Question 1

In regards to the repressed memory controversy,which of the following statements is NOT correct?
A) if a specific case of alleged child abuse cannot be proven by independent evidence, individuals should conclude that the allegation was false
B) some recovered memories of childhood abuse are true
C) some recovered memories of childhood abuse are false
D) individuals should be careful in accepting or rejecting claims of childhood abuse as accurate

Accepted Answer

It is not appropriate to conclude that an allegation of abuse is false simply because there is no independent evidence. Lack of evidence does not negate the possibility that the abuse occurred or that the memory is repressed. It is important to approach each case with an open mind and to carefully evaluate the available evidence, including the credibility of the accuser and any corroborating evidence.

Question 2

McMillan and her colleagues (1997)asked a random sample of almost 10,000 adults about whether they had experienced abuse during childhood.These researchers found that
A) females were more likely to have experienced physical abuse, while males were more likely to have experienced sexual abuse.
B) males were more likely to have experienced physical abuse, while females were more likely to have experienced sexual abuse.
C) females were more likely to have experienced both physical and sexual abuse.
D) males and females experienced both physical and sexual abuse with equal frequency.

Accepted Answer

McMillan and her colleagues found that males were more likely to have experienced physical abuse, while females were more likely to have experienced sexual abuse.

Question 3

In anterograde amnesia,
A) new information impairs the retention of previously learned information.
B) previously learned information interferes with the retention of new information.
C) a person loses memories of events that occurred prior to a head injury.
D) a person loses memories of events that occur after a head injury.

Accepted Answer

Anterograde amnesia is a type of amnesia that is characterized by the inability to form new memories after the onset of the amnesia. This means that a person may still remember events that occurred prior to the head injury or onset of amnesia, but they are unable to retain any new information or memories. Therefore, option D is the correct choice.

Question 4

Retrograde amnesia is a type of organic amnesia in which
A) new information impairs the retention of previously learned information.
B) previously learned information interferes with the retention of new information.
C) a person loses memories of events that occurred prior to a head injury.
D) a person loses memories of events that occur after a head injury.

Accepted Answer

Retrograde amnesia is characterized by the loss of memories for events that occurred before the onset of amnesia, often due to a head injury or other traumatic event.

Question 5

In regard to the recovered memory controversy,psychologists who rely on research on the misinformation effect,reality-monitoring,and imagination inflation are MOST likely to
A) have no opinion on the accuracy of recovered memories.
B) doubt the accuracy of recovered memories.
C) believe the accuracy of recovered memories.
D) be equally likely to doubt or believe the accuracy of recovered memories.

Accepted Answer

Psychologists who rely on research on the misinformation effect, reality-monitoring, and imagination inflation have found that false memories can be easily implanted and may be indistinguishable from actual memories. This research suggests that the accuracy of recovered memories is likely to be questionable and therefore, psychologists who rely on such research are likely to doubt the accuracy of recovered memories.

Question 6

A 45-year-old woman suddenly becomes aware of long-forgotten memories of being sexually abused by her father when she was six years old.Her father denies the allegations.This case can be described as a typical example associated with the
A) memory reconstruction controversy.
B) false allegation controversy.
C) recovered memory controversy.
D) memory retrieval controversy.

Accepted Answer

The sudden recollection of sexual abuse after a long period of forgetting is associated with the controversy surrounding recovered memories. This controversy involves the debate over the reliability and accuracy of memories that are retrieved after years of being repressed or forgotten, particularly in cases of childhood trauma. The fact that the woman's father denies the allegations highlights the difficulty in confirming repressed memories and the potential for false memories to be created through suggestion or therapy.

Question 7

Animal studies show that manipulations that suppress neurogenesis lead to
A) enhanced learning on many types of tasks.
B) organic anterograde amnesia.
C) non-orgranic retrograde amnesia.
D) memory impairments on many types of learning tasks.

Accepted Answer

Animal studies have consistently shown that manipulations that suppress neurogenesis, such as radiation or genetic knockouts, result in memory impairments on many types of learning tasks. This suggests that neurogenesis plays an important role in certain aspects of learning and memory.

Question 8

Freud's concept of repression involves a specific type of
A) retrieval failure.
B) ineffective encoding.
C) interference.
D) decay.

Accepted Answer

Freud's concept of repression refers to the unconscious process of blocking or suppressing unpleasant or traumatic memories, thoughts, or impulses. These memories and thoughts may be stored in the unconscious mind and cannot be consciously recalled. Therefore, repression involves the failure to retrieve memories rather than ineffective encoding, interference or decay of memories.

Question 9

Psychologists who accept the accuracy of recovered memories of abuse are most likely to attribute the recent upsurge in recovered memories to
A) an increase in the level of childhood abuse occurring in society.
B) inadvertently created memories after a therapist makes suggestions of childhood abuse.
C) increased sensitivity to an issue that people used to be reluctant to discuss.
D) the use of more effective techniques that allow for the recovery of memories of childhood abuse.

Accepted Answer

Psychologists who believe in the accuracy of recovered memories often attribute the increase to a greater societal awareness and willingness to discuss issues that were previously stigmatized or ignored.

Question 10

Psychologists who doubt the accuracy of recovered memories of abuse maintain that
A) the recovered memories result from the ineffective encoding of everyday events.
B) the recovered memories are accurate accounts of earlier events.
C) the recovered memories are inadvertently created in individuals after a therapist makes suggestions of childhood abuse.
D) individuals purposely make up stories of abuse to damage the reputation of the accused individual.

Accepted Answer

Psychologists who doubt the accuracy of recovered memories of abuse argue that the memories may have been created inadvertently by therapists through suggestive techniques, such as hypnosis or guided imagery. These memories may not be accurate accounts of earlier events, but rather constructed narratives based on therapy sessions. The encoding of everyday events (option A) is not relevant to the debate over the accuracy of recovered memories. Option B is contrary to the view of skeptics of recovered memories. Option D is unsupported by empirical evidence and is considered a harmful stereotype about individuals who report abuse.

Question 11

Williams (1994)followed up on females who had been brought to a hospital emergency room for treatment of sexual abuse when they were children.When these women were interviewed 17 years after their emergency room visit,
A) almost all of the women (95%) failed to report the original incident.
B) very few of the women (less than 10%) failed to report the original incident.
C) approximately one-half of the women (55%) failed to report the original incident.
D) just over one-third of the women (38%) failed to report the original incident.

Accepted Answer

Williams (1994) found that just over one-third of the women (38%) failed to report the original incident of sexual abuse when they were brought to the emergency room as children.

Question 12

Victims of organic amnesia who can recall memories stored before a head injury but can not recall information processed after the injury are showing
A) retrograde amnesia.
B) pseudoforgetting.
C) anterograde amnesia.
D) retroactive interference.

Accepted Answer

Anterograde amnesia is the inability to create new memories after a head injury or other traumatic event. Victims of organic amnesia who can recall memories stored before a head injury but can not recall information processed after the injury are showing anterograde amnesia. Retrograde amnesia refers to the inability to recall memories from before a head injury, while pseudoforgetting and retroactive interference are related to forgetting due to encoding or retrieval failure.

Question 13

Eric Kandel earned his Nobel Prize for his research showing that specific memories depend on
A) biochemical alterations in transmission at specific synapes.
B) the creation of localized neural circuits in the brain.
C) hormonal fluctuations.
D) long-term potentiation in specific synapses along a specific neural pathway.

Accepted Answer

Eric Kandel's research demonstrated that specific memories depend on biochemical alterations in transmission at specific synapses, which are crucial for the storage and retrieval of memories.

Question 14

The long-lasting increase in neural excitability at synapses of a specific neural pathway is referred to as
A) spreading cortical activation.
B) long-term potentiation.
C) transfer-appropriate excitation.
D) an engram process.

Accepted Answer

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is the long-lasting increase in neural excitability at synapses of a specific neural pathway. It is a cellular mechanism that underlies learning and memory in the brain. The other options, spreading cortical activation, transfer-appropriate excitation, and engram process, are not specific to LTP.

Question 15

Scientists studying the neurological basis of memory have discovered new brain cells are formed constantly in the
A) dentate gyrus of the hippocampus.
B) dentate gyrus of the amygdala.
C) subcortical areas of the prefrontal cortex.
D) basilar sulcus of the cerebellum.

Accepted Answer

Recent studies have shown that new brain cells, also known as neurogenesis, are constantly formed in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, which is a brain region associated with memory formation and learning.

Question 16

Which of the following statements best reflects the current view of the repressed memories controversy?
A) It seems likely that most cases of recovered memories are authentic.
B) It appears that many therapists are deliberately creating false memories in their patients.
C) Recovered memories of childhood abuse can be summarily dismissed.
D) We should be extremely careful about accepting recovered memories of abuse in the absence of convincing corroboration.

Accepted Answer

The current view of the repressed memories controversy is that we should be extremely careful about accepting recovered memories of abuse in the absence of convincing corroboration. While some cases may be authentic, there is concern that therapists may be inadvertently or deliberately creating false memories in their patients. Therefore, it is important to have strong corroborating evidence before accepting recovered memories as true.

Question 17

Adrianna was skiing when she fell and hit her head.When the operators of the ski resort ask her what she was doing just before she fell,she really can't remember.Adrianna's memory loss is consistent with
A) cryptomnesia.
B) retrograde amnesia.
C) anterograde amnesia.
D) pseudoforgetting.

Accepted Answer

Retrograde amnesia is characterized by the loss of memory for events that occurred before the onset of amnesia, which matches Adrianna's inability to remember what she was doing just before she fell.

Question 18

Research demonstrates that the recovered memories of sexual abuse most likely to be corroborated are those that are recovered
A) as a result of hypnosis.
B) gradually over a long period of therapy.
C) quickly and spontaneously.
D) through age regression.

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that recovered memories of sexual abuse that are gradually recovered over a long period of therapy are more likely to be corroborated than those recovered quickly and spontaneously or through hypnosis or age regression.

Question 19

Dave is thrown from his motorcycle and suffers a severe blow to the head,resulting in loss of memory for events that occurred before the accident.This is an example of
A) retrograde amnesia.
B) anterograde amnesia.
C) motivated forgetting.
D) retroactive interference.

Accepted Answer

Retrograde amnesia is the loss of memory for events that occurred before the accident or incident that caused the memory loss, which is what Dave is experiencing. Anterograde amnesia, in contrast, is the loss of the ability to form new memories after the incident. Motivated forgetting refers to the deliberate suppression of memories, and retroactive interference is the interference of new information with old memories.

Question 20

Studies by Richard Thompson and his colleagues suggest that specific memories depend on localized neural circuits in the brain.The brain structure identified as accounting for the memory of a conditioned eyeblink response in the rabbit is the
A) hippocampus.
B) amygdala.
C) cerebellum.
D) hindbrain.

Accepted Answer

Studies by Richard Thompson and his colleagues have shown that the memory of a conditioned eyeblink response in the rabbit depends on localized neural circuits in the cerebellum region of the brain.

Quiz 7: Human Memory

In regards to the repressed memory controversy,which of the following statements is NOT correct?

McMillan and her colleagues (1997) asked a random sample of almost 10,000 adults about whether they had experienced abuse during childhood.These researchers found that

In anterograde amnesia,

Retrograde amnesia is a type of organic amnesia in which

In regard to the recovered memory controversy,psychologists who rely on research on the misinformation effect,reality-monitoring,and imagination inflation are MOST likely to

A 45-year-old woman suddenly becomes aware of long-forgotten memories of being sexually abused by her father when she was six years old.Her father denies the allegations.This case can be described as a typical example associated with the

Animal studies show that manipulations that suppress neurogenesis lead to

Freud's concept of repression involves a specific type of

Psychologists who accept the accuracy of recovered memories of abuse are most likely to attribute the recent upsurge in recovered memories to

Psychologists who doubt the accuracy of recovered memories of abuse maintain that

Williams (1994) followed up on females who had been brought to a hospital emergency room for treatment of sexual abuse when they were children.When these women were interviewed 17 years after their emergency room visit,

Victims of organic amnesia who can recall memories stored before a head injury but can not recall information processed after the injury are showing

Eric Kandel earned his Nobel Prize for his research showing that specific memories depend on

The long-lasting increase in neural excitability at synapses of a specific neural pathway is referred to as

Scientists studying the neurological basis of memory have discovered new brain cells are formed constantly in the

Which of the following statements best reflects the current view of the repressed memories controversy?

Adrianna was skiing when she fell and hit her head.When the operators of the ski resort ask her what she was doing just before she fell,she really can't remember.Adrianna's memory loss is consistent with

Research demonstrates that the recovered memories of sexual abuse most likely to be corroborated are those that are recovered

Dave is thrown from his motorcycle and suffers a severe blow to the head,resulting in loss of memory for events that occurred before the accident.This is an example of

Studies by Richard Thompson and his colleagues suggest that specific memories depend on localized neural circuits in the brain.The brain structure identified as accounting for the memory of a conditioned eyeblink response in the rabbit is the