Question 1

People with _____ perform worse on learning and memory tests than people with _____.
A) one copy of the Val allele; one copy of the Met allele
B) one copy of the Met allele; two copies of the Met allele
C) two copies of the Val allele; two copies of the Met allele
D) two copies of the Met allele; two copies of the Val allele

Accepted Answer

The answer of People with _____ perform worse on learning...

Question 2

Which statement supports the idea that age-related improvement in working memory capacity at least partially reflects exposure to and familiarity with the material to be remembered?
A) Ten-year-old chess experts can remember more pieces than adults who do not play chess, even though the children's digit spans were lower.
B) Young children can remember only three to four digits, whereas teenagers can remember seven to eight digits.
C) Performance on working-memory tasks increases throughout adolescence before leveling off.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

This statement suggests that familiarity and exposure to a certain type of material can improve working memory capacity, as the young chess experts were able to remember more pieces than non-expert adults despite having lower digit spans.

Question 3

For which individual would learning be the MOST difficult?
A) a 25-year-old trying to learn to play tennis
B) a 40-year-old trying to learn to type
C) a 70-year-old trying to learn to use an iPad
D) a 75-year-old expert chess player trying to improve his game

Accepted Answer

The 70-year-old trying to learn to use an iPad may struggle the most due to technological unfamiliarity and potentially age-related cognitive declines. Tennis and typing are skills that are relatively easy to learn regardless of age, and the 75-year-old chess player would likely have developed strong cognitive abilities that would aid in further improvement.

Question 4

In a paired associate test of memory, elderly adults:
A) are better than college students in a directed forgetting test.
B) experience more problems during retrieval than during encoding.
C) perform well if items are presented at a slower pace during study.
D) outperform college students under most conditions.

Accepted Answer

Elderly adults often benefit from a slower presentation of items during study phases in memory tests, as it allows more time for encoding, potentially leading to better performance. This accommodation can help mitigate the effects of aging on memory processes.

Question 5

As people age from their twenties to their fifties, most types of memory:
A) gradually decline.
B) increase into the thirties and decline.
C) remain relatively stable.
D) gradually increase.

Accepted Answer

Most types of memory remain relatively stable as people age from their twenties to their fifties. While there may be some decline in certain types of memory, such as verbal recall or working memory, overall memory abilities tend to remain consistent during this time period.

Question 6

Which statement is TRUE regarding skill learning?
A) Elderly individuals are impaired in learning of basic but not in real-world skills.
B) People who are experts continue to improve their skill even into old age.
C) Middle-aged and older adults both show a decline in skill learning.
D) Older adults make more errors in learning skills but learn them as quickly as younger adults do.

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that people who are experts in a particular skill continue to improve in that skill even as they age. Elderly individuals may take longer to learn a new skill, but they are not necessarily impaired in learning basic or real-world skills. Middle-aged and older adults may experience some decline in skill learning, but this is not universal and depends on the specific skill. Finally, while older adults may make more errors in learning a skill, they generally learn at the same pace as younger adults.

Question 7

Any of the principal class sex hormone present in adult males is known as:
A) hemoglobin.
B) testosterone.
C) androgen.
D) estrogen.

Accepted Answer

Androgen is the term used for the group of male sex hormones including testosterone, which is the principal male sex hormone. Hemoglobin is a protein present in red blood cells that carries oxygen. Estrogen is the principal female sex hormone.

Question 8

Men generally perform better than women on tasks involving:
A) verbal abilities.
B) remembering locations of objects.
C) spatial learning.
D) working memory.

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that men outperform women on spatial learning tasks, such as mental rotation and spatial visualization. This may be due to differences in brain structure and function related to spatial processing.

Question 9

A person's digit span:
A) remains stable throughout life.
B) improves slightly in elderly adults.
C) drops slightly in elderly adults.
D) drops drastically in elderly adults.

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that digit span decreases slightly in elderly adults due to age-related changes in working memory processes.

Question 10

Which statement is TRUE regarding gender differences in learning and memory?
A) They are almost entirely due to gender stereotypes.
B) Adult rats show the same kinds of differences as adult humans do.
C) Infant rats show the same kinds of differences as adult humans do.
D) Differences emerge much later than the time when sex hormones begin increasing.

Accepted Answer

Studies on adult rats have shown that males perform better on spatial memory tasks, while females perform better on object recognition tasks. This suggests that there may be biological factors contributing to gender differences in learning and memory. However, it is important to note that these differences may also be influenced by environmental and social factors.

Question 11

The principal class sex hormone present in adult females is known as:
A) hemoglobin.
B) testosterone.
C) androgen.
D) estrogen.

Accepted Answer

Estrogen is the primary sex hormone in adult females, and it plays a crucial role in the development and regulation of the female reproductive system. It also has other important functions, including bone health, cognitive function, and cardiovascular health. Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen, while testosterone and androgen are male sex hormones (although women produce small amounts of testosterone as well).

Question 12

Performance on working-memory tasks:
A) is relatively stable throughout adolescence and improves very rapidly at the very end of adolescence.
B) increases throughout adolescence before leveling off at adult levels.
C) improves very rapidly at the very start of adolescence and then is relatively stable.
D) decreases throughout adolescence before leveling off at adult levels.

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that working-memory capacity improves steadily throughout adolescence before leveling off at adult levels.

Question 13

The MOST important androgen and principal male sex hormone is known as:
A) hemoglobin.
B) testosterone.
C) androgen.
D) estrogen.

Accepted Answer

Testosterone is the most important androgen, which is the principal male sex hormone responsible for the development of secondary male sexual characteristics, such as facial hair, deepening of voice, and muscle mass, among others. Other hormones, such as estrogen, are more closely associated with female biology. Hemoglobin, while important for oxygen transport, is not a sex hormone.

Question 14

With which memory task would elderly individuals have the MOST difficulty?
A) a paired associate test of memory
B) a test of general world knowledge
C) remembering their first kiss
D) recalling the names of storybook characters from their childhood

Accepted Answer

Paired associate tests require the ability to remember two pieces of information and associate them with each other. Research has shown that this type of memory task is particularly difficult for elderly individuals. General world knowledge and personal memories may be better preserved, and recalling the names of storybook characters relies on semantic memory rather than associative memory.

Question 15

Which person's skill will be the MOST resistant to decline in older adulthood?
A) Brandon, who plays golf once a year
B) Danielle, who learned to play the guitar in her forties
C) Isaiah, who shampoos his carpets about every 5 years
D) Courtney, who is a professional chef

Accepted Answer

Courtney's skill as a professional chef is likely to have been honed over years of practice, education, and experience. This level of expertise is likely to be maintained or only decline slightly with age, especially if she continues to use her skills regularly. The other options are skills that are not practiced frequently enough to maintain proficiency or were learned later in life when the brain is less capable of developing new skills to the same degree as in youth.

Question 16

Which statement is TRUE regarding gender differences in learning and memory?
A) Young adult women outperform young adult men in learning the way around a maze.
B) Most gender differences emerge before adolescence.
C) At all ages males are quicker to learn a route on a fictitious map.
D) Females are better than males at remembering the positions of landmarks on a map, but this advantage does not emerge until puberty.

Accepted Answer

Females generally have a better memory for the positions of landmarks, which is a spatial memory task. This advantage, however, is noted to become more pronounced or emerge around puberty, aligning with developmental changes during that period.

Question 17

In an emotional memory test, elderly adults remembered:
A) more negative than positive images.
B) more positive than negative images.
C) more of all kinds of images than young adults did.
D) the same number of all kinds of images as young adults did.

Accepted Answer

Elderly adults tend to remember more positive than negative images, a phenomenon known as the "positivity effect." This reflects a tendency in older adults to focus on and remember positive information more than negative information.

Question 18

It has been suggested that older adults might be _____ susceptible to _____ interference.
A) more; proactive
B) less; proactive
C) more; retroactive
D) less; retroactive

Accepted Answer

The answer of It has been suggested that older adults...

Question 19

Which type of memory seems to be MOST vulnerable to decline as adults age?
A) working
B) episodic
C) semantic
D) skill

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which type of memory seems to be...

Question 20

At what age does eyeblink conditioning start to decline?
A) 25
B) 35
C) 40
D) 65

Accepted Answer

The answer of At what age does eyeblink conditioning start...

Quiz 12: Development and Aging:learning and Memory Across the Lifespan

People with _ perform worse on learning and memory tests than people with _.

Which statement supports the idea that age-related improvement in working memory capacity at least partially reflects exposure to and familiarity with the material to be remembered?

For which individual would learning be the MOST difficult?

In a paired associate test of memory, elderly adults:

As people age from their twenties to their fifties, most types of memory:

Which statement is TRUE regarding skill learning?

Any of the principal class sex hormone present in adult males is known as:

Men generally perform better than women on tasks involving:

A person's digit span:

Which statement is TRUE regarding gender differences in learning and memory?

The principal class sex hormone present in adult females is known as:

Performance on working-memory tasks:

The MOST important androgen and principal male sex hormone is known as:

With which memory task would elderly individuals have the MOST difficulty?

Which person's skill will be the MOST resistant to decline in older adulthood?

Which statement is TRUE regarding gender differences in learning and memory?

In an emotional memory test, elderly adults remembered:

It has been suggested that older adults might be _ susceptible to _ interference.

Which type of memory seems to be MOST vulnerable to decline as adults age?

At what age does eyeblink conditioning start to decline?