Question 1

If Lola begins to list all the classes she's ever taken in college,she will most likely recall her last few classes particularly well.What is this phenomenon called?

Accepted Answer

The recency effect refers to the tendency to remember the most recent items in a series or list better than earlier items. In this scenario, Lola is likely to recall her most recent classes better than classes she took earlier, which is an example of the recency effect.

Question 2

According to the encoding specificity principle:

Accepted Answer

The encoding specificity principle states that the similarity between the learning context and the retrieval context is an important factor in memory. This means that contextual cues, such as the environment or state of mind during learning, can facilitate retrieval of information. Choices A, B, and C are not directly related to the encoding specificity principle.

Question 3

"Dog food,coffee,paper towels." Michelle's roommate begins reciting items into the phone as she gets into her car; Michelle is supposed to stop by the store on the way home.The roommate continues to list a few more items.Finally,he wraps with,"Coffee creamer,spaghetti sauce,dish soap,and iced tea mix." Michelle forgets a few things,but the spaghetti sauce,dish soap,and iced tea mix are in the bag.Her memory for these items reflects the _____ effect.

Accepted Answer

The recency effect refers to the tendency to remember information that was most recently presented. In this case, Michelle was able to remember the items listed at the end of the list, such as "spaghetti sauce, dish soap, and iced tea mix," which indicates that the recency effect was at play.

Question 4

How might one describe the shape of the function relating the probability of an item's recall to the item's position on a list?

Accepted Answer

The shape is U-shaped, reflecting the serial position effect, where items at the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) of a list are more likely to be recalled than those in the middle.

Question 5

Before going home,Dr.Rosen tries to flesh out his patient notes.He can remember the first and last sessions of the day,but his memory of the middle ones is a bit fuzzy.Dr.Rosen is a victim of the _____ effect.

Accepted Answer

The serial position effect refers to the tendency for individuals to remember the first and last items on a list better than the middle items. In this scenario, Dr. Rosen can remember the first and last sessions of the day but struggles to recall the ones in the middle, demonstrating the serial position effect.

Question 6

The primacy effect refers to the fact that:

Accepted Answer

The primacy effect refers to the tendency for people to remember the first items on a list better than items in the middle. This is thought to be due to the greater opportunity for rehearsal and encoding of the earlier items in memory.

Question 7

Mood-congruent memory is BEST seen as a specific instance of the:

Accepted Answer

Mood-congruent memory refers to the phenomenon where we tend to remember information that is consistent with our current mood or emotional state. The encoding specificity principle states that memory is best when encoding and retrieval conditions match, and mood is one example of an encoding condition. Therefore, mood-congruent memory can be understood as a specific instance of the encoding specificity principle. The depth of processing effect, spacing effect, and serial position effect do not directly relate to mood-congruent memory.

Question 8

A research participant is required to report as much of a poem as he can remember immediately after having read the poem once.The greatest number of recall errors should occur for lines:

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is explained by the serial position effect, which suggests that individuals are more likely to remember items at the beginning (primacy effect) and at the end (recency effect) of a list (or in this case, a poem) better than those in the middle.

Question 9

In the retrieval phase of Godden and Baddeley's (1975)"scuba diver" study of the encoding specificity principle,participants were asked to supply all the words they could remember from the encoding condition.This was a _____ measure of memory.

Accepted Answer

Recall measures require participants to retrieve information from memory without any cues or prompts. In this case, participants were asked to remember as many words as they could from the encoding condition, making it a recall measure of memory. Reconstructive measures require participants to construct or elaborate on memories based on incomplete or missing information, savings measures involve comparing a prior memorization with a subsequent one to determine the extent of memorization, and recognition measures involve identifying previously encountered stimuli among a set of new stimuli.

Question 10

Professor Merrick conducts an experiment and finds that people in a good mood tend to remember happy events they have experienced whereas people in a bad mood tend to remember unpleasant events they have experienced.This finding is MOST consistent with the:

Accepted Answer

The encoding specificity principle suggests that memory retrieval is enhanced when conditions at retrieval are similar to conditions during encoding. In this case, the mood of the participant (good or bad) may act as a retrieval cue for memories that match the emotional valence of that mood. Therefore, the finding is most consistent with the encoding specificity principle.

Question 11

Glenn has heard students and teachers say that students' test performance is better when students are tested in the same room in which they learned the material.This idea is supported by the results of a pioneering study conducted by:

Accepted Answer

Godden and Baddeley (1975) conducted a study on scuba divers and found that their memory performance was better when they were tested underwater in the same environment where they learned the material. This supports the idea that context-dependent memory can improve test performance.

Question 12

Godden and Baddeley (1975)conducted the classic "scuba diver" study of the encoding specificity principle.Baddeley is also known for his groundbreaking work on:

Accepted Answer

Godden and Baddeley's study focused on the encoding specificity principle, which relates to the matching of environmental context and the context of recall. Baddeley is known for his groundbreaking work on working memory, which is a model of short-term memory that emphasizes active processing and manipulation of information. His work on reconstructive memory, forgetting, and sensory memory is also notable, but not as closely associated with his most significant contributions to the field of memory research.

Question 13

At University A,students from all introductory psychology sections take their final examination all at once in a gymnasium.At University B,students from each introductory psychology section take the final exam in the same classroom they attended for lectures during the semester.All else being equal,students at University _____ should perform better,based on the _____.

Accepted Answer

The encoding specificity principle suggests that recall is better when the contexts of encoding and retrieval match. Therefore, students at University B, who take their exam in the same classroom where they learned the material, should perform better.

Question 14

The similarity between the learning and retrieval contexts influences how well information will be remembered.This is known as the:

Accepted Answer

The encoding specificity principle states that the similarity between the learning context and the retrieval context influences how well information will be remembered, which is exactly what the question is asking for. The other options (levels-of-processing theory, serial position effect, and spacing effect) are all important concepts in memory research but do not directly address the similarity between learning and retrieval contexts.

Question 15

"Cat food,cola,toothpaste." Ned's roommate recites items over the phone as he throws his books in the backseat and gets into his car.Ned is supposed to stop at the store on the way home.The roommate continues to list a few more items.Finally,he wraps up,"Coffee creamer,spaghetti sauce,dish soap,and iced tea mix." Ned forgets a couple of things,but he does get the cat food,cola,and toothpaste.His memory for these items reflects the _____ effect.

Accepted Answer

Ned's memory for the first few items (cat food, cola, toothpaste) reflects the primacy effect, where items at the beginning of a list are more likely to be remembered.

Question 16

In a memory experiment,Dr.Aziz shows participants a list of words.One group is then given a recognition test and one group is asked to recall the words.What would be a reasonable prediction regarding the relative performance of the two groups on the memory test?

Accepted Answer

Recognition tasks are generally easier than recall tasks because they provide cues that aid memory retrieval, leading to better performance by the recognition group.

Question 17

People's ability to recall an item from a list depends on where in the list the item occurs.This is known as the _____ effect.

Accepted Answer

The serial position effect refers to the phenomenon that people are more likely to remember items at the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) of a list, while the items in the middle are more likely to be forgotten. This effect is often used in studying memory and can have implications for how information is presented and learned in educational settings. The other choices, list memory, regency, and short-term memory, do not accurately capture this phenomenon.

Question 18

The recency effect refers to the fact that:

Accepted Answer

The recency effect is a memory phenomenon where the most recent items or information presented are more likely to be remembered than items presented in the middle. This effect is often seen in tasks that require immediate recall, such as remembering a list of words. The last few words on the list are better remembered than the words in the middle of the list, which may have been displaced by later items.

Question 19

In Godden and Baddeley's (1975)pioneering "scuba diver" study of the encoding specificity principle,the match between encoding and retrieval contexts is a(n)_____ variable.

Accepted Answer

In the Godden and Baddeley (1975) study, the match between encoding and retrieval contexts is the dependent variable being measured to test the encoding specificity principle. The independent variable is the context in which the information is encoded and the experimental/control variables are the manipulation of the context (i.e. underwater vs. on land) to create different encoding and retrieval conditions.

Question 20

One evening,Zoe examines the schedule for her favorite football team.The team plays 16 games each season.Later she tries recalling that schedule for a friend who likes the same team.It is highly likely that Zoe will recall opponents at the beginning of the schedule particularly well.What is this phenomenon called?

Accepted Answer

The primacy effect is the tendency to remember information presented at the beginning of a list or sequence better than information presented later on. In this case, Zoe is likely to remember the opponents at the beginning of the football schedule better than those later on.

Quiz 6: Memory