Question 1

Proactive interference occurs when

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference happens when old information hinders the ability to remember new information.

Question 2

We may forget information because of experiences we have either before or after learning the information according to

Accepted Answer

Interference theory suggests that forgetting occurs due to interference from other information. There are two types of interference: proactive interference, which occurs when previously learned information interferes with the ability to recall new information, and retroactive interference, which occurs when new information interferes with the ability to recall previously learned information. In either case, forgetting occurs due to interference from other information that is either learned before or after the target information.

Question 3

Your female friend recently got married and changed her last name to that of her husband's. You have difficulty remembering her new last name because of

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when old information interferes with new information, making it difficult to remember the new information. In this case, the old information is your friend's previous last name, which is interfering with your ability to remember her new last name.

Question 4

Isabella spent one hour studying American History prior to 1800, and then spent one hour studying European History prior to 1800. Victor spent one hour studying American History prior to 1800, and then spent one hour studying Calculus. In this example, it is likely that

Accepted Answer

The answer of Isabella spent one hour studying American History...

Question 5

You meet a man at a party and carefully store his name along with an image of his face. The next day, he calls you on the phone, but you can't remember his name. According to the encoding specificity principle, this is because

Accepted Answer

The encoding specificity principle suggests that recall is better if the retrieval cues match the initial encoding context. Since you encoded his name with his face at the party, the sound of his voice on the phone is an inappropriate cue for retrieving his name.

Question 6

Decay theory proposes that forgetting occurs due to

Accepted Answer

Decay theory proposes that forgetting occurs due to the passage of time, meaning that the memory trace fades over time as it is not used or retrieved. This view suggests that memory is like a physical imprint that fades away over time, similar to how ink fades over time if it is not used or refreshed.

Question 7

If forgetting occurs because newly learned information impairs the memory of previously learned information it is referred to as

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference is when new information interferes with the ability to remember old information. This can lead to forgetting of previously learned information. Proactive interference, on the other hand, is when old information interferes with the ability to remember new information. Negative and positive interference are not commonly used terms in relation to memory and forgetting.

Question 8

During the month of January when you write the date on your checks you often will write the wrong year on the check. You have difficulty remembering to write the new year because of

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference is when previously learned information interferes with the ability to recall newly learned information. In this case, the previous year is interfering with the ability to remember to write the new year on checks.

Question 9

Alan took three years of French in high school before switching to studying German in college. He has noticed that he has forgotten a lot of his French vocabulary. His forgetting of French is MOST likely the result of

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the ability to recall older information. In this case, Alan's learning of German is interfering with his ability to remember French vocabulary.

Question 10

Allen was recently traded to a new basketball team, and he is having a hard time remembering all the new plays because he keeps using the plays from his former team. Allen's problems illustrate the effects of

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information interferes with the ability to remember new information. In this case, Allen is having a hard time remembering the new plays because his previous learning of plays from his old team is interfering with his ability to learn and remember the new plays from his new team.

Question 11

The encoding specificity principle states that

Accepted Answer

The encoding specificity principle suggests that if there is a mismatch between the retrieval cues (what triggers the memory retrieval) and the memory code (how the memory was originally stored), retrieval will fail. This can result in forgetting, as memories cannot be recalled without the appropriate cues. The principle is supported by research showing that memories are more easily retrieved when the context at encoding (i.e. where the memory was formed) is similar to the context at retrieval.

Question 12

Research has not been able to demonstrate that decay is a cause of forgetting information from

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that decay is not a primary cause of forgetting in long-term memory, where interference and retrieval failure are more significant factors.

Question 13

Research suggests that when information is forgotten from long-term memory ____ exerts a stronger influence on forgetting than ____.

Accepted Answer

Interference (proactive or retroactive) is a major problem in long-term memory retention and retrieval. While the passage of time can also cause forgetting, research has shown that interference plays a stronger role in the forgetting process.

Question 14

Curtis has been testing a new software package for the past two months. However, he decides not to switch and he goes back to using his old software. Unfortunately, he is now having some problems in recalling how to do certain tasks with the old software, and often finds himself trying to do things the way he did with the new software he was testing. Curtis' problems illustrate the effects of

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new learning interferes with the ability to recall old information. Curtis' experience switching to the new software has caused retroactive interference, making it difficult for him to recall how to use his old software.

Question 15

Ivan's bank assigned him a personal identification number (PIN) of 8624 when he was first issued his credit card. Last week a different company bought out the credit card division and Ivan was issued a new PIN of 9317. If Ivan experiences proactive interference when he enters his PIN, you would expect that he will enter the digits

Accepted Answer

The answer of Ivan's bank assigned him a personal identification...

Question 16

Intervening material is most likely to cause an increase in forgetting when the intervening material is very similar to the information that is to be remembered as a result of

Accepted Answer

Interference occurs when other information interferes with the ability to remember a particular piece of information. Intervening material that is similar to the information to be remembered can cause interference and increase forgetting.

Question 17

If forgetting occurs because previously learned information interferes with the ability to retain new information, it is referred to as

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information interferes with the ability to retain new information. Retroactive interference, on the other hand, occurs when newly learned information interferes with the ability to remember old information. Positive interference and negative interference are not recognized terms in the context of memory interference.

Question 18

Interference effects on retention are greatest when the interfering learning is

Accepted Answer

Interference effects on retention are greatest when the interfering learning is similar to the material to be remembered because similarities between the two sets of information make it harder for individuals to differentiate between them, leading to confusion and errors in recall.

Question 19

To be most effective, a retrieval cue should be

Accepted Answer

A retrieval cue is most effective when it is congruent with the original encoding of the material, as it helps in recalling the information by matching the context or state in which the information was initially learned.

Question 20

The principle that proposes that the values of a retrieval cue depends on how well it corresponds to the memory code is known as

Accepted Answer

The principle that proposes that the values of a retrieval cue depends on how well it corresponds to the memory code is known as encoding specificity.

Quiz 13: Human Memory Part 1