation;semantic memory
D)social imitation;episodic memory

Question 8

The technique of elicited imitation is used for assessing memories in infants because infants:

A)cannot use language to respond in standard recall and recognition tests.
B)do not respond to classical conditioning situations.
C)cannot perceive sounds well enough to learn them.
D)learn more rapidly than older children do.

Question 9

Research has shown that the use of gestures:

A)emerges before children have mastered spoken language.
B)is negatively correlated with the development of verbal language.
C)usually causes parents to reduce the amount of verbal communication with their children.
D)may interfere with the development of verbal language.

Question 10

"Genie," the little girl who was tragically isolated until age 13:

A)learned to speak,but only at the level of a three-four year old.
B)could not learn to speak at all.
C)learned language slowly,but eventually could speak normally.
D)could only make very basic speech sounds.

Question 11

Gestational age refers to:

A)time since birth.
B)time since conception.
C)mental age.
D)the age at which learning is particularly effective.

Question 12

Regarding learning a second language:

A)you will learn more slowly if you learn as an adult than as a child.
B)you will be able to approximate native accents more closely if you learn as a child than as an adult.
C)it doesn't matter when you start.
D)you will learn equally quickly at any age,but will not learn the correct accent if you learn as an adult.

Question 13

The formation of an attachment to the first individual an organism sees after birth is known as:

A)neurogenesis.
B)synaptogenesis.
C)imprinting.
D)elicited imitation.

Question 14

Sparrows raised in isolation still learn to sing,but their songs are abnormal.This is an example of:

A)a critical period.
B)a sensitive period.
C)an imprinting period.
D)the gestational age.

Question 15

Research has demonstrated that humans:

A)begin showing habituation to sounds at about two months of age.
B)show evidence of working memory abilities before they are born.
C)can demonstrate learning of basic sounds and language before they are born.
D)do not demonstrate operant conditioning until they are about a year old.

Question 16

The time period in which learning is MOST effective is known as:

A)a critical period.
B)a sensitive period.
C)an imprinting period.
D)the gestational age.

Question 17

The research on the development of episodic and semantic memory discussed in your textbook showed that:

A)4-year-olds remembered episodic information better than semantic information.
B)8-year-olds made more extra-experimental errors than intra-experimental errors.
C)4-year-olds were especially prone to extra-experimental errors.
D)6-year-olds could remember semantic information but not episodic information.

Question 18

Kanako,who is 5 years old,and her parents have just moved from Japan to the United States Since the Japanese language does not make a distinction between the /l/ and /r/ sounds,what will happen to Kanako's and her parents' abilities to distinguish between these sounds in the United States?

A)Kanako will be able to learn to make the distinction,but her parents will not.
B)Kanako's parents will be able to learn to make the distinction,but Kanako will not.
C)Both Kanako and her parents will be able to learn to make the distinction.
D)Neither Kanako nor her parents will be able to learn to make the distinction.

Question 19

If children are to learn to differentiate particular sounds used in their language,they must be exposed to these sounds before they are:

A)6 to 8 months old.
B)2 years old.
C)4 years old.
D)10 years old.

Question 20

The technique in which infants are shown an action and tested for their ability to mimic this action later is known as:

A)imprinting.
B)mutation.
C)neurogenesis.
D)elicited imitation.

Question 21

In which of the following situations would learning be the MOST difficult?

A)a 40-year-old trying to learn to type
B)a 75-year-old expert chess player trying to improve his game
C)a 70-year-old trying to learn to use an iPad
D)a 25-year-old trying to learn to play tennis

Question 22

Which type of memory seems to be MOST vulnerable to decline as adults age?

A)working memory
B)episodic memory
C)semantic memory
D)skill memory

Question 23

A person's digit span:

A)remains stable throughout life.
B)improves slightly in elderly adults.
C)drops slightly in elderly adults.
D)drops drastically in elderly adults.

Question 24

In a paired-associate test of memory,elderly adults:

A)are better than college students in a directed forgetting test.
B)experience more problems during retrieval than during encoding.
C)perform well if items are presented at a slower pace during study.
D)outperform college students under most conditions.

Question 25

Which of the following supports the idea that age-related improvement in working memory capacity at least partially reflects exposure to and familiarity with the material to be remembered?

A)Ten-year-old chess experts can remember more pieces than adults who do not play chess,even though the children's digit spans were lower.
B)Young children can remember only 3-4 digits,whereas teenagers can remember 7 -8 digits.
C)Performance on working-memory tasks increases throughout adolescence before leveling off.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 26

Performance on working-memory tasks:

A)is relatively stable throughout adolescence,and improves very rapidly at the very end of adolescence.
B)increases throughout adolescence before leveling off at adult levels.
C)improves very rapidly at the very start of adolescence,and then is relatively stable.
D)decreases throughout adolescence before leveling off at adult levels.

Question 27

Which of the following is true regarding gender differences in learning and memory?

A)Young adult women outperform young adult men in learning the way around a maze.
B)Most gender differences emerge before adolescence.
C)At all ages,males are quicker to learn a route on a fictitious map.
D)Females are better than males at remembering the positions of landmarks on a map,but this advantage does not emerge until puberty.

Question 28

It has been suggested that older adults might be:

A)more susceptible to proactive interference.
B)less susceptible to proactive interference.
C)more susceptible to retroactive interference.
D)less susceptible to retroactive interference.

Question 29

As people age from their twenties to their fifties,most types of memory:

A)gradually decline.
B)increase into the thirties and then gradually decline.
C)remain relatively stable.
D)gradually increase.

Question 30

Puberty ____,while adolescence _____.

A)is a physical process;has a defined endpoint
B)is a physical process;involves psychological and social change
C)does not have precisely defined boundaries;involves psychological and social change
D)involves psychological and social change;is a physical process

Question 31

Which of the following is true regarding skill learning?

A)Elderly individuals are impaired in learning of basic but not in real-world skills.
B)People who are experts continue to improve their skill even into old age.
C)Middle-aged and older adults both show a decline in skill learning.
D)Older adults make more errors in learning skills,but learn them as quickly as younger adults do.

Question 32

Which of the following would elderly individuals have the MOST difficulty with?

A)a paired-associate test of memory
B)a test of general world knowledge
C)remembering their first kiss
D)recalling the names storybook characters from their childhood

Question 33

In an emotional memory test,elderly adults remembered:

A)more negative than positive images.
B)more positive than negative images.
C)more of all kinds of images than young adults did.
D)the same number of all kinds of images as young adults did.

Question 34

Which of the following is true regarding gender differences in learning and memory?

A)They are almost entirely due to gender stereotypes.
B)Adult rats show the same kinds of differences as adult humans do.
C)Infant rats show the same kinds of differences as adult humans do.
D)Differences emerge much later than the time when sex hormones begin increasing.

Question 35

Men generally perform better than women on tasks involving:

A)verbal abilities.
B)remembering locations of objects.
C)spatial learning.
D)working memory.

Question 36

Which of the following people's skill will be the MOST resistant to decline in older adulthood

A)Brandon,who plays golf once a year
B)Danielle,who learned to play the guitar in her 40s
C)Isaiah,who shampoos his carpets about every 5 years
D)Courtney,who is a professional chef

Question 37

During adolescence,a person's digit span:

A)declines from a higher-than-adult capacity.
B)has already reached typical adult capacity.
C)is still only 3 or 4 digits.
D)increases until it reaches typical adult capacity.

Question 38

The process of physical change during which the body transitions to sexual maturity is known as:

A)the sensitive period.
B)neurogenesis.
C)puberty.
D)adolescence.

Question 39

People with _______ perform worse on learning and memory tests than people with ______.

A)One copy of the Val allele;one copy of the Met allele
B)one copy of the Met allele;two copies of the Met allele
C)two copies of the Val allele;two copies of the Met allele
D)two copies of the Met allele;two copies of the Val allele

Question 40

At what age does eyeblink conditioning start to decline?

A)25
B)35
C)40
D)65

Question 41

What has been suggested by research on fraternal and identical twins?

A)The research has been mostly inconclusive.
B)Nearly all of the variation in memory scores may be accounted for by differences in the environment and upbringing.
C)More than half of the variation in memory scores may be accounted for by differences in genetic makeup.
D)Nearly all of the variation in memory scores may be accounted for by differences in genetic makeup.

Question 42

When Tryon (1940)bred "maze-bright" rats together,he found that:

A)there was no improvement in maze learning across generations.
B)the first generation made fewer errors,but subsequent generations showed no improvement in maze learning.
C)with each generation,the rats' offspring made more errors.
D)with each generation,the rats' offspring made fewer errors.

Question 43

During apoptosis:

A)neurons die as a result of accidents or disease.
B)neurons with fewer connections to other neurons are more likely to survive.
C)there is an increase in neurotrophic factors such as BDNF.
D)about 1/3 of the neurons die.

Question 44

Listening to classical music such as works by Mozart:

A)activates the same brain regions that are used in abstract spatial reasoning.
B)has been shown to reliably lead to intellectual improvement.
C)leads to long-lasting changes in abstract reasoning abilities.
D)leads to improvement on a wide variety of intellectual tasks.

Question 45

The process of neuronal birth is called:

A)apoptosis.
B)neurogenesis.
C)mutation.
D)synaptogenesis.

Question 46

Testosterone:

A)surges at birth for males but not females.
B)surges at birth for females but not males.
C)increases during the first year of life.
D)is converted into estradiol.

Question 47

In humans:

A)up to 42% of all synapses in the cortex may be pruned.
B)synapses that are seldom used become strengthened.
C)synaptogenesis begins at birth.
D)the number of synapses is relatively constant from birth until age 8.

Question 48

Myelination:

A)occurs before neurogenesis.
B)is completed in the frontal cortex first.
C)does not begin until after birth.
D)slows neural transmission.

Question 49

Some of the MOST dramatic changes in the adolescent brain occur in the:

A)hippocampus.
B)basal ganglia.
C)prefrontal cortex.
D)cerebellum.

Question 50

Which part the brain is proportionately larger in men than in women?

A)angular gyrus
B)hippocampus
C)lateral frontal cortex
D)supramarginal gyrus

Question 51

Which of the following is true regarding synaptogenesis?

A)It begins immediately before birth.
B)It continues throughout the lifespan.
C)It occurs at relatively constant rates across different brain regions.
D)All of the answers are correct.

Question 52

Which of the following is true regarding neurogenesis?

A)It is increased when BDNF is removed.
B)It is not uniform throughout the brain.
C)It occurs only after apoptosis has been completed.
D)The majority of neurons are in place by 10 weeks after conception.

Question 53

Which of the following is true regarding the 5-HT2AR gene?

A)It helps modify synaptic plasticity.
B)It is most common version is the Val allele.
C)It encodes instructions for building a receptor for serotonin.
D)It plays a role in enhancing LTP.

Question 54

Which of the following is true regarding the genetic basis of learning?

A)Researchers have discovered most of the genes that appear to be involved in learning.
B)Genes must be activated before they affect learning.
C)Most genes act independently of each other.
D)Genes appear to play only a small role in learning.

Question 55

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic development during adolescence?

A)synaptic pruning.
B)myelination of frontal cortex neurons continues.
C)myelination of sensory and motor neurons continues.
D)dopamine increase.

Question 56

Sensitive periods:

A)leave no room for neural reorganization later in life.
B)are detrimental to the developing brain.
C)are beneficial to the developing brain.
D)are beneficial to an older,well-established brain.

Question 57

Studies of the effects of sex hormones in adults have shown that:

A)testosterone improves rats' ability to find the platform in a water maze.
B)women tested at points in their menstrual cycle when estrogen is high outperform women tested when their estrogen is low.
C)recall of words is worse in women than in male-to-female transsexuals undergoing estrogen therapy.
D)testosterone may promote learning on tasks requiring recall of specific verbal information.

Question 58

In women,the _______ is proportionately larger than in men,and this is reflected in women's superior performance on ______ tasks.

A)hippocampus;navigation
B)lateral frontal cortex;working memory
C)angular gyrus;learning lists
D)visual cortex;navigation

Question 59

The MOST common version of the BDNF gene is the:

A)Val allele.
B)Met allele.
C)His allele.
D)Tyr allele.

Question 60

Which gene appears to govern how action potentials propagate down the axon,determining whether the message gets passed on to the next neuron?

A)BDNF
B)SNC1A
C)WWC1
D)5-HT2AR

Question 61

Which of the following is true regarding neurogenesis?

A)It continues up until young adulthood and then stops.
B)In primates,it has only been unambiguously documented in a few brain regions.
C)Most of the new neurons are relatively permanent.
D)Although new neurons are produced,they usually do not make connections with existing neurons.

Question 62

Individuals with Down syndrome:

A)have visibly smaller brains at birth.
B)show normal episodic memory as children.
C)have a larger-than-normal hippocampus at three months of age.
D)have a smaller-than-normal cerebellum in adolescence.

Question 63

People with ____ have a higher risk for developing Alzheimer's disease,while people with _____ have a lower risk.

A)two E2 alleles;two E3 alleles
B)two E4 alleles;two E2 alleles
C)two E3 alleles;two E4 alleles
D)two E2 alleles;two E4 alleles

Question 64

In old age:

A)human brains are about the same weight as in adolescence.
B)human brains have increased in weight by 5%.
C)the brain shrinks only in people who have suffered from disease or injury.
D)human brains have lost about 5% of their weight.

Question 65

Deficits in working memory in old age may be due to loss of neurons in the:

A)basal ganglia.
B)cerebellum.
C)prefrontal cortex.
D)hippocampus.

Question 66

Down syndrome:

A)is a form of mental retardation.
B)affects males more than females.
C)occurs when an individual gets an extra copy of chromosome 23.
D)results in a life expectancy of about 18 years.

Question 67

Mutations on which genes seem to be associated with early-onset Alzheimer's disease?

A)APP,PS2,and APOE
B)CLU,PICALM,and CR1
C)APP,PS1,and PS2
D)CLU,PICALM,and APOE

Question 68

When young vs.old rats learned locations in a maze,it was found that:

A)young rats' neurons fired strongly during the first session but not during the second session.
B)old rats' neurons did not always fire in the same location during the second session as they did during the first session.
C)old rats' neurons fired strongly during the first session but not during the second session.
D)young rats' neurons did not always fire in the same location during the second session as they did during the first session.

Question 69

Neurofibrillary tangles are:

A)distributed evenly throughout the cortex.
B)collapsed proteins that normally hold neurons in place and transport nutrients.
C)first accumulated in the cortex of Alzheimer's patients.
D)an abnormal byproduct of a common protein.

Question 70

Which of the following does NOT occur in the brain in old age?

A)Neurons in the prefrontal cortex are lost.
B)Neurons in the cerebellum are lost.
C)Neurons in the cerebral cortex show less connectivity.
D)Neurons in the hippocampus are lost.

Question 71

Which of the following is true regarding Alzheimer's disease?

A)It occurs in about 10% of people over age 85.
B)Conditioning is one of the first memory abilities to show signs of impairment.
C)Patients retain the ability to learn new skills.
D)Changes in judgment and personality occur fairly early in the progression of the disease.

Question 72

In old age:

A)the hippocampus experiences loss of neurons.
B)LTP remains relatively stable.
C)LTP may last longer than in young adulthood.
D)the ability to maintain changes in synapse strength may be reduced.

Question 73

Which type of memory ability is usually the first to show signs of impairment in people with Alzheimer's disease?

A)episodic memory
B)semantic memory
C)conditioning
D)skill memory

Question 74

Down syndrome is:

A)much more likely in children born to younger fathers.
B)much more likely in children born to older mothers.
C)much less likely in children born to older mothers.
D)usually due to a genetic accident occurring in the father.

Question 75

In Alzheimer's disease,the hippocampus is _____,which is the _____ in healthy aging.

A)larger than normal;the same as
B)larger than normal;the opposite of
C)smaller than normal;the same as
D)smaller than normal;the opposite of

Question 76

Amyloid plaques:

A)are collapsed proteins that normally hold neurons in place and transport nutrients.
B)first accumulate in the hippocampus of Alzheimer's patients.
C)are present in Alzheimer's patients but not in adults with Down syndrome.
D)may be evidence of the brain's attempt to isolate and protect against damaging types of beta-amyloid.

Question 77

Ts65Dn mice,that are bred as a model of Down syndrome:

A)usually die at birth.
B)show relatively normal development of the hippocampus.
C)show relatively normal development of the cortex.
D)show improved spatial memory in females when housed in an enriched environment.

Question 78

Alzheimer's disease:

A)cannot be definitively confirmed until after death.
B)can be confirmed with absolute certainty using brain-imaging techniques.
C)is sometimes treated with drugs that enhance glutamate.
D)has been successfully treated with more than 100 drugs.

Question 79

Alzheimer's drugs that inhibit cholinesterase:

A)work by enhancing the breakdown of unused acetylcholine in synapses between neurons.
B)stop the accumulation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.
C)reverse the neuronal damage that has already occurred.
D)treat symptoms temporarily.

Question 80

Mutations on the ____ gene seem to be associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

A)APOE
B)APP
C)PS1
D)PS2