A psychologist asks people to recall the name of their kindergarten teacher. Surprisingly, the majority of people correctly do this and comment, "Gee whiz, I haven't thought about that old bat [or old coot] in years!" Their ability to do so tends to conflict with which theory of forgetting?
A) interference theory
B) decay or disuse
C) encoding failure
D) retroactive interference

Question

A psychologist asks people to recall the name of their kindergarten teacher. Surprisingly, the majority of people correctly do this and comment, "Gee whiz, I haven't thought about that old bat [or old coot] in years!" Their ability to do so tends to conflict with which theory of forgetting?
A) interference theory
B) decay or disuse 
C) encoding failure 
D) retroactive interference

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The decay or disuse theory suggests that memories fade over time if they are not accessed. The ability to recall a kindergarten teacher's name after many years suggests that the memory has not decayed, conflicting with this theory.

A Psychologist Asks People to Recall the Name of Their