Deck 6: Attention and Memory

Question 1

While listening to your aging instructor, you are also trying to look at the overheads and take notes. This is an example of

A) maintenance.
B) vigilance.
C) divided attention.
D) attentional capacity.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is not an assumption of the information-processing approach?

A) People are active participants in the process.
B) Both quantitative and qualitative aspects of performance can be examined.
C) Information is handled in the system in an untransformed manner.
D) Information is processed through a series of hypothetical stages.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

What types of tasks will result in automatic processing in older adults?

A) None. Only younger adults' performance can become automatic.
B) Whenever older adults are given extensive practice, any task can become automatic.
C) When tasks are quite easy they can become automatic.
D) Older adults' performance never becomes automatic.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Lisa is at a cocktail party engaged in conversation with friends, when she hears her name spoken by someone across the room. This is an example of

A) an automatic process.
B) an automatic attention response.
C) not paying full attention to the conversation at hand.
D) divided attention response.

Question 5

Which of the following questions can be asked using the information-processing model in adult development and aging?

A) Can age differences in storage aspects be explained through process aspects?
B) Are there age differences in storage aspects of information processing?
C) Are there age differences in the process aspects of information processing?
D) All of these

Question 6

What part of the information processing system has an unlimited capacity, takes in information very rapidly, and by focusing your attention information retained?

A) attention
B) sensory memory
C) working memory
D) tertiary memory

Question 7

Research has shown that the strong version of the processing resource hypothesis

A) is true only for young adults in school.
B) is strongly supported.
C) has little support.
D) explains performance quite well.

Question 8

Winnie is busy taking notes from the slides presented during lecture and listening to the instructor. This is an example of

A) attentional capacity.
B) sustained attention.
C) selective attention.
D) divided attention.

Question 9

Age differences on divided attention tasks can

A) be reduced by increasing older adults' practice with the tasks.
B) be reduced by decreasing younger adults' practice with the tasks.
C) be reduced by increasing task complexity.
D) not be reduced.

Question 10

The earliest step in information processing is

A) attention.
B) working memory.
C) primary memory.
D) sensory memory.

Question 11

When first learning to drive a manual transmission car, we are often aware of our processing and it seems to take all of our attention to coordinate our actions. This is an example of

A) automatic processing.
B) effortful processing.
C) divided attention.
D) attentional capacity.

Question 12

A small-capacity store that deals with the items currently "in use" is

A) sensory memory.
B) working memory.
C) secondary memory.
D) remote memory.

Question 13

The amount of information that can be processed at any given time is called the

A) maintenance.
B) vigilance.
C) divided attention.
D) attentional capacity.

Question 14

John has driven the same short route to work everyday for the last 7 years. Today he arrived at work and realized he really didn't remember any of his drive. This is an example of

A) automatic processing.
B) effortful processing.
C) divided attention.
D) attentional capacity.

Question 15

Kimeka is trying to keep the page numbers of her assignment in mind until she is able to write them down. She is using her

A) sensory memory.
B) working memory.
C) secondary memory.
D) remote memory.

Question 16

Trying to complete two tasks at one time draws on this type of attention.

A) Selective attention
B) Sustained attention
C) Divided attention
D) Attentional capacity

Question 17

Under which conditions do older and younger adults show similar patterns of attention allocation?

A) never
B) when relevant and irrelevant information is presented in the same modality
C) only when older adults receive a great deal of practice
D) when relevant and irrelevant information is presented in different modalities

Question 18

Processes that are fast, reliable, and are insensitive to increases in cognitive demands are said to be

A) automatic.
B) effortful.
C) simple reactions.
D) divided attention responses.

Question 19

One possible reason older adults have more difficulty with selective attention is

A) a decrease in intelligence.
B) a decrease in processing resources.
C) a decrease in overall memory space.
D) a decrease in sensory memory.

Question 20

What variable affects whether age differences will be obtained on divided attention tasks?

A) task complexity
B) speed of responding
C) spatial cueing
D) presentation modality

Question 21

Your grandmother asked you for your advice on how to reduce normative decrements in her memory. Which of the following would not be good advice to give to her?

A) She should practice remembering.
B) Stick with familiar information, when possible.
C) Learn new things. Novel information is remembered more easily.
D) Teach her some compensatory strategies.

Question 22

When you cram for an exam a couple hours before the exam, the material is probably in

A) sensory memory.
B) working memory.
C) long-term memory.
D) remote memory.

Question 23

Semantic memory is defined as involving which type of ability?

A) being able to recall a stimuli viewed for a few seconds
B) knowing how to complete a complex task
C) remembering where something was heard or seen
D) recalling the definition of a word or a historical fact

Question 24

Evidence has shown that the capacity of working memory

A) declines with age.
B) remains constant over time.
C) increases with age.
D) decreases in young adulthood and increases into old age.

Question 25

Answering a multiple choice question on an exam, like this one, is an example of

A) recall memory.
B) recognition memory.
C) cued recall memory.
D) semantic memory.

Question 26

An older adult with Alzheimer's disease can't remember what he ate for lunch 10 minutes ago, but can remember the name of his childhood dog. This illustrates what type of common memory deficit in Alzheimer's disease patients?

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

Question 27

Recent research into what causes working memory deficits in older adults has found

A) older adults have more trouble accessing multiple pieces of information.
B) older adults have more trouble juggling all of the information.
C) verbal working memory is much more affected than spatial working memory.
D) testing at night improves older adults performance.

Question 28

Salthouse and Babcock reported that age differences in working memory were mostly due to the

A) storage component.
B) processing component.
C) executive functions.
D) retrieval component.

Question 29

Remembering information without hints or cues is known as

A) recall.
B) recognition.
C) cued recall.
D) probed recognition.

Question 30

Learning and remembering the meaning of words and concepts not tied to specific occurrences of events in time is

A) sensory memory.
B) episodic memory.
C) semantic memory.
D) remote memory.

Question 31

If 47-year-old Matt can remember the poem he memorized in Mrs. Smith's 2nd grade class, Matt is using what type of memory for this task?

A) sensory memory
B) episodic memory
C) semantic memory
D) remote memory

Question 32

Answering a short-answer or essay question are examples of

A) inference.
B) recall.
C) recognition.
D) recapitulation.

Question 33

When a friend asks you to tell them everything about your weekend, this is an example of what type of memory task?

A) recall
B) recognition
C) cued recall
D) probed recognition

Question 34

Improvements in your memory as the result of being previously exposed to the information without actively trying to remember it is known as

A) implicit memory.
B) recognition memory.
C) remote memory.
D) explicit memory.

Question 35

The ability to remember extensive amounts of information from a few seconds to a few hours to decades is known as

A) sensory memory.
B) working memory.
C) long-term memory.
D) remote memory.

Question 36

Salthouse suggests that differences in working memory might be the result of

A) faster processing speed.
B) unlimited long-term memory.
C) slower processing speed.
D) increased working memory capacity.

Question 37

Identifying the correct information from a larger list of information is an example of

A) recall memory.
B) recognition memory.
C) inference.
D) semantic memory.

Question 38

The type of memory having to do with time-dependent information is

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

Question 39

Memory for implicit material reveals that, in general, age differences are

A) greater for explicit memory relative to implicit memory.
B) smaller for explicit memory relative to implicit memory.
C) are similar to that for explicit memory.
D) only found on perceptual tasks.

Question 40

Remembering to show up on time for your final exam demonstrates that you have an effective

A) working memory.
B) explicit memory.
C) episodic memory.
D) sensory memory

Question 41

Remembering the name of your 1st grade teacher 15 years later suggests that the information is stored in

A) sensory memory.
B) primary memory.
C) long-term memory.
D) autobiographical memory.

Question 42

Techniques that make a task easier and increase efficiency of storage

A) don't work for older adults.
B) are known as strategies.
C) are known as anti-aging techniques.
D) only improve encoding and not recall.

Question 43

Remembering something that did not really occur is known as

A) false memory.
B) source memory.
C) flashbulb memory.
D) implicit memory.

Question 44

Claiming that one had performed an activity that one had actually only observed is more common among

A) younger adults.
B) older adults.
C) children.
D) adolescents.

Question 45

Remembering where you were when 9/11 occurred is an example of

A) explicit memory.
B) semantic memory.
C) an implicit memory.
D) a flashbulb memory.

Question 46

The best conclusion about age differences in retrieval is that

A) older adults are less efficient when generating retrieval cues than younger adults.
B) age differences are always eliminated in recognition tasks.
C) age differences in retrieval are very small.
D) older adults are more efficient when generating retrieval cues than younger adults.

Question 47

You are at a cocktail party when you see a friend from college, but you just can't seem to recall her name. This is an example of

A) recapitulation.
B) familiar information being remembered more poorly.
C) a tip-of-the-tongue experience.
D) compensatory failure.

Question 48

Wagenaar and Groeneweg's research on the memories of concentration camp survivors calls into question the assumption that

A) "flashbulb memories" are a total myth.
B) highly traumatic events are likely to be remembered well.
C) memories are likely to change over time given new experiences.
D) memory is a highly selective phenomenon.

Question 49

Older adults are likely to have difficulties with , which involves remembering where a piece of information was acquired.

A) false memory
B) source memory
C) flashbulb memory
D) implicit memory

Question 50

Because it often includes very old and personal data memory can be a difficult thing to measure.

A) working
B) long-term
C) remote
D) sensory

Question 51

Older adults are more susceptible to scams and con artists because they are more susceptible to

A) false memories.
B) source memories.
C) flashbulb memories.
D) implicit memories.

Question 52

Evidence from Jacoby and colleagues' work on the false fame effect has shown that older adults are less likely to consciously remember faces but are equally good at recognizing familiar information as younger adults. These results suggest that

A) older adults are less efficient when generating retrieval cues than younger adults.
B) age differences are always eliminated in recognition tasks.
C) automatic retrieval of familiar information is similar across adulthood.
D) automatic retrieval increases with age.

Question 53

Research on age differences in the knowledge base aspects of memory show

A) substantial age-related declines.
B) a peak in middle age followed by decline.
C) no age differences.
D) a low point in middle age followed by improvement.

Question 54

Making connections between new information and already known information is called

A) encoding.
B) imagery.
C) elaborative rehearsal.
D) recognition.

Question 55

Memory for events in one's past is known as

A) sensory memory.
B) primary memory.
C) long-term memory.
D) autobiographical memory.

Question 56

Research on memories concerning personal health conducted by Coleman and colleagues, based on the Harvard Longitudinal Studies, showed that

A) memories improved between ages 40 to 50.
B) people at all ages performed poorly.
C) memories about eating were more accurate.
D) specific episodes were remembered best.

Question 57

Melena is having trouble remembering whether she took her medication or if she just thinks she did. This is an example of a(n)

A) false memory.
B) source memory.
C) flashbulb memory.
D) implicit memory.

Question 58

Seventy-five-year-old John has some difficulty making connections between to-be-learned information and information he already knows, but he keeps at it because he knows this helps his memory. John is engaging in

A) encoding.
B) imagery.
C) elaborative rehearsal.
D) recognition.

Question 59

A key text-based variable in prose memory performance is

A) recall vs. recognition.
B) length of passage.
C) verbal ability.
D) speed of presentation.

Question 60

When people use their world knowledge to construct a more global understanding of what a text is about, this is known as

A) a situation model.
B) propositional representation .
C) discourse memory.
D) text-based variables.

Question 61

Viewing memory as a "mental muscle" characterizes which approach to memory skills training?

A) repetitive practice
B) medication
C) physical treatments
D) external aids

Question 62

You realize that you have an exam coming up for your biology course and half of it is multiple-choice and half of it is essay. You realize the essay section will be harder than the multiple-choice part of the exam. This is an example of

A) metamemory.
B) memory monitoring.
C) on-line awareness.
D) memory awareness.

Question 63

Memory aids that rely on environmental resources are known as

A) external aids.
B) implicit aids.
C) internal aids.
D) mnemonics.

Question 64

Intentionally memorizing a list of words using rehearsal for a quiz, according to the E-I-E-I-O framework is

A) explicit memory and external aide.
B) implicit memory and external aide.
C) explicit memory and internal aide.
D) implicit memory and internal aide.

Question 65

You have an hour break between classes and you decide to go to the library and study. Your awareness of the time while studying is an example of

A) metamemory.
B) memory monitoring.
C) on-line awareness.
D) memory awareness.

Question 66

An example of an internal memory strategy is

A) rehearsal.
B) a list.
C) an address book.
D) a calendar.

Question 67

Which of the following beliefs about memory is not characteristic of older adults?

A) Memory is not stable.
B) Memory will decline with age.
C) I have little control over my memory.
D) I know a great deal about how memory works.

Question 68

Memory training appears to be most effective when

A) the adult involved is highly verbal.
B) a combination of strategies is used.
C) the program changes a subject's emotional state.
D) internal strategies are used.

Question 69

Rice and Okun (1994) found that to help clear up older adults' confusion with text materials, one should

A) state that certain information is often misunderstood.
B) state correct information only.
C) use prior knowledge to link to confusing information.
D) state that confusion with the information is common, then state the correct information.

Question 70

is remembering to perform a planned activity in the future.

A) Prospective memory
B) Correlative memory
C) Anterograde memory
D) Retrospective memory

Question 71

Which of the following is an external memory aid?

A) imagery
B) rehearsal
C) memory drugs
D) a shopping list

Question 72

A general conclusion concerning text-based variables and performance on prose memory tasks is that

A) age is more important than verbal ability.
B) verbal ability is more important than age.
C) rate of presentation is more important than age.
D) age is a key factor.

Question 73

Remembering to call your friend on her birthday would require you to use

A) retrospective memory.
B) correlative memory.
C) anterograde memory.
D) prospective memory.

Question 74

What feature of memory reflects an individual's confidence in being able to complete a task?

A) metamemory
B) memory self-efficacy
C) on-line awareness
D) source awareness

Question 75

Which of the following variables has the least influence on prose retention and long-term memory performance?

A) age
B) pacing
C) prior knowledge
D) verbal ability

Question 76

Research has shown that when older adults are asked to predict how well they will perform on a memory task, they are more accurate when

A) the task is novel.
B) they are told how other people have performed.
C) they have direct experience with the task.
D) they have no experience with the task.

Question 77

The awareness of what we are doing with our memory right now is known as

A) metamemory.
B) memory monitoring.
C) on-line awareness.
D) memory awareness.

Question 78

Harris suggested that all of the following external memory cues are most effective except those that are

A) difficult to use.
B) active rather than passive.
C) given close to the time action is required.
D) specific to a particular action.

Question 79

Metamemory refers to what one knows about

A) the memory system and how it works.
B) the accuracy of the knowledge base.
C) current on-going memory processes.
D) one's own past experiences.

Question 80

Most memory improvement courses train people to become proficient at using

A) internal strategies.
B) external strategies.
C) exterior strategies.
D) interior strategies.