Psych 111 Practice Quiz Exam 1 – Flashcards
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Introspection was the basic research tool used by ________ in order to study people's inner sensations and mental images. A) John B. Watson B) Charles Darwin C) Wilheim Wundt D) B. F. Skinner
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C
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The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies observable human activity without reference to mental processes is known as A) behaviorism. B) cognitive neuroscience. C) humanistic psychology. D) positive psychology.
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A
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Behaviorists dismissed the value of A) science. B) introspection. C) spaced practice. D) applied research.
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B
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Humanistic psychologists focused attention on the importance of people's A) childhood memories. B) genetic predispositions. C) unconscious thought processes. D) potential for healthy growth.
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D
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. In the 1960s, the cognitive revolution in psychology involved a renewal of interest in the scientific study of A) mental processes. B) hereditary influences. C) unconscious motives. D) learned behaviors.
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A
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Smiling is to feeling as ________ is to ________. A) evolution; natural selection B) behavior; mental process C) conscious; unconscious D) nurture; nature
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B
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Akira believes that her son has become a good student because she frequently praises his learning efforts. Her belief best illustrates a ________ perspective. A) behavior genetics B) neuroscience C) psychodynamic D) behavioral
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D
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The cognitive perspective in psychology focuses on how A) feelings are influenced by blood chemistry. B) people try to understand their own unconscious motives. C) behavior is influenced by environmental conditions. D) people encode, process, store, and retrieve information.
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D
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The hindsight bias refers to people's tendency to A) dismiss the value of skepticism. B) reject any ideas that can't be scientifically tested. C) exaggerate their ability to have foreseen an outcome. D) overestimate the extent to which others share their opinions.
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C
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Giving half the members of a group some purported psychological finding and the other half an opposite result is an easy way to demonstrate the impact of A) overconfidence. B) common sense. C) hindsight bias. D) intuition.
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C
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Our tendency to believe we know more than we do illustrates A) hindsight bias. B) intuition. C) overconfidence. D) creativity.
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C
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By testing their predictions with the observational method of science, psychologists are using A) their intuition. B) an empirical approach. C) critical thinking. D) common sense.
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C
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A questioning attitude regarding psychologists' assumptions and hidden values best illustrates A) experimentation. B) critical thinking. C) hindsight bias. D) overconfidence.
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B
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Psychological differences between the genders are A) of little interest to contemporary psychologists. B) simply reflections of biological differences between the sexes. C) no longer evident in contemporary Western societies. D) far outweighed by gender similarities.
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D
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Potential research participants are told enough about an upcoming study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate. This illustrates the practice of seeking A) a representative sample. B) informed consent. C) an operational definition. D) a placebo effect
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B
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Psychologists' personal values and goals A) are carefully tested by means of observation and experimentation. B) lead them to avoid experiments involving human participants. C) can bias their observations and interpretations. D) have very little influence on the process of scientific observation.
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C
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The tendency to perceive order in random events often leads to overestimating the value of A) intuition. B) critical thinking. C) an empirical approach. D) humility.
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A
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A hypothesis is a(n) A) observable relationship between specific independent and dependent variables. B) testable prediction that gives direction to research. C) set of principles that organizes observations and explains newly discovered facts. D) unprovable assumption about the unobservable processes that underlie psychological functioning
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B
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The case study is a research method in which A) a single individual is studied in great depth. B) a representative sample of people are questioned regarding their opinions or behaviors. C) organisms are carefully observed in a laboratory environment. D) an investigator manipulates one or more variables that might affect behavior.
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A
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Psychologists who carefully watch the behavior of chimpanzee societies in the jungle are using a research method known as A) the survey. B) experimentation. C) naturalistic observation. D) the case study.
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C
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University of Texas students were fitted with belt-worn tape recorders for up to four days so that researchers could sample their daily activities. The researchers employed a scientific method known as A) naturalistic observation. B) the double-blind procedure. C) the standard deviation. D) the case study.
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A
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In which type of research is a representative, random sample of people asked to answer questions about their behaviors or attitudes? A) experimentation B) the survey C) the case study D) naturalistic observation
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B
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Surveys indicate that people are less likely to support "welfare" than "aid to the needy." These somewhat paradoxical survey results best illustrate the importance of A) random sampling. B) wording effects. C) the placebo effect. D) naturalistic observation
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B
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When every individual in a large population has a small but equal chance of being included in a survey, researchers are using a procedure known as A) the case study. B) the double-blind procedure. C) random sampling. D) naturalistic observation.
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C
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Correlation is a measure of the extent to which two factors A) vary together. B) are random samples. C) influence each other. D) show statistically significant differences.
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A
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Which of the following is a statistical measure of both the direction and the strength of a relationship between two variables? A) correlation coefficient B) standard deviation C) range D) mean
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A
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A researcher would be most likely to discover a positive correlation between A) intelligence and academic success. B) financial poverty and physical health. C) self-esteem and depression. D) school grades and school absences.
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A
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If psychologists discovered that wealthy people are less satisfied with their marriages than poor people are, this would indicate that wealth and marital satisfaction are A) causally related. B) negatively correlated. C) independent variables. D) positively correlated.
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B
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Suppose that people who watch a lot of violence on TV are also particularly likely to behave aggressively. This relationship would NOT necessarily indicate that watching violence influences aggressive behavior because A) there was no control group. B) association does not prove causation. C) sampling extreme cases leads to false generalizations. D) the sample was not randomly selected.
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B
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In which type of research would an investigator manipulate one factor and observe its effect on some behavior or mental process? A) the survey B) the case study C) experimentation D) naturalistic observation
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C
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In a test of the effects of sleep deprivation on problem-solving skills, research participants are allowed to sleep either 4 or 8 hours on each of three consecutive nights. This research is an example of A) naturalistic observation. B) survey research. C) a case study. D) an experiment.
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D
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To accurately isolate cause and effect, experimenters should use A) random assignment. B) naturalistic observation. C) case studies. D) correlation coefficients.
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A
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Research participants are randomly assigned to different groups in an experiment in order to A) minimize chances that participants in any group know each other. B) increase chances that participants are representative of people in general. C) minimize any differences between groups of participants. D) increase chances that the different groups have the same number of participants.
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C
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To study the potential effects of social interaction on problem solving, some research participants were instructed to solve problems by working together; other participants were told to solve problems by working alone. Those who worked alone were assigned to the ________ group. A) experimental B) survey C) control D) correlational
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C
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Random assignment minimizes ________ between experimental and control groups. Random sampling minimizes ________ between a sample and a population. A) similarities; differences B) differences; similarities C) similarities; similarities D) differences; differences
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D
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In an experimental study, men with erectile disorder received either Viagra or a placebo. In this study, the drug dosage (none versus peak dose) was the A) confounding variable. B) dependent variable. C) standard deviation. D) independent variable
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D
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In a psychological experiment, the experimental factor that is manipulated by the investigator is called the ________ variable. A) dependent B) independent C) control D) experimental
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B
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In a psychological experiment, the factor that may be influenced by the manipulated experimental treatment is called the ________ variable. A) dependent B) experimental C) control D) independent
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A
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To assess the influence of self-esteem on interpersonal attraction, researchers either insulted or complimented students about their physical appearance just before they went on a blind date. In this research, the dependent variable was A) insults or compliments. B) physical appearance. C) interpersonal attraction. D) feelings of self-esteem
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C
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If the finding from a study is probably not due to chance, it is considered to have a) statistical significance b) practical significance c) substantial significance d) all of the above
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A
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. If a finding from a study shows a substantial difference between two groups, it is considered to have a) statistical significance b) practical significance c) substantial significance d) none of the above
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B
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Which measure of memory retention assesses the ability to draw information out of storage and into conscious awareness? A) rehearsal B) relearning C) recognition D) recall
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D
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When an eyewitness to an auto accident is asked to describe what happened, which measure of memory is being used? A) recognition B) rehearsal C) recall D) relearning
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C
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Which measure of memory is used on a test that requires matching glossary terms with their correct definitions? A) recognition B) relearning C) rehearsal D) recall
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A
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Which measure of memory retention assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again? A) recognition B) retrieval C) relearning D) recall
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C
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The process of encoding refers to A) the persistence of learning over time. B) the recall of information previously learned. C) getting information into memory. D) a clear memory of an emotionally significant event.
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C
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The retention of encoded information over time refers to A) effortful processing. B) implicit memory. C) repression. D) storage.
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D
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The process of getting information out of memory is called A) encoding. B) relearning. C) retrieval. D) rehearsal.
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C
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According to Allen Baddeley, we consciously process incoming auditory and visual-spatial information in our ________ memory. A) implicit B) working C) procedural D) state-dependent
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B
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Conscious rehearsal of what you just heard a friend tell you requires A) implicit memory. B) automatic processing. C) working memory. D) deep processing
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C
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Automatic processing most clearly occurs without A) encoding. B) conscious rehearsal. C) implicit memory. D) chunking.
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B
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Remembering how to solve a puzzle without any conscious recollection that you can do so best illustrates ________ memory. A) working B) flashbulb C) implicit D) sensory
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C
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Explicit memory is also known as A) procedural memory. B) context-dependent memory. C) declarative memory. D) mood-congruent memory.
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C
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You are most likely to automatically encode information about A) politicians' names. B) friends' birthdays. C) new phone numbers. D) the sequence of your day's events.
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D
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When Sperling visually displayed three rows of three letters each for only one-twentieth of a second, research participants A) recalled only half the letters because they did not have enough time to see all of them. B) recalled only about seven of the letters due to storage limitations. C) had a momentary photographic memory of all nine letters. D) formed a sensory memory of no more than a single letter.
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C
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An iconic memory is a ________ memory. A) sensory B) short-term C) flashbulb D) procedural
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A
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Echoic memory refers to A) the encoded meanings of words and events in long-term memory. B) a vivid memory of an emotionally significant event. C) the automatic retention of incidental information about the timing and frequency of events. D) a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli.
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D
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George Miller proposed that about seven information bits constitutes the capacity of ________ memory. A) short-term B) explicit C) flashbulb D) implicit
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A
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Chunking refers to A) getting information into memory through the use of visual imagery. B) the organization of information into meaningful units. C) the unconscious encoding of incidental information. D) the tendency to recall best the first item in a list.
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B
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A mnemonic is a A) sensory memory. B) test or measure of memory. C) long-term memory. D) memory aid.
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D
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Tim, a third-grader, learns the sentence "George Eats Old Gray Rats and Paints Houses Yellow" to help him remember the spelling of "geography." Tim is using A) a mnemonic technique. B) the spacing effect. C) implicit memory. D) the peg-word system.
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A
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We are more likely to remember the words "typewriter, cigarette, and fire" than the words "void, process, and inherent." This best illustrates the value of A) deep processing. B) flashbulb memory. C) imagery. D) iconic memory.
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C
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Jamille is taking French in school. She gets her best grades on vocabulary tests if she studies for 15 minutes every day for 8 days than if she crams for 2 hours the night before the test. This illustrates what is known as A) the spacing effect. B) the serial position effect. C) state-dependent memory. D) automatic processing.
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A
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Encoding a written word semantically rather than on the basis of the word's written appearance illustrates a distinction between A) implicit and explicit memory. B) deep and shallow processing. C) iconic and echoic memory. D) encoding and retrieval.
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B
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Which neural center in the brain helps process explicit memories for storage? A) hypothalamus B) basal ganglia C) cerebellum D) hippocampus
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D
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A conscious memory of the name of the first president of the United States is a(n) ________ memory. A) iconic B) explicit C) procedural D) state-dependent
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B
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A good night's sleep improves recall of the previous day's events by facilitating the transfer of memories from the A) amygdala to the hippocampus. B) hippocampus to the cerebral cortex. C) cerebral cortex to the basal ganglia. D) basal ganglia to the cerebellum.
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B
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The basal ganglia facilitate the processing of A) procedural memories. B) explicit memories. C) echoic memories. D) flashbulb memories
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A
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A flashbulb memory would typically be a(n) a) procedural memory b) very recent memory c) implicit memory d) long-term memory
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D
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Which of the following has been suggested as an explanation for infantile amnesia? A) The hippocampus is one of the last brain structures to mature. B) The emotional reactivity of infants inhibits the process of encoding. C) The accumulation of life experiences disrupts the retrieval of early life events. D) Iconic memories last for less than a second in infants.
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A
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When 80-year-old Ida looked at one of her old wedding pictures, she was flooded with vivid memories of her parents, her husband, and the early years of her marriage. The picture served as a powerful A) memory trace. B) iconic memory. C) spacing effect. D) retrieval cue.
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D
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Recall of what you have learned is often improved when your physical surroundings at the time of retrieval and encoding are the same. This best illustrates A) echoic memory. B) the spacing effect. C) context-dependent memory. D) the serial position effect.
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C
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Eye witnesses to a crime often recall the details of the crime most accurately when they return to the scene of the crime. This best illustrates A) the spacing effect. B) the peg-word system. C) source misattribution. D) context-dependent memory
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D
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The tendency to immediately recall the first and last items in a list better than the middle items is known as the ________ effect. A) serial position B) misinformation C) retrieval practice D) spacing
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A
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After hearing the sound of an ambulance, you may be momentarily predisposed to interpret a friend's brief coughing spell as a symptom of serious illness. This best illustrates the impact of A) shallow processing. B) the self-reference effect. C) priming. D) echoic memory
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C
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The inability to recall which numbers on the keypad of a phone are not accompanied by letters is most likely due to A) encoding failure. B) the spacing effect. C) retroactive interference. D) source amnesia.
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A
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The famous Ebbinghaus forgetting curve indicates that how well we remember information depends on A) how long ago we learned that information. B) the nature of our mood during encoding and retrieval. C) whether the information is part of our implicit or explicit memory
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A
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The title of a song is on the tip of Gerard's tongue, but he cannot recall it until someone mentions the songwriter's name. Gerard's initial inability to recall the title was most likely caused by A) encoding failure. B) automatic processing. C) retrieval failure. D) repression.
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C
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Proactive interference refers to the A) blocking of painful memories from conscious awareness. B) incorporation of misleading information into one's memory of an event. C) disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of previously learned information. D) disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.
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D
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The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of previously learned information is called A) repression. B) source amnesia. C) retroactive interference. D) anterograde amnesia.
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C
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After learning the combination for his new locker at school, Milton is unable to remember the combination for his year-old bicycle lock. Milton is experiencing the effects of A) source amnesia. B) retroactive interference. C) proactive interference. D) automatic processing.
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B
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Compulsive gamblers frequently recall losing less money than is actually the case. Their memory failure best illustrates A) source amnesia. B) the serial position effect. C) motivated forgetting. D) the spacing effect.
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C
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In the study led by Elizabeth Loftus, two groups of observers were asked how fast two cars had been going in a filmed traffic accident. Observers who heard the vividly descriptive word "smashed" in relation to the accident were more likely to later recall A) broken glass at the scene of the accident. B) that the drivers of the vehicles were intoxicated. C) that the drivers of the vehicles were males. D) the details of the accident with vivid accuracy.
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A
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Many of the experimental participants who were asked how fast two cars in a filmed traffic accident were going when they smashed into each other subsequently recalled seeing broken glass at the scene of the accident. This experiment best illustrated A) proactive interference. B) the self-reference effect. C) the spacing effect. D) the misinformation effect.
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D
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The misinformation effect best illustrates the dynamics of A) the reconstructive nature of memory B) repression. C) proactive interference. D) mood-congruent memory.
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A
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Research on memory construction indicates that A) recent events are more vulnerable to memory distortion than events from our more distant past. B) false memories of imagined events are often recalled as something that really happened. C) hypnotic suggestion is a particularly effective technique for accurate memory retrieval. D) it is very difficult to lead people to construct memories of events that never happened.
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B
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The psychologist Jean Piaget constructed a vivid, detailed memory of a nursemaid's thwarting his kidnapping after hearing false reports of such an event. His experience best illustrates A) implicit memory. B) proactive interference. C) source amnesia. D) mood-congruent memory.
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C
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Déjà vu refers to the A) emotional arousal produced by events that prime us to recall associated events. B) tendency to remember experiences that are consistent with our current mood. C) unconscious activation of particular associations in memory. D) eerie sense of having previously experienced a situation or event.
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D
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Noam Chomsky attributed children's ability to pick up language so readily to A) statistical learning. B) frontal lobe activity. C) their early critical periods. D) a built-in readiness to learn grammar rules.
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D
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The smallest distinctive sound unit of language is a A) prototype. B) suffix. C) morpheme. D) phoneme.
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D
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Morphemes are A) the smallest speech units that carry meaning. B) the best examples of particular categories of objects. C) the smallest distinctive sound units of a language. D) rules for combining words into grammatically correct sentences.
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A
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In the words "helped" and "called," the "ed" ending is a(n) A) prototype. B) morpheme. C) phoneme. D) syntax.
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B
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The word "cats" contains ________ phoneme(s) and ________ morpheme(s). A) 2; 1 B) 4; 1 C) 2; 4 D) 4; 2
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D
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The system of rules in a language that enables us to understand and communicate with others is called A) semantics. B) telegraphic speech. C) grammar. D) a prototype.
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A
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To combine words into grammatically sensible sentences, we need to apply proper rules of A) semantics. B) syntax. C) simulation. D) phonics.
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B
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The ability to produce words is to productive language as the ability to comprehend speech is to ________ language. A) sign B) grammatical C) receptive D) telegraphic
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C
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The earliest stage of speech development is called the ________ stage. A) babbling B) telegraphic speech C) one-word D) cooing
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D
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Noam Chomsky suggested that all human languages share a(n) A) universal grammar. B) neural network. C) outcome simulation. D) algorithm.
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A
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By about age 7, those who have not been exposed to either a spoken or a signed language gradually lose their ability to master any language. This illustrates the importance of ________ for language acquisition. A) a critical period B) an outcome simulation C) telegraphic speech D) linguistic determinism
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A
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The part of the cerebral cortex that directs the muscle movements involved in speech is known as A) Wernicke's area. B) Broca's area. C) the temporal lobe. D) the parietal lobe.
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B
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After Paul's snow-skiing accident, doctors detected damage to his cerebral cortex in Wernicke's area. Because of the damage, Paul is most likely to experience difficulty in A) remembering past events. B) pronouncing words correctly. C) understanding what others are saying. D) recognizing familiar faces.
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C
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Beatrice and Allen Gardner taught the chimpanzee Washoe to communicate by means of A) pictures. B) Morse code. C) sign language. D) English letters.
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C
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Research on the language capabilities of apes clearly demonstrates that they have the capacity to A) vocalize the most common vowel sounds. B) acquire language vocabulary as rapidly as most children. C) communicate through the use of symbols. D) do all of these things.
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C
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In an experimental study, men with erectile disorder received either Viagra or a placebo. In this study, the drug dosage (none versus peak dose) was the A) confounding variable. B) dependent variable. C) standard deviation. D) independent variable
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D