Question 1

Which of the following best describes the type of attention where individuals must tune out irrelevant information?

Accepted Answer

Selective attention involves the ability to focus on relevant information while ignoring distractions or irrelevant stimuli.

Question 2

Which of the following best describes changes to attention and memory in late adulthood?

Accepted Answer

While some aspects of attention and memory may remain intact, research has shown that overall there is a decline in these abilities in late adulthood. This can be due to changes in the brain, decreased processing speed, and other factors. However, it is important to note that this decline can vary among individuals and can be influenced by environmental and lifestyle factors.

Question 3

What is the feeling of knowing information that is in long-term memory, but being unable to retrieve it at the moment?

Accepted Answer

This feeling of knowing information but being unable to retrieve it is known as the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon. It is a common experience where a person is unable to recall a specific word or name from memory, despite knowing that it is stored in their long-term memory.

Question 4

Which of the following is an example of when an individual must perform divided attention?

Accepted Answer

Driving a car while navigating with a map and carrying on a conversation require divided attention. The individual must pay attention to multiple tasks at once, such as driving, reading a map, and engaging in a conversation. This task requires the individual to divide their attention between multiple activities simultaneously. B, C, and D do not necessarily require divided attention as they involve focusing on one primary task.

Question 5

The ____ is a classic psychology experiment in which people were asked to indicate the colour of a word flashing on a screen, but the word itself presents contrary information.

Accepted Answer

The described experiment is the Stroop test, where participants are shown words that name a color but are printed in a different color themselves. The task is to identify the color of the ink of the word, while ignoring the meaning of the word itself. This test is used to measure selective attention, cognitive flexibility, and processing speed. The Myers-Briggs, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, and Q-sort are all personality tests and not related to the Stroop test.

Question 6

You overheard your parents talking about your grandfather and his memory of his past. It seems that he remembers pleasant events very well, but often forgets unpleasant events entirely. What type of memory are your parents discussing?

Accepted Answer

Autobiographical memory involves the recollection of personal experiences and events from one's life, often with an emotional component, which can lead to better recall of pleasant events over unpleasant ones.

Question 7

Older adults often believe that they can remember events of long ago with special clarity. Research has found that there are ____.

Accepted Answer

While older adults may believe that they can remember events of long ago with special clarity, research has found substantial declines in episodic memory abilities as people age. This means that their ability to remember specific events or episodes from their past tends to decline with age, although other aspects of memory, such as semantic memory or procedural memory, may remain intact.

Question 8

What type of attention is described as when people are required to concentrate on a task for an extended period of time?

Accepted Answer

Sustained attention is described as when people are required to concentrate on a task for an extended period of time. Selective attention is when people focus on one particular stimulus while ignoring other stimuli. Deprived attention is a lack of attention that occurs when someone is deprived of stimulation, while divided attention is when someone is asked to pay attention to two tasks or stimuli simultaneously.

Question 9

Melina's grandmother has trouble hearing and she says to her mother, 'I don't know why she won't wear hearing aids; you said she has the money and that you would take her to the doctor to get them.' Explain two reasons why she might have a hearing impairment and at least one reason why she will not get hearing aids.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Melina's grandmother has trouble hearing and she...

Question 10

Your grandmother used to play piano at her community organisation for many years. Lately, she has had some difficulty when she plays. She is having difficulty with what type of memory?

Accepted Answer

Procedural memory is the type of memory responsible for skills and procedures, such as playing an instrument. Difficulties in this type of memory can lead to errors or difficulty in performing familiar tasks.

Question 11

In which country is there a 'New Old People's movement?' Explain the benefits.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In which country is there a 'New...

Question 12

What type of memory is involved when an individual remembers how to perform a task or activity involving motor skills?

Accepted Answer

The type of memory involved when an individual remembers how to perform a task or activity involving motor skills is procedural memory. This type of memory involves the recall of motor or cognitive skills that have been learned through repetition and practice. It is sometimes referred to as "muscle memory" and is responsible for allowing individuals to perform familiar tasks or activities without consciously thinking about each step involved.

Question 13

Your grandfather works on the New York Times crossword puzzle every day. He has been very good at solving the puzzle and nearly always does. His ability to remember the meaning of words has shown no decline as he has aged, and really shows very little decline for most older adults. What type of memory is this?

Accepted Answer

Semantic memory refers to memory of general knowledge about the world, including meanings of words and concepts. This type of memory does not typically decline with age, so the fact that the grandfather is able to remember the meanings of words needed for the crossword puzzle suggests that his semantic memory is still intact. The other options (procedural memory, episodic memory, and lexical memory) are not as relevant to this situation.

Question 14

As ageing occurs, what happens to people's ability to concentrate on a task for an extended period of time? In laboratory tests, older and younger adults were presented with a series of stimuli and were required to press a key only when they saw a particular pattern. Compared to younger adults, how did older adults do on this task? Older adults ____.

Accepted Answer

As ageing occurs, people's ability to concentrate on a task for an extended period of time decreases. In laboratory tests, compared to younger adults, older adults responded more slowly and made more errors on the task of pressing a key only when they saw a particular pattern. Therefore, the best choice is D.

Question 15

What type of attention is described as the ability to keep track of more than one information source simultaneously?

Accepted Answer

Divided attention is the ability to keep track of more than one information source simultaneously. Selective attention refers to the ability to selectively focus on one information source while ignoring others. Deprived attention is not a recognized term in psychology. Sustained attention refers to the ability to maintain focus on a task for an extended period of time.

Question 16

As ageing occurs, people's ability to concentrate on a task for an extended period of time ____.

Accepted Answer

As we age, our ability to concentrate on a task for an extended period of time declines due to changes in our brain structure and function. This decline in concentration abilities is a typical part of the aging process.

Question 17

The ability to keep track of more than one information source simultaneously is referred to as _____.

Accepted Answer

Divided attention is the ability to simultaneously process information from multiple sources. Selective attention refers to the ability to focus on one particular stimulus while ignoring others. Sustained attention is the ability to maintain focus on a particular task for an extended period of time. On-task attention refers to staying focused on the task at hand.

Question 18

Your 83-year-old uncle has always been a very entertaining storyteller. In the past few years, he has been having difficulty remembering the names of people who are important for his stories. What difficulty is your uncle experiencing?

Accepted Answer

The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon is the difficulty in retrieving a known word from memory. This can result in individuals struggling to remember names, despite being very familiar with the individual or having known them for a long time. This is a common experience with age-related memory decline.

Question 19

What classic psychological experiment was used to evaluate selective attention?

Accepted Answer

The Stroop test is a classic psychological experiment used to evaluate selective attention. In this test, participants are asked to name the ink color of words that either match or do not match the meaning of the word itself. The mismatched words create interference and require selective attention to overcome. This test has been widely used in psychology research to study cognitive processes such as attention, perception, and response inhibition.

Question 20

What type of memory, which involves memory for information that is the current focus of a person's attention, declines with age?

Accepted Answer

Working memory involves memory for information that is the current focus of a person's attention. It declines with age more than other types of memory. Semantic memory, episodic memory, and lexical memory are other types of memory that are not specifically related to the current focus of attention.

Quiz 12: Late Adulthood