Question 1

Kasey is having trouble learning French because she finds that having learned Spanish earlier makes it more difficult for her to now learn French.This is known as
A)proactive interference.
B)retroactive interference.
C)memory decay.
D)encoding failure.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information interferes with the ability to learn new information. In this case, Kasey's prior knowledge of Spanish is interfering with her ability to learn French, making it more difficult for her to acquire new vocabulary and grammar rules.

Question 2

Which of the following refers to the tendency for new memories to impair the retrieval of older memories as well as the tendency for older memories to impair one's retrieval of new memories?
A)suppression
B)repression
C)interference
D)consolidation

Accepted Answer

The phenomenon described is interference, which can be either proactive interference (older memories impairing retrieval of new memories) or retroactive interference (new memories impairing retrieval of older memories). Suppression and repression refer to intentional or unconscious blocking of memories, respectively, and consolidation refers to the process of strengthening and stabilizing memories after they are formed.

Question 3

You have just studied for a psychology test.Which of the following activities would be the LEAST likely to cause retroactive interference?
A)sleeping.
B)watching television.
C)writing a little on your English paper.
D)studying for an upcoming history test.

Accepted Answer

Sleeping is the least likely to cause retroactive interference as it does not involve any new learning or processing of information.

Question 4

In a classic experiment on forgetting,college students learned lists of nonsense syllables.After studying,students in one group slept for eight hours and then were tested for memory of the lists.A second group stayed awake for eight hours after studying the lists.The results of the experiment revealed that
A)the group that slept performed better on the memory test.
B)the group that stayed awake performed better on the memory test.
C)both groups performed equally well on the memory tests.
D)neither group could remember any of the nonsense syllables after eight hours.

Accepted Answer

The experiment showed that the group that slept for eight hours after studying performed better on the memory test. This suggests that memory consolidation occurs during sleep, allowing information to be better retained and retrieved.

Question 5

Justin plays drums for a local hard rock band.When a country and western band asks Justin to fill in for their drummer,Justin initially has some difficulty adjusting to this new band's tempo since he is so used to the timing of his own band's "beat." This initial difficulty in adjusting to the new "beat" is best explained by
A)retroactive interference.
B)proactive interference.
C)memory decay.
D)encoding failure.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information interferes with the learning or recall of new information. In this case, Justin's familiarity with his own band's tempo is interfering with his ability to adjust to the new band's tempo.

Question 6

After college graduation,Chuck decided to use his given name of Charles at his new job.Now that he has been introducing himself to new clients as Charles for the last year,he finds it difficult even in informal situations to refer to himself as Chuck.His tendency to more easily introduce himself as Charles rather than Chuck is best explained by which explanation of forgetting?
A)proactive interference
B)retroactive interference
C)memory decay
D)suppression

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference, where new learning interferes with the ability to recall older learning, can explain why Chuck has difficulty recalling his previous name of Chuck after consistently introducing himself as Charles.

Question 7

When your mathematics professor asks you to account for your poor performance on your last exam,your most convincing defense would be based on
A)memory decay.
B)the effects of redintegration.
C)interference.
D)repression.

Accepted Answer

Interference theory suggests that new information can interfere with the recall of previously learned information. This could be a possible explanation for poor performance on an exam, especially if the material covered on the exam was similar to other material recently learned or studied. Memory decay refers to the natural fading of memories over time, which may not be a strong defense for poor performance on a recent exam. The effects of redintegration and repression are not applicable to this situation.

Question 8

New memories either alter existing memory traces or make it harder to "locate" earlier memories,according to which explanation of forgetting?
A)interference
B)memory decay
C)eidetic imaging
D)encoding failure

Accepted Answer

interference

Question 9

The forgetting of both long-term and short-term memories is often due to
A)disuse.
B)memory decay.
C)repression.
D)interference.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The forgetting of both long-term and short-term...

Question 10

Susan has been using the new computer operating system for over six months.A friend who has an older version of the operating system calls Susan for help,since Susan used this older system for five years before getting the new one.As soon as Susan starts typing on her friend's computer,she realizes that she cannot remember specific details regarding this older operating system.Her inability to remember this older system is due to
A)memory decay.
B)suppression.
C)retroactive interference.
D)proactive interference.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the recall of old information. In this situation, Susan has been using the new operating system for over six months, and this new information may be interfering with her ability to recall specific details about the older system. Therefore, retroactive interference is the best explanation for Susan's inability to remember the older operating system.

Question 11

Every time Darlene and Sam get into an argument,they tend to rehash old issues that come to mind.Which explanation of memory best explains why the memories of previous arguments keep resurfacing?
A)eidetic imagery
B)state-dependent learning
C)repression
D)retroactive interference

Accepted Answer

State-dependent learning, which suggests that memories are better retrieved when a person is in the same state (physically, emotionally, or mentally) as they were when the memory was encoded. In this case, when Darlene and Sam argue, they may be in a similar emotional state as they were when they had previous arguments, making those memories easier to retrieve.

Question 12

According to the explanation of interference as a cause of forgetting,retention will be best when a study session is followed by
A)sleep.
B)light reading or watching TV.
C)studying similar subject matter.
D)studying different subject matter.

Accepted Answer

Interference theory suggests that new memories can be disrupted by old memories or similar new memories. However, during sleep, the consolidation process strengthens and stabilizes memories, reducing the effects of interference and improving retention. Therefore, sleep following a study session is the best option for retention.

Question 13

When new learning disrupts the ability to recall past,stored information,which of the following has occurred?
A)proactive interference
B)disinhibition
C)retrograde amnesia
D)retroactive interference

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the ability to recall old information.

Question 14

When old information keeps you from learning new information,which of the following is occurring?
A)selective attention
B)proactive interference
C)repression
D)retroactive interference

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when old information interferes with the ability to learn or remember new information. It's a common phenomenon in memory studies where prior learning affects the recall of new information.

Question 15

Regarding sleep,memory,and the interference theory of forgetting,which of the following statements is FALSE?
A)Sleeping after one studies can reduce the forgetting caused by interference.
B)REM sleep and dreaming appear to help us form certain types of memories.
C)Forgetting due to interference appears to apply only to sensory and short-term memory and not long-term memory.
D)It is not completely clear if new memories alter existing memory traces or if they make it harder to retrieve earlier memories.

Accepted Answer

Forgetting due to interference can apply to both short-term and long-term memory.

Question 16

In the classic experiment in which two groups of students studied lists of words with one group staying awake before the testing and the other group sleeping,the students who slept after studying the list remembered more because which of the following was held to a minimum?
A)proactive interference
B)disinhibition
C)retrograde amnesia
D)retroactive interference

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the recall of previously learned information. In this case, the group that stayed awake before the testing was exposed to new information during the wakeful period which could have interfered with their ability to recall the words learned earlier. The group that slept did not experience this retroactive interference, leading to better recall.

Question 17

When a person is sad and depressed,he or she has a tendency to remember more sad memories.This is referred to as
A)eidetic imagery.
B)state-dependent learning.
C)repression.
D)regressive imagery.

Accepted Answer

State-dependent learning is a phenomenon where a person's mood or state at the time of encoding information affects their ability to retrieve it later. When a person is sad and depressed, their brain is in a negative state which makes it easier for them to recall negative memories. This is why they may remember more sad memories.

Question 18

College students who memorized 20 lists of words (one list each day)recalled only 15 percent of the last list.Students who learned only one list recalled 80 percent of it.This is best explained by which explanation of forgetting?
A)memory decay
B)interference
C)state-dependent learning
D)encoding failure

Accepted Answer

Interference

Question 19

Kim is having trouble remembering her old phone number even though she had that number for ten years.It seems that her current phone number that she has had for two years is keeping her from remembering her old phone number.This is called
A)proactive interference.
B)retroactive interference.
C)memory decay.
D)suppression.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the ability to remember old information. In this case, Kim's new phone number is interfering with her ability to remember her old phone number.

Question 20

According to the interference explanation of forgetting,which of the following statements is TRUE?
A)Interference occurs because one's long­term memory capacity is limited so that when new information is brought in,older memories must be removed.
B)Interference occurs because new memories can inhibit the retrieval of stored memory and vice-versa.
C)The greater the similarity in the two subjects being studied,the less interference that takes place.
D)Cues present at the time of learning tend to interfere with the memory being retrieved.

Accepted Answer

Interference occurs when new memories compete with or inhibit the retrieval of previously stored memories, and vice versa. This can happen because memories that are similar or overlapping can interfere with each other, making it difficult to retrieve the desired information. Therefore, option B is the correct answer. Options A, C, and D are incorrect because they do not accurately describe the interference explanation of forgetting.

Quiz 34: Memory: Forgetting

Kasey is having trouble learning French because she finds that having learned Spanish earlier makes it more difficult for her to now learn French.This is known as

Which of the following refers to the tendency for new memories to impair the retrieval of older memories as well as the tendency for older memories to impair one's retrieval of new memories?

You have just studied for a psychology test.Which of the following activities would be the LEAST likely to cause retroactive interference?

When your mathematics professor asks you to account for your poor performance on your last exam,your most convincing defense would be based on

New memories either alter existing memory traces or make it harder to "locate" earlier memories,according to which explanation of forgetting?

The forgetting of both long-term and short-term memories is often due to

Every time Darlene and Sam get into an argument,they tend to rehash old issues that come to mind.Which explanation of memory best explains why the memories of previous arguments keep resurfacing?

According to the explanation of interference as a cause of forgetting,retention will be best when a study session is followed by

When new learning disrupts the ability to recall past,stored information,which of the following has occurred?

When old information keeps you from learning new information,which of the following is occurring?

Regarding sleep,memory,and the interference theory of forgetting,which of the following statements is FALSE?

In the classic experiment in which two groups of students studied lists of words with one group staying awake before the testing and the other group sleeping,the students who slept after studying the list remembered more because which of the following was held to a minimum?

When a person is sad and depressed,he or she has a tendency to remember more sad memories.This is referred to as

College students who memorized 20 lists of words (one list each day) recalled only 15 percent of the last list.Students who learned only one list recalled 80 percent of it.This is best explained by which explanation of forgetting?

Kim is having trouble remembering her old phone number even though she had that number for ten years.It seems that her current phone number that she has had for two years is keeping her from remembering her old phone number.This is called

According to the interference explanation of forgetting,which of the following statements is TRUE?