Question 1

Research in working memory suggests that:
A)older adults lose working memory altogether by the time they enter their 90s.
B)older adults show deficits only in tasks that tap the visuo-spatial sketchpad.
C)older adults show weaker performance in digit span tasks than do younger adults.
D)older adults show no differences when compared to younger adults.

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that older adults show weaker performance in tasks that tap into working memory, particularly tasks involving verbal information or digit span tasks. This is due to age-related declines in processing speed and attention, which can make it more difficult for older adults to maintain and manipulate information in working memory. However, they may show comparable performance to younger adults in tasks that do not rely heavily on working memory, such as simple reaction time tasks.

Question 2

Older adults, relative to younger adults,
A)have more difficulty recognizing melodies when they are played at a fast tempo than when they are played at a slower tempo.
B)have less difficulty recognizing melodies when they are played at a fast tempo than when they are played at a slower tempo.
C)show no differences in music recognition.
D)have more difficulty recognizing melodies at all tempos.

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that older adults have more difficulty recognizing melodies when they are played at a fast tempo than when they are played at a slower tempo. This may be due to age-related changes in auditory processing and cognitive abilities.

Question 3

Research suggests that, in some domains, older adults have been shown to have better memory skills.Which one of these domains fits that description?
A)working memory
B)encoding into long-term memory
C)source monitoring
D)metamemory

Accepted Answer

Older adults often demonstrate better metamemory, which refers to one's knowledge and awareness about their own memory processes. This includes strategies for remembering and understanding one's memory capabilities. While older adults might experience declines in areas like working memory, encoding into long-term memory, and source monitoring, their accumulated experience and knowledge can lead to improved metamemory, allowing them to employ effective memory strategies.

Question 4

The observation that older adults are less able to learn tasks simultaneously than younger adults suggests impairment in:
A)visual-spatial sketchpad.
B)phonological loop.
C)central executive.
D)working self.

Accepted Answer

The central executive is responsible for coordinating multiple processes and tasks in working memory. Older adults' decreased ability to learn tasks simultaneously suggests impaired central executive functioning. The other answer choices are related to specific aspects of working memory, but not the coordination of multiple tasks.

Question 5

Inhibition theory argues that:
A)older adults' memory declines because of fibrillary bundles in the hippocampus.
B)older adults have better prospective memory than younger adults.
C)older adults have better metamemory than younger adults.
D)older adults do not have a good ability to block out irrelevant stimulation.

Accepted Answer

Inhibition theory argues that aging is associated with deficits in inhibiting irrelevant information, which can lead to difficulty in selective attention and concentration. This can result in older adults being more easily distracted and less able to filter out irrelevant stimulation, which can negatively affect memory performance.

Question 6

The observation that older adults use fewer chunking strategies than younger adults supports which view of the age-related declines in memory?
A)declines in linguistic capacity
B)declines in processing speed
C)declines in inhibition
D)declines in the strategic use of memory

Accepted Answer

The observation that older adults use fewer chunking strategies suggests that they may experience declines in the strategic use of memory, such as the ability to use effective strategies to remember information. This is consistent with the view that age-related declines in memory are due to changes in the ability to use memory strategies rather than declines in other cognitive abilities such as linguistic capacity, processing speed, or inhibition.

Question 7

A power demonstration of the success of inhibition theory to explain age-related memory declines comes from:
A)irrelevant and distracting words embedded in otherwise meaningful sentences.
B)focusing on content leading to a stronger theory.
C)process-oriented classrooms information.
D)encoded working memory.

Accepted Answer

The use of irrelevant and distracting words embedded in otherwise meaningful sentences is a classic example of inhibition theory. The theory suggests that as we age, it becomes more difficult to filter out irrelevant information from important information, leading to memory decline. This power demonstration illustrates the success of inhibition theory in explaining age-related memory declines.

Question 8

In directed forgetting studies,
A)older adults forget everything so it is hard to measure directed forgetting.
B)older adults have a harder time blocking out the to-be-forgotten items, leading to better recall of to-be-forgotten items.
C)older adults do better at directed forgetting because of their slow processing speed.
D)older adults forget more of the to-be-forgotten items than do younger adults.

Accepted Answer

Older adults often have a harder time inhibiting or blocking out distractions or irrelevant information, including to-be-forgotten items, which can lead to better recall of these items compared to younger adults. This is due to changes in cognitive control processes with age.

Question 9

Darowski et al. (2008) asked younger and older participants to read short texts.Some of these tests contained irrelevant and distracting words embedded in otherwise meaningful sentences.They found that:
A)older adults process the sentences faster than young adults because of their preserved semantic system.
B)there were no differences between older and younger adults because the task did not call for age-sensitive memory.
C)younger adults and older adults alike were equally confused by the irrelevant material.
D)older adults had more difficulties inhibiting the irrelevant material than did younger adults.

Accepted Answer

The study found that older adults had more difficulties inhibiting the irrelevant material than younger adults. This suggests that older adults may have more difficulty filtering out irrelevant information and focusing on the relevant aspects of a task.

Question 10

In recall and recognition tests,
A)older adults have more difficulties with recognition tests, relative to younger adults.
B)older adults have more difficulties with recall tests, relative to younger adults.
C)younger adults have more difficulties with recall tests, relative to older adults.
D)younger adults prefer recognition tests, whereas older adults prefer recall tests.

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that older adults have more difficulties with recall tests, such as recalling a list of words or short stories, relative to younger adults. This is due to age-related declines in memory, specifically working memory and executive functioning. Recognition tests, such as multiple-choice questions, may be easier for older adults because they involve a familiarity judgment rather than a retrieval process.

Question 11

Which one of these domains shows age-related declines?
A)lexical memory
B)implicit memory
C)metamemory
D)prospective memory

Accepted Answer

Prospective memory, which involves remembering to perform actions in the future, often shows age-related declines due to its reliance on executive functions and attentional resources, which can be affected by aging.

Question 12

In studies in which general knowledge is tested (politics, history, sports, etc.),
A)younger adults are likely to recall more such facts.
B)older adults have had more time to accumulate more knowledge.
C)differences cannot be predicted on age alone.
D)younger adults learn faster, so they can recall more semantic information.

Accepted Answer

Older adults have had more time to accumulate more knowledge, which may give them an advantage in recalling general knowledge facts. However, this does not necessarily mean that all older adults will perform better than younger adults in such tasks. Individual differences in knowledge acquisition and retention can also influence performance, making it difficult to predict differences based on age alone.

Question 13

McQuirky and LaFunny (2025) asked older and younger adults to study the names and textures of a variety of cheeses.You would expect them to find:
A)that memory for cheese is not affected by age.
B)younger adults would be more distracted by the flavor of the cheeses than older adults.
C)older adults would encode the cheese names faster than younger adults, but retrieve them more slowly.
D)older adults would do as well as younger adults in name recognition studies, but do less well than younger adults in name recall studies.

Accepted Answer

Research on memory and aging suggests that while older adults may perform similarly to younger adults in recognition tasks, they tend to struggle more with recall tasks. Recognition tasks provide cues that aid in retrieving information, making it easier for older adults, whereas recall tasks require generating information with fewer cues, which can be more challenging with age.

Question 14

With respect to memory accuracy, older adults are:
A)equally accurate relative to younger adults.
B)more accurate relative to younger adults.
C)less accurate relative to younger adults.
D)simultaneously more and less accurate relative to younger adults.

Accepted Answer

The answer of With respect to memory accuracy, older adults...

Question 15

Rick is 78-year-old truck driver and his friend Bob is a 24-year-old truck driver.Who is more likely to be at risk when using his cell phone while driving?
A)Bob, because he is a less experienced driver.
B)Bob, because he is more likely to be having arguments with his spouse.
C)Rick, because being older, he is less able to do two tasks simultaneously.
D)Rick, because he is too old to be driving anyway.

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that older adults have a harder time multitasking, which includes being able to drive and use a cell phone at the same time. Bob may be less experienced, but age is a more significant factor in this scenario. Answer D is ageist and does not provide any valid reasoning. Answer B is a stereotype and has no evidence to support it.

Question 16

Which of the following statements is true?
A)Older adults are more susceptible to misinformation effects than younger adults.
B)Younger adults are more susceptible to misinformation effects than older adults.
C)Older adults are more accurate witnesses than younger adults.
D)Younger witnesses are more accurate witnesses than older adults.

Accepted Answer

Studies have consistently found that older adults are more susceptible to misinformation effects than younger adults. This could be due to age-related changes in memory and attention processes. However, this does not mean that older adults are less accurate witnesses overall, as accuracy depends on many factors and varies from person to person.

Question 17

Which theory states that age-related declines are caused because the older person's cognitive processing does not work as quickly as those of younger adults?
A)processing speed framework
B)metamemory accuracy theory
C)inhibition theory
D)source monitoring framework

Accepted Answer

The processing speed framework states that age-related declines are caused because the older person's cognitive processing does not work as quickly as those of younger adults. This theory suggests that overall cognitive processing speed decreases with age and is a primary cause of age-related cognitive decline.

Question 18

Göthe, Oberauer, and Kliegl (2007) compared younger and older adults in two tasks.One task was a visual-motor task in which participants had to mentally track the location of an arrow as it moved to various marked locations on a computer screen.The second task was a simple numerical task, that is, to add a number to a pre-existing sum every time the participant heard a tone.They found that:
A)older adults learned each task as well as the younger adults did, but had more difficulties when required to do the two tasks simultaneously.
B)older adults learned both tasks at slower rates than did the younger adults.
C)older adults were impaired on the visual-motor task because it requires the visual-spatial sketchpad, but not the numerical task.
D)older adults outperformed the younger adults because they were better able to allocate resources.

Accepted Answer

The study found that older adults learned each task as well as the younger adults did, but had more difficulties when required to do the two tasks simultaneously. Therefore, choice A is the best answer.

Question 19

In lexical decision tasks, older adults:
A)show greater accuracy than younger adults.
B)make slower decisions even though their accuracy is equivalent to that of younger adults.
C)show no differences in speed or accuracy relative to younger adults.
D)are more likely to recall the words on the list when called upon to do so, even though their performance on the task is less accurate than younger adults.

Accepted Answer

In lexical decision tasks, older adults tend to make slower decisions even though their accuracy is equivalent to that of younger adults. This slower speed can be due to age-related declines in processing speed and attention.

Question 20

One view is that declines in memory in aging occur because:
A)older adults do not need to have as strong a memory system as younger adults.
B)older adults improve with respect to inhibition, which causes memory to decline.
C)information processing occurs more slowly.
D)their metamemory accuracy shifts from a positive correlation to a negative one.

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that declines in memory in aging occur, in part, because information processing occurs more slowly with age. This slower processing speed can make it more challenging for older adults to encode and retrieve information efficiently.

Quiz 12: Memory in Older Adults

Research in working memory suggests that:

Older adults, relative to younger adults,

Research suggests that, in some domains, older adults have been shown to have better memory skills.Which one of these domains fits that description?

The observation that older adults are less able to learn tasks simultaneously than younger adults suggests impairment in:

Inhibition theory argues that:

The observation that older adults use fewer chunking strategies than younger adults supports which view of the age-related declines in memory?

A power demonstration of the success of inhibition theory to explain age-related memory declines comes from:

In directed forgetting studies,

Darowski et al. (2008) asked younger and older participants to read short texts.Some of these tests contained irrelevant and distracting words embedded in otherwise meaningful sentences.They found that:

In recall and recognition tests,

Which one of these domains shows age-related declines?

In studies in which general knowledge is tested (politics, history, sports, etc.) ,

McQuirky and LaFunny (2025) asked older and younger adults to study the names and textures of a variety of cheeses.You would expect them to find:

With respect to memory accuracy, older adults are:

Rick is 78-year-old truck driver and his friend Bob is a 24-year-old truck driver.Who is more likely to be at risk when using his cell phone while driving?

Which of the following statements is true?

Which theory states that age-related declines are caused because the older person's cognitive processing does not work as quickly as those of younger adults?

In lexical decision tasks, older adults:

One view is that declines in memory in aging occur because: