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Chapter 8
SECTION 1
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS:

1. Psychologists use the term _________ to refer to the ability to store and retrieve
information over time. The process of acquiring and using knowledge is called
________.
a. learning; perception
b. memory; perception
c. learning; cognition
d. memory; cognition
Answer: d; Moderate

2. Psychologists use the term _________ to refer to the ability to store and retrieve
information over time.
a. learning
b. memory
c. cognition
d. perception
Answer: c; Easy

3. The process of acquiring and using knowledge is called ________.


a. learning
b. cognition
c. sensation
d. perception
Answer: b; Easy

4. Which of the following scientists could be considered a cognitive psychologist?


a. Dr. Abdalla, who investigates problem solving
b. Dr. Braithwaite, who studies formal reasoning processes
c. Dr. Clark, who examines how people encode information from the environment
d. All three scientists could be considered cognitive psychologists
Answer: d; Moderate

5. According to your text, the cognitive approach became the most important school of
psychology in the ____.
a. 1940s
b. 1950s
c. 1960s
d. 1970s
Answer: c; Moderate

6. Which of these statements does NOT accurately identify a general difference between
computers and the human brain?

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a. Computers process information in a parallel fashion, whereas the brain processes
information in a serial fashion.
b. The brain processes information slower than computers do.
c. Whereas computers distinguish between memory and processing, the brain does not.
d. The brain is more powerful than any computer.
Answer: a; Difficult

7. Which of these statements does NOT accurately identify a general difference between
computers and the human brain?
a. Computers process information in a serial fashion, whereas the brain processes
information in a parallel fashion.
b. The brain processes information faster than computers do.
c. Whereas computers distinguish between memory and processing, the brain does not.
d. The brain is more powerful than any computer.
Answer: b; Difficult

8. Which alternative correctly identifies a type of memory, a memory stage, or a memory


process?
a. retrieval – memory stage
b. encoding – memory process
c. sensory memory – type of memory
d. implicit memory – memory stage
e. short-term memory – type of memory
Answer: b; Moderate

9. Which of the following describes explicit memory?


a. Knowledge or experiences that can be consciously remembered
b. Memory of the first-hand experiences that we have had
c. Memory of facts and concepts about the world
d. The influence of experience on behavior, even when we are not aware of the effect
Answer: a; Easy

10. Which of the following describes episodic memory?


a. Knowledge or experiences that can be consciously remembered
b. Memory of the first-hand experiences that we have had
c. Memory of facts and concepts about the world
d. The influence of experience on behavior, even when we are not aware of the effect
Answer: b; Easy

11. Which of the following describes semantic memory?


a. Knowledge or experiences that can be consciously remembered
b. Memory of the first-hand experiences that we have had
c. Memory of facts and concepts about the world
d. The influence of experience on behavior, even when we are not aware of the effect
Answer: c; Easy

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12. Which of the following describes implicit memory?
a. Knowledge or experiences that can be consciously remembered
b. Memory of the first-hand experiences that we have had
c. Memory of facts and concepts about the world
d. The influence of experience on behavior, even when we are not aware of the effect
Answer: d; Easy

13. It is 10:15 a.m. on a mid-semester Wednesday. Three sections of introductory


psychology are meeting on the second floor of Old Main. In Room 201, Ms. Romero is
describing implicit memory. Across the hall in 204, Dr. Darby’s class is considering the
differences between sensory and short-term memory. Finally, in Old Main 209, Dr.
Eastwood is writing the terms ‘encoding,’ ‘storage,’ and ‘retrieval’ on the whiteboard.
Ms. Romero is discussing memory ______. Dr. Darby’s class is examining memory
________. Dr Eastwood is describing memory _________.
a. processes; types; stages
b. stages; processes; types
c stages; types; processes
d. types; processes; stages
Answer: d; Difficult

14. Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between explicit
memory and episodic memory?
a. Explicit memory is one type of episodic memory.
b. Episodic memory is one type of explicit memory.
c. Explicit memory and episodic memory are two different memory stages.
d. Explicit memory and episodic memory are the same thing.
Answer: b; Moderate

15. Having done “21 for 21” shots the night before, Deanna barely remembers her 21st
birthday. That is, her _________ memory is sketchy.
a. procedural
b. semantic
c. episodic
d. working
Answer: c

16. Cory knows that the capital of Vermont is Montpelier. This is an example of a(n)
_______ memory.
a. semantic
b. explicit
c. procedural
d. both A and B
Answer: d; Difficult

17. Knowing how to serve a badminton birdie is an example of a (n) ________ memory.
a. episodic

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b. semantic
c. procedural
d. explicit
Answer: c; Moderate

18. Ron moved from Alabama to Georgia ten years ago. “My fifth-grade teacher made us
memorize the names of all the counties in Alabama,” Ron tells his friend Rory. Rory
tests Ron by giving him a list of thirty counties – 15 Alabama counties, mixed in with 15
counties from other states. “Ok, pick out the Alabama counties,” Rory challenges Ron.
Which method does Rory’s test use?
a. rehearsal
b. recognition
c. reminiscence
d. recall
Answer: b; Moderate

19. An essay question is a _________ test of memory; a multiple-choice question is a


__________.
a. recall; recall test also
b. recall; recognition test
c. recall; relearning test
d. recognition; recognition test also
Answer: b; Easy

20. “Discuss several factors that contributed to the economic collapse of late 2008,” reads a
question on the midterm in an Economics course. Such a question is a ________ test of
_______ memory.
a. recall; semantic
b. recall; procedural
c. recognition; semantic
d. recognition; procedural
Answer: a; Moderate

21. In a memory experiment, Dr. Aziz gives one group of participants a recognition test of a
list of words they had seen earlier; another group is asked to recall the words. What
might you predict regarding the relative performance of the two groups on the memory
test?
a. The two groups should perform equivalently.
b. The recall group should outperform the recognition group.
c. The recall group should outperform the recognition group, as long as the test is given
shortly after participants first see the words.
d. The recognition group should outperform the recall group.
e. No consistent prediction can be made without a consideration of many other variables.
Answer: d

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22. A typical multiple-choice question on a psychology test is an example of a ___________
test of _________memory.
a. recall; implicit
b. recall; explicit
c. relearning; implicit
d. recognition; explicit
Answer: d; Difficult

23. Janna is puzzling over a fill-in-the-blank question on a sociology test. Answering the
question correctly requires Janna to use ________ memory.
a. explicit
b. implicit
c. recognition
d. episodic
Answer: a; Moderate

24. Which of the following memory measures is correctly described?


a. recall -- involves retrieving material from memory after it has been learned
b. recognition -- entails determining whether material has learned before
c. relearning -- involves studying material again after it has been learned already but then
forgotten
d. Each of these is correctly described.
Answer: d; Difficult

25. Which of the following is true about recall memory?


a. Involves retrieving material from memory after it has been learned
b. Entails determining whether material has learned before
c. Involves studying material again after it has been learned already but then forgotten
d. Involves knowledge of how to do things
Answer: a; Easy

26. Which of the following is true about recognition memory?


a. Involves retrieving material from memory after it has been learned
b. Entails determining whether material has learned before
c. Involves studying material again after it has been learned already but then forgotten
d. Involves knowledge of how to do things
Answer: b; Easy

27. Which of the following is true about relearning?


a. Involves retrieving material from memory after it has been learned
b. Entails determining whether material has learned before
c. Involves studying material again after it has been learned already but then forgotten
d. Involves knowledge of how to do things
Answer: c; Easy

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28. With respect to the memory measures described in your text, which of the following
statements is true?
a. Relearning tests can go beyond "correct" versus "incorrect"
b. Recognition tests can go beyond "correct" versus "incorrect"
c. Recall tests can go beyond "correct" versus "incorrect"
d. All of the above are true
Answer: a; Moderate

29. Relearning measures allow the assessment of:


a. procedural memory, such as that involved in playing a video game
b. semantic memory, such as that involved in knowing the state capitals
c. semantic memory, such as that involved in crocheting a sweater
d. both procedural memory, such as that involved in playing a video game, and semantic
memory, such as that involved in knowing the state capitals
Answer: d; Difficult

30. “I know it! It’s um . . . um . . . ,” begins a trivia game contestant excitedly. The
contestant is engaged in a test of her ________ memory.
a. external
b. explicit
c. extrinsic
d. internal
Answer: b; Moderate

31. Memories of which we’re not consciously aware are called ________ memories.
a. internal
b. subliminal
c. subconscious
d. implicit
Answer: d; Easy

32. Which of the following is NOT an example of procedural memory?


a. knowing how to play the piano
b. knowing how to skip stones
c. knowing that your first kiss occurred at a middle-school dance
d. knowing how to crochet
Answer: c; Moderate

33. Procedural is to semantic as _________ is to __________


a. explicit; implicit
b. memory process; memory stage
c. implicit; explicit
d.. short-term memory; long-term memory
Answer: c; Difficult

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34. Which of the memory measures described in your text might be used to assess implicit
memory?
a. recognition
b. relearning
c. word fragment test
d. B and C
Answer: d; Difficult

35. Over time, you have learned to salivate at the mere sight of a chili pepper. This type of
learning reflects _________ memory
a. implicit
b. explicit
c. procedural
d. both A and B
Answer: a; Moderate

36. Some psychologists consider classical conditioning to be a form of implicit memory.


Which of the following is probably the BEST reason for suggesting that classical
conditioning is a type of implicit memory?
a. Classical conditioning occurs outside awareness.
b. Classical conditioning requires conscious awareness.
c. Classical conditioning is one mechanism whereby we learn actions and skills.
e. Classical conditioning applies mainly to existing rather than new behaviors.
Answer: a; Moderate

37. In an implicit memory experiment, participants are first briefly exposed to unusual,
lengthy words in Phase I; later in the week, in Phase II, participants return for a word
completion task, in which they attempt to fill in the missing letters of each of a list of
words (e.g., p _ _ _ u d _ _ e). Some of the words correspond to Phase I words; others do
not. The Phase I word is termed a _______; Phase II words that also appeared in Phase I
should be completed ________ accurately than those that did not.
a. prime; less
b. prime; more
c. probe; less
d. probe; more
Answer: b; Moderate

38. In an implicit memory experiment, participants are first briefly exposed to unusual,
lengthy words in Phase I; later in the week, in Phase II, participants return for a word
completion task, in which they attempt to fill in the missing letters of each of a list of
words (e.g., p _ _ _ u d _ _ e). Some of the words correspond to Phase I words; others do
not. Which pair below correctly identifies the variables of interest in this study?
a. Phase I or II—independent variable; whether Phase II words had appeared in Phase I –
dependent variable
b. Phase I or II—independent variable; word completion accuracy—dependent variable

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c. whether Phase II words had appeared in Phase I—independent variable; Phase I or II—
dependent variable
d. whether Phase II words had appeared in Phase I—independent variable; word completion
accuracy—dependent variable.
Answer: d; Moderate

39. Based on research described in your text (Bargh et al., 1996), which of the following
statements is true of priming effects?
a. Priming effects are very small, and have few effects on behavior.
b. Priming effects are significant, but have few effects on behavior.
c. Priming effects are significant and influence behavior.
d. Priming effects are significant, but they only influence behavior when one is aware of
them.
Answer: c; Moderate

40. Which of the following sequences best reflects the order of stages in the three-stage
model of memory?
a. sensory memory → short-term memory → long-term memory
b. short-term memory → sensory memory → long-term memory
c. short-term memory → working memory → long-term memory
d. working memory → short-term memory → long-term memory
Answer: a; Moderate

41. Which of the following are types of implicit memory?


a. Classical conditioning and Priming
b. Iconic and Echoic
c. Semantic and Episodic
d. Procedural and Semantic
Answer: a; Moderate

42. Which of the following are types of explicit memory?


a. Classical conditioning and Priming
b. Iconic and Echoic
c. Semantic and Episodic
d. Procedural and Priming
Answer: c; Moderate

43. Which of the following statements is true about iconic and echoic memory?
a. Iconic and echoic memory are types of sensory memory.
b. Iconic and echoic memory are types of explicit memory.
c. Iconic and echoic memory are types of implicit memory.
d. Iconic and echoic memory are types of classical conditioning
Answer: a; Moderate

44. Information may last for _______ seconds in sensory memory; the capacity of sensory
memory is _______.

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a. a few; small
b. a few; large
c. about 30; small
d. about 30; large
Answer: b; Difficult

45. The study of sensory memory is associated with:


a. Elizabeth Loftus
b. George Miller
c. George Sperling
d. Herbert Simon
Answer: c; Moderate

46. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, psychologist George Sperling conducted key studies of
______ memory.
a. sensory
b. short-term
c. semantic
d. episodic
Answer: a; Moderate

47. George Sperling conducted a study in which he varied the interval between the
presentation of a letter matrix and an auditory recall cue. Sperling measured the
proportion of letters participants could recall from the matrix. Which of the following
statements is FALSE regarding this study?
a. A graph of the results of this study would show the accuracy of recall on the y-axis.
b. The interval between the matrix and the cue is a dependent variable.
c. All the letters in the matrix are stored in memory.
d. Sperling’s study provided knowledge regarding sensory memory.
Answer: b; Difficult

48. Psychologists use the term ______ memory to refer to “photographic” memory.
a. pictographic
b. engrammatic
c. iconic
d. eidetic
Answer: D; Moderate

49. “She did WHAT??” your roommate exclaims as you relate a story about a mutual friend.
Your roommate is processing your story in _________ memory.
a. working
b. sensory
c. episodic
d. implicit
Answer: a; Moderate

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50. To which of the following is working memory most similar?
a. a legal pad on which you jot temporary notes
b. a calendar item reminding you of a future obligation
c. a file on a computer hard drive
d. a portrait hanging in a museum
Answer: a; Moderate

51. On your computer desktop, you can see all sorts of different files, each immediately
accessible. Because you are actively working on them, and because you can open them
whenever you want, these files are analogous to the information held in:
a. semantic memory
b. working memory
c. sensory memory
d. procedural memory
Answer: b; Moderate

52. As you work on a complex multiplication problem in your head, the numbers you are
manipulating are in your __________ memory, and the multiplication tables you are
drawing on are in _________ memory.
a. working; long-term
b. working; sensory
c. long-term; working
d. sensory; working
Answer: a; Moderate

53. Process is to structure as __________ memory is to _________ memory.


a. explicit; implicit
b. sensory; working
c. long-term; working
d. working; short-term
Answer: d; Difficult

54. The central executive is:


a. an aspect of sensory memory
b. a component of working memory
c. a type of implicit memory
d. a form of explicit memory
Answer: b; Moderate

55. When we look up a number in the phone book, close the book, and then begin to dial the
number, we are relying on
a. short term memory
b. iconic memory
c. working memory
d. long-term memory
Answer: a; Easy

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56. __________ examined how long information can last in sensory memory. __________
investigated the duration of short-term memory.
a. Peterson and Peterson; Sperling
b. Peterson and Peterson; Peterson and Peterson also
c. Sperling; Peterson and Peterson
d. Sperling; Sperling also
Answer: c; Difficult

57. Rehearsal serves to:


a. refresh sensory memory
b. keep information in short-term memory
c. help transfer information to long-term memory
e. both B and C
Answer: e; Moderate

58. Which of the following describes short-term memory?


a. The brief storage of visual or auditory information
b. Memory where small amounts of information can be kept for several seconds
c. Processes that we use to interpret and store information
d. Memory storage that can last for years
Answer: b; Easy

59. Which of the following describes sensory memory?


a. The brief storage of visual or auditory information
b. Memory where small amounts of information can be kept for several seconds
c. Processes that we use to interpret and store information
d. Memory storage that can last for years
Answer: a; Easy

60. Which of the following describes working memory?


a. The brief storage of visual or auditory information
b. Memory where small amounts of information can be kept for several seconds
c. Processes that we use to interpret and store information
d. Memory storage that can last for years
Answer: c; Easy

61. The conscious repetition of information to ensure its survival in short-term memory is
termed ________ rehearsal.
a. primary
b. mnemonic
c. rote
d. maintenance
Answer: d; Easy

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62. Which of the following expressions best reflects the capacity of short-term memory?
a. one or two items
b. unlimited
c. about seven, plus or minus two items
d. about a dozen items
Answer: c; Moderate

63. In the words of George Miller, the capacity of short-term memory is the “magical number
_________.”
a. nine, plus or minus two
b. six, plus or minus one
c. five, plus or minus two
d. seven, plus or minus two
Answer: d; Easy

64. Tommy is repeating a series of digits in the order in which he heard an experimenter read
them. The experimenter is testing the capacity of Tommy’s _______ memory. Tommy
should be able to repeat about _________ digits correctly.
a. short-term; 4
b. short-term; 7
c. short-term; 9
d. sensory; 4
Answer: b; Moderate

65. Grouping pieces of information together to expand the effective capacity of short-term
memory is termed _________.
a. chunking
b. clumping
c. consolidating
d. compacting
Answer: a; Easy

66. “What’s your social?” the associate asks over the phone. “One, six, four . . .” you begin.
After a brief pause, you continue, “seventy-two . . . sixteen thirty-eight.” To ease the
burden on the associate’s short-term memory, you are giving the number in ______ rather
than as individual digits.
a. nodes
b. clumps
c. clusters
d. chunks
Answer: d; Moderate

67. When you tell an acquaintance your telephone number, you do not recite the digits one by
one at a constant rate, as in “3, 3, 7, 2, 3, 4, 8, 3, 9, 2.” Rather, you might say, “3, 3, 7 . . .
2, 3, 4 . . . 83, 92.” This exemplifies ________, a strategy to enhance ______ memory.
a. consolidation; sensory

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b. consolidation; short-term
c. chunking; sensory
d. chunking; short-term
Answer: d; Moderate

TRUE-FALSE QUESTIONS:

68. Explicit memory underlies the ability to swing a golf club.


Answer: F; Easy

69. Relearning measures allow the assessment of both implicit and explicit memory.
Answer: T; Moderate

70. Primes have little real effect on behavior.


Answer: F; Easy

71. Sensory memory can hold only a small amount of information.


Answer: F; Moderate

72. The capacity of short-term memory is about 7 items.


Answer: T; Easy

73. Chunking serves to increase the capacity of sensory memory.


Answer: F; Moderate

FILL-IN-THE-BLANK QUESTIONS:

74. Semantic and episodic memory are subdivisions of __________ memory.


Answer: explicit; Moderate

75. Scores on a recall test of memory are likely to be ___________ than those on a
recognition test of memory.
Answer: lower; Difficult

76. “It’s like riding a bike; once you know how, you don’t forget.” This adage suggests that
procedural memories do not require conscious attempts at recall; that is, procedural
memories are often ________.
Answer: implicit; Moderate

77. Implicit memory is often studied through experiments that use ________.
Answer: primes/priming; Moderate

78. You have just listened to your current favorite song on your iPod. You can still hear
traces of the final chorus, even though the song has just ended. For a few seconds, the
song will be represented in auditory sensory memory, or ________ memory.
Answer: echoic; Moderate

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79. A ________ is a meaningful group of stimuli that can be stored as a unit in short- term
memory.
Answer: chunk; Easy

ESSAY QUESTIONS:

80. Distinguish between explicit and implicit memory. How is implicit memory studied in
the laboratory? How does implicit memory research inform the continuing debate in
psychology regarding the unconscious determinants of behavior? In your answer, make
explicit reference to behaviors that may have important personal and social
consequences.
Difficult

81. Define and provide original examples from your own experience of each of the following
types of long-term memory: episodic, semantic, and procedural memory.
Difficult

82. George Sperling conducted classic experiments in which participants were first exposed
briefly to a letter matrix; after a varying interval, an auditory tone cued participants to
report the letters contained in a specific row of the matrix. The results indicated that
iconic memory accurately codes the spatial location of stimuli, and that the information in
iconic memory decays after approximately 1 s. Might sensory memory also code other
physical stimulus characteristics, such as color or size? Might it code the categorical
identical of stimuli, such as whether the stimuli are letters or numbers, upper- or lower-
case letters, consonants or vowels, and so on? Does such information decay more rapidly
or more slowly from sensory memory than spatial location information? Use your
imagination and describe two original experiments modeled on Sperling’s studies that
might answer such questions. Be sure to state your hypotheses and to identify the pattern
of results that would support your hypotheses.
Difficult

83. Short-term memory is limited both in the amount of information it can hold at one time
and in how long it can hold information. Describe several strategies one might use to
overcome the capacity and duration limitations of short-term memory. How might one
use these strategies when studying for course materials? Provide concrete examples.
Difficult

SECTION 2
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS:

84. Which of the following sequences best reflects the order in which memory processes
occur, from first to last?
a. encoding → storage → retrieval
b. storage → retrieval → encoding
c. encoding → retrieval → storage

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d. storage → encoding → retrieval
Answer: a; Easy

85. Which of the following is NOT one of the three memory processes identified in your
text?
a. encoding
b. priming
c. storage
d. retrieval
Answer: b; Moderate

86. When we use the term “remembering” in day-to-day life, we are making reference to the
memory process of:
a. rehearsal
b. retrieval
c. encoding
d. storage
Answer: b; Moderate

87. Amelia remarks that she needs to learn her text’s section on the structures of the brain for
an upcoming test. Brian responds that he couldn’t remember the function of the
hippocampus on a test the preceding day. With respect to the three memory processes
described in your text, Amelia is making reference to _________. Brian is referring to
______.
a. encoding; storage
b. retrieval; encoding
c. retrieval; storage
d. encoding; retrieval
Answer: d; Moderate

88. When answering such questions as “Who was your date to the Junior Prom?” or “Which
costume did you wear last Halloween?” you are relying most explicitly on the memory
process of:
a. encoding
b. rehearsal
c. priming
d. retrieval
Answer: d; Moderate

89. Clarice presses a key on her computer to save a document she has been editing. A file is
then created on her computer’s hard drive. The computer’s action is most similar to the
memory activity of _________. The computer’s hard drive is similar to _________
memory in the three-stage memory model.
a. retrieval; long-term
b. priming; short-term
c. encoding; long-term

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d. encoding; short-term
Answer: c; Easy

90. An investigator asks some participants to count the number of letters in each of the names
on a long list of Russian rivers. She asks other participants to pronounce each river’s
name and asks, for instance, “Does it rhyme with Vienna?” (for Lenna). She asks a third
group of participants to place the river on a map and to observe into which larger body of
water it flows. Which approach memory concept is this investigator most likely
interested in?
a. context-dependent memory
b. schemas
c. state-dependent memory
d. elaborative encoding
Answer: d; Moderate

91. Which statement best expresses the relationship between attention and the memory
activity of encoding?
a. Attention is a byproduct of encoding.
b. Attention is unrelated to encoding.
c. Attention is the same as encoding.
d. Attention is necessary for encoding.
Answer: d; Moderate

92. Drew is unable to recall whether Lincoln’s head faces left or right on the penny. Which
of the following is probably the best explanation for Drew’s memory failure?
a. The information is difficult to retrieve, because it is stored along with so many other
pieces of information in Drew’s long-term memory.
b. The information was learned so long ago that it is no longer stored in Drew’s long-term
memory.
c. The information was not encoded, because Drew never really paid attention to Lincoln’s
head on the penny.
d. The information was immediately displaced from Drew’s working memory after it was
encoded.
Answer: c; Moderate

93. Which of the following is the best reason for why we have trouble remembering the
license plate number of a car that we just passed ten minutes ago?
a. Working memory lasts only a minute or so.
b. License plate numbers are too difficult to remember easily.
c. We probably never encoded the number in the first place.
d. The memory, though present, is too difficult to retrieve except under special
circumstances, such as hypnosis or substantial amounts of stress.
Answer: c; Moderate

94. Which of the following defines elaborative encoding?


a. Learning by processing in ways that make information relevant

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b. Learning by processing information in procedural memory
c. Learning by processing simpler materials as complex material
d. Learning by rehearsing
Answer: a; Easy

95. Dr. Fernald is conducting a memory experiment. One group of participants has to decide
whether each of a list of words begins with the same letter as a target word; a second
group has to determine whether each of a list of words rhymes with a target word; finally,
a third group has to determine whether each of a list of words is a synonym or an
antonym of a target word. Later, all participants are asked to recall the list words.
According to levels-of-processing theory, which group’s performance should be the
highest? The lowest?
a. highest—synonym/antonym group; lowest—same letter group
b. highest—same letter group; lowest—synonym/antonym group
c. highest—rhyme group; lowest—same letter group
d. highest—synonym/antonym group; lowest—rhyme group
Answer: a; Difficult

96. A researcher presents participants with a list of words. She asks the participants to count
the letters in the words in Group 1, to come up with rhymes for the words in Group 2, and
to produce synonyms for the words in Group 3. Later, she tests the participants’ memory
for all of the words. From best to worst, which pattern correctly indicates how well
words in each group will be remembered?
a. 1, 2, 3
b. 3, 2, 1
c. 3, 1, 2
d. 1, 3, 2
Answer: b; Moderate

97. According to the principle of elaborative encoding, which of the following study
techniques would best enhance memory?
a. highlighting important passages in the text
b. copying the text into a notebook
c. reading aloud important passages in the text
d. focusing on the meaning of important passages in the text
Answer: d; Easy

98. According to the principle of elaborative encoding, which of the following students
should retrieve information more successfully on classroom tests?
a. Grant, who attempts to memorize his notes
b. Harry, who attempts to relate the material to his own experiences.
c. Irene, who attempts to relate her notes to information she has learned in other classes
d. These students should retrieve information equally well on tests
Answer: b; Easy

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99. Which of the following statements best expresses the relationship, if any, between
elaborative encoding and the self-reference effect?
a. Elaborative encoding is synonymous with the self-reference effect.
b. The self-reference effect is essentially the opposite of elaborative encoding.
c. Elaborative encoding is an example of the self-reference effect.
d. The self-reference effect is an example of elaborative encoding.
Answer: d; Difficult

100. Among the very first attempts to study forgetting scientifically were made by the
German psychologist __________.
a. Ebbinghaus
b. Wundt
c. Weber
d. Muller
Answer: a; Moderate

101. Which of the following statements BEST describes the forgetting function that
Ebbinghaus discovered?
a. Material is forgotten at a relatively constant rate once it has been learned.
b. Material is forgotten relatively rapidly at first, then the rate of forgetting slows down.
c. Material is forgotten at a relatively slow rate at first, then the rate of forgetting speeds up.
d. Nothing is ever really forgotten.
Answer: b; Moderate

102. What does Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve tell us about the way we forget material over
time?
a. We forget information at a constant rate.
b. At first, we forget very little of what we have learned, but as time passes, the rate of
forgetting accelerates.
c. Most forgetting happens immediately after we learn material; the rate of forgetting slows
down as time goes by.
d. A lot of forgetting happens immediately after we learn material; the rate of forgetting then
speeds up as time goes by.
e. We forget information at a variable and unpredictable rate as time passes.
Answer: c; Moderate

103. Which of the following best describes the results of Ebbinghaus’s work on forgetting?
a. You’ll remember what you learn pretty well for a day or two, but then you’ll begin rapidly
forgetting the material.
b. Beginning immediately, you’ll slowly forget what you’ve learned at a relatively constant
rate.
c. You’ll forget most of it right away, and you’ll keep on forgetting more of it, though at a
slower rate.
d. You’ll forget a lot of it right away, and you’ll keep on forgetting more of it, at an even
faster rate.
Answer: c; Moderate

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104. According to the ________ effect, _________ practice leads to better learning than
__________ practice.
a. spacing; distributed; massed
b. spacing; massed; distributed
c. spacing; massed; spaced
d. distributive; distributed; massed
Answer: a; Moderate

105. Erika usually ‘crams’ for tests the night before they are given. Francisco generally
studies each of his courses for about 45 minutes each night throughout the term. Erika
relies on __________, whereas Francisco uses _________.
a. maintenance processing; elaborative processing
b. distributed practice; massed practice
c. massed practice; elaborative processing
d. massed practice; distributed practice
Answer: d; Easy

106. Which of the following is true about studying?


a. Studying and rehearsing past initial mastery increases interference, impairing memory.
b. Studying and rehearsing past initial mastery doesn’t actually hurt, but it doesn’t help
either.
c. Studying and rehearsing past initial mastery improves short-term retention, but doesn’t do
much over the longer term.
d. Studying and rehearsing past initial mastery improves long-term retention.
Answer: d; Moderate

107. “I know it! It’s um . . . um . . . It starts with ‘G’,” begins a trivia game contestant
excitedly. The contestant is falling prey to the _______ effect.
a. tip-of-the-tongue
b. flashbulb memory
c. source confusion
d. retrograde interference
Answer: a; Easy

108. Almost everybody has had the feeling of knowing the answer to a question, but not
being quite able to say it. This is called the “tip-of the-tongue” phenomenon, and is a
failure of __________.
a. retention
b. storage
c. retrieval
d. rehearsal
Answer: c; Easy

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109. On his psychology exam, Mickey is asked to recall the name of the physiologist who
worked on classical conditioning. He cannot quite remember the name, but he knows
that it starts with a P and is two syllables long. Mickey is experiencing:
a. repression
b. proactive interference
c. retrograde amnesia
d. the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
Answer: d; Easy

110. Jamal’s introductory psychology class is held in Room A. For the final exam, the
students in Jamal’s class are divided among Rooms A, B, and C. Jamal’s memory for the
material is likely to be best if he takes the test in which room?
a. Room A
b. the largest of the three rooms
c. the smallest of the three rooms
d. the room most different from Room A
Answer: a; Moderate

111. On a test of recall, participants who learn a list of words in one room do better if
tested in that same room than if tested in a different room. This finding is best explained
by:
a. elaborative encoding
b. the spacing effect
c. state-dependent learning
d. context-dependent learning
Answer: d; Moderate

112. Ron receives some stock tips when he’s slightly ‘buzzed’ at an office party. Based on
the notion of state-dependent memory, what might you predict regarding the likelihood
that Ron will recall the tips the following week?
a. He will probably best remember the tips if he is sober.
b. He will probably best remember the tips if he has had a few drinks.
c. He will probably best remember the tips if he is drunk.
d. He will remember the tips equally well regardless of his state of intoxication.
Answer: b; Moderate

113. Our ability to recall an item from a list depends on where in the list the item occurs.
This is the __________ effect.
a. serial position
b. list memory
c. cereal position
d. item order
Answer: a; Easy

114. How might you describe the shape of the function relating the probability of an item’s
recall to the item’s position on a list?

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a. U-shaped
b. squiggly
c. a linear, negatively sloped line
d. an inverted-U shape
Answer: a; Moderate

115. A research participant is required to report as much of a poem as he can remember


immediately after having read the poem once. We would expect the greatest number of
recall errors in lines:
a. at the beginning of the poem
b. in the middle of the poem
c. at the end of the poem
d. at the beginning or the end of the poem
Answer: b; Moderate

116. Before going home, Dr. Rosen tries to flesh out his patient notes. He can remember
the first and last sessions of the day, but his memory of the middle ones is a bit fuzzy.
Dr. Rosen’s memory reflects the ________ effect.
a. primacy
b. recency
c. serial position
d. A, B, and C
Answer: d; Difficult

117. The primacy effect refers to the fact that


a. the most important items in a list are more most to be remembered.
b. the last items presented in a list are most likely to be remembered.
c. the first items presented in a list are most likely to be remembered.
d. the items in a list which have the greatest emotional impact are most likely to be
remembered.
Answer: c; Moderate

118. “Cat food, cola, toothpaste,” your roommate begins reciting items into the phone as
you throw your books in the backseat and get into your car; you're supposed to hit the
store on the way home. He continues to list a few more items. Finally, he wraps up:
“Coffee creamer, spaghetti sauce, dish liquid, and ice tea mix.” You forget a couple of
things, but you do manage to get the cat food, cola, and toothpaste. Your memory for
these items reflects the _________ effect.
a. primacy
b. recency
c. serial memory
d. item order
Answer: a; Moderate

119. One evening, you examine the schedule for your favorite football team. The team
plays sixteen games each season. Later you try recalling that schedule for a friend who

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likes the same team you do. Chances are, you will recall opponents at the beginning of
the schedule particularly well. What is this phenomenon called?
a. the list effect
b. the primacy effect
c. the consolidation effect
d. context-dependent learning
e. overlearning
Answer: b; Moderate

120. The “recency effect” refers to the fact that:


a. the last items on a list are more likely to be remembered than the middle items
b. the first several items on a list are more likely to be remembered than the middle items
c. rehearsed items are more likely to be remembered than unrehearsed items
d. the most personally relevant items on a list are most likely to be remembered
Answer: a; Moderate

121. “Cat food, cola, toothpaste,” your roommate begins reciting items into the phone as
you throw your books in the backseat and get into your car; you're supposed to hit the
store on the way home. He continues to list a few more items. Finally, he wraps up:
“Coffee creamer, spaghetti sauce, dish liquid, and ice tea mix.” You forget a few things,
but the Ragu, Dawn, and Lipton's are in the bag. Your memory for these items reflects
the _________ effect.
a. primacy
b. serial order
c. list memory
d. recency
Answer: d; Moderate

122. Suppose you begin to list all the classes you’ve ever taken in college. Chances are,
you will recall your last few classes particularly well. What is this phenomenon called?
a. chunking
b. the primacy effect
c. the recency effect
d. memory consolidation
Answer: c; Moderate

123. In ________ interference, information learned earlier disrupts the recall of


information learned more recently; in _________ interference, recently learned
information disrupts the recall of information learned earlier.
a. retroactive; proactive
b. proactive; retroactive
c. regressive; progressive
d. progressive; regressive
Answer: b; Difficult

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124. Bruce watches a new television program with enthusiasm. He then watches a second,
similar program. Bruce later finds it difficult to remember the details of the second
program; he finds that details about the first program keep intruding. What has probably
occurred?
a. interference
b. misinformation
c. overlearning
d. repression
Answer: a; Moderate

125. Nana is taking a Spanish final at the end of the spring semester. The problem is, the
French vocabulary she learned the semester before keeps getting in the way, causing her
to forget Spanish words. Nana is experiencing ________ interference.
a. retroactive
b. progressive
c. proactive
d. retrograde
Answer: c; Moderate

126. Which of the following defines retroactive interference?


a. Memory impairment that occurs when earlier learning impairs later learning
b. Memory impairment that occurs when later learning is impaired by earlier learning
c. Memory impairment that occurs when longer lists come before shorter lists
d. Memory impairment that occurs in short-term memory
Answer: b; Moderate

127. Which of the following defines proactive interference?


a. Memory impairment that occurs when earlier learning impairs later learning
b. Memory impairment that occurs when later learning is impaired by earlier learning
c. Memory impairment that occurs when longer lists come before shorter lists
d. Memory impairment that occurs in short-term memory
Answer: a; Moderate

128. Owen has trouble remembering a friend’s new phone number; he keeps recalling the
old number instead. Completing a rental application, Pippa finds she can’t recall one of
her previous addresses, as she’s had several addresses since. Owen is experiencing
__________ interference; Pippa is experiencing _________.
a. retrograde; anterograde interference
b. retroactive; retroactive interference as well
c. proactive; proactive interference as well
d. proactive; retroactive interference
Answer: d; Difficult

129. In a lexical decision task in which participants must judge whether a string of letters
forms a word in English, participants are first shown the string BANANA. Based on

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what you know about categories and spreading activation, which of the following strings
might participants then judge the most rapidly?
a. APPLE
b. ANANAB
c. MAVEN
d. BANDANA
Answer: a; Moderate

130. Research participants are asked to judge whether or not a string of letters forms a
word in English. They are first given the string CABBAGE. Based on what you know
about categories and spreading activation, which of the following strings might
participants then judge the most rapidly?
a. CRIBBAGE
b. CARROT
c. TOILET
d. CABOOSE
Answer: b; Moderate

131. Participants are asked to judge whether a string of letters forms a word in English.
The first string they receive is the word VIOLIN. On a subsequent list of words, results
show that the participants are substantially faster at answering “Yes” to the word PIANO
than to the word TOILET or BASKET. Which concept does this result most clearly
illustrate?
a. episodic memory
b. state-dependent learning
c. the spacing effect
d. spreading activation
Answer: d; Moderate

132. Often, one memory triggers others. Of the following, which is the most likely
mechanism by which this might occur?
a. spreading activation
b. serial activation
c. network priming
d. distributed processing
Answer: a; Moderate

133. Properties that must be true of all members of a category are termed ________
features.
a. prototypical
b. schematic
c. defining
d. essential
Answer: c; Moderate

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134. Mothers are necessarily female. Being female is thus a _________ feature of the
category 'mother.'
a. schematic
b. prototypical
c. essential
d. defining
Answer: d; Moderate

135. A prototype is:


a. a group of objects sharing one or more common features
b. the first example of a concept that one encounters
c. the most frequent or common example of a concept
d. the best or most typical example of a concept
Answer: d; Moderate

136. Which of the following is most likely the prototype of the category “fruit”?
a. olive
b. apple
c. persimmon
d. blueberry
Answer: b; Easy

137. A schema is:


a. a conceptual framework for interpreting a situation
b. a form of proactive interference
c. an important result of decay
d. an item that has been forgotten
Answer: a; Easy

138. Dr. Tranh has given so many lectures that he gives little thought to what he expects
might happen: He assumes students will assemble, take notes, and occasionally ask a
question. That Dr. Tranh finds the process so routine most clearly reflects the
development of:
a. a semantic association
b. explicit memory
c. a schema
d. a retrieval path
Answer: c; Easy

139. Which of the following alternatives best captures the relationship between the
concept of a schema and that of a stereotype?
a. The concept of a schema is unrelated to that of a stereotype.
b. The concept of a schema is broader than that of a stereotype.
c. The concept of a schema is narrower that of a stereotype.
d. The concept of a schema is the same as that of a stereotype.
Answer: b; Moderate

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140. Long-term potentiation refers to the process whereby
a. the number of synaptic and dendritic connections between neurons increases with
experience.
b. memories become fixed and stable for the long term.
c. neural pathways become activated more easily as learning occurs.
d. disturbing memories seem to gain in intensity over time.
Answer: c; Moderate

141. The hippocampus plays a role in memory consolidation. Therefore it is probably


most accurate to say that the hippocampus is more involved in _________ than in
________.
a. retrieval; encoding or storage
b. storage; encoding
c. encoding and storage; retrieval
d. storage and retrieval; encoding
Answer: c; Moderate

142. According to your text, one of the key brain regions in explicit memory is a limbic
system structure called the ________.
a. hippocampus
b. hypothalamus
c. amygdala
d. thalamus
Answer: a; Moderate

143. The hippocampus:


a. helps encode information about spatial relationships
b. helps encode the context surrounding events
c. helps form associations among memories
d. A, B, and C
Answer: d; Difficult

144. Explicit memories are to implicit memories as the ________ is to the _________.
a. hypothalamus; cerebellum
b. amygdala; cerebellum
c. amygdala; hippocampus
d. hippocampus; cerebellum
Answer: d; Moderate

145. The amygdala is to the cerebellum as ________ memories are to


_________.memories.
a. implicit; emotional
b. emotional; implicit
c. explicit; implicit
d. implicit; explicit

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Answer: b; Moderate

146. Estelle remembers a night she was mugged and brutally beaten. This memory
probably involves her:
a. cerebellum
b. hypothalamus
c. thalamus
d. amygdala
Answer: d; Moderate

147. Which brain structure is correctly matched with its role in memory?
a. cerebellum – implicit memory
b. hippocampus – emotional memory
c. amygdala – explicit memory
d. All of these are correctly matched.
Answer: a; Moderate

148. In _________ amnesia, memory is lost for events preceding an injury or accident; in
__________ amnesia, memory is lost for events following an injury or accident.
a. retrograde; anterograde
b. anterograde; retrograde
c. regressive; progressive
d. retroactive; proactive
Answer: a; Moderate

149. Rhonda can’t remember anything about the first several minutes immediately
following a car crash in which she was injured. Rhonda is experiencing _______
amnesia.
a. retrograde
b. anterograde
c. retroactive
d. proactive
Answer: b; Moderate

150. Which of the following defines retrograde amnesia?


a. The inability to retrieve events that occurred before a given time
b. The inability to transfer information from short-term to long-term memory
c. The strengthening of synaptic connections
d. The loss of memory due to the passage of time
Answer: a; Easy

151. Which of the following defines anterograde amnesia?


a. The inability to retrieve events that occurred before a given time
b. The inability to transfer information from short-term to long-term memory
c. The strengthening of synaptic connections
d. The loss of memory due to the passage of time

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Answer: b; Easy

152. Which of the following defines long-term potentiation (LTP)?


a. The inability to retrieve events that occurred before a given time
b. The inability to transfer information from short-term to long-term memory
c. The strengthening of synaptic connections
d. The loss of memory due to the passage of time
Answer: c; Easy

153. Omar experienced a dissociative fugue state. He suddenly snapped out of it in front
of a pet-supplies display in a Boise, ID discount store; he had no memory whatsoever of
his previous life in Greensboro, NC. Omar’s amnesia is best described as:
a. proactive
b. anterograde
c. retroactive
d. retrograde
Answer: d; Moderate

154. Which of the following is NOT among the neurotransmitters mentioned in your text
as important in memory?
a. glutamate
b. serotonin
c. endorphins
d. epinephrine
Answer: c; Difficult

155. Which of the following neurotransmitters is correctly paired with a description of its
role in memory?
a. serotonin – the most important neurotransmitter in memory
b. epinephrine – released when animals learn
c. glutamate – may increase memory for stressful events
d. None of these is correctly matched.
Answer: d; Difficult

156. Based on controlled studies, which of the following popular memory supplements
seems to be effective?
a. methylphenidate
b. amphetamines
c. gingko biloba
d. none of these
Answer: d; Moderate

TRUE-FALSE QUESTIONS:
157. After material is learned, little is forgotten at first, but then the rate of forgetting
speeds up.
Answer: F; Moderate

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158. Massed practice yields poorer memory than does distributed practice.
Answer: T; Easy

159. The primacy and recency effects are components of the spacing effect.
Answer: F; Moderate

160. In a list of items, we tend to forget the middle ones rather than the ones at the
beginning or end.
Answer: T; Easy

161. The most typical member of a category is termed the defining example.
Answer: F; Easy

162. The hippocampus is mainly involved in implicit memory.


Answer: F; Moderate

163. Popular memory enhancers, such as gingko biloba, are not especially effective.
Answer: T; Easy

FILL-IN-THE-BLANK QUESTIONS:

164. “You’ll probably do better on the test if you put more effort into understanding what
the chapter’s trying to say in the first place,” one of your professors admonishes the class.
You are reminded of the concept of ___________ encoding.
Answer: elaborative; Moderate

165. The slope of the function relating recall to the interval since original learning is
_________ sloped.
Answer: negatively; Difficult

166. When using a software package’s new interface, you keep trying to use the same
menus and make the same selections that worked so well in the old version of the
interface. You are experiencing _______ interference.
Answer: proactive; Moderate

167. A researcher finds that her participants think most readily of a carrot when prompted
with the category “vegetable.” On this basis, the researcher might argue that a carrot is
the ________ vegetable.
Answer: prototypical; Moderate

168. Rhoda is thinking of a family reunion last summer. This reminds her that a close
friend is attending the same college in which her cousin is enrolled; her thoughts then
turn to the reading assignments she has neglected in one of her classes. The process of
__________ describes how one memory brings up another in our network of mental
categories.

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Answer: spreading activation; Moderate

169. Explicit memory is to implicit memory as the hippocampus is to the _________.


Answer: cerebellum; Moderate

170. Leigh wakes up in a hospital. She remembers careening into a collision, but nothing
thereafter. Leigh is experiencing ______ amnesia.
Answer: anterograde; Moderate

ESSAY QUESTIONS:

171. Define elaborative encoding, state- and context-dependent learning, the serial position
effect, and the primacy and recency effects. Describe several ways you might apply your
knowledge of these phenomena to improve your retention of material in your college
courses.
Difficult

172. Describe three of Ebbinghaus’ contributions to our understanding of memory. How


might you draw on Ebbinghaus’ legacy to aid your memory for material in your college
courses?
Difficult

173. Identify three brain structures important to memory; describe the specific role of each
in learning and memory. Identify three neurotransmitters involved in memory.
Difficult

SECTION 3
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS:

174. “I don’t know who told me first, but I heard that Kenny . . . ,” Lana begins, sharing
gossip on the phone to a friend. Lana is experiencing:
a. anterograde amnesia
b. retrograde amnesia
c. progressive interference
d. a failure of source monitoring
Answer: d; Moderate

175. Lydia can’t figure out if she dreamed about a person or whether she met him at a
recent party. This kind of uncertainty reflects the limitations of
a. source monitoring
b. counterfactual thinking
c. overconfidence
d. heuristic thinking
Answer: a; Moderate

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176. Orlando swears he remembers the cake and the guests at the party his parents held in
honor of his 4th birthday. In reality, Orlando merely remembers the snapshots of the
event he viewed in his Mom’s photo album much later in his childhood. Orlando’s
manufactured memory reflects:
a. the representativeness effect
b. functional fixedness
c. a source monitoring error
d. counterfactual thinking
Answer: c; Moderate

177. People sometimes remember having experienced events they really only imagined.
Which of the following phenomena is most likely responsible for this effect?
a. heuristic thinking
b. overconfidence
c. misinformation
d. source monitoring errors
Answer: d; Moderate

178. The ________ effect refers to attitude change that occurs over time as we forget when
and where we learned information. It reflects the limitations of _________.
a. misinformation; schematic processing
b. misinformation; source monitoring
c. sleeper; counterfactual thinking
d. sleeper; source monitoring
Answer: d; Difficult

179. Which of the following is a definition of functional fixedness?


a. An inability to use an object in new ways
b. A tendency to verify and confirm existing beliefs
c. The inability to remember the source of a memory
d. Attitude change that occurs over time
Answer: a; Easy

180. Which of the following is a definition of the confirmation bias?


a. An inability to use an object in new ways
b. A tendency to verify and confirm existing beliefs
c. The inability to remember the source of a memory
d. Attitude change that occurs over time
Answer: b; Easy

181. Which of the following is a definition of the sleeper effect?


a. An inability to use an object in new ways
b. A tendency to verify and confirm existing beliefs
c. The inability to remember the source of a memory
d. Attitude change that occurs over time

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Answer: d; Easy

182. Nigel often cites newspaper editorials favoring the presidential candidate he supports;
he appears to ignore editorials critical of the candidate. Nigel appears prone to:
a. functional fixedness
b. the sleeper effect
c. the confirmation bias
d. the representativeness heuristic
Answer: c; Moderate

183. Sandy, a true believer in astrology, reads in her horoscope that today is her lucky day.
She gets so excited that she spills coffee all over herself, necessitating a change of
clothes. As a result, she is late for work and for a very important meeting, which in turn
gets her into serious trouble with her boss. That evening, her brother is taken to the
emergency room. On her way to visit him, Sandy finds a dime in the hospital parking lot.
What does research on the confirmation bias suggest that Sandy will do?
a. Sandy will renounce astrology as completely wrong because of all the horrible things that
happened on her “lucky day.”
b. Sandy will begin to question her belief in astrology because of all the horrible things that
happened on her “lucky day.”
c. Sandy will seize on the dime she found as evidence of astrology’s accuracy.
d. Sandy will forget finding the dime because of the all the horrible things that happened to
her.
Answer: c; Moderate

184. Lou considers himself lucky, while his friend Larry considers himself unlucky. They
each take $100 to a casino and play blackjack for 3 hours. When they leave, they have
each lost $20. What does research on the confirmation bias suggest will happen?
a. Because of their losses, Larry will maintain his view of himself and Lou will begin to
change his view of himself.
b. Both men will reason that they were willing to lose $100 but only lost $20, so it is as if
they won $80; so, Lou will maintain his view of himself and Larry will begin to change his.
c. Larry will begin to change his view of himself, reasoning that he was willing to lose $100
but he only lost $20, so it is as if he won $80. Because of his loss, Lou will also begin to
change his view of himself.
d. Larry will maintain his view of himself because of his loss. Lou will also maintain his
view of himself, reasoning that he was willing to lose $100 but he only lost $20, so it is
actually like he won $80.
Answer: d; Moderate

185. Which of the following cognitive biases is correctly matched with a problem that
illustrates it?
a. Confirmation bias—Duncker’s (1945) candle problem
b. Functional fixedness—Wason’s (1960) 2-4-6 problem
c. Availability heuristic—determining whether more words begin with ‘r’ or have ‘r’ as the
third letter

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d. None of these are correctly matched.
Answer: c; Moderate

186. Making several minor household repairs, Alyssa uses a shoe as a hammer and a butter
knife as a screwdriver. Which of the following statements best characterizes Alyssa’s
problem solving?
a. She is demonstrating schematic processing.
b. She has been released from functional fixedness.
c. She is taking advantage of the availability heuristic.
d. She is using counterfactual thinking.
Answer: b; Easy

187. A jeweler is unable to fix a particular mounting in a ring because she can imagine
only the conventional uses for her tools. This best demonstrates which of the following?
a. The confirmation bias
b. Functional fixedness
c. Counterfactual thinking
d. The representativeness heuristic
Answer: b; Easy

188. Henry’s dog, Sparky, has been rolling in the mud. Henry must bathe Sparky before
the dog gets mud all over the carpet. However, Henry is unable to find the plug for the
tub. Sitting on the counter right beside the tub is a fifty-cent piece. In his frustration,
Henry fails to see that the coin could be used as an emergency plug for the tub. What
happened to Henry?
a. He displayed heuristic processing.
b. He fell prey to the confirmation bias.
c. He suffered from functional fixedness.
d. His thinking was counterfactual.
Answer: c; Easy

189. Which of the following is the most likely mechanism by which misinformation might
impair a witness’ memory for the actual events in a crime?
a. repression
b. proactive interference
c. anterograde amnesia
d. retroactive interference
Anwer: d; Moderate

190. The study of the influence of misinformation on memory is associated with:


a. Bower
b. Miller
c. Sperling
d. Loftus
Answer: d; Moderate

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191. Which of the following is the best definition of the confirmation bias?
a. The tendency to verify rather than challenge our existing schemas
b. Errors in memory that result from receiving new, conflicting information
c. When stimuli that are bright or colorful grab our attention
d. When we are more certain of our judgments than we should be
Answer: a; Easy

192. Which of the following is the best definition of the effect of salience?
a. The tendency to verify rather than challenge our existing schemas
b. Errors in memory that result from receiving new, conflicting information
c. When stimuli that are bright or colorful grab our attention
d. When we are more certain of our judgments than we should be
Answer: c; Easy

193. Which of the following is the best definition of the misinformation effect?
a. The tendency to verify rather than challenge our existing schemas
b. Errors in memory that result from receiving new, conflicting information
c. When stimuli that are bright or colorful grab our attention
d. When we are more certain of our judgments than we should be
Answer: b; Easy

194. Which of the following is the best definition of overconfidence ?


a. The tendency to verify rather than challenge our existing schemas
b. Errors in memory that result from receiving new, conflicting information
c. When stimuli that are bright or colorful grab our attention
d. When we are more certain of our judgments than we should be
Answer: d; Easy

195. Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted an experiment in which participants estimated
the speed of cars that were described as either contacting or smashing into another. To
which of the following conclusions regarding eyewitness memory is this study most
relevant?
a. The presence of a weapon attracts witnesses’ attention, impairing their memory.
b. Eyewitnesses confidence is only weakly related to eyewitness memory.
c. Eyewitness memory can be heavily influenced by leading questions.
d. Child eyewitnesses less suggestible than are adult eyewitnesses.
Answer: c; Easy

196. Which of the following alternatives best expresses psychologist Elizabeth Loftus’
position on the validity of recovered memories?
a. Recovered memories are often false. They reflect confusion regarding the source of a
memory.
b. Recovered memories are often false. They reflect an impairment of implicit memory
mechanisms.
c. Recovered memories are often false. They reflect a failure of maintenance rehearsal.

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d. Recovered memories are often false. They reflect limitations on working memory
capacity.
Answer: a; Difficult

197. Your text states that the salience of a gun draws a witness’ attention away from the
face of the perpetrator, reducing the witness’ ability to later identify the perpetrator. This
suggests that the effect of the weapon occurred mainly during:
a. encoding
b. consolidation
c. retrieval
d. recall
Answer: a; Easy

198. Melinda is computing the correlation coefficient between scores on measure of


eyewitness confidence and scores on a measure of eyewitness accuracy. What sort of
relationship do you think she’ll find?
a. a strong negative relationship
b. a weak relationship if any
c. a strong positive relationship
d. a curvilinear relationship
Answer: b; Moderate

199. The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Princess Diana’s death. The 1986
Challenger explosion. People’s memories for the moment in which they learned of these
events are termed ________ memories.
a. snapshot
b. flashbulb
c. photocopy
d. thumbnail
Answer: b; Easy

200. Flashbulb memories:


a. typically concern major, unexpected public or personal events
b. are remarkably accurate, even years after the initial event
c. are due to special encoding mechanisms for emotionally charged events
d. are more accurate than memories for more mundane events
Answer: a; Moderate

201. We are often prone to make judgments on the extent to which the things we observe
match our expectations of what we think things should be like while ignoring the
mathematical probabilities of their occurrence. This error is known as the
a. availability heuristic
b. representativeness heuristic
c. confirmation bias
d. stereotypic bias
Answer: b; Easy

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202. When you use the representativeness heuristic, you are
a. making frequency estimates based on the ease with which things come to mind
b. overcoming functional fixedness
c. mistaking visual images and other forms of mental representations for reality
d. basing your judgments on the extent to which an event matches your expectations
Answer: d; Moderate

203. Following the September 11, 2001, Twin Towers attacks, many Americans elected to
drive rather than fly: The media coverage of the hijackings caused Americans to
overestimate the danger of flying. This example illustrates:
a. the availability heuristic
b. the representativeness heuristic
c. the confirmation bias
d. overconfidence
Answer: a; Moderate

204. A judgment strategy in which one uses the ease with which examples come to mind
as the basis for judging how common events really are is called the _______ heuristic.
a. availability
b. representativeness
c. confirmation
d. frequency
Answer: a; Easy

205. Stereotypes spring to mind easily. Therefore, we sometimes use them to judge the
frequency of certain events such as crimes in a given neighborhood. This example BEST
describes the use of the ________ heuristic.
a. frequency
b. salience
c. confirmation
d. availability
Answer: d; Moderate

206. When people are asked which is more common, death by homicide or death by
stroke, they often choose homicide because they simply hear more about murders than
they do about strokes. In this instance, people are led astray in their judgments by:
a. the representativeness heuristic
b. counterfactual thinking
c. the confirmation bias
d. the availability heuristic
Answer: d; Easy

207. Which of the following is the best definition of the availability heuristic?
a. Making judgments on the ease with which an event comes to mind
b. Making judgments on the information that matches what we expect will happen

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c. Activated in memory and thus likely to be used in judgment
d. Thinking about what “might have been”
Answer: a; Easy

208. Which of the following is the best definition of the representativeness heuristic?
a. Making judgments on the ease with which an event comes to mind
b. Making judgments on the information that matches what we expect will happen
c. Activated in memory and thus likely to be used in judgment
d. Thinking about what “might have been”
Answer: b; Easy

209. Which of the following is the best definition of the cognitive accessibility?
a. Making judgments on the ease with which an event comes to mind
b. Making judgments on the information that matches what we expect will happen
c. Activated in memory and thus likely to be used in judgemnt
d. Thinking about what “might have been”
Answer: c; Easy

210. Which of the following is the best definition of the counterfactual thinking?
a. Making judgments on the ease with which an event comes to mind
b. Making judgments on the information that matches what we expect will happen
c. Activated in memory and thus likely to be used in judgment
d. Thinking about what “might have been”
Answer: d; Easy

211. Last week, Mike heard about five separate airplane crashes on the news. Even
though, overall, motorcycle accidents account for more accidents than plane crashes do,
Mike decides to ride his motorcycle from Washington to Atlanta instead of flying.
Which bias is reflected in Mike’s decision?
a. the confirmation bias
b. the availability heuristic
c. the salience error
d. the representativeness heuristic
Answer: b; Easy

212. Joanne will not go out at night because she hears from her local news station about
the large number of muggings and robberies that occur in her city. However, crime in
Joanne’s city has actually gone down in the past few years. To which bias is Joanne
falling victim?
a. the representativeness heuristic
b. functional fixedness
c. the availability heuristic
d. the confirmation bias
Answer: c; Easy

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213. Psychologists sometimes use the adjective _________ to refer to things that attract
our attention.
a. representative
b. accessible
c. available
d. salient
Answer: d; Moderate

214. An advertising agency creates advertisements containing bright colors, plenty of


motion, and unexpected events. A psychologist might remark that the advertisements
contain________ objects.
a. salient
b. counterfactual
c. accessible
d. prototypical
Answer: a; Moderate

215. Loftus et al. (1987) found that the presence of a weapon in a crime scene reduced
participants’ ability to later identify the perpetrator. This finding reflects the role of
________ in memory.
a. overconfidence
b. misinformation
c. salience
d. counterfactual thinking
Answer: c; Moderate

216. Consider the concept of cognitive accessibility. In the context of cognitive biases, the
term accessible is most similar to the term _________.
a. overconfident
b. available
c. salient
d. counterfactual
Answer: b ; Moderate

217. The phrase “coulda, woulda, shoulda” is sometimes used to describe a preoccupation
with “what might have been.” This phrase is a colloquial identification of :
a. the availability heuristic
b. the representativeness heuristic
c. the confirmation bias
d. counterfactual thinking
Answer: d; Moderate

218. Gilovich et al. (1995) found that bronze medalists in the 1992 Summer Olympics
were happier than the silver medalists: The silver medalists focused on the
disappointment of finishing second rather than first. Gilovich et al.’s (1995) results
provide evidence for:

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a. the sleeper effect
b. the misinformation effect
c. the confirmation bias
d. counterfactual thinking
Answer: d; Moderate

219. Mr. Brown missed his flight by five minutes. “If only I hadn’t misplaced my cell
phone on the way out of the house . . . .Why couldn’t the cabbie have taken the
expressway instead of Forest Boulevard? . . . I wish we hadn’t got stuck behind that bus
on 14th . . ,” Mr. Brown keeps thinking. Mr. Brown is demonstrating:
a. counterfactual thinking
b. the confirmation bias
c. source monitoring processes
d. the saliency bias
Answer: a; Moderate

TRUE-FALSE QUESTIONS:
220. Functional fixedness reflects an effect of schemas on problem solving.
Answer: T; Easy

221. The misinformation effect may be seen as an example of proactive interference.


Answer: F; Moderate

222. False memories can be implanted rather easily, even in adults.


Answer: T; Moderate

223. Experts in a given area are less likely to be overconfident in their judgments than are
novices.
Answer: F; Moderate

224. There is little relationship between an eyewitness’ accuracy and his or her confidence.
Answer: T; Moderate

225. Flashbulb memories remain accurate long after the original event.
Answer: F; Moderate

226. With respect to memory and cognition, availability and accessibility may be seen as
very similar.
Answer: T; Moderate

FILL-IN-THE-BLANK QUESTIONS:

227. We are sometimes convinced we remember early childhood events. Sometimes such
recollections actually reflect our memory for pictures of the event, rather than our
memory for the event itself. These recollections thereby illustrate a failure of
__________.

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Answer: source monitoring; Moderate

228. People seek and remember evidence in support of their existing hypotheses; they
ignore or discount contradictory evidence. In other words, people are prone to the
________.
Answer: confirmation bias; Moderate

229. An attorney’s leading questions may provide information that distorts our memory for
an experience. This is an example of the ________ effect.
Answer: misinformation; Moderate

230. I was a second-semester freshman. I was eating French fries in the college cafeteria
when my friend Liz came up. She was wearing that plaid coat with her yellow skirt,
along with that moss-green embroidered bag, the one with a Grecian urn embroidered on
it. She told me the shuttle blew up. This is my _________ memory of the 1986
Challenger disaster.
Answer: flashbulb; Easy

231. Sometimes we are prone to judge an individual based on our perception of his or her
match to the category of people he or she most closely resembles; that is, we fall prey to
the __________ heuristic.
Answer: representativeness; Moderate

232. The availability heuristic is based on cognitive _______, the extent to which
knowledge is activated in memory.
Answer: accessibility; Moderate

ESSAY QUESTIONS:

233. Describe how the availability and representativeness heuristics and the confirmation
bias may contribute to prejudice and discrimination. Provide as thoughtful an answer as
you can.
Difficult

234. Our long-term memories are often inaccurate even when we are convinced we are
correctly remembering past. Support this statement making specific reference to research
on flashbulb, eyewitness, and false and repressed memories.
Difficult

235. Three-quarters of the wrongful convictions in the U.S. are supported by eyewitness
testimony. Review some of the cognitive bases of eyewitness inaccuracy. In your
answer, make specific reference to such processes and phenomena as source monitoring,
the misinformation effect, the confirmation bias, the availability and representativeness
heuristics, and overconfidence.
Difficult

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