Compare and evaluate decay theory and interference theory as explanations of forgetting
What will be an ideal response?
Decay theory maintains that memory traces gradually fade away over time. If decay theory is correct, then the mere passage of time should be the principal cause of forgetting.
Interference theory proposes that people forget due to competition from other information. If this is the case, then forgetting should depend on what happens during the retention interval rather than simply the length of the retention interval. Interference is greatest when the intervening material is similar to the test material.
Despite many attempts, researchers have not been able to demonstrate decay from long-term memory. On the other hand, many studies have shown that forgetting does depend on the amount, type, and complexity of material that subjects are exposed to during the retention interval, consistent with interference theory.
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What is the PRIMARY reason that psychologists study aspects of the damaged brain?
A) Psychologists already know how the normal brain works. B) Psychologists can learn about normal brain processes by studying what happens when these processes are disrupted. C) Psychologists usually only have access to persons with brain dysfunction. D) Psychologists are only interested in abnormal behaviour and the impaired brain processes that produce this behaviour.
Persons who rate high in public self-consciousness exhibit all of the following EXCEPT
a. being intensely concerned about what others think of them. b. focusing their attention on their inner feelings, thoughts, and fantasies. c. worrying about saying the wrong thing or appearing foolish. d. being outright fearful during social encounters, which leads to awkwardness and inhibition.
Which of these events happens earliest during the first stage of labor?
a. Full dilation (enlargement) of the cervix b. Intense, frequent uterine contractions c. Mild, infrequent uterine contractions d. Fetus's head positioned at the cervix
Mary's parents want her to put her books in her bookcase. At first, they praise her for putting the books together in one pile. Then they praise her for getting the books on the same side of the room as the bookcase
When she gets the books on top of the bookcase, she gets praise. Finally, her parents praise her when she puts her books in the bookcase. This is an example of __________ a) negative reinforcement. b) punishment. c) extinction. d) shaping.