Question 1

Alexis is in a courtroom as an eyewitness to a crime. Alexis

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that eyewitness testimony can be influenced by various factors including the emotional state of the witness. Alexis may remember the events in a way that is influenced by her own emotional needs, biases, or expectations. This can result in errors or inconsistencies in her testimony. Additionally, the stress of being on the witness stand can also affect memory retrieval, making it more difficult for Alexis to accurately recall details of the crime.

Question 2

Kari is studying French vocabulary words. If Kari forgets this material, the largest part of her forgetting will occur within __________ of learning the material.

Accepted Answer

The largest part of forgetting typically occurs within the first few hours after learning, as demonstrated by the forgetting curve.

Question 3

Many death row inmates are convicted on the basis of eyewitness testimony. Which of the following best represents what is known about that kind of testimony?

Accepted Answer

Eyewitness testimony can be influenced by various factors, including the way questions are posed, which can lead to biases and inaccuracies in the testimony.

Question 4

Lester is testifying against a person accused of robbery. Lester recalls with precise detail the number of people in the bank and what they looked like, the weather outside, and the song playing on the radio. He also provides details about the bank robbery itself. If you are a juror, you should

Accepted Answer

Research on divided attention suggests that it's difficult for people to pay attention to multiple things at once with high levels of detail. In a stressful situation like a bank robbery, it's unlikely that Lester could accurately recall so many specific details about the environment and the event itself, which suggests a reason to be skeptical of his testimony.

Question 5

Your friend tells you that she just bought a cat. You naturally assume that your friend means that she bought a housecat rather than a lion or a tiger. This is an illustration of

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a spontaneous generalization, which occurs when we use our past experiences to make assumptions about new situations or objects. In this case, our past experience with the word "cat" leads us to assume that our friend bought a housecat rather than a wild cat like a lion or a tiger.

Question 6

Curly and Moe were questioned by the police about a car accident they had witnessed just a couple of hours ago. Curly was asked how fast the Ford was going when it smashed into the stop sign. Moe was asked how fast the Ford was going when it hit the sign. All else being equal, Moe will most likely remember that the Ford was going

Accepted Answer

The wording of the question can influence memory recall. The word "smashed" suggests a more severe impact than "hit," leading Curly to potentially remember a higher speed.

Question 7

Felicia is studying for her Psych 100 midterm. Because she studied so hard for the quizzes earlier in the semester, she finds it is taking her less time to relearn many of the concepts and terms. The difference between the amount of time it took Felicia to initially learn the material for the quizzes and the amount of time it is taking her to relearn the material for the midterm is known as

Accepted Answer

The difference in time it takes to relearn material compared to the initial learning time is referred to as "savings" in psychology.

Question 8

In one study, students studied nonsense syllables. Then some of these students carried on with normal waking activities and others took a nap. Those who took a nap recalled more syllables, thus illustrating the effect __________ has on learning.

Accepted Answer

The study illustrates the effect of interference on learning. When students took a nap, they were less likely to experience interference from other activities, which helped them recall more syllables.

Question 9

You watch a demonstration taking place on campus. You are excited and when you get home you tell your roommate Alberta about what you saw. Another roommate, Lucy, returns later and you overhear her excitedly telling Alberta about the same demonstration, but her description doesn't sound anything like what you saw. What most likely accounts for this difference?

Accepted Answer

Constructive memory refers to the process by which memories are influenced by the meaning we give to events, leading to differences in how people recall the same event.

Question 10

Willow took sociology in the fall semester. In the spring semester, she took psychology. She is finding that she is having difficulty remembering the psychology material because the sociology material keeps coming to mind. Willow is experiencing __________ inhibition.

Accepted Answer

Willow is experiencing proactive inhibition, where old information (sociology) interferes with the ability to learn and remember new information (psychology).

Question 11

When Keith took piano lessons as a child, it took him three weeks to learn to play the "Moonlight Sonata." As an adult, when he decided to relearn the song to accompany his daughter's performance at a dance recital, it took him only one week. The difference in Keith's learning time is called

Accepted Answer

The difference in Keith's learning time is called "savings," which refers to the reduced time required to relearn something that was previously learned.

Question 12

Marcella goes to the birthday party of one of her second-grade classmates, which is being held at a fire station. The kids all get to hold the hose and aim it at a fake house to pretend they are fighting a fire. Later, she tells her father, "Daddy, the house was really on fire, and smoke was coming out of it and everything!" The fact that Marcella remembers smoke even though there was none is because of

Accepted Answer

Constructive memory refers to the process by which memories are influenced by the meaning we give to events, leading to the creation of false memories or altered recollections. Marcella's memory of smoke, which wasn't present, is an example of this phenomenon.

Question 13

Jenna is serving on a jury. A witness has just identified the defendant as the person who committed the crime. Having read the Linkages section of the memory chapter, Jenna knows she can have confidence in the identification if the witness

Accepted Answer

The answer of Jenna is serving on a jury. A...

Question 14

Thirty years ago, it took Margie ten hours to learn how to ride a bike. She has not ridden a bike since then. Now she is relearning how to ride a bike, but this time it takes her only five hours. Because it took her less time to relearn the skill than it took to learn it initially, Margie is demonstrating

Accepted Answer

Savings refers to the phenomenon where relearning a skill takes less time than learning it initially, indicating that some memory of the skill was retained.

Question 15

When asked to describe an examination room at his doctor's office, John seemed to do an accurate job. However, he included a framed medical degree on the wall that in fact was not there. This is an illustration of

Accepted Answer

This is an illustration of constructive memory, which involves the distortion or reconstruction of memories based on prior knowledge, expectations, or other factors. John's memory of the examination room was influenced by his expectation of seeing a framed medical degree on the wall, even though it was not actually there.

Question 16

Perry was the lead singer for a jazz group called John's Prediction, for which he learned lots of jazz songs. After a couple of years, he decided to join a blues group called Petrol for Pinholes, and he learned a number of blues songs. On stage one night he tried to remember a jazz song from John's Prediction and had a lot of trouble. Perry showed evidence of

Accepted Answer

Retroactive inhibition occurs when new information interferes with the ability to recall older information. Perry's difficulty in recalling a jazz song due to learning blues songs is an example of this.

Question 17

According to Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve, you should review your lecture notes within the first __________ after class.

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve, you should...

Question 18

In an experiment, participants were shown ambiguous pictures and then given a label for them. Later they were asked to draw the pictures they had been shown, and their drawings tended to more closely resemble the labels given by the experimenter than the original pictures. This is an example of __________ altering memory.

Accepted Answer

Schemas are cognitive structures that help us organize and interpret information. In this experiment, the labels provided by the experimenter influenced the participants' memory and perception of the pictures, causing their drawings to align more with the labels than the original images. This demonstrates how schemas can alter memory by shaping how information is encoded and recalled.

Question 19

Leslie is a prosecutor who wants to enhance the likelihood that the jury finds a defendant guilty. According to the Linkages section regarding memory and perception in the courtroom, Leslie should encourage prosecution witnesses to do all of the following except

Accepted Answer

The answer of Leslie is a prosecutor who wants to...

Question 20

During a psychology lecture, your instructor uses the word college as a metaphor for social life. When he says the word college , lots of information comes to mind: dorm rooms, students, tests, professors, textbooks, pencils, and sporting events. The word has activated a

Accepted Answer

A schema is a mental framework or organization of information that helps us make sense of our world. The word college has likely activated a schema related to social life in general, including specific aspects such as dorm rooms, tests, professors, and sporting events.

Quiz 6: Memory