Question 1

Repression most clearly involves a failure in

Accepted Answer

Repression involves a failure in retrieval, where an individual unconsciously blocks out painful or unwanted memories, making them inaccessible through normal recall processes.

Question 2

Retroactive interference refers to the

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference is the phenomenon where the recall of previously learned information is disrupted by new learning. Option A, decay of physical memory traces, is more closely associated with the concept of forgetting. Option B is referring to proactive interference, which is the opposite of retroactive interference, where previously learned material disrupts the recall of new information. Option D is not related to retroactive interference at all.

Question 3

Philippe has just completed medical school.In reflecting on his years of formal education,he is able to recall the names of all his instructors except the fifth-grade teacher who flunked him.According to Freud,his forgetting illustrates

Accepted Answer

Repression is a defense mechanism in which the mind pushes unacceptable or traumatic memories or thoughts into the unconscious, making them inaccessible to conscious recall. In this case, Philippe's inability to remember his fifth-grade teacher who flunked him suggests that he may have repressed that memory as it may have been traumatic or emotionally uncomfortable for him.

Question 4

A process in which previously stored memories,when retrieved,are altered before being stored again is called

Accepted Answer

The process described in the question is reconsolidation, in which stored memories are updated or modified upon retrieval before being stored again. Retroactive interference refers to new information disrupting the retrieval of older memories, while proactive interference refers to older memories interfering with the retrieval of new information. Repression is the unconscious blocking of unpleasant memories.

Question 5

Learning a new online banking password may block the recall of a familiar old password.This illustrates

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the ability to recall old information. Learning a new password can make it harder to remember an old one because the new information (new password) disrupts the recall of the old information (old password).

Question 6

We often modify our long-term memories in light of our current knowledge and expectations.This best illustrates the impact of

Accepted Answer

Reconsolidation refers to the process by which previously stored memories are retrieved and then potentially altered before being re-stored in the brain. This process can result in modifications to long-term memories in light of new information or expectations. Implicit memory refers to unconscious or automatic memories, proactive interference refers to the interference of old memories with the retrieval of new memories, and anterograde amnesia refers to the inability to form new memories after a certain point in time. None of these concepts fully explain the phenomenon of modifying long-term memories in light of current knowledge and expectations.

Question 7

After studying biology all afternoon,Alonzo is having difficulty remembering details of the organic chemistry material he memorized that morning.Alonzo's difficulty best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the ability to recall old information, as seen in Alonzo's difficulty remembering the organic chemistry material after studying biology.

Question 8

An attorney uses misleading questions to distort a court witness' recall of a previously observed crime.This best illustrates

Accepted Answer

The scenario described reflects the misinformation effect, which occurs when a person's memory of an event is altered by presenting misleading information or asking misleading questions. In this case, the attorney is using misleading questions to distort the witness' recall of a crime. Anterograde amnesia refers to the inability to create new memories after an injury or trauma, proactive interference occurs when old, previously learned information interferes with new learning or memory, and positive transfer refers to the enhancement of learning or performance in one area due to previous experience in a related area. None of these concepts apply to the scenario described.

Question 9

The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information is called

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when prior learning interferes with the recall of new information. This can happen when previously learned information is so well-established in memory that it interferes with the encoding and retrieval of new information. Retroactive interference, on the other hand, occurs when new learning interferes with the recall of old information. Encoding failure refers to the inability to effectively form a memory trace, while source amnesia is the inability to remember where or how we learned certain information.

Question 10

Jackie frequently experiences intrusive memories of an emotionally traumatic experience that she has been trying to forget.Her intrusive memories provide evidence of unsuccessful memory

Accepted Answer

Repression is a defense mechanism where an individual unconsciously pushes away painful or traumatic memories to protect themselves, leading to unsuccessful memory processing. Jackie's intrusive memories indicate that the repression mechanism is not fully successful, as these memories are still surfacing.

Question 11

Professor Maslova has so many memories of former students that she has difficulty remembering the names of new students.The professor's difficulty best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information interferes with the learning of new information. In this case, the professor's memories of former students (previously learned information) are interfering with the remembering of new students' names.

Question 12

Ebbinghaus found the task of learning new lists of nonsense syllables increasingly difficult as his research career progressed.Which of the following best explains his problem?

Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when old information interferes with new learning. In Ebbinghaus' case, the previous lists of nonsense syllables he learned could have interfered with his ability to learn new ones, making the task increasingly difficult as he accumulated more lists.

Question 13

Research participants who were exposed to very convincing arguments about the desirability of frequent toothbrushing misrecalled how frequently they had brushed their teeth in the preceding two weeks.This best illustrates

Accepted Answer

The phenomenon described in the scenario is motivated forgetting, where participants misremember how often they brushed their teeth due to external persuasion. Source amnesia involves forgetting the origin or source of a memory, proactive interference occurs when old information interferes with new information, and déjà vu is the feeling of experiencing something that feels familiar but hasn't actually happened before.

Question 14

Two people learned nonsense syllables and then tried to recall them after up to eight hours had elapsed.Jenkins and Dallenbach observed that forgetting occurred LEAST rapidly when the individuals spent their time

Accepted Answer

Jenkins and Dallenbach observed that forgetting occurred LEAST rapidly when the individuals were sleeping. Sleep has been shown to facilitate memory consolidation processes, which is likely why the individuals were better able to retain the information they learned when they slept rather than engaging in physical exercise, playing a card game, or watching television.

Question 15

The misinformation effect refers to the

Accepted Answer

The misinformation effect refers to the incorporation of misleading information into one's memory of an event. This happens when an individual's recall of an event is altered by misleading information they have been exposed to after the event occurred.

Question 16

It's evening and you're mentally replaying the day's events.You picture your facial expressions as you listened to a friend's tale of woe.Because you were unable to see these expressions at the time,your recall illustrates

Accepted Answer

The scenario described in the question is an example of memory construction because the individual is trying to reconstruct or recall past events, including their own facial expressions during a conversation. This type of memory recall can be influenced by various factors such as emotions, biases, and other cognitive processes, which may result in memory errors or inaccuracies. Source amnesia refers to the inability to recall where or how a memory was acquired. Implicit memory refers to the unconscious or automatic retrieval of memories, such as procedural memories or priming effects. Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information interferes with the ability to recall new information. None of these concepts fully account for the scenario described in the question.

Question 17

Who emphasized that we repress anxiety-arousing memories?

Accepted Answer

Sigmund Freud emphasized that we repress anxiety-arousing memories, as a part of his psychoanalytic theory of the unconscious mind.

Question 18

When Loftus and colleagues asked observers of a filmed car accident how fast the vehicles were going when they smashed into each other,the observers developed memories of the accident that

Accepted Answer

Loftus and colleagues found that by asking observers how fast the vehicles were going when they "smashed into each other," they were more likely to develop memories of the accident that portrayed it as more serious than it had actually been. This illustrates how the wording of questions can influence the formation of memories.

Question 19

Knowledge of Latin can help people to learn French.This best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Positive transfer is when knowledge, skills or information from one domain (in this case, Latin) helps to facilitate learning or performance in another domain (in this case, French). Therefore, the fact that knowledge of Latin can help people to learn French is an example of positive transfer.

Question 20

When asked misleading questions after observing an accident,eyewitnesses often reconstruct their initial memories of the event.This best illustrates

Accepted Answer

The question mentions "misleading questions" and "reconstruct their initial memories", which are both characteristics of the misinformation effect. This effect occurs when external information (such as misleading questions) alters an individual's memory of an event. Therefore, choice D is the best answer.

Quiz 8: Memory