Question 1

Jaclynn had written a grocery list but accidentally left it at home. Trying to remember the list, Jaclynn remembers what was at the beginning of the list and what was at the end but not those things in the middle. This is an example of __________.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of the serial position effect, where items at the beginning and end of a list are easier to remember than items in the middle.

Question 2

In Loftus's 1978 study, participants viewed a slide presentation of an accident. Later, some of the participants were asked a question about a yield sign when the actual slides contained pictures of a stop sign. When presented with this inaccurate information, how did these participants typically respond?

Accepted Answer

In Loftus's 1978 study, participants' overall accuracy dropped when confronted with conflicting information. They were more likely to incorporate the misleading information into their memory of the event, rather than correcting it. This phenomenon is called the misinformation effect.

Question 3

Shantel spent a year living abroad in Spain. During that time, her ability to read and speak Spanish grew tremendously. However, now, 2 years later, Shantel feels she can no longer travel there because she can barely remember a thing. Her problem is most likely due to __________.

Accepted Answer

Decay theory suggests that forgetting occurs due to the passage of time and the fading of memories in the absence of reinforcement or rehearsal. In Shantel's case, her inability to remember her Spanish skills may be a result of decay theory since she has not used or reinforced her knowledge of the language in 2 years.

Question 4

Of the following, which is the most similar to the concept of long-term memory?

Accepted Answer

A computer hard drive is the most similar to long-term memory because it is used for storing and retrieving large amounts of data over a long period of time. Similarly, long-term memory is responsible for storing and retrieving memories over an extended period of time. The other options (monitor, mouse, keyboard) are all components used for input/output or displaying information, which are not directly related to memory storage.

Question 5

A key component for any person to believe that a false event is in fact true is to make sure that the false information is __________.

Accepted Answer

For a person to believe a false event is true, the false information must be plausible, as this increases the likelihood of it being accepted as true.

Question 6

Felisha can recall with great detail the day of her wedding and all that occurred. What might psychologists say about these particular flashbulb memories?

Accepted Answer

Flashbulb memories are vivid, detailed memories of significant events, often enhanced by the emotional arousal they provoke, which can lead to the release of hormones that strengthen the memory.

Question 7

Brenda has been able to tie her shoes since she was 4. She now finds it difficult to explain to her baby brother how to tie his shoes, but she can easily demonstrate it for him. Brenda's memory for shoe tying is best characterized as a(n) __________ memory.

Accepted Answer

Brenda's ability to tie her shoes is a procedural memory, which is a type of nondeclarative or implicit memory that involves the learning of motor skills and habits. The fact that she can demonstrate the skill but may find it difficult to explain indicates that it is an implicit memory that is largely unconscious and automatic. Semantic memory involves general knowledge and facts, while episodic memory involves personal experiences and events. Declarative memory refers to conscious, explicit memories that can be consciously recalled and verbally communicated, which does not apply to Brenda's shoe-tying ability.

Question 8

Raven has just finished learning a list of nonsense words given to her by her psychology instructor as part of a class activity. She had 100 percent recall at the end of class. According to Ebbinghaus's curve of forgetting, how quickly will Raven likely forget about 40 percent of the information she has just learned?

Accepted Answer

According to Ebbinghaus's curve of forgetting, a significant amount of learned information is forgotten within the first 20 minutes after learning, with about 40 percent of information potentially being lost.

Question 9

Amber meets a cute guy named Carson at a party. She wants to make sure she remembers his name, so she reminds herself that he has the same name as the capital of Nevada (Carson City). This transferring of information from short-term memory to long-term memory is an example of what type of rehearsal?

Accepted Answer

Elaborative rehearsal involves making meaningful associations between new information and existing knowledge, which is exactly what Amber did by connecting Carson's name to Carson City. Repetitive rehearsal simply involves repeating information over and over again, while imagery rehearsal involves creating mental pictures to aid in memory. Maintenance rehearsal is a type of repetitive rehearsal that involves simply repeating information in order to hold it in short-term memory, but it does not help transfer information to long-term memory.

Question 10

Multiple-choice test questions typically rely on __________, while essay questions rely on __________.

Accepted Answer

Multiple-choice test questions typically rely on recognition because the answer choices are provided and the test taker only has to select the correct one. Essay questions rely on recall because the test taker must generate the answer from memory or their understanding of the material.

Question 11

Information enters into short-term memory through a process known as __________.

Accepted Answer

Information enters into short-term memory through a process known as selective attention, which is the ability to focus on one stimulus while ignoring other stimuli. This allows for the transfer of information from sensory memory to short-term memory.

Question 12

What concept suggests that the best place to study for your psychology final to ensure good retrieval of concepts is your psychology classroom?

Accepted Answer

Encoding specificity suggests that information is better retrieved when the context in which it was learned matches the context in which it is being retrieved. Therefore, studying in the same environment (the psychology classroom) in which the information was learned (during psychology class) will lead to better retrieval of concepts during the psychology final.

Question 13

Ruth has just finished her research paper and handed it in. As she walks out of the classroom, she realizes that there were a few more things she should have included in the paper. Ruth's problem is in the memory process of __________.

Accepted Answer

Retrieval refers to the process of accessing information from memory. In this scenario, Ruth is having difficulty retrieving the additional information she wanted to include in her research paper.

Question 14

Which model of memory suggests that memory processes occur throughout a neural network simultaneously?

Accepted Answer

The parallel distributed processing model suggests that memory processes occur throughout a neural network simultaneously, rather than in discrete stages or levels. This model emphasizes the interconnectedness of neural networks and the ability of multiple nodes to work together to process and store information.

Question 15

Research has demonstrated you can enhance your memory for a specific word if you think about its meaning, how it can be used, and by giving a personal example of its use. This is best accounted for by which model of memory?

Accepted Answer

The levels-of-processing model states that the depth of processing information affects how well it is remembered. This includes thinking about the meaning and personal relevance of the information, which is exactly what the research described is doing. The other models do not specifically address this concept of depth of processing.

Question 16

Noland bought a fancy new smartphone. It was a different brand of phone than his old phone, so he spent quite a few frustrating hours learning to use the new one. The problem was that he kept trying to tap icons on the new phone in the places they had been on his old phone. Noland's problem was most likely due to __________.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when old information interferes with the recall of new information. In this case, Noland's prior knowledge of how to use his old phone's interface is interfering with his ability to learn how to use the new phone's interface.

Question 17

Chantal is very afraid of clowns, no doubt because she was frightened by one when she was very young. Chantal's memories of that fearful encounter are likely to be associated with the __________.

Accepted Answer

The amygdala is responsible for processing emotions, including fear. It is likely that Chantal's fear of clowns is associated with strong emotional memories stored in her amygdala from the initial frightening encounter.

Question 18

__________ memories are said to linger in the mind for a few seconds, allowing people the chance to keep up with the flow of conversations and remember what was just said.

Accepted Answer

Echoic memories are sensory memories associated with sound and allow a person to retain auditory information for a few seconds, which can include keeping up with conversations. Iconic memories are sensory memories associated with visual information. Short-term memories typically last for a few seconds to a minute and are used for temporary storage of information, while long-term memories are stored for longer periods of time.

Question 19

Collin is asked to repeat what his mother just told him. He says he "forgot," but in reality Collin wasn't paying attention to his mother at all. This is an example of the __________ explanation of forgetting.

Accepted Answer

Encoding failure is when information is not properly processed and stored in memory, leading to forgetting. In this scenario, Collin did not pay attention to his mother's message, so he did not encode it into his memory, leading to his inability to recall it later.

Question 20

When you take your final exam in your psychology class, what type of memory will you most certainly need to access to answer each question?

Accepted Answer

Semantic memory is the type of long-term memory that stores general knowledge and concepts that are not tied to a particular time or place. This type of memory is often used when answering questions on an exam in a subject like psychology, which involves understanding concepts and theories.

Quiz 6: Memory