Preview Extract
Module 12—Remembering and Forgetting
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. This module opens with a study of eyewitness testimony of a filmed assailant. Out of 2,000
viewers, how many identified the wrong man in a six-man lineup?
a. 100
b. 250
c. 1,250
d. 1,800
Answer: D
2. Plotnik and Kouyoumdjian begin this module with a scene from a campus mugging. Their
point is to show that:
a. crime is so scary that we are likely to remember every detail
b. crime is a special situation, in which the everyday rules of memory do not apply
c. remembering and forgetting are automatic in dramatic situations like this one
d. remembering and forgetting are not as simple as most people think
Answer: D
3. If you were to sit down at a bare kitchen table and think about what you needed to buy at
the grocery store, you would be using:
a. recognition
b. implicit memory
c. eidetic memory
d. recall
Answer: D
4. A professor is writing a test for his introductory psychology class. He decides that he is
going to assess his students’ recall. What kind of test should he write?
a. essay
b. multiple choice
c. true-false
d. matching
Answer: A
5. The retrieval of previously learned information with the assistance of no or very few
external cues is called:
a. recognition
b. recall
c. eidetiting
d. mnemonizing
Answer: B
6. You hear a new song on the radio and want to tell a friend about it. When speaking with the
friend you talk about the song, but have difficulty actually remembering it. Your friend starts
to hum the song and it helps you remember it. This best illustrates:
a. recognition
b. recall
c. automatic encoding
d. effortful encoding
Answer: A
7. Recognition involves:
a. retrieving previously learned information with no cues present
b. encoding new information to replace previously learned information
c. using external cues to identify information that has been previously learned
d. looking at an image and retaining a detailed visual image for several minutes
Answer: C
8. What form of memory retrieval are you using when answering this multiple-choice
question?
a. recall
b. relearning
c. recognition
d. directed search
Answer: C
9. Cindy does really well when Dr. Barrios gives a multiple-choice exam, but has a lot of
trouble when his exams consist of essay questions. Cindy finds ____ easier than ____.
a. recall; recognition
b. long-term retrieval; short-term retrieval
c. short-term retrieval; long-term retrieval
d. recognition; recall
Answer: D
10. You are watching a spy thriller on television. In the movie, a secret agent is trying to
identify a spy for the other side by looking at some pictures of possible spies. The spy is
using ____ to identify the correct individual.
a. recognition
b. recall
c. proactive interference
d. long-term potentiation
Answer: A
11. Which of the following best demonstrates the difference between recognition and recall?
a. speaking lines in a play versus playing the piano without sheet music
b. multiple-choice exams versus true-false questions
c. picking the assailant out of a lineup versus describing the face of an assailant
d. reporting the color of your socks with your eyes closed versus reciting a poem
Answer: C
12. You are listening to a radio talk show hosted by a psychologist. One of her callers asks
why memories are so hard to retrieve. The psychologist responds, “After memories are
encoded, they are connected in nodes in long-term memory. To find a particular memory, you
must sift through all the nodes until you find the one you want.” This psychologist is
describing the ____ of memory.
a. cognitive theory
b. network theory
c. semantic theory
d. modal model
Answer: B
13. If you believe that memories are stored in nodes that are interconnected, you subscribe to:
a. Miller’s File Theory
b. the psychomnemonic theory of memory
c. the eidetic theory
d. the network theory
Answer: D
14. The best analogy of the network theory of memory organization is:
a. a fabric (associations) made of thousands of threads (nodes) lined up in the same direction
b. a circle that has no starting point (nodes) and no ending point (associations)
c. a refrigerator that has food (nodes) stacked on shelves (associations)
d. a map with cities (nodes) interconnected by roads (associations)
Answer: D
15. According to the network theory of memory, another name for memory files is:
a. points
b. schemas
c. cells
d. nodes
Answer: D
16. In the network theory, nodes are like ____ that are connected.
a. waves in an ocean
b. books in a library
c. cities on a map
d. cars on a highway
Answer: C
17. The network theory proposes that we are capable of “traveling” from node to node
because:
a. action potentials propel us
b. nodes physically touch other nodes in the hippocampus
c. the nodes have been linked together through associations
d. nodes are connected to each other alphabetically
Answer: C
18. If you let your memory flow freely, you will find that one memory triggers another
memory, which triggers another. How would the network theory explain this?
a. Different brain chemicals are associated with different memories.
b. Memories are connected in an enormous cognitive network.
c. Some memories cause interference with others, while those that do not tend to be
associated with each other.
d. The neurons that make up a particular memory become more sensitive to each other’s
signals.
Answer: B
19. How would the network theory of memory explain the time that you thought of baseball,
and in a few seconds you ended up thinking about toothpaste?
a. You were following personal associations, or mental roads, traveling from node to node.
b. There were objects in your present environment related to both baseball and toothpaste.
c. You were randomly sorting through many, many memories.
d. Unfortunately, examples like this are not easily explained by the network theory of
memory.
Answer: A
20. As you are remembering your first day of college, you are searching:
a. in a random way
b. in a linear way from your most recent to your furthest past personal information
c. groups of nodes that are connected by personal associations
d. network hierarchies
Answer: C
21. Network theory relies on the concept of nodes. What is a node?
a. a memory file that contains related information organized around a specific topic
b. the part of the hypothalamus that is responsible for our abilities of recall and recognition
c. a special kind of neurotransmitter released during the retrieval process
d. a mental model of a concept, event, or object, which is based on previous experience
Answer: A
22. Nodes, according to the network theory of memory, are arranged in a:
a. random fashion
b. modular hierarchy
c. network hierarchy
d. cue-based structure
Answer: C
23. The node “dog” would likely be included as a subset of the node:
a. “collie”
b. “spaniel”
c. “mammal”
d. “four legs”
Answer: C
24. Which piece of information would be at the top of a network hierarchy?
a. A dog is an animal.
b. Dogs have fur.
c. My dog’s name is Frosty.
d. A Golden Retriever is a breed of dog.
Answer: A
25. Factual information appears to be organized in:
a. groups of nodes that are connected by personal associations
b. hierarchies with abstract information at the top and concrete information at the bottom
c. random ways
d. a linear way from most-used information to least-used information
Answer: B
26. Which of the following questions is answered by searching groups of nodes that are
linked by personal associations?
a. “What are the names of the Great Lakes?”
b. “What is the capital of North Dakota?”
c. “What was your great-grandfather’s name?”
d. “When was the War of 1812?”
Answer: C
27. A network is made up of:
a. iconic and echoic information
b. thousands of interconnected nodes
c. flashbulb memories
d. interactive memory processes such as encoding, storage, and retrieval
Answer: B
28. Which of the following is the best example of a network hierarchy?
a. local, federal, state, international
b. German Shepherd, mammal, animal, cat
c. species, kingdom, phylum, class, human
d. Earth, Western Hemisphere, North America, Midwest, Iowa
Answer: D
29. According to research cited in Module 12, when you think of an animal, the ____ part of
your brain is very active.
a. front
b. back
c. amygdala
d. temporal lobe
Answer: B
30. Jorge is watching a show on television that describes how to fix car engines. He sees the
host of the show using a specialized tool. Jorge thinks he knows what the tool is called. Based
on the research cited in the module, what part of the brain is showing maximal neural activity
as he thinks of the specialized tool?
a. back of the brain
b. front of the brain
c. brainstem
d. occipital lobe
Answer: B
31. Does the brain have built-in categories for sorting and filing information?
a. No—the brain does not sort and file information based on categories
b. Yes—but the categories are developed through experience
c. Yes—but the brain doesn’t have specific parts for categories
d. Yes—the brain has different areas for different categories
Answer: D
32. In general, the earliest event that we have a memory for occurred when we were:
a. 1 year old
b. 2 1/2 years old
c. 3 1/2 years old
d. 4 years old
Answer: C
33. The two primary reasons why our memory is limited in early life are:
a. limited visual system and limited language skills
b. limited language skills and not having a complete memory circuit in the brain
c. limited motor skills and language skills
d. limited visual system development and underdeveloped auditory cortex
Answer: B
34. High school seniors Meera and Karen are talking about memories. Meera says that she
can remember a song she learned when she was a year old. Karen disagrees and says that’s
not likely. Why?
a. We do not verbally encode before the age of 3 1/2.
b. Memory does not start operating until the age of 3 1/2.
c. A one-year-old’s attention span is so poor that a child that young cannot encode anything.
d. Long-term memory does not exist in children that young.
Answer: A
35. A ____ measures the amount of previously learned information that subjects can recall or
recognize across time.
a. node
b. mnemonic
c. forgetting curve
d. loci
Answer: C
36. The classic forgetting curve that Ebbinghaus described for nonsense syllables has a:
a. rapid downward slope, then levels out and declines gradually
b. slight upward slope, followed by a rapid downward slope
c. series of alternating upward and downward slopes
d. slight decline
Answer: A
37. In order to study memory and forgetting, Hermann Ebbinghaus utilized:
a. mnemonics
b. three-letter nonsense syllables
c. pictures of common objects
d. five-letter words
Answer: B
38. Based upon Ebbinghaus’ research using nonsense syllables, forgetting curves show that
most unfamiliar information is:
a. forgotten within the first hour
b. forgotten within the first eight hours
c. forgotten within the first day
d. forgotten within the first week
Answer: A
39. Based upon forgetting curves, our memory for ____ information is much better than our
memory for ____ information:
a. new; old
b. old; new
c. interesting; uninteresting
d. boring; exciting
Answer: C
40. In one of your classes last week, you were introduced to some material that was very
uninteresting, but you were determined to learn it and you did. That was last week! How
much of the material can you expect to have forgotten according to Ebbinghaus?
a. 80%
b. 65%
c. 40%
d. 15%
Answer: A
41. Wow! The lecture in psychology last week was very interesting. But you wonder how
much of it you’ll remember in seven years. The research says that we forget about ____ of
interesting information.
a. 80%
b. 60%
c. 40%
d. 15%
Answer: C
42. Based on the study of memory of high school classmates, what happens to the accuracy
rate for recognition over 47 years?
a. it remains relatively stable
b. the accuracy rate declines significantly
c. the accuracy rate improves
d. the accuracy rates fluctuates
Answer: A
43. Most students show better memory on ____ tests compared to ____ tests.
a. recognition; recall
b. recall; recognition
c. essay; fill-in-the blank
d. fill-in-the blank; multiple choice
Answer: A
44. Bryce attended his 25-year high school reunion. As he was driving to the reunion, he tried
to remember the names of some of his classmates. This is called ____; at the reunion, he
could remember his classmates when he saw their faces. This is called ____.
a. recognition; recall
b. recall; recognition
c. potentiation; recognition
d. recall; relearning
Answer: B
45. You are helping to plan your family reunion. Ninety-six-year old Grandma Cassie is
helping you to identify long-lost relatives. She remarks that she hasn’t seen some of the
relatives for decades and can’t exactly remember their names. Which of the following
strategies would help Grandma Cassie remember the names of these relatives?
a. Teach Grandma Cassie to use the method of loci to help her with the names.
b. Grandma Cassie should write down all the names she can remember.
c. Show Grandma Cassie some pictures of these relatives.
d. Ask Grandma Cassie to think really hard about these relatives.
Answer: C
46. The inability to retrieve, recall, or recognize information that was stored or is still stored
in long-term memory is called:
a. interference
b. forgetting
c. disuse
d. decoding
Answer: B
47. What name is best associated with repression?
a. Abraham Maslow
b. Edward Tolman
c. Sigmund Freud
d. Carl Rogers
Answer: C
48. Why would a memory be repressed?
a. The memory regularly blocks more important information, so it is put “away” so that it will
not interfere anymore.
b. The memory is incomplete and fragmented due to amnesia.
c. The memory is emotionally threatening or it provokes anxiety.
d. The memory is poorly connected or associated with other information.
Answer: C
49. Much of the controversy surrounding repression involves:
a. the accuracy of eyewitness testimony
b. the accuracy of flashbulb memories
c. recovered memories of sexual abuse
d. the validity of Freud’s theory of personality
Answer: C
50. When the mind pushes some traumatic memory into the unconscious, only to stay there
until it is released, ____ is said to have taken place.
a. regression
b. sublimation
c. repression
d. rationalization
Answer: C
51. A man was convicted of involuntary murder of an elderly woman. The incident took place
while the two were arguing, and the woman suffered a heart attack and died. The man is very
remorseful, but cannot remember anything about the argument. This type of forgetting best
illustrates:
a. regression
b. repression
c. decay
d. consolidation
Answer: B
52. You hear about a woman who was receiving therapy and found out that she had repressed
memories of being sexually abused 20 years ago. Given the information in this module, what
would be the most important question about her case?
a. How completely was the memory repressed?
b. Did the therapist implant or suggest the memory?
c. How old was the woman when she was abused?
d. At what age did the repressed memory occur?
Answer: B
53. Reminders we create in making associations between previously learned information and
newly learned information are called:
a. retrieval cues
b. nodes
c. scripts
d. schemas
Answer: A
54. Studying by cramming or rote memory tends to:
a. facilitate encoding
b. create temporary retrieval cues
c. create poor retrieval cues
d. create adequate retrieval cues
Answer: C
55. Professor Wallace, who is notorious for her essay exams, was approached by a student
who asked to retake the exam, but in a different form such as multiple choice. The student
claimed that he knew and understood the material and he could demonstrate it better on a
multiple-choice exam. Why would he make such a claim?
a. Essay tests require the student to study more.
b. Performance on retrieval-based tests tends to be better than that on recall-based tests.
c. Essay tests are more difficult, since there can be more than one right answer.
d. Tests of recognition, like a multiple choice test, are more difficult than essay tests.
Answer: B
56. The reason that suggests that people forget information because other information gets in
the way and blocks its retrieval is called:
a. schema confusion
b. network overload
c. interference
d. eidetic imagery
Answer: C
57. You are creating a website to describe interference. What would be the most appropriate
website name?
a. www.retrieval.com
b. www.amnesia.com
c. www.emotion.edu
d. www.block.edu
Answer: D
58. “I’ve moved so many times in the last five years, I get confused trying to remember all
my phone numbers. I don’t have any problems remembering my current phone number, but
all the others are hard to remember.” This most clearly illustrates:
a. repression
b. interference
c. regression
d. memory specificity
Answer: B
59. Harry can’t remember anything that happened after he was taken prisoner and tortured
during the war. Harry is suffering from:
a. Alzheimer’s disease
b. Korsakoff’s syndrome
c. amnesia
d. interference
Answer: C
60. If memory loss follows a blow or damage to the brain, the person is suffering from:
a. amnesia
b. Korsakoff’s syndrome
c. Wernicke’s aphasia
d. interference
Answer: A
61. On the second day of class, you can’t remember your psychology professor’s name. In
fact, you have difficulty remembering your other professors’ names. If this is an example of
interference, where are those memories?
a. The memories are still stored in long-term memory.
b. The memories no longer exist.
c. The memories are located in the nodes between sensory memory and short-term memory.
d. The memories are located in the primary memory cache of working memory.
Answer: A
62. When old information interferes with information that we are trying to learn, ____ is
occurring.
a. selective attention
b. proactive interference
c. repression
d. retroactive interference
Answer: B
63. Lena has started to watch a video at Tina’s house. Lena says that she saw the movie last
month. She tries to anticipate the next scene or what a character will say, but she is wrong and
says, “Maybe I’m getting this movie confused with another movie I saw last year.” Lena is
most likely experiencing:
a. long-term potentiation
b. repression
c. proactive interference
d. retroactive interference
Answer: C
64. “When my grandmother was alive, she used to call me Gerald, who was her cousin, and
my name is not Gerald.” Grandmother was experiencing:
a. selective attention
b. proactive interference
c. repression
d. retroactive interference
Answer: B
65. This semester you are taking psychology; last semester you took sociology and did well.
Now, sociological terms are interfering with your memory of psychological terms. This
illustrates:
a. primary interference
b. secondary interference
c. retroactive interference
d. proactive interference
Answer: D
66. An anthropology professor prides herself in her ability to remember the names of her
students, past and present. However, she finds that the longer she is in the profession, the
harder it becomes to remember the names of present students, because they become confused
with her past students. The professor is having trouble because of:
a. selective forgetting
b. failure to encode
c. retroactive interference
d. proactive interference
Answer: D
67. Todd runs into Sarah, his former girlfriend. Oh no! He can’t remember her name and calls
her Robin, the name of his current girlfriend. What type of interference did Todd just
experience?
a. primary interference
b. secondary interference
c. retroactive interference
d. proactive interference
Answer: C
68. This semester you are taking psychology and doing well; last semester you took
sociology and did well. However, you don’t remember much about sociology because of:
a. primary interference
b. secondary interference
c. retroactive interference
d. proactive interference
Answer: C
69. If you get up in the morning remembering a wonderful dream, only to forget it as you go
about the day’s activities, you’ve experienced:
a. retroactive interference
b. secondary interference
c. primary interference
d. proactive interference
Answer: A
70. “I know all of my students’ names this semester. But I would have a hard time
remembering many of the names from past semesters.” This illustrates:
a. primary interference
b. secondary interference
c. retroactive interference
d. proactive interference
Answer: C
71. Proactive interference is to ____ as retroactive interference is to ____.
a. primary; secondary
b. encode; retrieval
c. forward; backward
d. backward; forward
Answer: C
72. Mental reminders that are created when you form vivid mental images of information are
called:
a. retrieval cues
b. echoic devices
c. pegword cues
d. processing distractions
Answer: A
73. Mary uses numerous different colors when she takes notes in her psychology class. If she
has difficulty with a question on an exam, she finds it helpful to remember the color of the
notes relevant to the question. For Mary, the color of the notes acts as a(n):
a. retrieval cue
b. echoic device
c. pegword cue
d. processing distraction
Answer: A
74. The Mall of America labels their parking lots with the names of states. Why?
a. It facilitates state-dependent learning.
b. It is a marketing gimmick to get people excited about shopping at the Mall of America.
c. The state names are retrieval cues that help people remember where they parked.
d. To honor the different states.
Answer: C
75. Given the research on retrieval cues, which of the following statements are you more
likely to remember?
a. “The warm breeze greeted the campers as they set up their tent.”
b. “The dog barked loudly, calling for his master.”
c. “Flowers this time of year cast a magical glow.”
d. “My car laughed as the grape Jell-O bowled a perfect game.”
Answer: D
76. Research on retrieval cues has found that it is the ____ of associations that leads to
improved recall of events or information.
a. bizarreness
b. detail
c. number
d. strength
Answer: A
77. “Oh, I know the answer to this question. I can just feel it. Don’t say it. Oh, come on. I
know it.” If you have ever experienced this, then you are familiar with:
a. proactive interference
b. primary interference
c. tip-of-the tongue phenomenon
d. source misattribution
Answer: C
78. According to the text, the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon results from:
a. nodes that are misaligned
b. inadequate retrieval cues or interference
c. amnesia
d. misfirings in the nerves that make up the hippocampus
Answer: B
79. We tend to experience the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon when trying to name:
a. people and objects
b. emotional states
c. verbs
d. locations and directions
Answer: A
80. Dr. Wilson cannot remember the name of her advisor when she was in medical school 30
years ago. She “knows” that she knows his name, and makes a great effort, but just can’t
remember. Dr. Wilson is experiencing:
a. state-dependent learning
b. the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
c. repression
d. proactive interference
Answer: B
81. “What’s that thing called? Oh, I know it! What is it? Come on, this is ridiculous.” This
experience is often called the:
a. tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
b. competing responses style
c. amnesia
d. memory-cognitive hesitation syndrome
Answer: A
82. In her geography class, Kelli is asked by the teacher to name the capital of Michigan.
Kelli experiences the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon. What is the best explanation for the tipof-the-tongue phenomenon?
a. Underlying the tip of the tongue is source misattribution.
b. Kelli failed to encode using state-dependent learning.
c. The information was encoded using inadequate retrieval cues.
d. The answer was repressed.
Answer: C
83. “If I take my psychology exam in this classroom, then I should study in this classroom.”
This would be consistent with the idea of:
a. source misattribution
b. state-dependent learning
c. levels of processing
d. nondeclarative memory
Answer: B
84. You should be in the same physiological state during retrieval of information as you were
when learning the information. This is called:
a. latent-dependent learning
b. law of cues
c. encoding-retrieval similarity
d. state-dependent learning
Answer: D
85. Allison is learning Spanish, but she hates it. When she is in her Spanish classes, she is
always unhappy. The phenomenon of state-dependent learning would suggest that she would
show better recall of Spanish words if she:
a. was in a better mood
b. was in an unhappy mood
c. could block out the proactive interference
d. developed adequate retrieval cues
Answer: B
86. According to state-dependent learning, being in the same emotional state during encoding
and retrieving helps recall. This suggests:
a. encoding is facilitated by strong emotions
b. retrieval is facilitated by strong emotions
c. retrieval cues include emotional states
d. elaborative rehearsal is tied to emotional states
Answer: C
87. “I am always so ‘hyper’ when I study, since I drink a lot of pop. During exams, I don’t
have caffeine and I try to relax so I can concentrate.” According to state-dependent learning,
this student might consider:
a. being in the same emotional state during studying and test taking
b. cutting down on pop, because of dependency
c. rethinking his relaxation during tests, because sometimes it is best to be “psyched” for a
test
d. studying earlier in the day to take advantage of his natural circadian rhythms
Answer: A
88. Our short-term memory abilities are a function of activity in the:
a. hippocampus
b. amygdala
c. cortex
d. occipital lobe
Answer: C
89. Peter sustains damage to his cortex due to a car accident. What can we expect will be the
changes to his memory?
a. Peter will have great difficulty with both short- and long-term memory.
b. Peter will be able to remember new memories, but not old memories.
c. Peter will be able to remember nondeclarative memory, but not declarative memory.
d. Peter’s memory will be largely unaffected.
Answer: A
90. If your cortex was damaged, you could not:
a. experience echoic memory
b. transfer information from short-term memory to long-term memory
c. control your heart rate
d. hold information in short-term memory
Answer: D
91. Before the accident, Clive enjoyed singing and playing the piano. Because of the brain
damage, he cannot learn new songs. Why would he remember old songs, but fail to learn new
ones?
a. Since his cortex is damaged, information like songs cannot be transferred into short-term
memory.
b. The words of the songs learned before the accident were already safely stored throughout
his cortex.
c. Brain damage often reduces one’s motivation for new learning.
d. The accident probably damaged his brainstem, thus preventing new songs from being
stored in his hippocampus.
Answer: B
92. Your cousin’s amygdala was seriously damaged in a car accident. Which of the following
is most likely to happen with her memory?
a. She will still have memories, but they will not have an emotional component.
b. Surprisingly, her ability to use the method of loci will improve.
c. She will be unable to transfer information from short-term to long-term memory.
d. Her photographic memory is likely to disappear.
Answer: A
93. Our memories can evoke emotional experiences due, in part, to the activity of the:
a. cortex
b. hippocampus
c. frontal lobe
d. amygdala
Answer: D
94. On your way to school every morning, you observe a dog that always walks on the busy
street, seemingly without fear or concern. Today, after learning about the biological bases of
memory, you offer an explanation for the dog’s carefree behavior:
a. the dog’s amygdala is damaged and is malfunctioning
b. counterconditioning is responsible for the behavior
c. chemical changes have taken place in the dog’s nervous system
d. more neurotransmitters are released in the nervous system of the dog when it walks on the
street
Answer: A
95. You are reading a case study of a patient with damage to the amygdala caused by a virus.
Given your knowledge of memory and the brain, you’re not surprised to find out later in the
case that the memories of the individual have:
a. lost their emotional impact to the individual
b. become more emotional
c. become more visually vivid
d. gained a fantasy quality to them
Answer: A
96. Gabe and Anna have been married for 10 years. During a drive in the country, they both
hear “their song” on the radio. They then talk about their wonderful lives together. Which part
of the brain provides this emotional dimension to their memories?
a. cortex
b. amygdala
c. frontal lobe
d. hippocampus
Answer: B
97. A friend asks you to describe a horror movie you recently saw. As you tell her about the
movie, you remember the face of one of the characters as he confronts the monster. Which
part of your brain is especially active as you experience the emotional dimension of your
memory?
a. corpus callosum
b. frontal lobe
c. amygdala
d. thalamus
Answer: C
98. Damage to the ____ area of the brain appears to prevent the transfer of information from
short-term into long-term memory.
a. consolidation
b. amygdala
c. cortex
d. hippocampus
Answer: D
99. The hippocampus is crucial for memories involving:
a. declarative information
b. short-term memory
c. procedural information
d. motor-skill abilities
Answer: A
100. Steven has a damaged hippocampus. What is he most likely to successfully learn and
remember?
a. the latest computer operating system
b. his new cell phone number
c. how to juggle three balls
d. the name of his new son-in-law
Answer: C
101. Which of the following areas of the brain appears to be most related to memory storage?
a. cerebellum
b. medulla
c. hippocampus
d. hypothalamus
Answer: C
102. People with damage to the hippocampus:
a. cannot save any declarative memories into long-term memory
b. can save declarative memories
c. cannot save nondeclarative memories
d. can save memories of performing motor skills
Answer: A
103. Recent research shows that the hippocampus is involved in memory, but not:
a. transferring memory into long-term memory
b. recalling remote personal events
c. storing memories
d. transferring declarative memories into long-term memory
Answer: B
104. You are reading the case of an individual whose hippocampus was damaged. As you are
reading the case, you are correctly anticipating that this person will have difficulty with:
a. retrieving echoic memory
b. storing iconic memory
c. recalling remote personal events
d. transferring declarative memories into long-term memory
Answer: D
105. In examining the mechanisms of memory, researchers have found that during the
formation of memories:
a. the chemical gates of a neuron are always closed
b. neurons secrete fewer neurotransmitters
c. neurons remain inactive
d. neurons form new connections
Answer: D
106. As information is stored in short-term memory, our nervous system uses interconnected
groups of neurons called:
a. neuronal nodes
b. neural assemblies
c. hierarchical assemblies
d. dendrite clusters
Answer: B
107. When we repeat a phone number, ____ are activated that recognize and hold the phone
number in short-term memory.
a. neuronal nodes
b. hierarchical assemblies
c. neural assemblies
d. cortex networks
Answer: C
108. Researchers believe that permanently storing information in long-term memory involves
chemical, functional, and ____ changes.
a. biological
b. structural
c. social
d. classical
Answer: B
109. Why do memory researchers use sea slugs for research?
a. They are in plentiful supply.
b. Sea slugs have very large cell bodies in their neurons.
c. They have only 20,000 neurons.
d. They lack a peripheral nervous system.
Answer: C
110. If a neuron becomes more connected to other neurons after it has been repeatedly
stimulated, ____is said to have occurred.
a. amplified potentiation
b. linear activation
c. spread of activation
d. long-term potentiation
Answer: D
111. What happens when you repeat someone’s name over and over?
a. amplified potentiation occurs
b. LTP in the hypothalamus is reduced
c. the structure of LTP changes
d. some neurons grow and create new connections with other neurons
Answer: D
112. What does LTP do?
a. it increases the ability to use visual retrieval cues
b. it changes the structure and function of neurons
c. it increases the release of endorphins in the nervous system
d. it creates false memories
Answer: B
113. Neuron A says to Neuron B, “Boy, I think I’ve had long-term potentiation happen to me
for that historical date, 1776.” Neuron B asks, “So. What does that mean?” Neuron A replies:
a. “I’ve become so much more in touch with my neighbor neurons.”
b. “I will stop functioning if I hear that date again.”
c. “The historical date causes me to shed my myelin sheath.”
d. “I’ve become more likely to send inhibitory messages when I hear a similar piece of
information.”
Answer: A
114. A new science fiction book you’re reading describes an evil country wanting to take over
the rest of the world by preventing their enemies from forming new long-term memories.
How would you do it?
a. putting a chemical into the water supply that destroys the amygdala
b. devise a propaganda plan that would introduce source misattribution
c. preventing state-dependent learning from occurring
d. putting a drug into the water supply that prevents long-term potentiation
Answer: D
115. Violet has to learn the colors of the visual spectrum for science class. Erv tells her that
the name “ROY G. BIV” can be used to remember them, because each letter stands for a
color (e.g., R = Red). Using ROY G. BIV to remember the colors of the spectrum is an
example of:
a. a retrieval node
b. a mnemonic
c. a semantic network
d. the method of loci
Answer: B
116. Methods that help encode and recall information through associations and images are
called:
a. storage cues
b. proactive devices
c. semantic cues
d. mnemonics
Answer: D
117. A technique for creating visual associations between memorized places and items to be
memorized is called:
a. eidetic imagery
b. the method of loci
c. the peg theory
d. proactive rehearsal
Answer: B
118. A man memorizes a shopping list by imagining where each item would be found in his
local supermarket. He is using:
a. the hierarchy method
b. the elaboration method
c. the method of loci
d. the peg method
Answer: C
119. Suppose you had to remember the 10 most important battles of the Civil War in the order
that they occurred. Which of the following ways would likely be most effective?
a. chunking
b. repression
c. selective attention
d. method of loci
Answer: D
120. In a famous case, a Russian man with a fantastic memory would remember the order of
lists of numbers by mentally placing the numbers in familiar spots on Gorky Street in his
hometown and then mentally walking down the street when he had to retrieve them. The
Russian man’s way of remembering is closest to the:
a. method of loci
b. peg method
c. chunking technique
d. selective attention method
Answer: A
121. What is the mnemonic called that uses associations between number-word rhymes and
the items to be memorized?
a. selective encoding
b. chunking method
c. peg method
d. method of loci
Answer: C
122. The peg method is a mnemonic encoding technique that creates:
a. visual associations between memorized places and items to be memorized
b. associations between number-word rhymes and items to be memorized
c. larger groups out of individual items
d. more effective sensory memory
Answer: B
123. A person memorizing a set of number-word rhymes on which other ideas to be
memorized can be hung would be using which mnemonic device?
a. peg method
b. method of loci
c. chunking
d. selective attention
Answer: A
124. Rolando wants to memorize a list of items to take on a camping trip. He uses “Four is a
door” to remember the fourth item, imagining a sleeping bag up against the door. Rolando is
using:
a. the rhyme-word system
b. the peg method
c. elaboration
d. the method of loci
Answer: B
125. According to the textbook, memory-enhancing drugs such as ginkgo:
a. can improve verbal, but not visual memory
b. can improve visual, but not verbal memory
c. can improve memory, but only in mice
d. have not been found to improve memory in healthy adults
Answer: D
126. _______ memory involves knowledge of specific events, personal experiences, or
activities, such as naming or describing favorite restaurants, movies, songs, habits, or
hobbies.
a. Autobiographical
b. Contextual
c. Episodic
d. Procedural
Answer: C
127. Which of the following is the overall conclusion, based on three different studies of the
memories of Asian and Euro-American participants described in the text?
a. Asians, due to their collectivist cultures, are more oriented toward procedural memories
than Euro-Americans.
b. Asians, due to their individualistic cultures, are more oriented toward autobiographical
memories than Euro-Americans.
c. Asians may perceive the world as having more discrete events, and therefore recall more
episodic memories than Euro-Americans.
d. Asians may perceive the world as having fewer discrete events, and therefore recall fewer
episodic memories than Euro-Americans.
Answer: D
128. The only research method available to researchers studying sexual activity in
adolescents is:
a. the survey method
b. naturalistic observation
c. the case study
d. the archival data method
Answer: A
129. You are reading an article online about a survey examining sexual behavior in
adolescents. Based upon Module 12, what is the most serious concern you have about the
survey’s validity?
a. the wording of the questions
b. the sample size
c. the accuracy of adolescents to remember their sexual behavior
d. state-dependent memory
Answer: C
130. In her study on adolescent sexual behavior, Rosenbaum found that
a. adolescents accurately predict their sexual behavior in the future
b. only those who took virginity pledges had accurate memories of their sexual experiences
c. virginity pledges are highly effective in delaying sexual behavior
d. many adolescents change their memories of their sexual experiences
Answer: D
131. According to Rosenthal, why do adolescents often change their answers over time to
questions about their sexual activity?
a. They typically don’t trust the adult researchers.
b. Their beliefs may have changed over time.
c. They don’t want to appear sexually inexperienced.
d. They don’t want to appear to be too sexually active.
Answer: B
132. When Sarah was 14 years old, she took a virginity pledge. Now, four years later, she has
had sexual intercourse. Based on the study by Rosenbaum, what would be a typical response
by Sarah regarding her sexual activity?
a. She was serious about the pledge and has much guilt about breaking it.
b. She readily dismisses the virginity pledge, confessing she really wasn’t serious about it at
the time.
c. She denies ever having made the virginity pledge.
d. She regrets ever having made the virginity pledge, but doesn’t feel guilty about it.
Answer: C
133. If you take a survey on your past political views, your responses are likely to reflect
your:
a. gender
b. past experiences
c. current beliefs
d. level of education
Answer: C
134. Out of 289 people who were wrongly convicted of rape or murder, how many of them
were due to mistaken eyewitness testimony?
a. about 15%
b. about 40%
c. about 75%
d. about 90%
Answer: C
135. We tend to better recognize faces of our own race rather than faces of other races. This is
called:
a. self-referent bias
b. racial attribution
c. own-race bias
d. racial bias attribution error
Answer: C
136. You and a friend are sitting in the dorm watching a televised trial. A witness currently on
the stand repeats several times that he saw the defendant leaving the murder scene and that he
is sure. Your friend comments, “Well, that about does it. If he says the defendant did it and is
confident about it, then that’s it!” What do you say?
a. “Eyewitness testimony is very reliable.”
b. “Accuracy of an eyewitness is usually very high.”
c. “Confidence of an eyewitness is strongly related to accuracy of the testimony.”
d. “Don’t be so quick. There is a weak relationship between confidence of the eyewitness and
the accuracy of the testimony.”
Answer: D
137. Studies of eyewitness testimony have shown:
a. a close relationship exists between confidence and accuracy
b. eyewitnesses become more accurate if they are expected to be accurate
c. eyewitnesses stick stubbornly to stories even when it is proven that the stories must be
false
d. little relationship exists between confidence and accuracy
Answer: D
138. A witness of a bank robbery is asked if she remembers the bank manager wearing a tie.
If she is influenced by the question, it is likely the witness will:
a. say yes, because male bank managers usually wear ties
b. say no, because there was too much going on to remember such a detail
c. say yes, and add the color of the tie
d. say she is not sure
Answer: A
139. You want a witness to testify that he saw a stop sign at the scene of an accident when, in
fact, no such sign exists. Which of the following questions would be most effective?
a. “Did you see a stop sign at the intersection?”
b. “Are you sure you didn’t see a stop sign?”
c. “How fast was the white car going when it went through the stop sign?”
d. “Are there many stop signs in that neighborhood?”
Answer: C
140. A novice lawyer is about to question her first witness. Before the trial begins, an
experienced partner in the law firm tells the novice to choose her verbs carefully when asking
questions. The partner’s advice is:
a. based on the finding that memory can be influenced by the nature of a question
b. common sense for impressing the jury, but does not affect the nature of the witness’s
answers
c. of little value, since eyewitness reports are firmly set in memory and cannot be
manipulated
d. based on the belief that juries and judges listen more critically to the words of a female
lawyer
Answer: A
141. The wording of a question:
a. is usually ignored when people are trying to think of the answer to the question
b. is rarely remembered after a question has been answered
c. can influence the reporting of eyewitness testimony
d. can only cause a witness to be more confident in his or her answer
Answer: C
142. ____ can occur when a person cannot decide if a memory came from one source or
another source.
a. Source conflict
b. Source misattribution
c. Cognitive labeling
d. Memory loci
Answer: B
143. When Tanner looks at a picture taken 40 years ago of his brother and himself sitting on
Santa Claus’ lap, he claims he remembers the event. But, what if the reason why he
remembers it is because of the picture itself? Or does he have a true memory of his visit with
Santa Claus? This is called:
a. source conflict
b. memory loci
c. cognitive labeling
d. source misattribution
Answer: D
144. The cognitive interview is a technique used to:
a. reconstruct memories about crimes
b. assess the capacity of short-term memory
c. block out retroactive interference
d. prevent anterograde amnesia
Answer: A
145. Mr. Nguyen witnesses a bank robbery. During the investigation, he was asked to report
everything he remembered, without holding back anything. He also was asked to describe the
crime from several viewpoints. The technique used to record Mr. Nguyen’s statement is
called:
a. free association
b. memory-retrieval association
c. a cognitive interview
d. source attribution
Answer: C
146. An outcome of using the cognitive interview technique is that an eyewitness is:
a. more likely to reconstruct memories about the incident
b. less likely to be influenced by the questions and therefore not likely to experience source
misattribution
c. likely to block out prior information that may have been influential
d. more likely to experience state-dependent memory
Answer: B
147. In a recent study, subjects who were given the drug propranolol were less likely to
experience:
a. memories of pleasant events
b. intense anxiety and fear when looking at pictures of spiders
c. confusion when doing complex math problems
d. success in recalling flashbulb memories
Answer: B
148. How does the drug propranolol, which is commonly used to treat high blood pressure,
affect memory?
a. It facilitates long-term potentiation.
b. It prevents information from being exchanged between the two hemispheres across the
corpus callosum
c. The drug affects brain cells in the amygdala.
d. It reduces activity in the hippocampus.
Answer: C
149. Propranolol may be a promising drug to treat people with painful traumatic memories.
What accounts for the drug’s promise?
a. it increases the production of endorphins
b. it stimulates the endocrine system
c. it removes inhibition
d. it removes the fear associated with these memories
Answer: D
TRUE/FALSE
1. Multiple choice tests require recognition.
Answer: True
2. According to the network theory, memories are stored in long-term potentiations.
Answer: False
3. A network hierarchy describes how memories are arranged.
Answer: True
4. Ebbinghaus found that the forgetting curve for nonsense syllables was rapid at first.
Answer: True
5. After 47 years following high school graduation, subjects’ recall rate of classmates was
below 20%.
Answer: False
6. Repression occurs when we act in a way consistent with an earlier developmental stage.
Answer: False
7. In proactive interference, new memories are interfering with old memories.
Answer: False
8. Retroactive interference involves interference that goes from new to old.
Answer: True
9. We can create retrieval cues by making associations with what we are learning and what
we already know.
Answer: True
10. The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon most often occurs with procedural memories.
Answer: False
11. The more bizarre the association, the better our memory will be.
Answer: True
12. It is easier to remember information if you are in the same emotional state as when you
originally encoded that information.
Answer: True
13. Damage to the hypothalamus would negatively affect memory for nondeclarative
information.
Answer: False
14. LTP changes the structure and function of neurons.
Answer: True
15. The method of loci creates associations between number-word rhymes.
Answer: False
16. Your memories of past experiences are not influenced by your current beliefs.
Answer: False
17. Rosenbaum found that adolescents who took a virginity pledge but later had sexual
intercourse were likely to deny having made the pledge in the first place.
Answer: True
18. Culture appears to have no effect on the encoding and recall of information.
Answer: False
19. Eyewitness testimony is accurate and reliable.
Answer: False
20. People can recognize faces of their own race better than faces of other races.
Answer: True
21. The more confident an eyewitness is, the more accurate their memory.
Answer: False
22. Misinformation can be introduced by the wording of questions.
Answer: True
23. A cognitive interview is not effective in questioning eyewitnesses.
Answer: False
24. The fear associated with painful memories can be removed by using the drug propranolol.
Answer: True
25. New drugs have been developed that actually erase memories.
Answer: False
Test Bank for Introduction to Psychology
Rod Plotnik, Haig Kouyoumdjian
9781133939535, 9781305008113, 9781285061306
