Deck 7: Information Processing

Question 1

"Knowing about knowing" is called

A) automaticity.
B) metacognition.
C) strategy construction.
D) encoding.

Answer 1

metacognition.

Question 2

A recent meta-analysis shows that processing speed begins to decline during

A) late childhood.
B) adolescence.
C) early adulthood.
D) middle adulthood.

Answer 2

early adulthood.

Question 3

Lane is learning to recognize lowercase letters. He is able to do this by ignoring the fact that some lowercase letters do not look like their uppercase counterparts. This is an example of

A) decoding.
B) encoding.
C) automaticity.
D) memory.

Answer 3

encoding.

Question 4

Siegler argues that children learn to use what they have learned in the past to adapt their responses to new situations. This is known as

A) automaticity.
B) the microgenetic method.
C) self-modification.
D) encoding.

Question 5

What is the process by which information gets into memory?

A) encoding
B) attention
C) thinking
D) automaticity

Question 6

Which of the following statements is correct?

A) The decline in processing speed begins in adolescence.
B) The processing speed is constant through our childhood and adolescence.
C) Health and exercise can slow the decline in processing speed.
D) Continued driving during late adulthood can improve processing speed.

Question 7

The information-processing approach to cognitive development is concerned mainly with

A) the influence of culture on development.
B) how people encode, manipulate, monitor, and create strategies to manage information.
C) how people store information in memory and the order in which they access it for future tasks.
D) the influence of biology and evolution on an individual's development.

Question 8

Dallas no longer has to think about each letter in a word as he is reading. This skill is becoming more automatic, because Dallas

A) practices reading.
B) memorizes every story he reads.
C) focuses his attention.
D) is fully conscious of the process while reading.

Question 9

Which of the following influences what we can do with information according to the information-processing approach?

A) information-processing speed
B) the cognitive developmental stage the child is in
C) the microgenetic method that is used
D) whether the child has developed metacognitive abilities

Question 10

Which processes are required for effective information processing?

A) metacognition and metamemory
B) thought and behavior
C) attention, memory, and thinking
D) encoding, memory, and emotion

Question 11

Stacy is vigilant in watching her baby for any change in her breathing. This is an example of _____ attention.

A) executive
B) selective
C) divided
D) sustained

Question 12

Tim is learning about Roman numerals. He _____ the relevant fact that the symbols 5 and V represent the same numerical value and _____ the irrelevant differences in their shape.

A) remembers; forgets
B) encodes; ignores
C) thinks about; remembers
D) processes; attends to

Question 13

Which of the following may help older adults slow down the decline in processing speed?

A) health
B) exercise
C) health and exercise
D) whether one continues to drive in late adulthood

Question 14

In Schaie's Seattle Longitudinal Study, processing speed began to decline in

A) adolescence.
B) early adulthood.
C) middle adulthood.
D) late adulthood.

Question 15

Which of the following statements accurately describes processing speed?

A) Processing speed decreases dramatically across the childhood years.
B) Processing speed increases dramatically across the childhood years.
C) Processing speed begins declining in adolescence.
D) Processing speed peaks in late adulthood.

Question 16

According to Siegler, which three mechanisms work together to create changes in children's cognitive skills?

A) attention, memory, and thinking
B) assimilation, accommodation, and thinking
C) encoding, decoding, and recall
D) encoding, automaticity, and strategy construction

Question 17

Learning to drive a car requires deliberate coordination of mental processes but eventually becomes nearly effortless. This is the concept of

A) encoding.
B) metacognition.
C) automaticity.
D) strategy construction.

Question 18

Attention in infancy to the "what" and "where" are examples of a(n) _____ process.

A) orientating/investigative
B) executive attention
C) divided attention
D) joint attention

Question 19

The cognitive developmental theories of Vygotsky, Piaget, and information processing share a focus on how people

A) think.
B) behave.
C) interact.
D) mature biologically.

Question 20

The creation of a new procedure for processing information is

A) encoding.
B) automaticity.
C) strategy construction.
D) metacognition.

Question 21

Baby Emily and her mother often engage in joint attention. Emily will most likely do which of the following?

A) develop an attention deficit disorder
B) have shorter long-term memory than her age peers
C) say her first word earlier than her age peers
D) develop a narrow vocabulary

Question 22

Mandler's main criticism of the Rovee-Collier studies on infant memory is that

A) these infants display only implicit memory.
B) the kicking was a reflex and shows no evidence of memory.
C) these infants were merely excited to see the stimuli, without having remembered anything.
D) these infants display only explicit memory.

Question 23

Ruth is listening to her teacher while ignoring the noise coming from a nearby classroom. Her attention allocation is

A) sustained.
B) selective.
C) divided.
D) habituated.

Question 24

Rob is listening to Katie's anecdote amidst the loud music and laughter of many others at the party. This is an example of _____ attention.

A) executive
B) selective
C) divided
D) sustained

Question 25

Older adults are frequently characterized as unsafe drivers. Declining driving skills is correlated to an apparent decrease in

A) executive attention.
B) sustained attention.
C) divided attention.
D) visual attention.

Question 26

What are the three processes required for memory?

A) sensation, perception, behavior
B) reception, decoding, storage
C) encoding, storage, retrieval
D) input, storage, output

Question 27

Planning, monitoring, and attending to goals are examples of _____ attention.

A) executive
B) selective
C) divided
D) sustained

Question 28

One-year-old Harry's mother looks outside at a large dog passing by. Harry notices that his mother is looking at the dog, and starts to look at the dog, too. This is an example of

A) joint attention.
B) selective attention.
C) habituation.
D) divided attention.

Question 29

According to schema theory, people

A) mold memories to fit information that already exists in their minds.
B) store information as is without distortion.
C) remember only what is salient to them.
D) have a finite amount of brain storage space and must "weed out" old information to store new information.

Question 30

Monica rotates the presentation of her infant's toys every few minutes, because she doesn't want him to become bored or

A) dishabituated.
B) habituated.
C) divided in his attention.
D) overstimulated.

Question 31

Young children advance in executive attention and sustained attention due, in part, to advances in which of the following, according to Rothbart and Gartstein (2008)?

A) fine and gross motor skills
B) dramatic increase in information processing speed
C) comprehension and language
D) stability in information processing speed

Question 32

The Rovee-Collier (1987, 2007) studies in which infants kicked to try to move a familiar mobile, but not an unfamiliar one, indicates that young infants

A) can imitate actions.
B) can retain detailed memory.
C) can transfer kicking actions to different contexts.
D) can remember the general situation, but not the details.

Question 33

Joint attention requires all of the following EXCEPT

A) an ability to track another's behavior.
B) verbal dialog between the two parties.
C) one person directing another's attention.
D) reciprocal interaction.

Question 34

The retention of information over time is referred to as

A) strategy construction.
B) encoding.
C) memory.
D) attention.

Question 35

At a family reunion, Uncle Joe told a story about his childhood. Which of the following statements is most likely TRUE?

A) His story is accurate, as if he had taken an exact photograph of the event.
B) His story will be identical to his older brother's recollection.
C) He stores and retrieves information about the event in a computer-like way.
D) His story presents a somewhat distorted impression of the event.

Question 36

Research shows that

A) even fetuses before birth show a limited type of memory.
B) newborns right after birth show the earliest signs of memory.
C) infants do not show any sign of memory until after 2 months of age.
D) infants do not show any sign of memory until after 6 months of age.

Question 37

A Police officer visits Laura's preschool class to discuss safety rules. To attract the children's attention, the officer brings balloons. Later, Laura tells her parents about the police officer and the balloons but can't remember any of the discussed safety rules. Laura

A) paid more attention to what was salient.
B) paid more attention to what was relevant.
C) was habituated to the information.
D) was dishabituated to the information.

Question 38

Which of the following statements characterizes the schema theory of memory?

A) People store and retrieve bits of data much as a computer.
B) We reconstruct our memories to fit the schema already in our minds.
C) Memories are like talking photographs.
D) Memory encoding is 100 percent accurate. Retrieval can be false.

Question 39

In which of the following areas is preschool children's control of attention deficient?

A) planfulness
B) joint attention
C) implicit memory
D) explicit memory

Question 40

Jon listens to his favorite CD while studying for tomorrow's exam. This is an example of _____ attention.

A) salient
B) selective
C) divided
D) sustained

Question 41

While reading a book for literature class, Kelly tried to relate to the character's struggles and note how they are similar and different from her own life so that she can remember the events in the book better. Kelly is using the ______ strategy.

A) rehearsal.
B) imagery.
C) elaboration.
D) repetition.

Question 42

"I had my first vacation to Manhattan, New York, in 1949, and stayed at the Casablanca Hotel," says Mabel, who is 77 years old. This is an example of

A) semantic memory.
B) implicit memory.
C) visuospatial working memory.
D) episodic memory.

Question 43

Eighty-year-old Kathleen, who is healthy, will show a steady decline in:

A) implicit and semantic memory.
B) implicit and episodic memory.
C) working memory and processing speed.
D) procedural and working memory.

Question 44

While Leah makes decisions and solves problems on a science experiment, she is manipulating and assembling new information. The manipulation and assembling of new information uses

A) short-term memory.
B) long-term memory.
C) working memory.
D) rehearsal.

Question 45

While studying for a history exam, Michael finds it easier to recall details if he creates a mental picture relating to the information he is reviewing. What memory strategy is he using?

A) rehearsal
B) elaboration
C) organization
D) imagery

Question 46

On a short-term memory task, Trent recalls eight digits, whereas his 6-year-old younger brother, Hunter, remembered only four. According to recent research, if the speed of repetition were controlled, Hunter would

A) remember more digits than Trent.
B) still remember fewer digits than Trent.
C) remember the same number of digits as Trent.
D) remember fewer digits than other adults.

Question 47

John does not remember much from his first 3 years of life. This is the phenomenon of

A) lapse of implicit memory.
B) infantile amnesia.
C) early signs of dementia.
D) limited memory span.

Question 48

Devon recalls details of his seventh birthday party. What type of memory is he using?

A) semantic memory
B) working memory
C) explicit memory
D) implicit memory

Question 49

The conscious memory of facts and experiences referred to as

A) explicit memory.
B) implicit memory.
C) semantic memory.
D) procedural memory.

Question 50

Memory of skills and routines performed without conscious recollection is known as

A) explicit memory.
B) implicit memory.
C) episodic memory.
D) semantic memory.

Question 51

Jinni finds certain concepts from her human development class easy to remember, because she is able to associate the information with many of her own childhood experiences. What memory strategy is she using?

A) rehearsal
B) imagery
C) elaboration
D) repetition

Question 52

Without rehearsal, how long can information remain in short-term memory?

A) up to 20 seconds
B) up to 30 seconds
C) up to 60 seconds
D) up to 2 minutes

Question 53

When people recall important life events and experiences, they are engaging in

A) implicit memory.
B) working memory.
C) autobiographical memory.
D) witness testimony.

Question 54

All of the following are strategies to reduce suggestibility when interviewing children EXCEPT

A) providing as much hypothetical details of the situation as possible.
B) reducing the motivation for children to make false reports.
C) limiting misleading questions.
D) keeping a neutral tone.

Question 55

Which of the following regarding fuzzy trace theory is true?

A) Young children are likely to remember the gist of information but not verbatim details.
B) Older children are likely to remember verbatim details of events or information.
C) Memory and reasoning skills are improved when older children begin to use gist rather than verbatim memory trace to recall information.
D) Fuzzy traces of events or information are fleeting and likely to be forgotten.

Question 56

Which of the following enables conscious memories to improve throughout a child's second year?

A) memory-span tasks
B) maturation of the occipital lobe
C) maturation of the temporal lobe
D) maturation of the hippocampus and the surrounding cerebral cortex

Question 57

Infantile amnesia may be due to

A) increased myelination.
B) traumatic childhood experiences.
C) immature brain development in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.
D) an immature pituitary gland.

Question 58

Some experts believe that children of preschool age should not testify in court because

A) their short-term memory is completely unreliable.
B) their working-memory is completely unreliable.
C) they are highly susceptible to suggestion.
D) they would reject any adult suggestion.

Question 59

Josh has no conscious recollection of ever having been swimming or having had swimming lessons. One day, he fell into the river, and he started to swim automatically. What type of memory is he using?

A) short term
B) working
C) explicit
D) implicit

Question 60

Working memory is

A) synonymous with short-term memory.
B) synonymous with long-term memory.
C) the place where information is manipulated and assembled when people make decisions or solve problems.
D) like a passive storehouse where information waits for long-term memory encoding.

Question 61

Rita remembers when she received a school award for perfect attendance. What type of memory is this?

A) episodic memory
B) implicit memory
C) semantic memory
D) working memory

Question 62

Research shows that adults remember more events from the second and third decades of their lives than from other decades. This is known as

A) the reminiscence bump.
B) source memory.
C) semantic memory.
D) the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.

Question 63

Anna is trying to remember a quote she learned years ago. She can remember the professor who quoted it but not the actual quote. She succeeded in ______, but failed in _______.

A) source memory; semantic memory
B) semantic memory; source memory
C) procedural memory; semantic memory
D) episodic memory; prospective memory

Question 64

Sally tells a joke to her friend Helen. Helen smiles and responds, "I told you that joke yesterday!" Sally's embarrassment is due to her failure in

A) source memory.
B) the reminiscence bump.
C) prospective memory.
D) short-term memory.

Question 65

Ninety-year-old Ben enjoys talking about growing up on a corn farm in Illinois. Given his age, Ben's episodic memory is likely to be

A) more accurate than his procedural memory
B) less accurate than his semantic memory
C) more accurate than his semantic memory
D) equally accurate as his semantic memory

Question 66

Manipulating and transforming information in memory is called

A) thinking.
B) wisdom.
C) semantic memory.
D) encoding.

Question 67

Which of the following is 70-year-old Leo LEAST likely to forget?

A) names of high school classmates
B) the life events he had in his 40s and 50s
C) how to swim
D) capital city names

Question 68

When Derek writes his autobiography, he can just concentrate on recalling the events he experienced in the past, without thinking about the keystrokes he needs to hit. He uses _____ in recalling the past events, and ______ in hitting the right keystroke.

A) episodic memory; semantic memory
B) explicit memory; implicit memory
C) semantic memory; implicit memory
D) working memory; semantic memory

Question 69

Explicit memory is also known as ____ memory, while implicit memory is also known as _____ memory.

A) semantic; declarative
B) declarative; procedural
C) short-term; long-term
D) long-term; short-term

Question 70

Evie knows the capital cities of every state. What type of memory is this?

A) episodic memory
B) implicit memory
C) semantic memory
D) working memory

Question 71

Andrea is worried that she will forget to take her antibiotic prescription three times daily. Andrea feels her _____ memory is weak.

A) prospective
B) working
C) semantic
D) implicit

Question 72

General academic and field-of-expertise knowledge is labeled _____ memory.

A) episodic
B) working
C) source
D) semantic

Question 73

According to Rakison and Lawson (2013), during the second year, younger infants tend to have categories such as ________, while older infants tend to have categories such as _______.

A) chairs/tables; furniture
B) furniture; chairs/tables
C) chairs; tables
D) furniture; animal

Question 74

Most research shows that the majority of babies do not exhibit explicit memory until

A) 3 to 6 months.
B) 6 to 12 months.
C) 18 months.
D) 2 years.

Question 75

Mackenzie easily recalls events in her life, but has difficulty remembering the knowledge she once learned about the world around her. Mackenzie shows good _____ memory, but poor _____ memory.

A) episodic; semantic
B) procedural; declarative
C) semantic; episodic
D) explicit; implicit

Question 76

Memory about life's events is labeled

A) semantic memory.
B) implicit memory.
C) working memory.
D) episodic memory.

Question 77

A young infant may believe that a bird is more like an airplane than an animal if the infant uses

A) executive function.
B) critical thinking.
C) conceptual categorization.
D) perceptual categorization.

Question 78

Cognitive groupings of similar people, events, objects, or ideas are called

A) concepts.
B) thinking.
C) implicit memory.
D) episodes.

Question 79

Which of the following sets of categories would likely interest 2-year-old Robert most, according to the findings in gender difference research?

A) dress-ups, books/reading
B) balls, books, dolls
C) vehicles, machines, dinosaurs
D) equal interest in books/reading and dinosaurs.

Question 80

A child recognizes that an airplane is more like a car than a bird if the child uses

A) prospective memory.
B) procedural memory.
C) conceptual categorization.
D) perceptual categorization.