Chapter 8 Forgetting Verified Test Bank

Chapter 8

Forgetting

Multiple Choice Questions

1. ________ involves retrieving a target from memory based on a cue that does not contain the target, whereas ________ involves retrieving a target from a cue that includes the target.
   1. Recognition; recall
   2. Recall; recognition
   3. Retention; recollection
   4. Recollection; retention
2. When we discuss forgetting, we are referring to information that is ________.
   1. inaccessible but not necessarily unavailable
   2. both inaccessible and unavailable
   3. neither inaccessible nor unavailable
   4. unavailable but not necessarily inaccessible
3. Schacter’s (2002) sins of commission include ________.
   1. absent-mindedness
   2. transience
   3. misattribution
   4. blocking
4. Schacter’s (2002) sins of omission include ________.
   1. transience
   2. bias
   3. suggestibility
   4. persistence
5. When a person correctly recalls a piece of information but incorrectly recalls the source of that information, we observe a case of ________.
   1. transience
   2. interference
   3. blocking
   4. misattribution
6. When a person changes a recollection because outside information suggests the original recollection is incorrect, we have a case of ________.
   1. misattribution
   2. blocking
   3. suggestibility
   4. interference
7. When somebody who is depressed may tend to recall more negative events than a person who is not depressed, although both individuals experienced the same number of negative events, we conclude that we observe a case of ________.
   1. bias
   2. interference
   3. suggestibility
   4. blocking
8. The unwanted recall of distressing memories is called ________.
   1. persistence
   2. suggestibility
   3. bias
   4. misattribution
9. Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885) discovered _______.
   1. classical conditioning
   2. operant conditioning
   3. the forgetting curve
   4. practice interference
10. The use of “nonsense syllables” first proposed by Ebbinghaus is important in experimental psychology because ________.
    1. they are short
    2. they avoid uncontrolled cues
    3. they are difficult to remember
    4. they do not require complex equipment
11. The most reliable conclusion from observing any forgetting curve is ________.
    1. the rate of forgetting is very high soon after learning, but that the rate of forgetting slows with time
    2. the rate of forgetting is the same throughout its entire duration
    3. the rate of forgetting depends on the emotional state of the subject
    4. the rate of forgetting is low soon after learning, but then increases with time
12. According to Müller and Pilzecker’s theory of forgetting, “perseveration” will be less effective following ________.
    1. a strenuous physical effort
    2. sleep
    3. inactivity than following activities that demand cognitive resources
    4. activities that demand cognitive resources than following inactivity
13. Donald Hebb (1949) proposed a biological theory for consolidation and the best evidence for it is ________.
    1. the occurrence of retrograde amnesia following traumatic head injuries
    2. the occurrence of misattribution
    3. the interference by new memories
    4. long-term potentiation
14. Wixted (2005) has argued that new memories can produce forgetting of old memories if ________.
    1. the new memories engage the same neural circuit as the old memory even if the old memory is not fully consolidated
    2. the new memories engage the same neural circuit as the old memory and if the old memory is not fully consolidated
    3. the new memories are more loaded with positive emotions
    4. the old memories are traumatic
15. Proactive interference is ________.
    1. a reduction in the ability to retrieve old memories because of newly learned information
    2. a reduction in the ability to create new memories because of existing memories
    3. a reduction in the ability to retrieve old traumatic memories
    4. an enhancement in the ability to create new memories because of existing memories
16. John McGeoch (1932) suggested that they are two types of interference that lead to forgetting: ________.
    1. positive and negative
    2. real and imagined
    3. proactive and retroactive
    4. omitted and committed
17. In the lab, proactive and retroactive interference have been studied extensively using a ________.
    1. forgetting curve
    2. long-term potentiation protocol
    3. nonsense syllables
    4. paired-associate paradigm
18. McGeoch’s (1932) three-factor theory of forgetting does not include ________.
    1. permanency
    2. set
    3. response competition
    4. altered stimulus conditions
19. For almost one hundred years, interference was thought to be the main source of forgetting of consolidated memories, but currently evidence has accumulated that ________.
    1. neurogenesis-dependent decay and molecular decay lead to the forgetting of generic memories in the neocortex
    2. neurogenesis-dependent decay and molecular decay lead to the forgetting of episodic memories in the hippocampus
    3. neuronal death lead to the forgetting of episodic memories in the neocortex
    4. neuronal death lead to the forgetting of generic memories in the neocortex
20. Promiscuous encoding is ________.
    1. a form of encoding in which memories are highly corrupted by interference
    2. encoding every event that is experienced so that decisions about what information is useful and what can be discarded can be made later
    3. encoding all the rewarding, positive events that are experienced to facilitate their consolidation
    4. a form of encoding in which some memories are suppressed due to their traumatic content
21. A cost of promiscuous encoding is ________.
    1. if left unchecked, the memory system would be overwhelmed very quickly
    2. organisms cannot adapt to changes in their environment
    3. useful memories are quickly removed
    4. there is no way to eliminate unnecessary memories
22. The processes of pattern separation and population coding make hippocampal memories highly resistant to ________.
    1. elimination
    2. coding
    3. interference
    4. retention
23. The essential role of adult hippocampal neurogenesis is ________.
    1. triggering interference
    2. helping with forgetting
    3. creating false memories
    4. brain repair after trauma
24. The relationship between neurogenesis and infantile amnesia is ________.
    1. low rates of neurogenesis in infants may explain infantile amnesia
    2. neurogenesis can be blocked therapeutically to promote amnesia of traumas
    3. high rates of neurogenesis in infants may explain infantile amnesia
    4. nothing
25. Infantile amnesia ________.
    1. assumes that it takes longer for older children to forget
    2. affects semantic and implicit memories, but not episodic memories
    3. is an abrupt transition from “no memory “ to “memory”
    4. is unique to humans
26. Memory-trace consolidation occurs when the memory ________.
    1. is reactivated with the help of therapy or hypnosis
    2. is reactivated through wakeful retrieval or during sleep
    3. is resting during periods of different activities
    4. is resting through wakeful retrieval or during sleep
27. Memories that are activated frequently are less vulnerable to neurogenesis-dependent decay because these memories benefit from ________.
    1. memory-trace consolidation
    2. pattern completion
    3. infantile amnesia
    4. promiscuous encoding
28. Forgetting is critical for healthy memory function for all of the following reasons except ________.
    1. people with hyperthymesia have difficulty functioning normally
    2. forgetting helps the perceptual acuity for all sensory modalities
    3. maintaining memories over time requires an animal to expend energy
    4. forgetting makes recalling pertinent information easier and more accurate by eliminating other similar (i.e. redundant) memories
29. In a normal brain, forgetting of hippocampal memories is due to ________, while forgetting in the neocortical memories is due to ________.
    1. decay; interference
    2. interference; decay
    3. omission; commission
    4. commission; omission
30. If a person wants to forget a personal experience, he or she will probably not ________.
    1. get a full night of sleep
    2. engage in activities that prevent encoding
    3. engage in activities that prevent retrieval
    4. avoid reminders, such as changing the context

Short Answer Questions

1. Defining forgetting as a complete loss of a memory trace presents a major problem: How can a researcher determine whether the trace is truly gone? What does this mean?
2. What are Schacter’s “seven sins of memory”? Which are sins of omission and which are sins of commission?
3. What are Ebbinghaus’s main contribution to the study of memory?
4. What are proactive and retroactive interference? How have these concepts been studied in the lab?
5. Animals with explicit memory systems are faced with an adaptive problem: their survival can benefit from memory, but they have no way of knowing ahead of time what elements of an event will be useful later and what elements can be ignored. Explain and discuss this dilemma. How has it been solved in evolution?
6. Rats are altricial rodents, meaning they have brief gestation periods and are born relatively helpless, while guinea pigs, on the other hand, are precocial rodents, meaning they have a longer gestation period and are born with the ability to see and walk. Why are these observations important to explain infantile amnesia?
7. What are the two possible mechanisms for decay in the hippocampus? How does this differ from neocortical representations?
8. What are direct-forgetting paradigms? What are two examples?

Essay Questions

What is McGeoch’s (1932) three-factor theory of forgetting? Describe in detail and discuss the implications of the theory.

What is the function of adult hippocampal neurogenesis, the emerging role of this mechanism and its historical relevance?

What strategies might individuals use if they are motivated to forget an incident in order to save themselves the emotional pain that comes with recalling them?