Chapter 7: The Reconstructive Nature of Memory: Cognitive Psychology In and Out of the Laboratoruy
Imagine that you are on a jury, and the key evidence against the defendant is an eyewitness's testimony. What could you tell the other jurors about the accuracy of such testimony
A good answer should note the reconstructive nature of memory, and how memories can be easily changed by leading questions and other misinformation after the event.
Compare and contrast differences in false memory for autobiographical events and semantic memory (as demonstrated by word lists).
Both are susceptible to distortion and suggestion. False autobiographical memories appear to be rarer and harder to create but can have significant consequences (e.g., eyewitnesses). False semantic memories are relatively easy to create (e.g., Roediger paradigm) but are likely to have little real-world impact.
Explain how Lane's reconsolidation therapy uses the reconstructive nature of memory to reduce the effect of traumatic memories.
By activating traumatic memories and attaching new experiences to them, a new memory trace is created. Ideally, subsequent retrievals of the memory will have new, positive experiences attached to it, reducing the traumatic effects.
3. When might you be able to trust the accuracy for a flashbulb memory?
Flashbulb memories are vulnerable to distortion because we often do not have first-hand experience of the event. Instead we get it from TV, discussion with others, etc. If you were a first-hand observer or participant in a flashbulb event, it would likely be similar to any other autobiographical memory.
Explain our level of confidence in flashbulb memories and how this may contribute to memory errors.
We tend to remain very confident in our recollection of flashbulb memories even as our accuracy declines. Without a sense that our memories may have errors, we are less likely to scrutinize them and identify possible errors that have emerged.
11. Bartlett argued that long-term memory was ______. a. constructed. b. encapsulated c. infallible d. perfect
a
18. Bartlett's (1932) studies used a method known as ______ in which participants were asked to recall information on more than one occasion. a. serial reproduction b. exhaustive reconstruction c. searching recognition d. partial acquisition
a
20. What is a concern with how we related findings about memory research to our everyday memory experience? a. Experimental tasks are often abstract and do not reflect the way we use our memory in our day-to-day lives. b. Memory as a process cannot be operationalized or empiricized. c. There are no everyday experiences which can be replicated within the laboratory. d. Memory experiments in the laboratory have only been conducted on non-human animals.
a
24. Linton's studies on autobiographical memory showed that we use some pieces of information or assumptions in order to ______ autobiographical memories without actually remembering them. a. reconstruct b. recognize c. reveal d. repress
a
28. Schemas make it ______ to reconstruct memories generally and make individual memories ______. a. easier; less distinct b. easier; more distinct c. harder; less distinct d. harder; more distinct
a
3. According to Brewer's research on autobiographical memory, ______. a. participants showed very good overall retention for autobiographical events, even randomly selected ones b. memories were better for thoughts than for actions c. memories were actually worse for events described as "memorable" than for random events d. frequent actions were more likely to be recalled than rare actions
a
32. Brewer (1988) found that memory for ______ was typically better than memory for ______. a. actions; thoughts b. thoughts; actions c. faces; names d. names; faces
a
36. Bauer and colleagues (2014) suggested that our first autobiographical memories are significant because ______. a. they help us anchor ourselves and our life narratives b. they are the point at which learning begins c. prior to the onset of those memories, we are unable to form social bonds d. they mark the beginning of memory processes
a
40. Schmidt and Hirst both showed that participants tend to have the best memory for ______ over long periods of time. a. central details b. peripheral details c. auxiliary details d. minor details
a
44. Weaver (1993) found that the rate of decay for memory of conversations with roommates was ______ compared to the rate of decay for memory of the beginning of the Gulf War. a. about the same b. faster c. slower d. non-existent
a
48. According to Weaver (1993), flashbulb memories only requires ______ to form rather than special, unique, or historical circumstances. a. intention b. timing c. emotion d. interference
a
5. Weaver's study comparing memories of a mundane event (meeting a roommate or friend) with a "flashbulb" event (the beginning of the Persian Gulf War) showed that ______. a. both types of memories dropped off most during the first 3 months following the event b. memories for mundane events showed significant forgetting after 3 months, but flashbulb memories did not show forgetting until almost a year after the event c. memories for mundane events showed gradual forgetting at a steady pace over a year, but flashbulb memories showed no evidence of forgetting d. students were more confident in their memories for mundane events than in their memories for flashbulb events
a
53. According to Cochran and colleagues (2016), why might leading questions for eyewitnesses possibly affect their reliability? a. Witnesses are likely to incorporate information from questions into their subsequent recountings, even if the questions contained misleading or inaccurate information. b. Witnesses are unable to respond to questions after a traumatic event such as witnessing a crime. c. Police officers tend to ask questions that are unrelated to the crime itself. d. Witnesses tend to lie after they have been asked to recount their version of events for a crime.
a
58. Two cars collide at a red light. An eyewitness to the incident is later asked by a police officer how fast the vehicles were traveling when they "tapped" each other. You'd expect that the eyewitness's memory would ______. a. be biased to say the cars were traveling slower than they actually were b. be biased to say the cares were traveling faster than they actually were c. be biased to say that no accident occurred at all d. remember the event with complete accuracy
a
6. Studies of eyewitness memory ______. a. support Bartlett's idea of memory as a constructive process b. reveal surprisingly accurate memories of stressful events c. suggest that confidence is an important attribute of an accurate witness d. show that witnesses are remarkably resistant to misleading information
a
65. Loftus and Pickrell's (1995) studies on the "lost-in-the mall" paradigm suggest that ______. a. false memories cannot be created; participants' memories always matched known events b. children are most likely to repress scary encounters like being lost in a mall c. false memories can only be created under extreme stress d. false memories can be created from external information
a
68. Clancy and colleagues (2000) recruited women who had never experienced child abuse, women who had experienced child abuse and remembered it, women who believed they had experienced child abuse but had no memory, and women who had recovered previously repressed memories of abuse and had them complete the Roediger-McDermott paradigm to test for false word recall. They found that women who ______ had the highest rate of false recall in the task. a. had recovered previously repressed memories of abuse b. believed they had experienced abuse but had no memory of it c. had experienced abuse and could recall memories of it d. had never experienced abuse
a
75. You'd expect that someone with damage to their amygdala may have difficulty ______. a. consolidating memories with emotional content b. forming new long-term memories c. recalling memories from prior to their brain trauma d. accessing semantic memories
a
12. The results of Bartlett's (1932) study showed that participants' memories of The War of the Ghosts generally shifted toward ______. a. forgetting all of the details b. the participants' own culture c. a decline in forgetting d. complete accuracy
b
19. Bartlett (1932) employed a serial reproduction task in order to ______. a. replicate his findings multiple times b. determine what details of memory changed or distorted over time c. examine the effects of memory interference d. determine the hierarchical structure of memory
b
21. Autobiographical memory refers to ______. a. memories shared by others b. memories that the rememberer has been a part of c. memories that are inaccessible through conscious recollection d. memories for facts and generic knowledge
b
29. Barsalou (1988) showed that only ______ of recollections that participants made could be categorized as "specific recollections" of an event. a. 7% b. 21% c. 52% d. 89%
b
33. Based on the results of autobiographical memory studies, you'd expect to have the best and most specific memory for which of the following events? a. your 118th day of school for the year b. the first time you went to a concert for your favorite band c. eating lunch d. your last trip to a restaurant
b
37. A ______ memory is one of historical or personal importance that feels etched permanently into memory. a. spotlight b. flashbulb c. video d. polaroid
b
41. Hirst and colleagues' study of flashbulb memories for the events of September 11 showed that participants' memory for ______ details fell sharply while memory for ______ details was better preserved. a. event; personal b. personal; event c. minor; major d. major; minor
b
45. Weaver (1993) discovered that confidence in ______ memories fell much more than for ______ memories. a. flashbulb ; everyday b. everyday; flashbulb c. semantic; procedural d. procedural; semantic
b
50. Studies of eyewitness memory have shown that eyewitness memory is prone to error based on ______. a. the type of event witnessed b. questioning after the event c. confidence in one's memory d. the time of day the event occurred
b
54. Memory for actual events and memory for information from questions may become confused because ______, allowing their source to become indistinguishable. a. memory is a unified process with information being stored a uniform component b. both pieces of information are stored in an abstract form rather than as a recording c. long-term memories are all coded acoustically d. questions and events contain exactly the same kinds of information
b
60. Eyewitness memory could best be described as ______. a. infallible b. malleable c. accurate d. reliable
b
63. The idea that we might repress memories of traumatic events which can only be recovered later dates back to ______'s psychoanalytic tradition. a. James b. Freud c. Skinner d. Wundt
b
67. From false memory studies, we would expect that on average, about ______ of participants would form some degree of false memory for autobiographical events. a. 5% b. 25% c. 60% d. 90%
b
69. fMRI studies have shown that falsely recalled words activate ______ brain regions compared to accurately recalled words. a. similar b. different c. all d. zero
b
71. McGaugh's (2015) studies with rats showed that low doses of stimulants given before or immediately after maze learning resulted in ______ errors. a. more b. fewer c. equal d. zero
b
. Bartlett's research on the retelling of stories shows that over time the same person's recall ______. a. is remarkably consistent b. actually improves c. becomes more distorted d. loses a few details but retains most accurately
c
13. Based on Bartlett's (1932) results for memory of The War of the Ghosts, you'd expect that Native American participants would have ______ memory for the passage while white participants would have ______ memory for the passage. a. worse; better b. worse; worse c. better; worse d. better; better
c
16. ______ are frameworks for organizing information in memory. a. Scaffolds b. Screenings c. Schemata d. Scalenes
c
22. Your memory of your tenth birthday party including how you felt, what you did, and where you is an example of ______ memory. a. semantic b. procedural c. autobiographical d. annual
c
25. Linton (1982) recorded her memories over the course of six years and would give herself monthly memory tests. She found that ______ events generally were remembered well but that ______ events were harder to recall, especially over time. a. first-time; distinct b. first-time; non-distinct c. repeated; distinct d. repeated; non-distinct
c
26. Linton identified two types of "unrecalled" items from her memory self-study. These were items that were ______ and items that ______. a. imaginary; were animate b. reactions to other stimuli; were viewed as objectively difficult by the experimenters c. unremembered even with a cue; were indistinguishable from memories of similar events d. presented subliminally; were shown to be processed unconsciously
c
30. Barsalou (1988) found that participants were much more likely to ______ events than to have ______ recollections. a. specify; specific b. specify; generalize c. summarize; specific d. summarize; generalize
c
34. According to Brewer (1988), the ______ distinct the mental representation of an event, the ______ likely it is to be recalled. a. less; equally b. less; more c. more; more d. more; less
c
38. One explanation for why the memory of learning about a particularly important cultural or historical event as it occurs feels especially vivid is that ______. a. all other events simply have less information associated with them b. those events activate special memory processes unique to flashbulb events c. emotional areas of the brain are especially active d. our emotional processing of other events is usually suppressed
c
4. Studies of flashbulb memory indicate that ______. a. stronger emotional responses to an event are associated with less detailed memories b. more retellings of the event are associated with more accurate memories c. these memories are no more accurate than those for more mundane life events d. people are less confident in the accuracy of flashbulb memories than they are about more ordinary memories
c
42. Hirst and colleagues' study of flashbulb memories for the events of September 11 showed that participants' ______ fell while ______ remained high. a. processing speed; accuracy b. accuracy; processing speed c. memory; confidence d. confidence; memory
c
46. Weaver and Hirst's studies reinforce the notion that ______ does not necessarily lead to increased memory ______. a. rehearsal; performance b. rehearsal; error c. confidence; performance d. confidence; error
c
51. Questions consistent with eyewitness events results in ______ memory while inconsistent questions results in ______ memory. a. relatively inaccurate; error-prone b. relatively inaccurate; zero c. relatively accurate; error-prone d. relatively accurate; zero
c
56. Which of the following is a valid criticism for how to relate laboratory experiments on eyewitness memory to memory for actual crimes? a. Experimenters have tried to include real-world stimuli or criminal activities into their studies. b. Experimenters have shown that questioning techniques similar to those used by police have effects on memory. c. Experiments tend to use videos or slides rather than direct experience to test memory. d. Experiments use participants that are different from the general population.
c
62. One mechanism for the creation of false memories may be through ______. a. rehearsal b. interference c. schemas d. mnemonics
c
70. Based on the false memory studies reviewed, who might you expect would be most likely to create a false memory? a. an individual with very few life experiences and related schemata b. an individual with skepticism of others' suggestions and descriptions of events c. an individual with an active imagination who ruminates on imagined events d. an individual with an otherwise photographic memory
c
72. ______ of brain functioning during learning reduces memory errors, while ______ of brain functioning during learning increases memory errors. a. Suppression; disruption b. Suppression; enhancement c. Stimulation; disruption d. Stimulation; enhancement
c
9. In the Deese/Roediger-McDermott paradigm, participants are presented with lists of related words such as nap, bed, quiet, dark, dream, pillow, and night. Later, about ______ of college student participants falsely recognize related items such as sleep, which were never actually presented, as being part of the list. a. 10% b. 25% c. 80% d. 50%
c
Studies of false memories indicate that ______. a. the number of words used to describe "remembered" events is actually higher for false memories than for true memories b. these often vanish quickly after the initial, misleading interview c. these are rated as having less clarity than true memories d. these are more reliably induced by photographs than by narratives
c
14. According to Neisser (1982), laboratory studies of memory are useful for understanding how memory works in ______. a. the real world b. our imagination c. the workplace d. the laboratory
d
15. According to Neisser (1982), which of the following is necessary for adequately understanding the nature of memory processes? a. studying memory of past experiences b. studying memory for events of historical significance c. studying memory for planning everyday events d. all of these
d
17. Schemata allow us to ______. a. perfectly remember the details of events b. use imagined events to guide our experiences for new events c. communicate our memories to others in an accurate fashion d. reconstruct and fill in contextual details of memories
d
2. Linton's and Barsalou's studies of autobiographical memories suggested that ______. a. real-life memories were less durable than laboratory memories b. reconstruction of unrecalled events almost never happens with real memories c. the easiest events to recall were those that were "routine" or similar to other events d. people often summarize two or more events of the same type into one recollection
d
23. Which of the following is NOT an example of an autobiographical memory? a. your memory for your first date b. your memory for the first day of college c. your memory for the last time you went out with friends d. your memory for the ability to ride a bicycle
d
27. According to Robinson and Swanson (1990), memories for events that we experience repeatedly become harder to remember distinctively because they transform into a(n) ______. a. amnesia b. agnosia c. procedure d. schema
d
31. Brewer's (1988) methodology involved asking participants to record events they were engaged in at various times throughout the day. Brewer argued that this avoid bias from simply examining ______ events. a. unique b. lab-based c. personal d. memorable
d
35. ______ amnesia refers to our inability to recall autobiographical memories from the first few years of life. a. Retrograde b. Anterograde c. Procedural d. Infantile
d
39. According to memory researchers, which of the following is NOT a reason that we might feel that we have especially vivid flashbulb memories for important events? a. We may feel a need to feel connected to history and certain of our place in it. b. Emotional areas of the brain are especially active in response to the event. c. We retell stories of the event over and over again to ourselves and others. d. The events themselves are inherently more memorable than other life experiences.
d
43. Which of the following is accurate with respect to research on flashbulb memories? a. They may be prone to forgetting or distortion. b. Our confidence in the accuracy of flashbulb memories is generally high. c. We tend to feel we have flashbulb memories for culturally or historically important events. d. all of these
d
47. According to Weaver (1993), the "flash" in flashbulb memories only affects ______. a. accuracy b. retrieval c. encoding d. confidence
d
49. Eyewitness memory has which of the following properties? a. It is provided by an individual who was present for an event. b. It is especially compelling to jurors in court cases. c. It is often offered with high levels of confidence but can often be highly inaccurate. d. all of these
d
52. If you were to want to get accurate memory from an eyewitness to an event, what would be the best question to ask them? a. "Which of these white men do you remember committing the crime?" b. "Did you see the suspect pull a gun?" c. "Did you see the man who committed the crime?" d. "Tell me what you remember about the event."
d
55. Which of the following techniques might be used to improve the reliability of eyewitness memory? a. the use of mock witnesses to represent chance responding and uncover bias b. making witnesses aware of their own possible biases for memory errors c. avoiding the use of leading questions that could be incorporated into witnesses' memories d. all of these
d
57. Two cars collide at a red light. An eyewitness to the incident is later asked by a police officer how fast the vehicles were traveling when they "smashed" into each other. You'd expect that the eyewitness's memory would ______. a. be biased to say that no accident occurred at all b. remember the event with complete accuracy c. be biased to say the cares were traveling faster than they actually were d. be biased to say the cars were traveling faster than they actually were
d
59. Studies of eyewitness memory suggest that eyewitness testimony should be ______. a. elicited without leading questions b. treated with healthy skepticism c. corroborated by other evidence d. all of these
d
61. False memories are ______. a. distortions of memories for previous events b. erroneous reconstructions of script and schemata representations c. memories for things or events that never occurred d. all of these
d
64. The self-help book The Courage to Heal, which offered advice to those who had suffered childhood abuse, raises concerns for the accuracy of recovered memories because ______. a. it suggests to readers that the symptoms of abuse, even without corroboration, means that the abuse occurred b. it promotes the use of free imagination in order to help readers recover their memories of abuse c. readers are encouraged to use accessible memories to try and recover memories of abuse associated with the original event d. all of these
d
66. Which of the following are similarities in the false memory and eyewitness memory debates? a. Both false memories and eyewitness memory are vulnerable to distortion from outside suggestion. b. Both false memories and eyewitness memory may be embellished with details from schemata. c. Both false memories and eyewitness memory may include some real and some imagined elements. d. All of these are similarities.
d
7. Bransford and colleagues asked participants to read sentences derived from four basic sentences: "The ants were in the kitchen," "The jelly was on the table," "The jelly was sweet," and "The ants ate the jelly." Participants saw two of the simple sentences, and several combinations of two or three of the simple sentences. On a later recognition test, participants were most confident in "remembering" having seen ______. a. "The ants ate the jelly" (actually presented) b. "The ants ate the sweet jelly" (never actually presented) c. "The ants ate the sweet jelly on the table" (actually presented) d. "The ants in the kitchen ate the sweet jelly on the table" (never actually presented)
d
73. The hippocampus and ______ may be especially important for the consolidation of emotion-provoking stimuli into long-term memories. a. cerebellum b. hypothalamus c. medulla d. amygdala
d
74. Lane and colleagues (2015) suggested that which of the following could be important to help patients recover from traumatic experiences and memories? a. reactivate old traumatic memories b. engaging in new emotional experiences while remembering traumatic memories c. practicing new ways of behaving after recalling traumatic memories d. all of these
d
8. Research on false memory creations suggests that about ______ of participants report "memories" of suggested events that never really occurred. a. 90% b. 75% c. 50% d. 25%
d
Flashbulb memories are extremely accurate, much more so than memories for everyday events.
f
In studies of false memory creation, 80% of participants "remembered" autobiographical events that had never actually occurred.
f
Over time, we expect the recollection of memories to become more accurate.
f
Repressed memories brought out under guided therapy are always reliable.
f
. Using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott paradigm, researchers have shown that 80% of participants remember words on a list that were not actually included.
t
Eyewitness memory is highly susceptible to leading questions.
t
Eyewitnesses are more likely to overestimate the speed of two cars involved in a collision if they are asked how fast they were going when they "smashed into each other" than when they "hit each other."
t
Our confidence for flashbulb memories always remains high even if they are not accurate.
t
Some studies suggest that autobiographical memories are relatively accurate, especially for "memorable" events.
t
We tend to be unable to recall autobiographical memories from the first few years of life
t