Self Test # 12
 
Note: These questions are part of a larger data base of questions on Module 12 & are 
selected to represent the type of question you should expect on unit exam three. 
You can, in fact, expect to see many of these very same questions on that exam. 
Exam questions, however, may deal with topics not covered in the self tests or 
in lectures but are disucssed in your textbook. You are responsible for the 
content of your text book plus the content of lectures, interactive activities, 
& material on the web site.

Use these sample questions to test yourself & to practice for the test.

1. Which of the following best demonstrates the difference between recognition & recall?

 multiple-choice exams versus true-false questions
 speaking lines in a play versus playing the piano without sheet music
 picking the assailant out of a lineup versus describing the face of an assailant
 reporting the color of your socks (eyes closed) versus reciting a poem

2. A professor is writing a test for his introductory psychology class. He decides that he is 
going to assess his students’ recall. What kind of test should he write?

 essay
 matching
 true-false
 multiple choice

3. The best analogy of the network theory of memory organization is:

 a map with cities (nodes) interconnected by roads (associations)
 a refrigerator that has food (nodes) stacked on shelves (associations)
 a circle that has no starting point (nodes) and no ending point (associations)
 a fabric (associations) made of thousands of threads (nodes) lined up in the same direction

4. The network theory proposes that we are capable of “traveling” from node to 
node because:

 action potentials propel us
 nodes are connected to each other alphabetically
 the nodes have been linked together through associations
 nodes physically touch other nodes in the hippocampus

5. Factual information appears to be organized in:

 random ways
 groups of nodes that are connected by personal associations
 a linear way from most used information to least used information
 hierarchies with abstract information at the top & concrete information at the bottom

6. The two primary reasons why our memory is limited in early life is:

 limited motor skills and language skills
 limited visual system and limited language skills
 limited language skills and not having a sense of self
 limited visual system development and underdeveloped auditory cortex

7. The classic forgetting curve that Ebbinghaus described for nonsense syllables has a:

 slight decline
 series of alternating upward and downward slopes
 slight upward slope followed by a rapid downward slope
 rapid downward slope, then levels out, & declines gradually

8. When the mind pushes some traumatic memory into the unconscious only to stay there 
until it is released, ________ is said to have taken place.

 regression
 repression
 sublimation
 rationalization

9. Studying by cramming or rote memory tends to:

a facilitate encoding
b create poor retrieval cues
c create adequate retrieval cues
d create temporary retrieval cues

10. When old information interferes with information we are trying to 
learn, ___________ is occurring.

 repression
 selective attention
 proactive interference
 retroactive interference

11. Proactive interference is to ________ as retroactive interference is to _______.

 encode; retrieval
 primary; secondary
 forward; backward
 backward; forward

12. Mental reminders that are created when you form vivid mental images of 
information are called:

 pegword cue
 retrieval cue
 echoic device
 processing distraction

13. It appears that the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon results from:

a amnesia
b nodes that are misaligned
c inadequate retrieval cues or interference
d misfirings in the nerves that make up the hippocampus

14. You should be in the same physiological state during retrieval of information 
as you were when learning the information. This is called:

 law of cues
 state-dependent learning
 latent-dependent learning
 encoding-retrieval similarity

15. Our short-term memory abilities are a function of activity in the:

 cortex
 amygdala
 hippocampus
 occipital lobe

16. Our memories can evoke emotional experiences due, in part, to the 
activity of the:

 cortex
 frontal lobe
 amygdala
 hippocampus

17. Damage to the _______ area of the brain appears to prevent the transfer of 
information from short-term into long-term memory.

 hippocampus
 consolidation
 amygdala
 cortex

18. Long-term potentiation (LTP) works by:

 stimulating the amygdala
 adding short-term memories together
 not repeating new information too many times
 changing the structure and function of neurons

19. Methods that help encode and recall information through associations 
& images are called:

 storage cues
 semantic cues
 mnemonics
 proactive devices

20. A technique for creating visual associations between memorized places 
& items to be memorized is called:

 eidetic imagery
 the peg theory
 the method of loci
 proactive rehearsal

21. What is the mnemonic called that used associations between number-word 
rhymes & the items to be memorized?

 peg method
 method of loci
 chunking method
 selective encoding

22. Poor ______ results in poor ______ cues which make recall difficult.

a chunking; visual
b encoding; retrieval
c visualization; loci
d mnemonics; source

23. There are at least three problems with eyewitness testimony. Which one of the 
following statements is not one of the problems?

 Testimony is assumed to be accurate & is thought to be reliable evidence.
 Law enforcement officials may influence testimony through misleading questions.
 The confidence of eyewitnesses regarding their testimony typically declines over time.
 There is a weak correlation between the confidence of the eyewitness and the testimony given.
 
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                            Topics in Psychology
                               Robert C. Gates