Question 1

Tim is studying for a test.After seven consecutive hours of studying,he finds he can remember what he just finished studying,but he can no longer remember what he studied five or six hours ago.Tim's memory problems are BEST explained by __________.

Accepted Answer

Tim's memory problems are indicative of retroactive interference, where new learning disrupts the ability to recall previously learned information.

Question 2

"Old information inhibits one's ability to remember newer information" defines _________.

Accepted Answer

Proactive inhibition occurs when old information interferes with the ability to learn or recall new information.

Question 3

Your tutor has "one last word" for you before she ends today's session.She tells you to study material in the middle of your study session a little harder.What concept from memory research is the basis of her advice?

Accepted Answer

The tutor's advice to study material in the middle of the session a little harder is based on the serial position effect, which suggests that people tend to remember items at the beginning and end of a list more easily than those in the middle. By studying the middle material harder, the student may better retain and recall that content.

Question 4

The TOT is:

Accepted Answer

TOT (Tip-of-the-tongue) is a psychological phenomenon where an individual is close to recalling a piece of information but is unable to retrieve it from memory. It is a common experience and is characterized by a feeling of discomfort or frustration.

Question 5

The passing of time causes forgetting according to ___________.

Accepted Answer

Decay theory proposes that forgetting occurs gradually over time due to the fading or decay of memories in the brain. This is in contrast to interference theory, which suggests that forgetting occurs when new information interferes with the retrieval of older memories. Optimization theory proposes that forgetting is a result of the brain selecting which memories to keep and which to discard based on their relevance and importance. Reduction theory suggests that forgetting is an adaptive process that allows the brain to focus on important information and filter out irrelevant details. Of these options, decay theory is most closely related to the idea that the passing of time leads to forgetting.

Question 6

Tim is studying for a test.After seven consecutive hours of studying he finds he can remember what he just finished studying,but he can no longer remember what he studied five or six hours ago.Tim's memory problems are BEST explained by _____________.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the recall of previously learned information. In this case, Tim's ability to remember what he studied five or six hours ago is being disrupted by the new information he is learning during the seven-hour study session.

Question 7

Christine has always had an unusually effective memory.She credits this to the fact that after seeing something just once,she can visualize the object in great detail,as if she was looking at a photograph of it.Christine's ability is an example of ________.

Accepted Answer

Christine's ability to visualize an object in great detail after seeing it once is an example of eidetic imagery, also known as photographic memory.

Question 8

Retroactive interference of long-term memory means _______.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the recall of old information. In this case, new material is interfering with the memory of old material.

Question 9

Kerry's grandparents moved to a new neighborhood last year.Today,Kerry can easily remember their address but messes up their old one.This illustrates:

Accepted Answer

Retroactive inhibition occurs when new information interferes with the ability to recall older information, which is why Kerry remembers the new address but struggles with the old one.

Question 10

Proactive interference of long-term memory means ___________ .

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference of long-term memory occurs when previously learned information interferes with the recall of newly learned information. The old material interferes with the memory of new material, leading to difficulty in recalling the new information. Therefore, option C is the correct answer.

Question 11

Retroactive interference of long-term memory means __________.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference of long-term memory refers to the phenomenon in which new material interferes with the ability to recall old material. This interference occurs when similar information is presented after the initial learning, resulting in the loss of memory of the original material. Therefore, option A - "new material interferes with memory of old material" - is the correct choice. Options B, C, and D are incorrect, as they do not accurately describe the phenomenon of retroactive interference.

Question 12

Last week Lisa took an abnormal psychology test and did not miss a question.However,when a guest speaker came to class a week later to talk about schizophrenia,she had trouble remembering some of the relevant class material.She remembered even less about the topic when she saw a news report on schizophrenia a month later.What memory phenomenon explains what Lisa is experiencing?

Accepted Answer

Lisa's experience can be explained by the curve of forgetting, which refers to the phenomenon where memories gradually fade over time if they are not rehearsed or reinforced. In Lisa's case, she did not actively review or rehearse the information about schizophrenia after the test, so her memory for the topic gradually declined over time.

Question 13

Little Tammy is talking to her grandfather.She loves to listen to him tell stories about when he was a child.He has very vivid recollections of his youth and enjoys telling people about his fond memories.Unfortunately,grandpa has a difficult time remembering what happened within the last few days or weeks.If there are no physiological problems,grandpa's memory problems are best explained by ______.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when older memories interfere with the retrieval of newer memories, which explains why grandpa remembers his youth vividly but struggles with recent memories.

Question 14

An explanation for the widespread storage of memories is that

Accepted Answer

Memories can be stored through various sensory inputs, not just one specific area of the brain.

Question 15

You are asked to recall the word that means "a woman who houses and manages prostitutes." You are confident that you know what the term is,and you feel as though you are about to remember it,but it just will not pop out of your memory.You are experiencing:

Accepted Answer

The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon refers to the experience of knowing that we know something, but it is just out of our reach. In this case, the individual knows the concept they are trying to recall but is struggling to retrieve the specific term for it.

Question 16

What kind of forgetting does the following incident illustrate? Ruth studied the names of learning theorists for her psychology class,after which she began studying the names of political theorists for her political science class.Much to her frustration,she found the names of the learning theorists were keeping her from being able to learn the names of the political theorists.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when old information interferes with the ability to learn new information, as seen when Ruth's prior study of learning theorists' names interferes with her ability to learn political theorists' names.

Question 17

On a TV game show,Jeannette is asked to name the state capital of Vermont.This information is most likely stored in ______.

Accepted Answer

Semantic memory is the type of memory that stores general knowledge and facts about the world. This includes things like state capitals, which are not tied to any personal experience or specific event (episodic memory). Procedural memory is for storing how to perform certain actions, and eidetic memory (also known as photographic memory) is a rare phenomenon where individuals can recall images and visual information with high accuracy and detail.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT true of schemas?

Accepted Answer

Schemas are not a part of short-term memory, rather they are mental frameworks that help organize and interpret incoming information.

Question 19

Proactive interference of long-term memory means ______.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when old memories interfere with the retrieval of new memories. In other words, previously learned information interferes with the recall of new information. Option A refers to retroactive interference, where new memories interfere with retrieval of old memories. Option B is not accurate because short-term memory is not affected by proactive interference. Option D is also not correct as old material cannot eliminate memories of new material, rather it may simply make it more difficult to retrieve new memories.

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT a type of memory test?

Accepted Answer

Schemata is not a type of memory test, it refers to the mental framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information in one's memory. The other options listed are all types of memory tests.

Quiz 10: Memory