Deck 25: Encoding: Getting Information In

Question 1

Jimmy was a patient with anterograde amnesia triggered by brain damage in 1945.Jimmy lost his ability to form new ________ memories but his ability for ________ remained intact.

A) implicit;effortful processing
B) explicit;effortful processing
C) implicit;automatic processing
D) explicit;automatic processing

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Ebbinghaus' forgetting curve most clearly indicates that

A) our sensory memory capacity is essentially unlimited.
B) short-term memory fades more rapidly than sensory memory.
C) prior learning disrupts the recall of new information.
D) the most rapid memory loss for new information occurs shortly after it is learned.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

An inability to access information in long-term memory is known as

A) storage decay.
B) effortful processing.
C) the misinformation effect.
D) retrieval failure.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The inability to retrieve information from one's past is called

A) retrograde amnesia.
B) anterograde amnesia.
C) storage decay.
D) proactive interference.

Question 5

One explanation for the famous Ebbinghaus forgetting curve involves the gradual loss of

A) interference.
B) encoding.
C) the memory trace.
D) automatic processing capacities.

Question 6

Nancy was daydreaming about her college plans during a boring lecture on the history of computers.She doesn't remember that ENIAC was the first functioning digital computer because she wasn't paying attention.Nancy's poor memory is best explained in terms of

A) interference.
B) encoding failure.
C) storage decay.
D) source amnesia.

Question 7

Harry Bahrick observed that three years after people completed a Spanish course,they had forgotten much of the vocabulary they had learned.This finding indicates that information is lost while it is

A) encoded.
B) rehearsed.
C) retrieved.
D) in storage.

Question 8

Many interesting details of Gwenda's once vivid childhood memories have been lost because her memory trace has faded over the decades of her adult life.Her memory loss most clearly illustrates

A) anterograde amnesia.
B) encoding failure.
C) repression.
D) storage decay.

Question 9

Although Yusef was having difficulty recalling the capital of Spain,he quickly and correctly identified it after being given a list of cities in Spain.Yusef's initial inability to recall the answer was due to a failure in

A) implicit memory.
B) storage.
C) encoding.
D) retrieval.

Question 10

Much of what we sense we never notice.This most clearly leads to

A) proactive interference.
B) storage decay.
C) repressed memories.
D) encoding failure.

Question 11

The tip-of-the-tongue forgetting experienced by older adults can best be explained in terms of the greater difficulty older people have with

A) automatic processing.
B) repression.
C) positive transfer.
D) retrieval.

Question 12

Although Arturo has looked at his watch thousands of times,he is unable to recall whether the watch features Arabic or Roman numerals.This is most likely because of a failure in

A) encoding.
B) storage.
C) retrieval.
D) implicit memory.

Question 13

Austin can't remember Jack Smith's name because he wasn't paying attention when Jack was formally introduced.Austin's poor memory is best explained in terms of

A) proactive interference.
B) encoding failure.
C) retroactive interference.
D) source amnesia.

Question 14

When Jake applied for a driver's license,he was embarrassed by a momentary inability to remember his address.Jake's memory difficulty most likely resulted from a(n)________ failure.

A) storage
B) encoding
C) retrieval
D) rehearsal

Question 15

Although Maria can encode and consciously recall new information,she is unable to consciously recall events that happened prior to the brain damage that she suffered as an adolescent.Maria's memory difficulty most clearly illustrates

A) retrograde amnesia.
B) proactive interference.
C) anterograde amnesia.
D) retroactive interference.

Question 16

Professor Maslova has so many memories of former students that she has difficulty remembering the names of new students.The professor's difficulty best illustrates

A) retroactive interference.
B) retrograde amnesia.
C) proactive interference.
D) source amnesia.

Question 17

Some patients with anterograde amnesia have learned how to spot hard-to-find figures in the Where's Waldo? series without any conscious awareness that they can do so.This best illustrates their retention of ________ memories.

A) explicit
B) implicit
C) retroactive
D) working

Question 18

The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information is called

A) retroactive interference.
B) encoding failure.
C) source amnesia.
D) proactive interference.

Question 19

Ebbinghaus found the task of learning new lists of nonsense syllables increasingly difficult as his research career progressed.Which of the following best explains his problem?

A) positive transfer
B) retrograde amnesia
C) proactive interference
D) retroactive interference

Question 20

The inability to form new memories is called

A) repression.
B) anterograde amnesia.
C) the misinformation effect.
D) retroactive interference.

Question 21

When Hailey told her roommate about the chemistry exam she had just completed,she knowingly exaggerated its difficulty.Subsequently,her memory of the exam was that it was as difficult as she had reported it to be.This best illustrates

A) the misinformation effect.
B) anterograde amnesia.
C) déjà vu.
D) proactive interference.

Question 22

Who emphasized that we repress anxiety-arousing memories?

A) Hermann Ebbinghaus
B) Elizabeth Loftus
C) Karl Dallenbach
D) Sigmund Freud

Question 23

Retroactive interference refers to the

A) decay of physical memory traces.
B) disruptive effect of previously learned material on the recall of new information.
C) disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of previously learned material.
D) blocking of painful memories from conscious awareness.

Question 24

Repression most clearly involves a failure in

A) encoding.
B) retrieval.
C) storage.
D) implicit memory.

Question 25

Learning a new online banking password may block the recall of a familiar old password.This illustrates

A) the misinformation effect.
B) retroactive interference.
C) source amnesia.
D) proactive interference.

Question 26

Source amnesia refers to

A) retaining classically conditioned associations without conscious awareness.
B) banishing anxiety-arousing memories from conscious awareness.
C) the automatic processing of information about how often things have happened.
D) misrecalling when or where information was learned or imagined.

Question 27

Philippe has just completed medical school.In reflecting on his years of formal education,he is able to recall the names of all his instructors except the fifth-grade teacher who flunked him.According to Freud,his forgetting illustrates

A) repression.
B) proactive interference.
C) retroactive interference.
D) the misinformation effect.

Question 28

When asked misleading questions after observing an accident,eyewitnesses often reconstruct their initial memories of the event.This best illustrates

A) repression.
B) déjà vu.
C) implicit memory.
D) the misinformation effect.

Question 29

A process in which previously stored memories,when retrieved,are altered before being stored again is called

A) retroactive interference.
B) proactive interference.
C) reconsolidation.
D) repression.

Question 30

We often modify our long-term memories in light of our current knowledge and expectations.This best illustrates the impact of

A) implicit memory.
B) proactive interference.
C) anterograde amnesia.
D) reconsolidation.

Question 31

Jackie frequently experiences intrusive memories of an emotionally traumatic experience that she has been trying to forget.Her intrusive memories provide evidence of unsuccessful memory

A) encoding.
B) storage.
C) repression.
D) rehearsal.

Question 32

An attorney uses misleading questions to distort a court witness' recall of a previously observed crime.This best illustrates

A) anterograde amnesia.
B) the misinformation effect.
C) proactive interference.
D) positive transfer.

Question 33

Knowledge of Latin can help people to learn French.This best illustrates

A) proactive interference.
B) memory reconstruction.
C) déjà vu.
D) positive transfer.

Question 34

The misinformation effect refers to the

A) basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing memories from conscious awareness.
B) disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.
C) eerie sense that "I've been in this exact situation before."
D) incorporation of misleading information into one's memory of an event.

Question 35

After studying biology all afternoon,Alonzo is having difficulty remembering details of the organic chemistry material he memorized that morning.Alonzo's difficulty best illustrates

A) retroactive interference.
B) the misinformation effect.
C) proactive interference.
D) source amnesia.

Question 36

After hearing stories of things they both had and had not actually experienced with "Mr.Science," preschool children spontaneously recalled him doing things that were only mentioned in the stories.This best illustrates

A) déjà vu.
B) proactive interference.
C) implicit memory.
D) source amnesia.

Question 37

It's evening and we're mentally replaying the day's events.We picture our facial expressions as we listened to a friend's tale of woe.Because we were unable to see these expressions at the time,our recall illustrates

A) source amnesia.
B) implicit memory.
C) memory construction.
D) proactive interference.

Question 38

Two people learned nonsense syllables and then tried to recall them after up to eight hours had elapsed.Jenkins and Dallenbach observed that forgetting occurred least rapidly when the individuals spent their time

A) physically exercising.
B) playing a card game.
C) watching television.
D) sleeping.

Question 39

When Loftus and Palmer asked observers of a filmed car accident how fast the vehicles were going when they "smashed" into each other,the observers developed memories of the accident that

A) omitted some of the most painful aspects of the event.
B) were more accurate than the memories of observers who had not been immediately questioned about what they saw.
C) were influenced by whether the researchers identified themselves as police officers.
D) portrayed the event as more serious than it had actually been.

Question 40

Research participants who were exposed to very convincing arguments about the desirability of frequent toothbrushing misrecalled how frequently they had brushed their teeth in the preceding two weeks.This best illustrates

A) source amnesia.
B) proactive interference.
C) motivated forgetting.
D) déjà vu.

Question 41

The eerie sense of having previously experienced a current situation is known as

A) imagination inflation.
B) positive transfer.
C) proactive interference.
D) déjà vu.

Question 42

Briefly glancing at a visual scene without consciously processing it may lead us to experience ________ when we subsequently focus conscious attention on the scene.

A) déjà vu
B) proactive interference
C) repression
D) anterograde amnesia

Question 43

When we fall in love,we tend to overestimate how much we liked our partner when we first began dating.This best illustrates the dynamics of

A) positive transfer.
B) proactive interference.
C) déjà vu.
D) memory construction.

Question 44

Psychologists on both sides of the controversy regarding reports of repressed and recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse agree that

A) repression is the most common mechanism underlying the failure to recall early childhood sexual abuse.
B) when extraordinary means are used to recover a memory,there is the possibility that the recovered memory is false.
C) the more stressful an experience is,the more quickly it will be consciously forgotten.
D) professional therapists can reliably distinguish between their clients' true and false childhood memories.

Question 45

After having seen many pictures of the Lincoln Memorial during his lifetime,Mr.Adams mistakenly recalled that he had actually visited the site.This best illustrates

A) source amnesia.
B) proactive interference.
C) implicit memory.
D) positive transfer.

Question 46

Having read a story once,certain amnesia victims will read it faster the second time even though they can't recall having seen the story before.They have most likely suffered damage to the

A) hippocampus.
B) cerebellum.
C) basal ganglia.
D) amygdala.

Question 47

Repeating someone's name several times shortly after being introduced to that person is an effective strategy for

A) chunking.
B) rehearsal.
C) implicit memory.
D) automatic processing.

Question 48

Mrs.Ramos claims to remember being sexually abused by her father when she was less than a year old.Her memory is NOT likely to be reliable because of

A) implicit memory.
B) proactive interference.
C) infantile amnesia.
D) positive transfer.

Question 49

The reports of children who are interviewed by officials regarding an alleged incident of sexual abuse are most likely to be unreliable if

A) no one has discussed the incident with them before.
B) they are interviewed shortly after the incident occurred.
C) they were emotionally stressed by the incident.
D) they are questioned about specific forms of abuse that never happened during the incident.

Question 50

Familiarity with an ongoing situation without any idea of where you experienced it before contributes to

A) automatic processing.
B) imagination inflation.
C) repression.
D) déjà vu.

Question 51

Making up a story that involves associating mental images with facts you need to remember is an effective

A) implicit memory.
B) déjà vu.
C) sensory memory.
D) mnemonic device.

Question 52

Therapists who have used memory recovery techniques such as hypnosis have often led their clients to believe that difficulties remembering their experience of sexual abuse may result from

A) anterograde amnesia.
B) positive transfer.
C) proactive interference.
D) repression.

Question 53

Stressful life experiences such as being raped are NOT likely to be

A) encoded.
B) repressed.
C) stored.
D) retrieved.

Question 54

Memory experts who express skepticism regarding reports of repressed and recovered memories emphasize that

A) there is very little people can do to relieve the distress resulting from traumatic memories.
B) most extremely traumatic life experiences are never encoded into long-term memory.
C) therapeutic techniques such as hypnosis encourage the construction of false memories.
D) people rarely recall memories of long-forgotten unpleasant events.

Question 55

By incorporating errors based on a hypnotist's leading questions,"hyponotically refreshed" memories often illustrate

A) repression.
B) anterograde amnesia.
C) the misinformation effect.
D) proactive interference.

Question 56

Donald Thompson was an initial suspect in a rape case.The rape victim confused her memories of Thompson and the actual rapist because she had seen Thompson's image on TV shortly before she was attacked.The victim's false recollection best illustrates

A) anterograde amnesia.
B) retroactive interference.
C) source amnesia.
D) déjà vu.

Question 57

Authors and songwriters sometimes think an idea came from their own creative imagination,when in fact they are unintentionally plagiarizing something they earlier read or heard.This best illustrates

A) implicit memory.
B) source amnesia.
C) proactive interference.
D) déjà vu.

Question 58

In one study,children were periodically asked whether they remembered going to the hospital with a mousetrap on their finger.This experiment best illustrated the dynamics of

A) memory construction.
B) positive transfer.
C) sensory memory.
D) repression.

Question 59

Mentally re-creating the mood that accompanied your original learning of course material is most clearly an effective way to activate

A) acronyms.
B) déjà vu.
C) retrieval cues.
D) memory consolidation.

Question 60

While talking with a complete stranger she had just met in an airplane terminal,Jillian experienced an eerie sense of having had the same conversation with this same person before.Her experience best illustrates

A) déjà vu.
B) anterograde amnesia.
C) positive transfer.
D) retroactive interference.

Question 61

Following a brain injury from a brutal knife attack,Mike is unable to consciously recall or recognize what a knife is.But he still shows a conditioned fear response to the sight of a knife.His conditioned reaction best indicates that he retains a(n)________ memory.

A) sensory
B) repressed
C) working
D) implicit

Question 62

John is taking a chemistry class and wants to earn an A.Which of the following is NOT something he should do to improve his memory of course material?

A) He should use the SQ3R method.
B) He should use distributed practice of the course information.
C) He should use mnemonics to aid memory.
D) He should sleep less and study more.

Question 63

The gradual fading of the physical memory trace contributes to

A) encoding failure.
B) storage decay.
C) anterograde amnesia.
D) proactive interference.

Question 64

An inability to retrieve information learned in the past is called

A) source amnesia.
B) anterograde amnesia.
C) proactive interference.
D) retrograde amnesia.

Question 65

Mrs.McBride can't consciously recall how frequently she criticizes her children because it would be too anxiety-arousing to do so.Sigmund Freud would have suggested that her poor memory illustrates

A) source amnesia.
B) proactive interference.
C) automatic processing.
D) repression.

Question 66

After absorbing the false suggestion that as children they became ill after eating spoiled egg salad,Dutch university students were less likely to eat egg salad sandwiches.Their behavior best illustrates the impact of

A) the misinformation effect.
B) anterograde amnesia.
C) proactive interference.
D) repressed memories.

Question 67

During her evening Spanish language exam,Janica so easily remembers the French vocabulary she studied that morning that she finds it difficult to recall the Spanish vocabulary she rehearsed that afternoon.Her difficulty best illustrates

A) the misinformation effect.
B) proactive interference.
C) source amnesia.
D) retroactive interference.

Question 68

Margaret recently had a stroke.although she easily recalls her past,she has problems forming new memories.Margaret's memory difficulty illustrates

A) retrograde amnesia.
B) anterograde amnesia.
C) storage decay.
D) proactive interference.

Question 69

Although Ron typically smokes two packs of cigarettes a day,he recalls smoking little more than a pack a day.This poor memory best illustrates

A) the misinformation effect.
B) motivated forgetting.
C) imagination inflation.
D) storage decay.

Question 70

Answering practice test questions about text material you have studied is a useful strategy for

A) automatically processing complex information.
B) facilitating the development of implicit memory.
C) inhibiting infantile amnesia.
D) becoming aware of what you do not yet know.

Question 71

Several months after watching a science fiction movie about spaceship travel and alien abductions,Steve began to remember that he had been abducted by aliens and personally subjected to many of the horrors portrayed in the movie.His mistaken recall best illustrates

A) implicit memory.
B) anterograde amnesia.
C) source amnesia.
D) proactive interference.

Question 72

Recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse that incorporate errors triggered by a therapist's leading questions best illustrate

A) proactive interference.
B) the misinformation effect.
C) mood-congruent memory.
D) automatic processing.

Question 73

After Teresa was verbally threatened by someone in a passing car,she was asked whether she recognized the man who was driving the car.Several hours later,Teresa mistakenly recalled that the driver was a male rather than a female.Teresa's experience best illustrates

A) implicit memory.
B) proactive interference.
C) the misinformation effect.
D) anterograde amnesia.

Question 74

Becky cannot remember anything that happened during her adolescent or young adulthood years.Becky's memory difficulty illustrates

A) retrograde amnesia.
B) anterograde amnesia.
C) storage decay.
D) proactive interference.

Question 75

After suffering a brain injury in a motorcycle accident,Arotza cannot form new memories.He can,however,remember events before the accident.Arotza's memory difficulty most clearly illustrates

A) retroactive interference.
B) the misinformation effect.
C) anterograde amnesia.
D) proactive interference.

Question 76

Brandon tells his friend that he remembers his grandfather giving him alcohol to drink when he was about 3 years old.What is a main problem with this statement?

A) Memories of events before the age of 4 years are unreliable.
B) It is illegal to give alcohol to children.
C) It is not likely that a family member would do something like this.
D) Memories of meaningless events are usually unreliable.

Question 77

While taking the final exam in American history,Marie was surprised and frustrated by her momentary inability to remember the name of the current president of the United States.Her difficulty most clearly illustrates

A) implicit memory.
B) déjà vu.
C) the misinformation effect.
D) retrieval failure.

Question 78

Which of the following could minimize retroactive interference of course material that will be covered on an upcoming exam?

A) studying before going to sleep
B) rehearsing information immediately before the exam
C) cramming for the exam the night before
D) using mnemonics while studying the course material

Question 79

After having brain surgery to stop severe seizures,Henry Molaison could recall events he experienced prior to the surgery but was unable to form new conscious memories.Molaison's memory difficulty most clearly illustrates

A) retrograde amnesia.
B) proactive interference.
C) anterograde amnesia.
D) retroactive interference.

Question 80

One child who participated in a memory experiment falsely remembered that he once went to the hospital because he had caught his finger in a mousetrap.His false memory best illustrated the impact of

A) mood-congruent memory.
B) proactive interference.
C) suggestive interviewing.
D) sleep deprivation.