Question 1

Which of the following is a test for recall?

Accepted Answer

Essay questions require the individual to generate information from memory, making it a test of recall. The other options require recognition or processing of information rather than retrieval from memory.

Question 2

________ refers to the capacity to retain and retrieve information.

Accepted Answer

Memory refers to the capacity to retain and retrieve information, including both the ability to store information (encoding) and then later retrieve it (retrieval). Recall refers specifically to the ability to retrieve previously learned information without cues or prompts, whereas recognition involves the ability to recognize previously learned information with cues or prompts. Priming refers to the phenomenon whereby exposure to a stimulus influences a person's response to a subsequent stimulus, whereas memory refers to the longer-term storage and retrieval of information. Therefore, the best choice is B.

Question 3

In addressing the debate regarding children's memories of sexual abuse, it has become clear that:

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that preschoolers are indeed more susceptible to suggestion and leading questions than older children, making them more vulnerable to providing inaccurate information if not questioned carefully.

Question 4

________ is an especially vivid memory of an emotional event.

Accepted Answer

A flashbulb memory is a particularly vivid and detailed memory of an emotional or significant event. It is named after the bright and sudden light of a camera flashbulb, which briefly illuminates everything in the scene, and in the same way, flashbulb memories are believed to be particularly clear and detailed due to the strong emotional response that they evoke. Reconstructive memory is the process of rebuilding a memory by combining elements of available information with existing knowledge, and is not specific to emotional events. Semantic memory is a long-term memory system that stores general knowledge and facts about the world, without reference to personal experiences. Procedural memory is a long-term memory system that stores how-to knowledge and skills, such as riding a bike or tying a knot.

Question 5

Irene swears that she was there the night her best friend got into a fight with her ex-boyfriend. It takes several of her friends to convince her that she was not. Which of the following likely made Irene's fake memory seem so real to her?

Accepted Answer

The fight being easy to imagine likely made Irene's fake memory seem so real to her.

Question 6

The inability to distinguish what you originally experienced from what you heard or were told about an event later is called:

Accepted Answer

The inability to distinguish between one's original experience and information received about the event later is called source misattribution. Semantic memory refers to general knowledge and concepts. Priming refers to the influence of a previous experience or exposure on a current response or behavior. Explicit memory refers to the conscious and intentional recollection of information.

Question 7

Casey was visiting a friend in New York City on September 11, 2001, the day of the attack on the World Trade Center. To her, that day seems frozen in time. She remembers exactly where she was, what she was doing, and what she felt as the morning transpired. This vivid recollection is known as:

Accepted Answer

Casey's vivid recollection of the events of 9/11 is an example of a flashbulb memory, which is a highly detailed, exceptionally vivid 'snapshot' of the moment and circumstances in which a piece of surprising and consequential news was heard.

Question 8

Confusion of an event that happened to someone else with one that happened to you, or a belief that you remember something when it never actually happened, is called ________.

Accepted Answer

Confabulation refers to the confusion of an event that happened to someone else with one that happened to you, or a belief that you remember something when it never actually happened. Priming refers to the process by which exposure to a stimulus influences a response to a subsequent stimulus. Flashbulb memory refers to vivid and detailed recollections of emotional events. Repression refers to the unconscious blocking of unpleasant memories.

Question 9

Research suggests that the best way to encourage truthful testimony by children is to:

Accepted Answer

Asking leading questions can unintentionally suggest a certain answer to the child and potentially influence their response. Instead, it is important to ask open-ended and non-leading questions, and to allow the child to provide their own account of what happened. This approach can promote more accurate and truthful testimony.

Question 10

When six-year-old Sven's parents overhear him describing his third birthday party, they look at each other in surprise. Sven appears to remember that the birthday cake his father was baking burned and his aunt had to run out and buy one from a bakery, even though Sven was not present when those events occurred. Sven's memory illustrates the concept of _________.

Accepted Answer

Sven's memory is an example of confabulation, which refers to a memory error where a person recalls details or events that did not actually happen. In this case, Sven's description of his third birthday includes details that he could not have possibly remembered, indicating that his brain may have fabricated those memories. Priming is the phenomenon where exposure to a stimulus influences a person's response to a subsequent stimulus. Implicit memory refers to non-conscious memory processes, such as procedural memory. Decay theory suggests that memories fade over time if they are not rehearsed or used. None of these theories fully explain Sven's memory.

Question 11

The inability to distinguish an actual memory of an event from information you learned about the event elsewhere is called ________.

Accepted Answer

Source misattribution occurs when someone confuses the source of information, leading them to remember something as a personal memory when it was actually something they learned or heard about elsewhere. Consolidation refers to the process of stabilizing and strengthening memories, priming involves using a stimulus to activate a specific memory, and repression is a concept in psychoanalytic theory in which uncomfortable or traumatic memories are pushed into the unconscious mind to avoid conscious awareness. None of these options accurately describe the inability to distinguish a true memory from something learned elsewhere.

Question 12

In the 1930s, the research of the British psychologist Sir Frederic Bartlett provided evidence to support the view that memory is:

Accepted Answer

Bartlett's research suggested that memory is like a journalist trying to reconstruct an interview from incomplete notes, as people tend to reconstruct memories based on their pre-existing schemas and expectations, leading to inaccuracies and omissions.

Question 13

Chad remembers the feeling of excitement in his house when his mother stepped through the door with his new baby sister. He can still picture the tiny little baby with a stocking cap on her head! His parents can't convince him that he actually stayed with his grandparents for two weeks after his sister was born and that his memory never happened! Chad's memory is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Chad's memory is an example of confabulation, which is a memory error in which false memories are created to fill in gaps in one's memory or to make sense of a situation. In this case, Chad's brain may have created the memory of his sister's birth to make sense of why she was suddenly in the house.

Question 14

According to Sir Frederic Bartlett:

Accepted Answer

Sir Frederic Bartlett believed that memory is not like a video camera recording an entire experience, but rather a reconstructive process where our brains fill in gaps and missing pieces based on our own perceptions and biases. This means that memory is not an exact representation of past events, but rather a subjective interpretation.

Question 15

Which of the following examples is a question that would most likely reduce the chance of false reporting by a child?

Accepted Answer

Option C, "Can you tell me the reason you came to talk to me today?" is the most neutral and open-ended question that does not suggest a specific answer or lead the child towards a particular narrative, thereby reducing the chance of false reporting.

Question 16

Conscious, intentional recollection of an event or of an item of information is called:

Accepted Answer

Conscious, intentional recollection refers to explicitly remembering information or events, which is known as explicit memory. The other options (implicit memory, autobiographical memory, procedural memory) refer to other types of memory processes.

Question 17

Retrieving a memory is most like:

Accepted Answer

Retrieving a memory is often a reconstructive process where the brain pieces together fragments of information to form a coherent memory. This process is similar to watching unconnected frames of a movie and then trying to figure out what the rest of the scene was like, rather than replaying a precise recording of the event.

Question 18

Eyewitness testimonies by victims are most likely to contain errors when the suspect:

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that people are generally better at recognizing faces of their own ethnic group compared to those of different ethnic groups, a phenomenon known as the cross-race effect or own-race bias. This can lead to higher rates of misidentification and errors in eyewitness testimonies when the suspect is of a different ethnic background than the victim.

Question 19

Memory is critical to our lives because:

Accepted Answer

Memory enables us to remember past events and experiences, which in turn shapes our sense of self and identity. Memories also help us make sense of the world around us and allow us to plan and anticipate future events. Emotions do not necessarily require memory, as evidenced by instinctual reactions, and memories are not automatically recorded like a video camera, as our brains selectively encode and consolidate information.

Question 20

________ memory refers to a vivid, detailed recollection of an emotional event.

Accepted Answer

Flashbulb memory is a specific type of episodic memory that involves the vivid, detailed recollection of an emotional event. It is often described as a "photographic" memory of the event. Semantic memory refers to general knowledge about the world, while declarative memory refers to conscious, intentional memories that can be explicitly stated or declared.

Quiz 10: Memory