Lesson 3.1.1.3.3

3.1.1.3.3 Factors affecting accuracy of memory: interference, context, false memories Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.1.1.3.3, Factors affecting accuracy of memory: interference, context, false memories: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA GCSE Psychology (8182), Unit 1: Memory, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is interference in memory?

    • When memory traces fade from storage over time with no rehearsal or use at all
    • When other information, either learnt before or after, disrupts the recall of a memory
    • When a cue is absent so the memory cannot be brought out of storage at recall
    • When a memory is copied into long-term memory with small changes made to its details

  2. What is proactive interference?

    • Memories being recalled in a different context from the one in which they were learnt
    • Newer memories disrupting the recall of older information that was learnt earlier on
    • Information being lost from the sensory store before it can be attended to by the learner
    • Older memories disrupting the recall of newer information that was learnt later

  3. What is retroactive interference?

    • Older memories disrupting the recall of newer information that was learnt later on
    • A memory being recalled more slowly when a cue is presented at the time of recall
    • Newer information disrupting the recall of older memories that were learnt earlier on
    • A memory being copied into another memory during rehearsal in the short-term store

  4. What is a context-dependent memory effect?

    • Recall is better for items learnt with strong emotional meaning attached to them in the lesson
    • Recall is better when the environment at recall is completely different from the learning place
    • Recall is better when the environment at recall matches the environment at learning
    • Recall is better for items presented at the start and end of a list in a memory test

  5. In Godden and Baddeley's study, what was tested to show context effects?

    • Recall of digit spans learnt in silence and then tested with loud background music playing
    • Recognition of faces learnt in a classroom and then tested on a crowded train journey
    • Recall of pictures learnt in a laboratory and then tested in a hospital ward at night
    • Recall of word lists learnt on land or underwater, tested in the same or a different place

  6. What is a false memory?

    • A memory that is recalled accurately but only after an unusually long delay by the person
    • A memory of an event or detail that did not happen, or that happened in a different way
    • A memory that has been forgotten completely and can no longer be recalled by the person
    • A memory that is coded only as an image and is therefore hard to put into words later

  7. In Loftus and Palmer's study, what caused the change in speed estimates after watching a car crash?

    • The verb used in the question, such as smashed or hit, which changed how the crash was remembered
    • The length of time between watching the film and answering the questions about the crash
    • The number of participants who saw the film in each group that the researchers compared
    • The order in which the film clips of the crash were shown to each of the participants

  8. A witness hears a leading question after an event. Which factor affecting memory accuracy is involved?

    • Sensory decay, because the event faded from the sensory store before the question was asked
    • Primacy, because the witness recalled the first detail of the event more clearly than others
    • Serial reproduction, because the witness recalled the event in the same fixed order each time
    • False memory, because the question introduced information that changed the witness's recall

  9. A person learns a list of words in one room and recalls them better in the same room. Which factor is this?

    • Primacy, because the first words in the list were recalled better in the first room
    • Context, because the cues in the learning room support retrieval of the words
    • Interference, because the objects in the other room disrupted recall of the words learnt
    • False memory, because the person added words to the list that were not part of it

  10. A learner revises French vocabulary and then revises Spanish vocabulary. Later they recall the French words less well. Which factor is most likely?

    • Proactive interference, because the older French words disrupt recall of the newer Spanish words
    • Retroactive interference, because the newer Spanish words disrupt recall of the older French words
    • False memory, because the learner recalls the Spanish words as if they were French words
    • Context, because the French words were learnt in a different room from the Spanish words

  11. A man recalls a childhood event more accurately when he visits the house where it happened. Which factor is this?

    • Context, because the environment at recall gives cues that help retrieve the memory
    • Primacy, because the first memories of the house are recalled better than later ones
    • Interference, because the house holds older memories that block the event's recall
    • False memory, because visiting the house adds details that were never part of the event

  12. Why are false memories more likely when a question uses information that was not seen?

    • The misleading information is coded acoustically, which makes it impossible to tell from real events
    • The person stores the misleading information in the sensory store, which lasts for several minutes
    • Misleading information can be merged into the memory during recall, so the person reports details they did not see
    • The short-term store holds only seven items, so the misleading information replaces the real details

  13. A participant is less accurate when tested in a context unlike the one where they learnt. Which explanation is most consistent?

    • The memory moves back into the sensory store, where it is lost after about one second
    • Cues at recall do not match those at learning, so the route to the stored memory is weaker
    • Context changes the coding of the memory, so it is always stored as a visual image instead
    • The memory decays from long-term memory faster when the context at recall is different

  14. Which claim about interference is best supported by research described in the specification?

    • Memories are disrupted only by information that is learnt after the original memory was formed
    • Memories are disrupted only when they are recalled in a different language from the learning
    • Memories are never disrupted once they reach long-term memory, because they are stored permanently
    • Memories can be disrupted both by what came before learning and by what comes after it

  15. Which factor can increase the risk of a false memory?

    • Recall that takes place in the same room in which the original event was witnessed
    • Leading questions that suggest details which were not part of the original event
    • Recall of a short sequence of seven numbers after a brief pause in the testing
    • Recall of a list in the exact order in which the items were originally presented

  16. A researcher tests recall of word lists in the lab and in a real classroom. Which factor is being tested?

    • Interference, comparing recall of lists learnt in a fixed order with lists learnt in random order
    • Context, comparing recall when the environment at learning and at recall match or differ
    • Primacy, comparing recall of the first words in the lab list with those in the classroom list
    • False memory, comparing recall of lists with misleading words added at the moment of recall

  17. Why might eyewitness accounts be less accurate after a long delay?

    • Short-term memory stores events for a day, so the account is replaced by a second account later
    • Sensory memory fades to nothing after a delay, so no information about the event remains at all
    • Long-term memory has a limited capacity, so older memories are always deleted by newer ones
    • More time allows interference and reconstruction to change the memory, so recall drifts from the original

  18. A participant says they saw broken glass in a film that showed no glass. Which factor best explains this?

    • A false memory, created when misleading wording was added to the memory after the event
    • A serial position effect, where the broken glass was recalled because it came in the first part
    • Sensory decay, where the glass faded from the sensory store before the participant attended to it
    • Retrieval failure, where the participant could not find the film in memory at all when asked

  19. Which of these is an example of a context effect?

    • Recalling a word better in the room where it was learnt than in a different room
    • Recalling a word better because it was the last one in the list before recall began
    • Recalling a word better because it was repeated many times in the same learning session
    • Recalling a word better because it was learnt with a clear picture attached to the word

  20. A researcher argues that accuracy of memory depends on more than storage. Which factor supports this?

    • Sensory input alone decides accuracy, because the senses copy events directly into memory
    • Coding alone decides accuracy, because acoustic coding always produces better recall than semantic coding
    • Storage capacity alone decides accuracy, so a larger store always produces more accurate recall
    • Retrieval cues and interference affect whether stored information can be used, even when it is still stored

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