Question 1

Jessica took psychology in the fall semester and is now taking sociology. Several of the concepts are similar, and Jessica finds that she sometimes has trouble recalling some of the major psychological theorists. She keeps getting them confused with sociological theorists. Jessica's problem is most likely due to _______________.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the ability to recall older information. In this case, Jessica's new sociology knowledge is interfering with her ability to recall psychological theorists.

Question 2

Shalissa has two exams today. One is in French and the other is in history. Last night she studied French before history. When she gets to her history test, all she can remember is French! Shalissa's memory is suffering from _____________.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information interferes with the ability to remember new information. In this case, Shalissa's studying of French (previously learned information) interferes with her ability to remember history (new information).

Question 3

_________________ is the tendency for older or previously learned material to interfere with the retrieval of newer, more recently learned material.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when older memories interfere with the recall of newer memories.

Question 4

The fact that few people can accurately describe a penny even though they have handled thousands of them is an example of__________

Accepted Answer

Encoding failure refers to the brain's inability to properly process or store information, resulting in a failure to remember or recall that information. In the case of the penny, people may have seen and handled many pennies before, but their brain did not encode the details of its design and therefore they cannot accurately describe it.

Question 5

When newer information interferes with the retrieval of older information, this is called ______________.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when newly learned information interferes with the retrieval of previously learned information. The other options (A, B, and C) are related to forgetting, but not specifically related to the interference of newer and older information.

Question 6

If your mastery of the material in chapter 6 of the text interferes with what you learned in chapter 5, this would be considered__________

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new learning interferes with the ability to recall old learning. In this case, the material learned in chapter 6 is interfering with the recall of material learned in chapter 5. Proactive interference, on the other hand, occurs when old learning interferes with the ability to learn new material. Reactive interference is not a recognized term in psychology, and consolidation failure refers to a failure in the process of consolidating memories, which may or may not be related to interference.

Question 7

Bahrick found that after 35 years, people could recognize 90% of their high school classmates names and photographs from high school pictures, about the same as recent graduates. This suggests that decay does not greatly impact__________

Accepted Answer

Bahrick's study suggests that long-term memory is relatively immune to decay, as people were able to recognize their classmates' names and photographs 35 years later at a similar rate to recent graduates. Decay is more likely to impact short-term memory and working memory, which are more temporary forms of memory.

Question 8

You start out using Netscape, then change to Explorer because your company demands that browsers be Microsoft products. If you have trouble with Explorer, it is most likely due to ______________.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when old information interferes with the ability to learn or recall new information. In this case, prior experience with Netscape may interfere with using Explorer.

Question 9

Proactive interference as used in the study of memory refers to when _____________.

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when older information already in memory interferes with the retrieval of newer information.

Question 10

Linda forgot much of what happened on the day of her car accident. In that she hit her head on the steering wheel and lost consciousness for a time, a likely cause of her memory loss is__________

Accepted Answer

Consolidation failure occurs when new memories are not properly stored in the brain. In Linda's case, her head injury may have prevented her brain from properly encoding and consolidating the memories of the events surrounding her car accident, leading to her memory loss. Proactive interference occurs when old memories interfere with the encoding of new memories, reactive interference occurs when new memories interfere with the retrieval of old memories, and retroactive interference occurs when new memories interfere with the retrieval of old memories. None of these processes are an accurate explanation for Linda's memory loss in this scenario.

Question 11

A psychologist asks people to recall the name of their kindergarten teacher. Surprisingly, the majority of people correctly do this and comment, "Gee whiz, I haven't thought about that old bat [or old coot] in years!" Their ability to do so is a severe problem for which theory of forgetting?

Accepted Answer

Decay theory suggests that memories fade over time due to a lack of use or access. The fact that people can recall their kindergarten teacher's name after many years, despite not having thought about them, challenges the idea that memories simply fade away with time.

Question 12

This assumes that memories, if not used, fade with time and ultimately disappear entirely.

Accepted Answer

Decay theory suggests that memories fade over time if they are not used or reinforced, ultimately leading to forgetting.

Question 13

Passively reading your textbook rather than actively reciting the material is apt to lead to__________

Accepted Answer

Passive reading may not engage the brain enough to encode the information effectively, leading to encoding failure.

Question 14

Shalissa has two exams today. One is in French and the other is in history. Last night she studied French before history. When she gets to her French test, all she can remember is history! Shalissa's memory is suffering from ____________.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the ability to recall old information. In this case, studying history after French caused Shalissa to have trouble recalling her French lessons.

Question 15

Russell was describing a concert that had occurred several years earlier. During the discussion, he asked Jamie for help remembering who else had gone to the concert. Both had clear memories of the concert, but after all those years, neither could come up with the name of the third person. This is an example of__________

Accepted Answer

This scenario is an example of retroactive interference, which occurs when newly acquired information interferes with the ability to recall older information. In this case, the passage of time and the accumulation of new memories may have caused interference with the retrieval of the name of the third person who attended the concert years ago.

Question 16

Bahrick found that after 35 years, people could recognize __________ of their high school classmates names and photographs from high school pictures.

Accepted Answer

Bahrick found that after 35 years, people could recognize 90% of their high school classmates names and photographs from high school pictures.

Question 17

Decay theory works well to explain forgetting in _____________.

Accepted Answer

Decay theory suggests that memory fades due to the mere passage of time. It is most applicable to sensory memory and short-term memory, where information can fade quickly if not actively maintained or rehearsed. Long-term memories are considered to be more stable and less susceptible to decay over time.

Question 18

Retroactive interference as used in the study of memory refers to when_________.

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the ability to recall old information. This occurs because the new information may be similar to the old information, making it difficult to distinguish between the two during recall.

Question 19

Janie is taking an exam in her history class. On the exam there is a question that asks her to state and discuss the five major causes of the Trans-Caspian War (whatever that was!). Janie remembers four of them. She knows there is a fifth and can almost remember it; she knows that it is something like Texas. Janie is walking down the stairs, when all of a sudden, she remembers that the fifth point is taxes, but it is too late. Janie was suffering from ______________.

Accepted Answer

Janie is experiencing tip-of-the-tongue effects, as she knows the information is stored in her memory, but can't retrieve it at the moment. Encoding problems refer to difficulties in getting information into memory, storage inversion refers to errors in the order or placement of stored information, and evaluation overload is not a recognized term in psychology.

Question 20

Forgetting in long-term memory is most likely due to _____________.

Accepted Answer

Interference from other information is a primary reason for forgetting in long-term memory, as new or similar information can disrupt the retrieval of stored memories.

Quiz 6: Memory