Question 1

The recency effect occurs when participants are asked to recall a list of words. One way to eliminate the recency effect is to
A) have participants say "la, la, la" while studying the list.
B) present the list more slowly.
C) have participants count backwards for 30 seconds after hearing the last word of the list.
D) have participants see the words on a screen, rather than hear them.

Accepted Answer

Counting backwards for 30 seconds after hearing the last word of the list distracts the participant's short-term memory and eliminates the recency effect. The other options may affect the encoding process of the words, but they do not specifically target the recency effect.

Question 2

Regarding free recall of a list of items, which of the following will most likely cause the recency effect to disappear by preventing rehearsal?
A) Inserting a 30-second delay before recall
B) Presenting the stimulus list at a slower pace
C) Counting backward for 30 seconds before recall
D) Using a very long list (greater than 30 items at one item per second)

Accepted Answer

Counting backward for 30 seconds before recall will prevent rehearsal of the list, which is necessary for the recency effect to occur. This will make it difficult for participants to keep the items in their short-term memory, and as a result, the recency effect will likely disappear. Delaying the recall or presenting the stimulus list at a slower pace may also affect the recency effect, but not as directly as preventing rehearsal. Using a very long list may actually enhance the recency effect by making it more difficult for participants to remember the earlier items on the list.

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT an example of an implicit memory?
A) Classical conditioning
B) Repetition priming
C) Procedural memory
D) Semantic memory

Accepted Answer

Semantic memory is a type of explicit memory, which is a conscious and intentional recollection of information. Classical conditioning, repetition priming, and procedural memory are all examples of implicit memory, which is an unconscious or unintentional influence of prior experiences on current behavior or thought.

Question 4

Wickens et al.'s "fruit, meat, and professions" experiment failed to show a release from proactive interference in the "fruit" group because
A) the stimulus category changed.
B) the stimulus category remained the same.
C) the response task changed.
D) the response task remained the same.

Accepted Answer

The experiment failed to show a release from proactive interference in the "fruit" group because the stimulus category remained the same. This meant that the participants were still being presented with items from the same category, which made it difficult for them to distinguish between old and new items, leading to interference.

Question 5

___________ memories are to experiences as ___________ memories are to facts.
A) Semantic; implicit
B) Implicit; episodic
C) Episodic; semantic
D) Procedural; episodic

Accepted Answer

Episodic memories are autobiographical memories of personal experiences, while semantic memories are memories of general knowledge and facts about the world.

Question 6

In which of the following examples of two different brain-injured patients (Tom and Tim) is a double dissociation demonstrated?
A) Both Tom and Tim have good episodic memory but poor semantic memory.
B) Tom and Tim both show deficits in episodic and semantic memory.
C) Tom has good semantic memory and poor episodic memory, while Tim has good episodic memory but poor semantic memory.
D) Both Tom and Tim have good semantic memory but poor episodic memory.

Accepted Answer

C is the correct choice because a double dissociation is demonstrated by showing that patients have opposite patterns of performance on two tasks. In this case, Tom shows good semantic memory but poor episodic memory, while Tim shows good episodic memory but poor semantic memory. This suggests that these two types of memory rely on separate neural mechanisms, since one patient can perform well on one task but poorly on the other. The other answer choices do not demonstrate a double dissociation because they do not show opposite patterns of performance on two tasks.

Question 7

This multiple-choice question is an example of a ___________ test.
A) recall
B) recognition
C) word-completion
D) personal semantic memory

Accepted Answer

This is a recognition test because the options are given and the participant must recognize the correct answer among them. A recall test would require the participant to generate the answer without any cues, a word-completion test would provide a partial word or sentence and require the participant to complete it, and personal semantic memory is a type of memory related to autobiographical information.

Question 8

The dramatic case of patient H.M. clearly illustrates that ___________ is crucial for the formation of long-term memories.
A) the hippocampus
B) synaptic consolidation
C) vitamin B1
D) deep processing

Accepted Answer

Patient H.M. had his hippocampus removed to treat severe epilepsy and as a result, he was unable to form new long-term memories. This led to the conclusion that the hippocampus is crucial for the formation of long-term memories. The other options, such as synaptic consolidation, vitamin B1, and deep processing, can be important for certain aspects of memory formation but are not as critical as the hippocampus.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a conclusion from the case of H.M., who had an operation to help alleviate his epileptic seizures?
A) The hippocampus is necessary for forming new long-term memories.
B) Short-term and long-term memories are controlled by different mechanisms.
C) Short-term and long-term memories can operate independently of each other.
D) Long-term memories are unaffected by damage to the hippocampus.

Accepted Answer

The case of H.M. actually showed that damage to the hippocampus can prevent the formation of new long-term memories, indicating that the hippocampus does play a role in the formation of these memories. Therefore, option D is not a conclusion from this case.

Question 10

___________ memories are those that we are not aware of.
A) Implicit
B) Explicit
C) Declarative
D) All of these are correct

Accepted Answer

Implicit memories are memories that are not consciously or intentionally recalled, such as skills or habits. Explicit or declarative memories, on the other hand, are memories that can be intentionally and consciously recalled, such as facts or events. Therefore, B) Explicit and C) Declarative are incorrect choices.

Question 11

Lamar has just gotten a new job and is attending a company party where he will meet his colleagues for the first time. His boss escorts him around to small groups to introduce him. At the first group, Lamar meets four people and is told only their first names. The same thing happens with a second group and a third group. At the fourth group, Lamar is told their names and that one of the women in the group is the company accountant. A little while later, Lamar realizes that he only remembers the names of the people in the first group, though he also remembers the profession of the last woman he met (the accountant). Lamar's experience demonstrates
A) the phonological similarity effect.
B) a build-up and release of proactive interference.
C) the cocktail party phenomenon.
D) a partial-report procedure.

Accepted Answer

Lamar's experience demonstrates a build-up and release of proactive interference. Proactive interference occurs when older memories interfere with the recall of new information. Lamar's ability to remember the first group of names but not the subsequent ones suggests a build-up of interference as he met more people. However, learning a distinctive piece of information about the last person (the accountant) allowed for a release from this interference, making it easier for him to remember that specific detail.

Question 12

Murdoch's "remembering a list" experiment described the serial position curve and found that memory is best for ___________ of a list.
A) the first words
B) the middle words
C) the last words
D) both the first and last words

Accepted Answer

Murdoch's "remembering a list" experiment found that memory is best for both the first and last words of a list. This is due to the primacy and recency effect. The primacy effect is the tendency to remember the first few items on a list because they have had more time to be rehearsed into long-term memory. The recency effect is the tendency to remember the last few items on a list because they are still in short-term memory.

Question 13

The primacy effect (from the serial position curve experiment) is associated with ___________ memory.
A) long-term
B) short-term
C) sensory
D) implicit

Accepted Answer

The primacy effect refers to the phenomenon where items at the beginning of a list are more likely to be remembered than those in the middle or at the end. This effect is thought to be due to the fact that the items at the beginning have had more time to be rehearsed and transferred to long-term memory. Therefore, the primacy effect is associated with long-term memory.

Question 14

The primacy effect is attributed to
A) recall of information stored in long-term memory.
B) a type of rehearsal that improves memory for all items in a list.
C) recall of information still active in short-term memory.
D) forgetting of early items in a list as they are replaced by later items.

Accepted Answer

The primacy effect refers to better recall of items presented earlier in a list, which is thought to be due to them being more effectively encoded and stored in long-term memory.

Question 15

According to Tulving, the defining property of the experience of episodic memory is that
A) it involves mental time travel.
B) it always corresponds to events from our past that actually happened.
C) it accesses knowledge about the world that does not have to be tied to any specific personal experience.
D) it involves both explicit and implicit memories.

Accepted Answer

Tulving's definition of episodic memory includes the concept of "mental time travel," which means the ability to mentally travel back in time and re-experience past events. This is the defining property of episodic memory, separating it from semantic memory, which involves general knowledge about the world without the personal experience aspect. The accuracy or truth of the event is not necessarily a defining aspect of episodic memory. Implicit memory is not explicitly tied to episodic memory.

Question 16

Your book discusses the memory functioning of patient H.M. who underwent brain surgery to relieve severe epileptic seizures. H.M.'s case has been extremely informative to psychologists by demonstrating that
A) long-term memory can operate normally while short-term memory is impaired.
B) impairment of one memory system (long-term or short-term) necessarily leads to deficits in the functioning of the other.
C) a double dissociation exists for short-term and long-term memory.
D) short-term memory can operate normally while long-term memory is impaired.

Accepted Answer

H.M.'s case showed that after his surgery, he could retain new information for a short period (demonstrating intact short-term memory) but was unable to form new long-term memories, illustrating that short-term and long-term memory systems can operate independently.

Question 17

The predominant type of coding in long-term memory is
A) phonological.
B) concrete.
C) semantic.
D) visual.

Accepted Answer

The predominant type of coding in long-term memory is semantic, which refers to the encoding and retrieval of meaning. This means that information is stored based on its semantic meaning, which makes it easier to access and retrieve when needed. Phonological coding involves the encoding of sounds, while visual coding involves the encoding of visual images. Concrete coding refers to the encoding of physical properties or sensory features of an object or event. However, while these types of coding can also be involved in long-term memory, semantic coding is generally the most dominant.

Question 18

When investigating the serial position curve, delaying the memory test for 30 seconds
A) has no effect on the curve.
B) increases the primacy effect.
C) decreases the recency effect.
D) increases both the primacy and the recency effects.

Accepted Answer

Delaying the memory test for 30 seconds primarily affects the recency effect by decreasing it. This is because the recency effect relies on the short-term memory, which tends to decay rapidly over time. The primacy effect, on the other hand, is based on long-term memory, and its strength is not as affected by a short delay in the test. Therefore, delaying the memory test for 30 seconds would not increase the primacy effect but would decrease the recency effect.

Question 19

Neuropsychological evidence indicates that short- and long-term memories probably
A) represent different aspects of the same mechanism.
B) are caused by different mechanisms that depend upon each other.
C) both rely most heavily on a semantic coding mechanism.
D) are caused by different mechanisms that act independently.

Accepted Answer

Neuropsychological evidence suggests that short-term and long-term memories are governed by different mechanisms that operate independently of each other. Short-term memory involves the temporary storage of information, while long-term memory involves the more permanent storage of information, and studies have shown that these processes can be affected differently by brain injuries or diseases, indicating separate underlying mechanisms.

Question 20

Explicit memory is to ___________ as implicit memory is to ___________.
A) aware; unaware
B) self; others
C) primacy; recency
D) episodic; semantic

Accepted Answer

Explicit memory involves conscious awareness of past events or knowledge, while implicit memory occurs without conscious awareness or intention. The other choices (B, C, D) do not capture the distinction between conscious and unconscious processing.

Quiz 6: Long-Term Memory: Structure

The recency effect occurs when participants are asked to recall a list of words. One way to eliminate the recency effect is to

Regarding free recall of a list of items, which of the following will most likely cause the recency effect to disappear by preventing rehearsal?

Which of the following is NOT an example of an implicit memory?

Wickens et al.'s "fruit, meat, and professions" experiment failed to show a release from proactive interference in the "fruit" group because

_ memories are to experiences as _ memories are to facts.

In which of the following examples of two different brain-injured patients (Tom and Tim) is a double dissociation demonstrated?

This multiple-choice question is an example of a ___________ test.

The dramatic case of patient H.M. clearly illustrates that ___________ is crucial for the formation of long-term memories.

Which of the following is NOT a conclusion from the case of H.M., who had an operation to help alleviate his epileptic seizures?

___________ memories are those that we are not aware of.

Murdoch's "remembering a list" experiment described the serial position curve and found that memory is best for ___________ of a list.

The primacy effect (from the serial position curve experiment) is associated with ___________ memory.

The primacy effect is attributed to

According to Tulving, the defining property of the experience of episodic memory is that

Your book discusses the memory functioning of patient H.M. who underwent brain surgery to relieve severe epileptic seizures. H.M.'s case has been extremely informative to psychologists by demonstrating that

The predominant type of coding in long-term memory is

When investigating the serial position curve, delaying the memory test for 30 seconds

Neuropsychological evidence indicates that short- and long-term memories probably

Explicit memory is to _ as implicit memory is to _.