ASPPB Cognitive Psychology 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which phenomenon occurs when previously learned information interferes with the recall of newly learned information?
- Proactive interference (Correct answer)
- Retroactive interference
- Encoding failure
- Decay theory
Correct answer: Proactive interference
Proactive interference occurs when older memories disrupt the retrieval of newer memories.
Question 2: The 'levels of processing' framework proposed by Craik and Lockhart suggests that memory durability depends primarily on:
- Rehearsal duration
- Emotional arousal during encoding
- Depth of semantic processing (Correct answer)
- Sensory modality of input
Correct answer: Depth of semantic processing
Deeper semantic processing (e.g., thinking about meaning) produces stronger, more durable memory traces than shallow phonemic or structural processing.
Question 3: A patient with anterograde amnesia is most likely to have difficulty with:
- Recalling childhood events
- Forming new explicit memories after brain injury (Correct answer)
- Performing previously learned motor skills
- Recognizing familiar faces from before the injury
Correct answer: Forming new explicit memories after brain injury
Anterograde amnesia impairs the ability to form new long-term explicit memories following the onset of the condition.
Question 4: In the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, information in short-term memory that is not rehearsed will most likely:
- Transfer automatically to long-term memory
- Be displaced or decay within seconds (Correct answer)
- Be stored in the sensory register
- Remain available indefinitely
Correct answer: Be displaced or decay within seconds
Without rehearsal, short-term memory contents are lost through displacement or decay within approximately 15-30 seconds.
Question 5: Which type of long-term memory is best preserved in individuals with Alzheimer's disease in early stages?
- Episodic memory for recent events
- Semantic memory for general facts
- Procedural memory for skilled actions (Correct answer)
- Working memory capacity
Correct answer: Procedural memory for skilled actions
Procedural memory (implicit motor skills) tends to be relatively preserved in early Alzheimer's disease while episodic memory deteriorates earliest.
Question 6: The 'generation effect' in memory research refers to the finding that:
- Older adults generate more false memories than younger adults
- Self-generated information is better remembered than read information (Correct answer)
- Spaced practice generates better retention than massed practice
- Emotional events generate stronger memories than neutral ones
Correct answer: Self-generated information is better remembered than read information
The generation effect demonstrates that actively producing information (e.g., completing a word) leads to better memory than passively reading it.
Question 7: Which concept describes the tendency to cluster recall of items from the same semantic category together, even when the items were presented in random order?
- Serial position effect
- Subjective organization
- Semantic clustering (Correct answer)
- Chunking
Correct answer: Semantic clustering
Semantic clustering refers to the spontaneous grouping of categorically related items during free recall, reflecting semantic memory organization.
ASPPB Cognitive Psychology 2
Which phenomenon occurs when previously learned information interferes with the recall of newly learned information?