Question 1

A witness on the stand swears that he saw someone commit a crime. Must you believe that the testimony is valid when a witness testifies so forcefully?

Accepted Answer

Eyewitness testimony can be influenced by a variety of factors such as stress, fear, and perception biases, which can lead to false identifications. Therefore, even if a witness testifies forcefully, there is still a great possibility of their testimony being invalid. It is important to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of an eyewitness testimony based on corroborating evidence, details of the crime, and other factors before accepting it as valid.

Question 2

In one study, over 2,500 photographs were shown to participants, one every 10 seconds. Participants were then shown pairs of photographs in which one member of each pair was one of the previously seen photographs. Accuracy for identifying the previously seen photos was ________.

Accepted Answer

This study tests recognition memory, which is typically more accurate than recall memory. A high accuracy rate would be expected, and D) 85 to 95 percent is the only choice that falls within that range.

Question 3

The case of Father Bernard Pagano, who was identified by seven eyewitnesses as a criminal, was an instance of a ________.

Accepted Answer

The fact that Father Bernard Pagano was identified by seven eyewitnesses as a criminal suggests that this was a false positive, as he was later found to be innocent. False positives occur when an individual is identified as a perpetrator when they are innocent.

Question 4

Keisha can remember only the first two items and the last two items on the grocery list that her roommate just read to her over the phone. The other five items in between are gone. Her memory of things at the end of the list demonstrates the ________.

Accepted Answer

The recency effect refers to the tendency to better recall items that are at the end of a list, such as in this case where Keisha can remember the last two items on the grocery list. The primacy effect, on the other hand, refers to the tendency to better recall items that are at the beginning of a list, and the encoding specificity effect refers to the notion that retrieval of information is improved when the context at retrieval matches the context at encoding. The TOT (Tip-of-the-Tongue) effect refers to the phenomenon of feeling that a word is "on the tip of your tongue" but not being able to retrieve it.

Question 5

Studies have found that the BEST way to overcome the tip-of-the-tongue effect is to ________.

Accepted Answer

Studies have shown that trying too hard to remember the item can actually increase the feeling of being stuck. Taking a break and focusing on something else, such as letting the item come to you naturally, can help alleviate the tip-of-the-tongue effect. Therefore, the best choice is C) forget about it and let the item just come to you.

Question 6

Under most circumstances, when you are intentionally trying to remember an item of information, ________ is an easier task than ________.

Accepted Answer

Recognition is generally easier than recall because it involves identifying information from a set of options, whereas recall requires retrieving information without cues.

Question 7

The most influential researcher into eyewitness memory has been ________.

Accepted Answer

Elizabeth Loftus is considered one of the most influential researchers into eyewitness memory, especially in regards to the reliability of eyewitness testimony in criminal trials. She has conducted extensive research on how memory can be distorted and influenced by external factors such as leading questions and post-event information. Her findings have had an impact on the legal system and practices surrounding eyewitness identification.

Question 8

Many older adults can vividly recall where they were and what they were doing the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated, although they cannot remember what they were doing the day before he was assassinated. This is an example of ________.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a flashbulb memory, where a person remembers a significant and emotionally charged event with intense detail and clarity.

Question 9

According to primacy and recency effects, when reading the chapters of the textbook, you are most likely to forget ________.

Accepted Answer

The primacy effect suggests better recall for information at the beginning, and the recency effect suggests better recall for information at the end. Information in the middle is less likely to be remembered.

Question 10

When given a list of items to remember, you are more likely to remember ________.

Accepted Answer

The items at the beginning and at the end of the list are more likely to be remembered because of the serial position effect. The items in the middle of the list are more likely to be forgotten or confused with other items, hence option B is incorrect. Option C is also incorrect because while the recency effect supports the idea of remembering items at the end, it only works if there is no interference. Option A is also incorrect, as while the primacy effect supports remembering the items in the beginning, it is not as strong as the recency effect for items at the end.

Question 11

Moishe can remember only the first two items and the last two items on the grocery list that his wife just read to him over the phone. The other five items in between are gone. This is an example of the ________.

Accepted Answer

The serial position effect states that people tend to remember the first and last items in a list better than the items in the middle. In this case, Moishe can only remember the first two and last two items, which is consistent with the serial position effect. The other options are not applicable to this scenario - the encoding specificity effect refers to the idea that cues present during encoding help with retrieval, the TOT effect refers to the feeling of knowing something without being able to retrieve it, and the reintegrative effect refers to how chunks of information are reassembled after initially being broken down into smaller components.

Question 12

Adrianna is trying to memorize the names of the bones in the hand. She had gone through a list of them when her phone rang. After she gets off the phone, she is MOST likely to remember the first few bone names because of the ________.

Accepted Answer

The primacy effect refers to the tendency to remember the first items in a list better than those in the middle or end, as they are more likely to be transferred to long-term memory.

Question 13

When given a list of items to remember, people tend to do better at recalling the last items on the list. This is known as the ________.

Accepted Answer

The recency effect refers to the phenomenon in memory where people tend to remember the most recent (or last) items in a list better than the earlier items. This is often attributed to short-term memory consolidation and is opposite to the primacy effect, where people remember the first items better. The phi phenomenon is an optical illusion where two separate stimuli are perceived as a single stimulus in motion, and the chunking effect is a memory strategy where information is organized into smaller meaningful units to enhance recall.

Question 14

When the sound of the word is the aspect that cannot be retrieved, leaving only the feeling of knowing the word without the ability to pronounce it, this is known as ________.

Accepted Answer

The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon is a memory retrieval failure where the individual is unable to recall a word even though they know the meaning and other details about the word. It is characterized by the feeling of knowing the word without being able to retrieve it, often due to the inability to recall the sound or pronunciation of the word.

Question 15

Janie is taking an exam in her history class. On the exam, there is a question that asks her to state and discuss the five major causes of the Trans-Caspian War. Janie remembers four of them. She knows there is a fifth and can almost remember it; she knows that it starts with a "T." Janie is walking down the stairs, when all of a sudden, she remembers that the fifth point is taxes, but it is too late. Janie was suffering from ________.

Accepted Answer

Janie's experience is a classic example of the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon, which occurs when a person has trouble retrieving a known piece of information even though they feel like they are on the brink of remembering it.

Question 16

The fact that it is easier to recall items at the beginning and end of a list of unrelated items is known as the ________.

Accepted Answer

The serial position effect is the phenomenon in which people are more likely to remember the first and last items in a list, but are less likely to remember the items in the middle. A) The phi phenomenon is an illusion of movement created by a rapid succession of stationary images. B) The implicit memory effect refers to the phenomenon in which previous experiences aid in the performance of a task without conscious awareness of these previous experiences. D) The sequestering effect is not a known psychological phenomenon.

Question 17

False positives occur when a person

Accepted Answer

False positives refer to cases where a witness identifies someone as the perpetrator of a crime when they were not actually involved. This can result in inaccurate eyewitness testimony, leading to potential wrongful convictions. It is not necessarily related to extinction of auditory memories (A), habituation (B), or unconscious motivation (D).

Question 18

When given a list of items to remember, people tend to do better at recalling the first items on the list than the middle of the list. This is known as the ________.

Accepted Answer

The primacy effect refers to the tendency to better remember items at the beginning of a list, while the recency effect refers to better recall of items at the end of a list. The phi phenomenon and chunking effect are not related to the order of recall in a list.

Question 19

The research of Eich and Metcalf would suggest that if you were really happy when you were learning math, you should be ________ when taking the math exam to do well.

Accepted Answer

The research suggests that if you were happy when learning math, that positive emotional state should be helpful when trying to recall the material during an exam. Being calm or nervous may not have a direct impact on performance, whereas being depressed would likely hinder performance.

Question 20

Which of the following pairings would result in the BEST overall memory?

Accepted Answer

Consistency in emotional state during learning and recall has been found to enhance memory retrieval. Being serious during both phases of the memory process can create a stable and consistent emotional state, leading to better memory retention and recall. The other options involve inconsistent or contrasting emotions during different phases, which can hinder memory retrieval.

Quiz 6: Memory