Lesson 2.1.5

2.1.5 Individual and developmental differences in memory Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Psychology, Unit 2

20 questions

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Lesson 2.1.5, Individual and developmental differences in memory: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Psychology (9PS0), Unit 2: Cognitive psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which individual difference in memory is linked to how quickly a person can process information?

    • Hair colour, which is linked to the speed at which a person can encode words into long-term memory
    • Height, which is linked to the capacity of the visuospatial sketchpad in the working memory model
    • Processing speed, which can affect how much information is encoded and recalled
    • Shoe size, which is linked to the length of time a person can hold items in the phonological loop

  2. How might a schema affect memory in an individual difference sense?

    • Different people hold different schemas, so they reconstruct the same event in different ways
    • All people hold identical schemas, so reconstruction is always the same for every person in any situation
    • Schemas affect only visual memory, so verbal memory is always identical across people in any group
    • Schemas have no effect on memory, since they are only stored in the sensory register for a brief period

  3. Why is autobiographical memory described as individual?

    • Because autobiographical memory is identical to semantic memory, so it contains only general knowledge facts
    • Because autobiographical memory is held only in the central executive, so no two people share a store
    • Because autobiographical memory is always stored in the same way by everyone, with identical content and detail
    • Because each person's life experiences are unique, so their personal memories differ from everyone else's

  4. Which statement about individual differences in memory is consistent with the specification?

    • Memory is identical for all people, so there are no individual differences in processing speed or schemas at all
    • Memory is determined only by the length of the person's name, which has no link to speed or schemas at all
    • Memory is determined only by the colour of the person's eyes, which has no link to processing or schemas
    • Memory can be affected by processing speed or by schemas, which vary between people

  5. A researcher finds that older participants recall a word list more slowly than younger participants. Which individual difference might explain this?

    • Sensory register size, which is always the same in every adult regardless of age or experience
    • Processing speed, which can slow with age and affect the rate of encoding and retrieval
    • Shoe size, which affects how long participants can keep the words in the phonological loop
    • Visual acuity, which has no effect on how quickly a word list is encoded or recalled by a participant

  6. Which evaluation point is most relevant to research on individual differences in memory?

    • Individual difference research is always carried out with animals, so it cannot be applied to human memory
    • Individual difference research always establishes cause and effect, since individual differences are always experimental
    • Individual difference research is always reliable, since participants always recall information in the same way
    • Individual difference research may not establish cause and effect, since many differences are correlational

  7. A person with a very rich set of schemas about cooking recalls a recipe more accurately than a person with few schemas about cooking. What does this suggest?

    • Schemas have no effect on recall of recipes, since recipes are stored only in the sensory register briefly
    • Schemas always make recall worse, since they introduce errors into every memory in every domain of knowledge
    • Schemas affect only visual memories, so the recipe result must be explained by differences in eye colour
    • Schemas can improve recall in a familiar domain, so differences in schemas may produce individual differences

  8. Which of these is an example of a developmental difference in memory?

    • Memory span is fixed at birth and does not change at all from infancy through to old age in any person
    • Memory span increases from childhood through adolescence as memory capacity develops
    • Memory span decreases steadily from birth to age five, and then remains stable for the rest of life
    • Memory span is identical for children and adults, so age has no effect on memory performance in any test

  9. Which individual difference is linked to processing speed rather than to schemas?

    • The personal meaning a person gives to a recalled event, which shapes how the event is reconstructed
    • The cultural background of a person, which shapes the schemas that guide how they reconstruct events
    • The personal life history of a person, which forms the basis of their autobiographical memory
    • The speed at which a person can process and rehearse information, which affects encoding and recall

  10. Which of these best describes an individual difference in autobiographical memory?

    • Two siblings remember the same family holiday differently, because each has a different personal perspective
    • Two siblings remember the same family holiday only in visual terms, because autobiographical memory is visual only
    • Two siblings remember the same family holiday with no differences, because the holiday is a shared event only
    • Two siblings remember the same family holiday identically, because autobiographical memory is always accurate

  11. What is the main implication of individual differences in memory for psychological research?

    • Samples should always be the same age, since age is the only factor that can ever influence memory
    • Samples should be considered carefully, since individual differences can affect the results of memory studies
    • Samples should always be the same gender, since gender is the only factor that can ever influence memory
    • Samples do not matter at all, since all people have the same memory processes in every context of research

  12. Which individual difference is linked to the reconstructive nature of memory?

    • Blood pressure, which determines the duration of memory in the sensory register for all participants alike
    • Body mass, which determines the number of items that can be held in the visuospatial sketchpad at once
    • Schemas, which differ between people and guide how memories are reconstructed at recall
    • Blood type, which determines the capacity of the central executive in the working memory model in every person

  13. Which evaluation point links individual differences in memory to the nature-nurture debate?

    • Schemas are always identical across people, so the nature-nurture debate cannot be applied to memory at all
    • Schemas are only found in animals, so the nature-nurture debate has no relevance to human memory differences
    • Schemas are learned from experience, which suggests an environmental influence on individual differences in memory
    • Schemas are fixed at birth by genes, so experience has no influence on individual differences in any way at all

  14. Which idea best links processing speed and schemas as individual differences in memory?

    • Both are identical in every person, so neither can produce individual differences in memory performance at all
    • Both are caused only by the amount of sleep, which determines processing speed and schema formation equally
    • Both are caused only by the participant's height, which determines both encoding and reconstruction in memory
    • Both can vary between people, and each can change how information is encoded and reconstructed

  15. A researcher wants to measure individual differences in processing speed. Which measure would be most suitable?

    • The colour of the participant's clothing during the memory test, compared across the different testing rooms
    • The participant's favourite food, which indicates how quickly the participant can process information overall
    • The time taken to complete a simple reaction or information-processing task, compared across participants
    • The participant's birthday month, which indicates how quickly the participant can rehearse words in the lab

  16. Why might two people with the same processing speed still show different memory performance?

    • Because processing speed is identical in all people, so any difference in memory must be caused by blood sugar
    • Because schemas and personal experience can differ, so recall can still vary for the same speed
    • Because processing speed determines everything about memory, so differences in performance must be due only to speed
    • Because processing speed is only a visual measure, so it cannot affect verbal memory in any test at all

  17. Which of these is most consistent with the claim that memory is affected by individual differences?

    • Two participants with different schemas recall the same story in different ways, showing individual variation
    • Two participants with identical processing speeds recall different lists in identical ways, showing no variation
    • Two participants with identical schemas recall the same story in identical ways, showing no individual variation
    • Two participants of different ages show identical recall in every test, which shows no individual difference

  18. Which individual difference might explain why one student recalls a list faster than another, even with the same schema?

    • Hair length, which determines how much information can be stored in the visuospatial sketchpad of each person
    • Height, which determines the number of schemas a person can hold in the episodic buffer of the working memory
    • Shoe size, which determines how long a person can hold a list of items in the phonological loop at a time
    • Processing speed, which can differ between people and affect how quickly information is encoded and recalled

  19. What is a developmental change in memory span reported in the specification?

    • Memory span is only measured in adults, so no developmental change in memory span is reported in any study
    • Memory span is high at birth and then declines steadily with each year of age up to the end of adolescence
    • Memory span is low at about five years old and then develops with age up to about seventeen
    • Memory span is identical at five years old and at seventeen years old, with no change at all in between

  20. Why might Alzheimer's disease be considered a developmental or age-related issue in memory?

    • It affects memory only in young children, so it has no relevance to older adults in any setting at all
    • It affects memory in older people, reducing their ability to recall and function in everyday life
    • It has no link to age, since it affects the same proportion of people at every age in the population
    • It improves memory in older people, so it is linked to an increase in memory capacity with age

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