Chapter 5 Quiz: Memory

Section A: Comprehension

1. Memory is best described as:

a) A recording device that stores experiences as they occurred b) A constructive and reconstructive process, influenced by attention, emotion, expectation, and post-event experience c) A system that becomes less reliable only in old age d) A repository that can be fully accessed through deliberate effort

2. The "levels of processing" framework suggests that:

a) Information processed at the phonological (sound) level is best retained b) Memory traces are stronger when material is processed more deeply and meaningfully c) Multiple exposures to information are always more effective than a single deep processing d) Declarative and procedural memory respond differently to processing depth

3. The "testing effect" or "retrieval practice effect" refers to:

a) The finding that people perform better on memory tests after adequate sleep b) The finding that actively retrieving information strengthens long-term retention more than restudying c) The improvement in test performance that occurs with repeated exposure to the same test d) The enhancement of memory that occurs through emotional arousal

4. The peak-end rule states:

a) Memory for an experience is most accurate at the beginning and end, with the middle least well-remembered b) The most intense and the final moments of an experience disproportionately determine how it is remembered overall c) The most positive experiences in life tend to occur at their beginning and end d) Memory peaks in young adulthood and declines at the end of life

5. In Loftus and Palmer's (1974) car accident studies, the wording of questions about the accident:

a) Had no significant effect on participants' memories of the event b) Influenced both speed estimates and subsequent memory (e.g., false memory for broken glass) c) Affected speed estimates but not other aspects of memory d) Influenced memory only for participants who had poor initial encoding of the film

6. "State-dependent learning" refers to:

a) The finding that different states have different educational systems b) The principle that retrieval is easier when the internal state at retrieval matches the internal state at encoding c) The observation that academic performance varies with physical and emotional well-being d) The encoding benefit that occurs when material is connected to vivid mental states

7. Which of the following is NOT a well-supported strategy for improving long-term memory retention?

a) Spaced repetition b) Retrieval practice (self-testing) c) Highlighting text while reading d) Elaborative interrogation (asking "why?")

Section B: Application

8. Jordan and Dev both remember a specific conversation from last spring differently. Using the chapter's understanding of memory, explain how both could be reporting genuine memories while describing different events. What would a memory-aware approach to this conflict look like?

[Open response]

9. A student spends three hours re-reading a textbook chapter the night before an exam and gets a mediocre grade. Using the chapter's concepts, explain what went wrong, and design a 3-hour study protocol that would produce significantly better retention.

[Open response]

10. Someone tells you: "I know exactly what happened because I remember it so vividly — it's one of my clearest memories." Using the chapter's discussion of emotional memory and the misinformation effect, evaluate this claim. Under what conditions should we trust vivid memory? Under what conditions should we be especially cautious?

[Open response]

Section C: Critical Thinking

11. The chapter discusses "narrative identity" — the idea that we construct our sense of self through an autobiographical story. If that story is itself a reconstruction, potentially inaccurate and subject to revision, what are the implications for personal identity? Is the "self" who is narrating the story stable in any meaningful sense?

[Open response]

12. Loftus's research on false memories has been used both to reform eyewitness testimony procedures (beneficial) and to challenge claims of recovered memories of abuse (contested). What does this dual use illustrate about the relationship between scientific findings and their social/legal applications? How should we use knowledge about memory's malleability without undermining victims who may have genuine, if imperfectly remembered, histories of harm?

[Open response — requires careful nuanced thinking]

13. The chapter states that people confusing their reconstructed memory with the original event is "not dishonesty." Yet in legal contexts and personal disputes, we often treat memory claims as either true (honest) or false (lying). What would change — in legal proceedings, in personal relationships, in how we communicate about past events — if we genuinely accepted the constructive nature of memory at a societal level?

[Open response]

Section D: Integration

14. Connect the misinformation effect (Chapter 5) to the confirmation bias (Chapter 4). How might these two phenomena interact when someone is processing memories of a past relationship? Design a scenario illustrating their combined effect.

[Open response]

Answer Key Overview

Full answers for Sections A and B samples are in appendices/answers-to-selected.md.

Section A answers: 1-b, 2-b, 3-b, 4-b, 5-b, 6-b, 7-c