Deck 8: Remembering Complex Events

Question 1

Which of the following would be considered the most significant "cost" of memory errors?

A) inaccurate eyewitness testimony
B) misremembering where you placed your keys
C) forgetting the name of your boss's wife
D) forgetting the word "lexicon" on a psychology exam

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Will has been to the zoo many times, usually with his family but also once on a school field trip. When Will tries to remember the field trip, his recollection is

A) likely to include elements imported from memories of other zoo trips.
B) unlikely to be influenced by schematic knowledge.
C) likely to be highly accurate in its details.
D) unlikely to include much perceptual information.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Memory schemas, or schemata, serve as representations of our ________ knowledge.

A) innate
B) specific
C) semantic
D) episodic

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In an experiment, Group A is asked to read a passage. Members in Group B are asked to read the same passage but are given a prologue that helps their understanding of the passage. When given a recall test

A) Group A recalled less of the passage and made more intrusion errors than Group B.
B) Group B recalled more of the passage but made more intrusion errors than Group A.
C) Group A could not recall any of the passage, as the members did not understand its context.
D) Group A recalled less of the passage but made the same number of intrusion errors as Group B.

Question 5

Memory errors and distortions have been documented

A) only for memory of the exact phrasing of prose material.
B) only for memory of unfamiliar material.
C) in the recall of complex events.
D) only with material that has been reported to participants, not with material that participants have experienced directly.

Question 6

Which of the following is LEAST likely to be included within a kitchen schema?

A) Kitchens almost always contain a refrigerator.
B) Kitchens sometimes contain a coffeemaker.
C) A kitchen usually contains a sink.
D) My mother's kitchen contains a microwave oven.

Question 7

Liz is trying to remember what she read in a text chapter, but she inadvertently mixes into her recall her own assumptions about the material covered in the chapter. This is an example of

A) omission errors.
B) recognition failures.
C) intrusion errors.
D) misses.

Question 8

When presented with a list of words along a theme (e.g., "bed," "rest," "slumber," "dream," "tired"), participants often (mis)recall the theme word as part of the list (e.g., "sleep"). This procedure is commonly referred to as the ________ procedure.

A) Disclusion-Recall-Memory
B) Decreased-Remembering-Magniture
C) Deese-Roediger-McDermott
D) Daily-Reconstructing-Mnemonics

Question 9

Connections among our various memories do all of the following EXCEPT

A) help us to resist source confusion.
B) serve as retrieval paths.
C) interweave our various memories, inviting intrusion errors.
D) link related memories.

Question 10

An important theme emerging from memory research is that memory connections

A) are crucial for recognition but are less important for recall.
B) can improve our memory accuracy.
C) make memories easier to locate but can lead to intrusion errors.
D) play a role in implicit memory but not in generic memory.

Question 11

Which of the following is a potential problem for memory retrieval in relation to memory connections?

A) If a memory is connected to too many other memories, it can become overused, so it "shuts down" and is forgotten.
B) Establishing a memory connection can often be a lengthy and costly procedure, so memory connections are rare.
C) If two memories become linked, bits of information from one memory can be remembered as part of a different memory.
D) Memory connections can be established only for traumatic memories.

Question 12

This chapter argues that the way the details of complex episodes are held together actually leads to errors. Which component of the connections leads to both the successes and errors of memory?

A) the length of the memory connections
B) the density of the memory connections
C) the strength of the memory connections
D) the size of the most important memory connection

Question 13

Repeated exposure to a person or situation will cause memory for specific instances to fade, making it difficult to recall details of any one episode. This can be problematic, but it can also be seen as a good thing. In what way does this process benefit us?

A) It keeps only the most important information we need.
B) It leads to the creation of general knowledge.
C) It keeps our autobiographical memory organized.
D) It provides no benefit.

Question 14

Bartlett presented stories from Native American folklore to British participants to read and later asked them to recall details of the story. His findings reveal which important idea about memory?

A) Memory errors are often derived from attempts to understand.
B) Memory errors can result from the suggestions of others.
C) The length of connections determines how well a story will be remembered.
D) Memory is generally good, even for complex stories.

Question 15

Which of the following claims regarding schema-based knowledge is FALSE?

A) Gaps in our memory can often be filled by relying on schema-based knowledge.
B) Schema-based knowledge often ends up regularizing our recollection of the past.
C) Schema-based knowledge relies on remembering specific information within a memory (e.g., although shelves normally contain books, I remember that those shelves contain only boxes).
D) Schema-based knowledge can help guide attention and understanding, so it can help reconstruct parts of a memory that we cannot remember.

Question 16

Which of the following facts about memories for the Amsterdam plane crash is FALSE?

A) When asked, "Did you see the videotape of the plane crash?" most participants said, "yes," even though there was no film.
B) When asked about details of the incident, such as, "Was the plane on fire before the crash or after it crashed into the building?" participants responded, "I don't remember seeing a tape of the crash."
C) When asked questions about the details of the crash, participants often provided details.
D) When asked, "Did the plane crash down vertically on the building or fly into it horizontally?" participants were confident in their answers.

Question 17

Intrusion errors in memory are errors

A) in which other knowledge intrudes into the remembered event.
B) due to the acquisition stage of memory being interrupted (or intruded on).
C) in memory due to brain damage, usually as a result of a blow to the head.
D) in memory due to an impairment in the retrieval process.

Question 18

A broader understanding of a situation or story

A) always improves memory by providing context.
B) always hurts memory by confusing new events with old information.
C) can improve or hurt memory.
D) does little to affect the quality or quantity of memory.

Question 19

In a study by Brewer and Treyens (1981), participants waited in an experimenter's office for the experiment to begin. After they left the room, they learned that the study was about their memory of that office. This study demonstrated that

A) college students do not know what a professor's office typically contains.
B) people make assumptions using prior knowledge about what an academic office typically contains.
C) college students' memories are much worse than the memories of other groups in society.
D) people tend to notice only those items in the environment that most fit with their expectations.

Question 20

If given a list of the words "white," "winter," "cold," and "flake," which word will people be most likely to erroneously report on a later memory test?

A) December
B) bright
C) fall
D) snow

Question 21

Participants viewed a series of slides depicting an automobile accident. Immediately afterward, half of the participants were asked, "How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?" The other participants were asked, "How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?" One week later, all participants were asked more questions about the slides, including whether they had seen any broken glass in the slides. A comparison of the two groups of participants is likely to show that

A) participants who were asked the "smashed" question gave higher estimates of speed and were more likely to remember seeing broken glass.
B) the groups gave similar estimates of speed, but the "smashed" group was more likely to remember seeing broken glass.
C) participants who were asked the "smashed" question gave higher estimates of speed, but the groups gave similar responses to the "broken glass" question.
D) the minor contrast in how the groups were questioned had no effect on participants' memories.

Question 22

The misinformation effect refers to the fact that false information, presented after a participant has encoded an event, can intrude into the participant's subsequent recall of the event. This "planting" of memories

A) seems restricted to small memory errors.
B) is only possible if done by an authority figure.
C) seems possible for remembered actions but not remembered objects.
D) can occur outside of the laboratory.

Question 23

Which of the following claims about memory accuracy is FALSE?

A) Participants' confidence in their false memories is often just as great as their confidence in their accurate recollections.
B) Children may be even more vulnerable to the "planting" of false memories than adults.
C) When a participant's response is based on a false memory, the response is likely to be given just as quickly as it would be if based on an accurate memory.
D) Participants are sometimes mistaken in their recollection of an event's minor details, but do not create an entirely new false memory.

Question 24

Researchers were interested in how "remember" and "know" judgments are related to memory accuracy. What did they find?

A) A feeling of "remembering" is more likely with correct memories than false memories.
B) A feeling of "knowing" is more likely with correct memories than false memories.
C) A "remembering" response is more likely to be false than a "knowing" response.
D) "Knowing" responses are very rarely accurate.

Question 25

Which of the following statements about memory accuracy is FALSE?

A) Memory errors do occur, but most of our memories are relatively accurate.
B) Memory errors are more common with "remember" responses, relative to "know" responses.
C) Memory errors are more common with slower responses.
D) Memory errors are more common with "know" responses, relative to "remember" responses.

Question 26

An eyewitness to a crime is quite confident that his memory of the crime is correct. In evaluating the eyewitness's testimony, the jury should note that

A) eyewitness memories are incorrect as often as they are correct.
B) memory confidence is a poor indicator of memory accuracy.
C) memory confidence is a reliable indicator that memory for the generalities of an event is correct, although memory for detail is unrelated to confidence.
D) eyewitnesses tend to assert that they are confident only when their memories are reasonably accurate overall.

Question 27

Someone versed in memory research could plant false memories in his or her friends or family. Imagine you want to perform such an (unethical) act. Which technique is LEAST likely to be effective in planting the false memories?

A) repeating the false suggestion several times
B) electrical shock
C) using a plausible false event
D) asking the individual to imagine the event

Question 28

What are the necessary circumstances to produce false memories in research participants?

A) It is not possible to produce completely false memories in participants under any circumstances.
B) It would require trauma too severe to be ethically allowable.
C) It would require highly suggestible participants and repeated leading questions.
D) It would require a few brief interviews.

Question 29

Misleading questions asked after participants have witnessed an event influence their

A) immediate reports of the event, as well as their recall of the event if they try to remember it sometime later.
B) immediate reports of the event but have little impact on longer-term retention.
C) longer-term retention of the event, but not their reports of the event immediately after witnessing it.
D) reports of an event only if the questions plant false ideas that are compatible with the participants' perceptions.

Question 30

Barbara and Michael are presented words to remember for later. During the testing session, they are asked to respond "old" or "new" to a series of items. Barbara's answers can be judged to be more accurate than Michael's if

A) her responses are more confident than Michael's.
B) her responses are faster than Michael's.
C) she does not have a source memory for the word.
D) she responds "know" more often than "remember."

Question 31

An expert is asked to comment on the confidence-accuracy relationship of an eyewitness's report. The expert will state that

A) the higher the witness's confidence, the more likely it is that the memory is accurate.
B) the lower the witness's confidence, the more likely it is that the memory is accurate.
C) extremely high confidence is a good indicator of an accurate memory, but more moderate levels of confidence are uninformative.
D) confidence levels are a poor indicator of the accuracy of recall.

Question 32

The creation of false memories in someone is possible

A) only for small details; the gist is remembered accurately.
B) only for events that took place long ago; recent events are remembered accurately.
C) only for neutral or unimportant events; memories that are emotional are accurate.
D) even for the creation of large-scale, entirely false events.

Question 33

Which of the following does NOT name a hypothesis concerning why we forget?

A) decay
B) hypermnesia
C) interference
D) retrieval failure

Question 34

Whitney witnesses a car accident and then discusses it with Ryan, a passenger in one of the cars. Ryan wants her to misremember a few critical details. Whitney is UNLIKELY to adopt Ryan's false memories if

A) Ryan subtly inserts the false information into a narrative.
B) Ryan provides images that corroborate his false information.
C) Ryan tells Whitney: "You are 100% wrong. This is what happened."
D) Whitney is an adult and Ryan is a child.

Question 35

We cannot prevent memory errors, but can they be detected?

A) Yes, they can be detected by using confidence as an indirect measure of accuracy.
B) Yes, they can be detected by using physiological measures of emotion.
C) No, they cannot be detected, but confidence is strongly correlated with accuracy.
D) Currently there is no reliable detector.

Question 36

By using leading questions and misinformation, researchers have been able to

A) shape how a real event is remembered, but they have been unable to lead participants into remembering an event that never took place.
B) shape how participants remember the sequence of actions in the event, but they have been unable to change how participants remember the details of an event.
C) shape how participants remember the people who participated in an event, but they have been unable to influence how participants remember the objects present as an event unfolded.
D) alter virtually any aspect of participants' memories and have even been able to create memories for entire events that never took place.

Question 37

Merlin learned a magic spell (to scare away a dragon) on January 10. He then used that spell on January 18. The 8-day period between these dates is called the

A) retention interval.
B) retrieval path.
C) interference period.
D) memory span.

Question 38

Michael and Maria both witnessed an auto accident. Maria remembers watching the car race past a stop sign, but she hears Michael report to the police that the car raced past a yield sign. Based on the results of similar studies, Maria is likely to recall that she saw

A) a stop sign, with her memory strengthened by the experience of hearing Michael's flawed report.
B) a yield sign, incorporating Michael's report into her own recollection.
C) a yield sign, but she will have low confidence in this recollection.
D) no sign at all.

Question 39

A great deal of forgetting may reflect an (perhaps temporary) inability to locate the target information in storage. This sort of forgetting is called

A) repression.
B) retrieval failure.
C) interference.
D) state dependency.

Question 40

The misinformation effect is an example of

A) selective amnesia.
B) retrieval failure.
C) source confusion.
D) memory decay.

Question 41

Information that is perceived as relevant to the self is better remembered. This is referred to as the

A) ego directive.
B) autobiographical perspective advantage.
C) self-reference effect.
D) self-importance law.

Question 42

Baddeley and Hitch asked rugby players to remember all of the rugby games they had played over the course of a single season. According to their data, which is the most important factor in determining whether the players will remember a particular game?

A) how many other games they have been in since the target game
B) how much time has passed since the target game
C) whether they were satisfied with their performance in the target game
D) whether the game took place during the week or on a weekend

Question 43

Julie can remember what she wore, what she did, and what the weather was like on any day from 1999. She likely has

A) retrograde amnesia.
B) anterograde amnesia.
C) hyperthymesia.
D) hypernesia.

Question 44

Often, people forget information about traumatic events. Repression is one controversial explanation, but other, less controversial explanations also exist. Which of the following is NOT a potential explanation for memory loss during a traumatic event?

A) sleep deprivation
B) head injury
C) extreme stress
D) attentional disruption during encoding

Question 45

The memory that contains the full recollection of our lives is referred to as ________ memory.

A) self-recollection
B) autobiographical
C) emotional perspective
D) personal experience

Question 46

In the process of memory consolidation, memories are

A) put into the "back of the mind" for self-protection.
B) intentionally blurred with other memories.
C) second-guessed in favor of memory schemata already in place.
D) biologically "cemented into place."

Question 47

Which of the following refers to the hypothesis that memories fade or erode with the passage of time?

A) interference
B) decay
C) repression
D) retention interval

Question 48

Some researchers have suggested that highly painful memories can be repressed. This theory

A) is widely considered by most researchers to be correct.
B) is known to be correct due to much undisputed evidence.
C) is controversial and the evidence is ambiguous at best.
D) has been disproven and is no longer considered valid by any researcher.

Question 49

Repression refers to the

A) conscious removal of memories.
B) unconscious removal of memories.
C) finding that memory is often incorrect.
D) planting of false memories by hypnotists.

Question 50

Evidence suggests that decay

A) accounts for the vast majority of forgetting.
B) probably explains far less forgetting than interference or retrieval failure.
C) in combination with repression explains virtually all of forgetting.
D) occurs for all memories.

Question 51

Flashbulb memories are extremely detailed, vivid memories usually associated with highly emotional events. The accuracy of these memories seems

A) best predicted by the consequentiality of the event to participants' lives.
B) unrelated to any factors researchers have probed so far.
C) remarkably high, identifying these memories as a special class of episodic recall.
D) strongly associated with participants' confidence levels, differentiating flashbulb memories from other forms of memories.

Question 52

Research on very-long-term remembering indicates that

A) memories fade more and more as the years go by.
B) memories of childhood are retained throughout the lifespan; later memories, however, are vulnerable to forgetting.
C) if you learn material well enough to retain it for 3 or 4 years, the odds are good that you will continue to remember the material for many more years.
D) if you learn material before age 13 or 14, you are unlikely to remember the material in later years; material learned at older ages is retained for longer periods.

Question 53

Dmitri witnessed a bank robbery but now seems unable to remember what he saw. To improve Dmitri's recall, a friend hypnotizes him and asks him, while he is hypnotized, to recall the crime. Research indicates that if questioned while under hypnosis Dmitri will

A) give a more elaborate account (but not more accurate) of the crime than he has on other occasions.
B) give a more accurate (but not more complete) account of the crime than he has on other occasions.
C) be less vulnerable to the effect of leading questions.
D) suffer from less retrieval failure.

Question 54

You should be skeptical of "recovered" memories that were repressed because

A) many painful events are well remembered.
B) retrieval failure may explain "recovered memories."
C) if the memory was important enough to be repressed, it would be a flashbulb memory and be robust to decay.
D) some recovered memories turn out to be false memories suggested by therapists.

Question 55

The effect that time has on forgetting is not monotonic. Forgetting is ________ over the first few minutes and hours and then ________ over subsequent decades.

A) slow; fast
B) fast; very fast
C) slow; very slow
D) fast; slow

Question 56

Emotion has multiple effects on the encoding and retrieval of memories. Which of the following is most likely to occur during the recall of everyday emotional events?

A) amnesia
B) repression
C) decreased accuracy in recall
D) accurate recall of the event's gist (i.e., the emotional event's center), but relatively poor recall of the event's background details ("periphery")

Question 57

Lexi is describing a movie she recently saw. When it comes time to name the actors, she draws a blank and utters, "Ugh, I know his name. He has been in a bunch of stuff lately. Why can't I think of it?" Lexi is experiencing

A) a brain hiccup.
B) interference.
C) tip-of-the-tongue phenomena.
D) retrograde amnesia.

Question 58

One way to mitigate the effect that time has on memory would be to

A) never age.
B) learn the material very well initially .
C) avoid any conflicting information in the intervening time.
D) avoid thinking about the information in the intervening time.

Question 59

Our "self-schema" is NOT likely to include

A) knowledge of how we spend our Tuesday nights.
B) ideas about our political beliefs when young.
C) accurate memories about poor grades.
D) our usual behaviors.

Question 60

Which of the following is NOT true of memory?

A) Generally, memory is accurate and can be trusted.
B) Gaps in memory, such as drawing a blank, can occur.
C) Amnesia can be cured by probing the brain with electrodes.
D) Memory errors can be created by outside sources as well as ourselves.

Question 61

Explain how the passage of time influences memory, both at shorter durations (hours, days) and longer durations (years, decades).

Question 62

Create your own set of stimuli (at least eight items) that could be used in the DRM procedure to cause false memories. Explain the procedure and your predictions.

Question 63

Mark and Leslie both witnessed a car crash, but their stories do not match. Mark is 10 years old, was in close physical proximity to the accident, and is very confident in his description of the accident. Leslie is 45, was talking on her phone when the accident happened, and is less sure of herself when answering questions. Leslie also mentions that she has seen several car accidents at this intersection and that it is very dangerous. Based on the evidence presented in the chapter, who should be trusted? Include the pros and cons of trusting each witness.

Question 64

Are autobiographical memories very different from other types of memories? Include empirical evidence to support your position.

Question 65

Are flashbulb memories different from other kinds of memories? Include in your answer a comparison of how flashbulb memories feel versus the actual data surrounding these memories.

Question 66

After reading a news article about a woman who recovered repressed memories of childhood abuse, your friend starts to think she too may have been abused as a child. Given your knowledge of auto- biographical memory, emotions, traumatic memories, and memory errors, what would you tell her?

Question 67

Describe how schematic knowledge can influence memory. Include in your answer an explanation of how schematic knowledge can be both helpful and damaging to memory.

Question 68

Does the passage of time or interference have a larger impact on forgetting? Support your answer by providing empirical evidence, or by considering the challenges of answering such a question.

Question 69

Imagine you are asked to testify at a grand jury, by the defense, as an expert on eyewitness memory. The defendant is charged with armed robbery and the prosecution has presented a witness who says that shortly after the crime was committed, she saw the defendant running down the street with a bag in his hands. What would you tell the jury about the accuracy of eyewitness memory in your testimony?

Question 70

Under hypnosis, Beth provided a detailed account of an emotional event she witnessed. Should the details of her memory be trusted? Why or why not?