Chapter 7: Memory Errors

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. You are a criminal justice student studying the case of Ronald Cotton. Which of these conclusions is most logical to draw from that case?

a. Memory is like a video camera, recording almost all events perfectly.

b. Police interrogations of the suspect can lead to false memories.

c. Law enforcement officers can inadvertently influence an eyewitness.

d. Eyewitness testimony should be phased out of the justice system.

Learning Objective: 7-3: What factors contribute to memory inaccuracies?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Introduction: The Inaccuracy of Memory

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. The researcher who described “seven sins of memory” was ______.

a. Elizabeth Loftus

b. Daniel Schacter

c. Ronald Cotton

d. Sir Frederick C. Bartlett

Learning Objective: 7-1: Does memory work like a video camera, fully recording each experience? Why or why not?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Seven “Sins” of Memory

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Psychologists refer to normal forgetting of information over time as ______.

a. transience

b. absentmindedness

c. blocking

d. source misattribution

Learning Objective: 7-2: In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Error #1 Transience

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. A lack of attention during encoding or retrieval results in poor memory and is known as ______.

a. transience

b. absentmindedness

c. blocking

d. source misattribution

Learning Objective: 7-2: In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Error #2 Absentmindedness

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Your roommate often spends time frantically searching for her keys, phone, and other commonly used items. Sometimes her keys end up in unusual places, such as the freezer. Which of these pieces of advice would it be most sensible for you to give her?

a. "Memory is flawed, so you must learn to accept that you will lose your keys most days."

b. "Construct a memory palace so you will always know where your phone and keys are."

c. "Try putting your keys in the same place each time you come home."

d. "See a doctor to find out if you have undiagnosed anterograde amnesia."

Learning Objective: 7-2: In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Error #2 Absentmindedness

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Imagine you are watching a movie, and you recognize an actor. The person’s name is “on the tip on your tongue.” This is an example of ______.

a. source misattribution

b. absentmindedness

c. transience

d. blocking

Learning Objective: 7-2: In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Error #3 Blocking

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. You are attending a conference and want to remember as much of it as possible. Based on what you have read about blocking, which details should you give the most effort because they will likely be the hardest to remember?

a. people’s names and company names during the networking period

b. multistep processes described during the lectures

c. sensory memories, such as the feel of sunlight on your skin

d. geographic and temporal details, such as where and when the keynote speech was

Learning Objective: 7-3: What factors contribute to memory inaccuracies?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Error #3 Blocking

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Which of the following is an example of source misattribution?

a. Monique heard a song and immediately realized that she heard it often when she was a child.

b. Juan told his girlfriend that he lost his keys, but he actually only dreamed that he lost them.

c. Si Niang has few memories of events that took place before she was five.

d. Doug Bruce suddenly became conscious on a train in New York with no idea who or where he was.

Learning Objective: 7-3: What factors contribute to memory inaccuracies?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Error #4 Source Misattribution

Difficulty Level: Hard

9. Altering memories or creating false memories for events we have never experienced is ______.

a. source misattribution

b. transience

c. suggestibility

d. bias

Learning Objective: 7-3: What factors contribute to memory inaccuracies?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Error #5 Suggestibility

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. After breaking up with your partner, you are grateful to be out of a negative relationship. However, your next relationship turns out to be similarly negative, and you find yourself missing the “old days” of being happy with your ex. This is an example of ______.

a. bias

b. persistence

c. source misattribution

d. transience

Learning Objective: 7-3: What factors contribute to memory inaccuracies?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Error #6 Bias

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Based on what you have read in this chapter, which of these statements is most likely to reflect bias?

a. "Ever since he said that to me, I have been playing it over and over in my head, and each time I feel awful."

b. "I know I've seen that woman before, and her name is on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't come up with it."

c. "I have never forgotten the pain of childbirth. What a horrible experience."

d. "We were friends for three years, but thinking back now, I realized the day I met him that he wasn't trustworthy."

Learning Objective: 7-3: What factors contribute to memory inaccuracies?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Error #6 Bias

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Having a jingle from a commercial stuck in your head all day is an example of ______.

a. equanimity

b. transience

c. persistence

d. suggestibility

Learning Objective: 7-2: In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Error #7 Persistence

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Which of the following is an example of a condition associated with memory failure?

a. schizophrenia

b. post-traumatic stress disorder

c. dissociative identity disorder

d. attention deficit disorder

Learning Objective: 7-2: In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Inaccuracy of Memory: Summary

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. This chapter contains a section called “The Reconstructive Nature of Memory.” What does that phrase mean?

a. Each memory involves a labor-intensive process of conscious reconstruction.

b. Humans record memories and store them in one section of the brain. If a record is damaged, we can reconstruct it.

c. When something happens to us, we encode the experience into different senses and store those sense memories in different parts of the brain.

d. Memories are natural and therefore cannot be reconstructed unless we use the techniques of famous memory researchers and other scientists.

Learning Objective: 7-3: What factors contribute to memory inaccuracies?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Reconstructive Nature of Memory

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Sir Frederick C. Bartlett found that participants in his study tended to reconstruct memories based on ______ biases.

a. cultural

b. gender

c. transient

d. sustained

Learning Objective: 7-4: How have researchers studied memory errors?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Bartlett’s Studies

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. Psychologists refer to a general knowledge structure for an event or situation as a ______.

a. script

b. memory

c. story

d. schema

Learning Objective: 7-1: Does memory work like a video camera, fully recording each experience? Why or why not?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Schemata and Scripts

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. What is the difference between a schema and a script?

a. A script is more likely to lead to false memories than a schema is.

b. A schema follows a specific order, while a script is a general framework.

c. A script follows a specific order, while a schema is a general framework.

d. A schema is more likely to lead to false memories than a script is.

Learning Objective: 7-1: Does memory work like a video camera, fully recording each experience? Why or why not?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Schemata and Scripts

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. The DRM procedure assesses ______.

a. false memories

b. cultural bias

c. accurate memories

d. memory bias

Learning Objective: 7-4: How have researchers studied memory errors?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The DRM Procedure

Difficulty Level: Easy

19. You participate in a study where you must read a list of words (frigid, chilly, winter, freeze, shiver, frost, air, and wet) and write down all the words you remember. You include "snow” in the list of words you remember, even though “snow” wasn’t on the list. Which memory error have you made?

a. persistence

b. blocking

c. transience

d. false memory

Learning Objective: 7-2: In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The DRM Procedure

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. What criticism have some experts made of the DRM procedure?

a. It induces false memories that can upset or disturb research subjects.

b. It does not accurately reflect the complexities of real-life situations.

c. The procedure is expensive and difficult to administer.

d. The procedure is so complex that researchers often end up with flawed data.

Learning Objective: 7-4: How have researchers studied memory errors?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The DRM Procedure

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. In Loftus and Palmer’s study, participants were more likely to report seeing broken glass when they were presented with which word?

a. smashed

b. contacted

c. hit

d. collided

Learning Objective: 7-4: How have researchers studied memory errors?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Eyewitness Memory Studies

Difficulty Level: Easy

22. Law enforcement officials have applied the findings of eyewitness memory research to ______.

a. suspect interrogations

b. police lineups

c. the chain of custody

d. criminal trials

Learning Objective: 7-4: How have researchers studied memory errors?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Applications of Eyewitness Memory Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. Imagine that you are recalling a conversation you recently had with someone concerning an interesting event in your hometown. You cannot remember the details of the event, but you end up supplementing your memory based on the recollections of your friend. What are you potentially falling victim to?

a. memory persistence

b. the activation-monitoring theory

c. fuzzy trace theory

d. the misinformation effect

Learning Objective: 7-1: Does memory work like a video camera, fully recording each experience? Why or why not?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Eyewitness Memory Studies

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. Cognitive interviews ______ the accurate witness retrieval of event details as compared to typical police questioning.

a. increase

b. decrease

c. are comparable to

d. precisely match

Learning Objective: 7-1: Does memory work like a video camera, fully recording each experience? Why or why not?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Applications of Eyewitness Memory Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

25. Which of the following is a way to decrease potential false eyewitness testimony?

a. double-blind lineups

b. single-blind lineups

c. presenting only six suspects at a time

d. presenting all suspects at once

Learning Objective: 7-4: How have researchers studied memory errors?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Applications of Eyewitness Memory Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

26. You are a juror in a criminal trial. Based on what you have read in this chapter, which of these statements about eyewitness testimony is most accurate?

a. Eyewitness testimony cannot be taken seriously unless there is physical evidence to back it up.

b. Because human memory is so accurate, eyewitness testimony is some of the most reliable evidence available.

c. Because human memory is a reconstructive process, eyewitness testimony cannot be trusted.

d. Eyewitness testimony is most believable if authorities have taken steps to avoid inducing memory errors in witnesses.

Learning Objective: 7-3: What factors contribute to memory inaccuracies?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Applications of Eyewitness Memory Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

27.Clive Wearing was diagnosed with amnesia after suffering from a form of ______.

a. cellulitis

b. meningitis

c. encephalitis

d. traumatic brain injury

Learning Objective: 7-5: How can different types of brain damage or deterioration affect memory accuracy?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Types of Amnesia

Difficulty Level: Easy

28. Cases of temporary retrograde amnesia are often the result of ______.

a. brain lesions

b. brain swelling

c. encephalitis

d. persistent memories

Learning Objective: 7-5: How can different types of brain damage or deterioration affect memory accuracy?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Types of Amnesia

Difficulty Level: Easy

29. Jonathan cannot explicitly retrieve memories following a traumatic brain injury. Which area of his brain is likely damaged?

a. hippocampus

b. temporal lobe

c. occipital lobe

d. Broca’s area

Learning Objective: 7-5: How can different types of brain damage or deterioration affect memory accuracy?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Types of Amnesia

Difficulty Level: Medium

30. ______ amnesia is to the events before the damage as ______ amnesia is to events after the damage.

a. Retrograde; anterograde

b. Anterograde; retrograde

c. Hippocampic; cortical

d. Cortical; hippocampic

Learning Objective: 7-5: How can different types of brain damage or deterioration affect memory accuracy?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Types of Amnesia

Difficulty Level: Medium

31. ______ involves unintentional retrieval of memory.

a. Explicit memory

b. Implicit memory

c. Retrograde amnesia

d. Anterograde amnesia

Learning Objective: 7-3: What factors contribute to memory inaccuracies?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Amnesia and Implicit Memory

Difficulty Level: Medium

32. Which of these is an example of implicit memory retrieval that many people are likely to experience in their own lives?

a. riding a bike

b. navigating a new route

c. giving a speech

d. memorizing a formula

Learning Objective: 7-1: Does memory work like a video camera, fully recording each experience? Why or why not?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Amnesia and Implicit Memory

Difficulty Level: Medium

33. Minh suffers from amnesia, and she cannot remember how to get from her bedroom to the living room. However, once she sits down, she is able to crochet easily. Minh has an intact ______ memory.

a. explicit

b. implicit

c. retrograde

d. anterograde

Learning Objective: 7-5: How can different types of brain damage or deterioration affect memory accuracy?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Amnesia and Implicit Memory

Difficulty Level: Hard

34. Bundles of protein that develop in the space between neurons are called ______.

a. clusters

b. tangles

c. tau

d. plaques

Learning Objective: 7-5: How can different types of brain damage or deterioration affect memory accuracy?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Amnesia in Alzheimer’s Disease

Difficulty Level: Easy

35. Protein fibers that develop in a neuron’s nucleus, decreasing its ability to function properly, are called ______.

a. plaques

b. beta

c. tangles

d. synapses

Learning Objective: 7-5: How can different types of brain damage or deterioration affect memory accuracy?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Amnesia in Alzheimer’s Disease

Difficulty Level: Easy

36. Which of the following is a way to improve memory in elderly people?

a. aerobic exercise

b. watching documentaries

c. eating acai fruit

d. eating meals more slowly

Learning Objective: 7-5: How can different types of brain damage or deterioration affect memory accuracy?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Amnesia in Alzheimer’s Disease

Difficulty Level: Easy

37. Which type of amnesia are you most likely to experience in your lifetime?

a. anterograde

b. retrograde

c. aging-related

d. infantile

Learning Objective: 7-1: Does memory work like a video camera, fully recording each experience? Why or why not?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Amnesia in Childhood

Difficulty Level: Hard

38. Jodie is 45 years old and cannot remember any events from before the age of 4. This could be a diagnosis of ______.

a. anterograde amnesia

b. infantile amnesia

c. Alzheimer’s disease

d. temporal amnesia

Learning Objective: 7-1: Does memory work like a video camera, fully recording each experience? Why or why not?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Amnesia in Childhood

Difficulty Level: Medium

39. Childhood amnesia seems to be specific to ______ memories.

a. procedural

b. semantic

c. episodic

d. implicit

Learning Objective: 7-1: Does memory work like a video camera, fully recording each experience? Why or why not?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Amnesia in Childhood

Difficulty Level: Easy

40. Most adults have childhood amnesia for most memories that took place before what age?

a. 3

b. 5

c. 7

d. 9

Learning Objective: 7-5: How can different types of brain damage or deterioration affect memory accuracy?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Amnesia in Childhood

Difficulty Level: Easy

True/False

1. The only people susceptible to memory errors are elderly people with varying diagnoses of dementia.

Learning Objective: 7-4: How have researchers studied memory errors?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Seven “Sins” of Memory

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Normal forgetting over time is known as absentmindedness.

Learning Objective: 7-2: In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Error #1 Transience

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. A lack of attention during encoding or retrieval results in poor memory.

Learning Objective: 7-2: In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Error #2 Absentmindedness

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Ava tells her friend a joke, thinking that she invented it herself, when she actually had heard it about six weeks before. This is an example of source misattribution.

Learning Objective: 7-2: In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Error #4 Source Misattribution

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. If you hear about or read about an event several times, you may believe that you actually experienced it.

Learning Objective: 7-2: In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Error #5 Suggestibility

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Having a new hit single stuck in your head all day is an example of memory bias.

Learning Objective: 7-2: In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Error #7 Persistence

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Bartlett’s studies on the reconstructive nature of memory found that people tend to rely on their own experiences to supplement their memories of events in a story.

Learning Objective: 7-4: How have researchers studied memory errors?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Bartlett’s Studies

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. The fact that cats are fuzzy, have tails, and walk on four legs is an example of a schema.

Learning Objective: 7-1: Does memory work like a video camera, fully recording each experience? Why or why not?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Schemata and Scripts

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. The DRM procedure was adapted from the earlier methodology of Roediger.

Learning Objective: 7-4: How have researchers studied memory errors?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The DRM Procedure

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. In the classic study by Loftus and Palmer, subjects were more likely to report a car as going faster if they were asked how fast the cars were going when they “hit” each other.

Learning Objective: 7-1: Does memory work like a video camera, fully recording each experience? Why or why not?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Eyewitness Memory Studies

Difficulty Level: Easy

Short Answer

1. Discuss potential methodology you could use to test the occurrence of false memory. Specifically, what kind of stimuli would you use?

Learning Objective: 7-4: How have researchers studied memory errors?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Memory Errors in the Laboratory

Difficulty Level: Hard

2. List Daniel Schacter’s seven “sins” of memory, and give an example of each. Which memory "sin" interests you most, and why?

Learning Objective: 7-2: In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Seven “Sins” of Memory

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Explain how the memory “sin” of persistence can affect people in minor and major ways. Provide at least two examples of unwanted memory persistence.

Learning Objective: 7-3: What factors contribute to memory inaccuracies?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Error #7 Persistence

Difficulty Level: Hard

4. What does the statement “Memory is reconstructive” mean? Include information related to biology and psychology in your response.

Learning Objective: 7-3: What factors contribute to memory inaccuracies?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Reconstructive Nature of Memory

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Define the two types of amnesia that are based on the type of information that is forgotten. Discuss how amnesia affects implicit and explicit memory. Then name the two major biological features associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Learning Objective: 7-5: How can different types of brain damage or deterioration affect memory accuracy?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Clinical Memory Failures--Amnesia

Difficulty Level: Hard