Question 1

____ occurs when new information impairs the retention of previously learned information.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when newly learned information interferes with the retention of previously learned information. This can lead to difficulties in recalling the older information. Proactive interference, on the other hand, occurs when previously learned information interferes with the retention of newly learned information. Retrograde amnesia refers to the inability to recall past memories, while anterograde amnesia refers to the inability to form new memories.

Question 2

You have an exam at 8 a.m. and it is now 8 p.m. the night before. You have studied well. The BEST thing to do now is

Accepted Answer

It is best to get a good night's sleep to ensure you are well rested and alert during the exam. Studying more may not necessarily improve your performance and could actually cause you to become more stressed and fatigued. Playing cards with others may also be enjoyable but it could lead to staying up late and disrupting your sleep schedule.

Question 3

The recognition measure of retention requires an individual

Accepted Answer

The recognition measure of retention requires an individual to identify previously learned information from an array of options. This is different from the recall measure, which requires an individual to reproduce information on their own without any cues. Option C is referring to metacognition and option D is referring to relearning, which are not directly related to recognition retention.

Question 4

Poor memory for information often occurs when the information only receives a shallow level of processing. In this case, the memory failure would be the result of

Accepted Answer

Poor memory for information is often the result of ineffective encoding, which refers to the failure to process information deeply enough for later retrieval. When information is encoded at a shallow level, it is not well-memorized and is easily forgotten. The other options, storage failure, retrieval failure, and interference, refer to different points in the memory process and do not fully explain the cause of poor memory for information.

Question 5

Decay theory suggests that forgetting is due to

Accepted Answer

Decay theory proposes that forgetting is caused by the passage of time, where memories gradually fade and decay over time if they are not accessed and rehearsed. Therefore, impermanent storage is the best choice to describe this theory.

Question 6

Multiple choice exams such as this one measure retention by using the ____ method.

Accepted Answer

Multiple choice exams measure retention by using recognition, as the test-taker must identify the correct answer among a list of options presented to them. Recall refers to the ability to retrieve information from memory without any cues or hints, while relearning involves learning information that has been previously learned but may have been forgotten. Recitation refers to the act of repeating information out loud to aid in retention.

Question 7

Tara's bank assigned her a personal identification number (PIN) of 927321 when she was first issued her credit card. Last week, a different company bought out the credit card division and Tara was issued a new PIN of 840645. If Tara experiences retroactive interference when she enters her PIN, you would expect that she will enter the digits

Accepted Answer

The answer of Tara's bank assigned her a personal identification...

Question 8

Joel is asked to provide a description of his neighbor's car, after the car and the neighbor both disappear. He is surprised to find that he really can't accurately recall the make of the car, or any special details that might help in identifying the vehicle. In this case, Joel may be experiencing

Accepted Answer

Pseudoforgetting refers to the situation where an individual fails to encode information properly into their memory, leading to their inability to retrieve the information later. In this case, Joel's inability to recall the make of his neighbor's car suggests that he may not have paid close attention to the car, leading to inadequate encoding of the information. This contrasts with retrograde amnesia, where an individual is unable to recall events that occurred before the onset of their amnesia, and cryptomnesia, where an individual inadvertently plagiarizes an idea or a thought that they believe to be original to them. Proactive interference, on the other hand, occurs when previously stored information interferes with an individual's ability to retain new information.

Question 9

According to interference theory failure to recall information stored in the brain may be due to

Accepted Answer

Interference theory suggests that forgetting occurs due to competition from other material that is similar to the information being recalled. This competition can cause confusion and make it difficult for the brain to retrieve the correct information. In contrast, options A, B, and D relate to other theories of forgetting, such as the lack of organization, decay over time, and attentional deficits during encoding.

Question 10

____ would best explain your behavior if as you are reading this question you cannot think of the correct term and you say to yourself, "I can't believe I forgot this" when in reality you never knew the answer in the first place.

Accepted Answer

Pseudoforgetting refers to the perception of forgetting something that was never actually learned or encoded in memory. In this scenario, the individual never knew the answer to begin with but mistakenly perceives it as a failure to retrieve the information.

Question 11

According to interference theory

Accepted Answer

Interference theory suggests that people forget information because of competition from other material. As new information is learned, it competes with existing information for space in the memory, and this interference can lead to forgetting.

Question 12

A history teacher who asks his students to state from memory the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution is assessing retention by using the ____ method.

Accepted Answer

The teacher is asking the students to recall information from memory, which is the definition of the recall method.

Question 13

The measure of retention that requires an individual to memorize information a second time to determine how much time or effort is saved is

Accepted Answer

Relearning involves memorizing information a second time to determine how much time or effort is saved. Recognition refers to identifying previously learned material, recitation involves repeating previously learned material, and recall involves retrieving information without any cues or prompts.

Question 14

Savings scores are associated with the ____ method of measuring forgetting.

Accepted Answer

Savings scores are calculated based on the amount of time or trials it takes a person to relearn information that they previously learned and then forgot. This method is known as the relearning method of measuring forgetting. Therefore, the correct answer is D.

Question 15

Imagine that researchers find some memories are lost very quickly from memory, while other memories last much longer. This evidence would create the MOST problems for

Accepted Answer

The decay theory of forgetting posits that memories are gradually forgotten over time due to the decay of the neural connections that support them. If some memories are lost very quickly while others last much longer, it suggests that decay is not the only factor contributing to forgetting and perhaps other theories, such as interference or repression, may play a more significant role in certain instances.

Question 16

You move to a new house and memorize your new phone number. Now, you can't remember your old phone number. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when newly learned information interferes with the ability to recall previously learned information. In this case, the new phone number is interfering with the ability to recall the old phone number.

Question 17

If you're thinking about your plans for the weekend while you are reading your psychology textbook, the reason you will probably forget most of what you read is that you've used ____ encoding, which is inferior to ____ encoding for retention of verbal material.

Accepted Answer

Phonemic encoding involves processing the sound of the words, while semantic encoding involves processing the meaning of the words. Semantic encoding has been found to be superior to phonemic encoding for retention of verbal material. Therefore, if you are thinking about your weekend plans instead of focusing on the meaning of the text, you are using inferior phonemic encoding, which will make it more difficult to retain the information.

Question 18

In studies of long-term memory, researchers have found that

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that the passage of time alone is not the sole cause of forgetting; what happens during the retention interval is more influential. Factors such as interference, reactivation of memories, and retrieval practice can have a significant impact on long-term memory retention. Additionally, studies have not consistently shown that subjects who sleep during the retention interval forget more than those who remain awake.

Question 19

Pseudoforgetting is information loss due to ineffective

Accepted Answer

Pseudoforgetting is a type of forgetting that occurs due to ineffective encoding of information. It is called "pseudo" forgetting because it is not a true case of forgetting, but rather a failure to fully encode or register the information in the first place. Pseudoforgetting does not involve problems with storage or retrieval of information.

Question 20

Pseudoforgetting is viewed as a function of

Accepted Answer

Pseudoforgetting occurs when information is not encoded properly due to a lack of attention. It is not related to interference effects, hippocampal damage, or insufficient retrieval cues.

Quiz 13: Human Memory Part 1