Chapter 4 - Midterm Flashcards
What did the Seattle Longitudinal Study discover regarding people’s intelligence as they age?
a. It decreases after age 32, but then stabilizes after 39
b. It remains the same throughout people’s lives
c. It remains the same until around 67, when there is a slight drop, and then a deeper drop after 80
d. It has a slight, but steady, decrease after age 39
c. It remains the same until around 67, when there is a slight drop, and then a deeper drop after
80
What is the Flynn effect?
a. Men and women have different IQs due to gender role expectations
b. Major social events have led to IQ changes by cohort
c. Societal advances have led to higher IQs
d. Exercise is directly linked with higher IQ
c. Societal advances have led to higher IQs
What did researchers find, regarding divided attention, when they simulated the conditions of a
cocktail party that required younger and older participants to attend to stimuli from various sources?
a. Both age groups performed well when information was given by multiple speakers at once
b. Older participants attended better than younger when information was from a single source
c. Both age groups performed equally when instructions were given to divide attention
d. Younger participants performed better than older when cues came from multiple speakers at
once
d. Younger participants performed better than older when cues came from multiple speakers at
once
The __________ memory involves the passive maintenance in the short-term store.
a. primary
b. working
c. declarative
d. nondeclarative
a. primary
What is a choice board designed to measure?
a. Prospective memory
b. Problem solving
c. Working memory
d. Decision making
d. Decision making
Studies show that older adults are more likely to avoid negative stimuli, which is known as:
a. avoidant-denial strategy
b. problem solving
c. decision making
d. positivity bias
d. positivity bias
What are the first markers for cognitive change?
a. Hearing and taste loss
b. Taste and smell loss
c. Touch and vision loss
d. Vision and hearing loss
d. Vision and hearing loss
About how much of IQ variance between individuals can be explained by genetics?
a. 25%
b. 50%
c. 75%
d. 100%
b. 50%
Prospective memory is an important focus for researchers who want to ensure older adults are
adhering to:
a. medication use
b. social networking
c. safe driving
d. physical exercise
a. medication use
Psychologist Roger Dixon suggests we should look at cognitive changes as:
a. both losses and gains
b. always loss
c. always gain
d. simply transitions
a. both losses and gains
Marc, an 11-year-old boy, is adept with his iPad and already knows how to program games in three
different computer languages. Marc’s mother, Peggy, is 41 and grew up with less technology but
spent more time outside playing. How are Marc’s and Peggy’s IQs likely to compare, considering the
Flynn effect?
a. Marc and Peggy are likely to have the same IQ because they partially share genetics
b. Peggy is likely to have a higher IQ than Marc because she had more physical exercise
c. Marc is likely to have a higher IQ than Peggy because he can think abstractly
d. Marc is likely to experience steeper IQ loss than Peggy because he is more dependent on
technology
c. Marc is likely to have a higher IQ than Peggy because he can think abstractly
Which of the following exemplifies the typical IQ changes over a person’s life according to the
Seattle Longitudinal Study?
a. Violet had a stable IQ until she reached 40, when it began to decline
b. Molly had a stable IQ until she reached 68, when it began to decline
c. Hassim had a stable IQ throughout his life
d. Juan had a slight rise in IQ over his lifetime
b. Molly had a stable IQ until she reached 68, when it began to decline
What is a key distinction between crystallized and fluid intelligence?
a. Verbal, fluid intelligence declines earlier than nonverbal, crystallized intelligence
b. Nonverbal, fluid intelligence declines earlier than verbal, crystallized intelligence
c. Nonverbal, crystallized intelligence declines earlier than verbal, fluid intelligence
d. Verbal, crystallized intelligence declines earlier than nonverbal, fluid intelligence
b. Nonverbal, fluid intelligence declines earlier than verbal, crystallized intelligence
John is an older adult with a history of falling. What is most likely to be true of John?
a. He will perform more poorly than younger and other older adults on visual search tasks
b. He will perform more poorly than younger and other older adults on tasks relying on fluid
intelligence
c. He will perform more poorly than younger and other older adults on prospective memory
tasks
d. He will perform more poorly than younger and other older adults on choice board tasks
a. He will perform more poorly than younger and other older adults on visual search tasks
Lucille’s granddaughter is planning her wedding and asks her grandmother to share stories about her
own wedding. Lucille discovers she cannot recall many of the details. This situation reflects a loss of
what type of memory?
a. Episodic
b. Semantic
c. Working
d. Procedural
a. Episodic
Maria is looking at her calendar, stumped. She knows she has an appointment tomorrow, but cannot
remember what it is. This situation is an example of a loss of which type of memory?
a. Prospective
b. Declarative
c. Nondeclarative
d. Working
a. Prospective
How do older adults compare to younger adults in terms of decision making?
a. Older adults use more information to make decisions than younger adults
b. Older adults make decisions more objectively than younger adults
c. Older adults make decisions more quickly than younger adults
d. Older adults and younger adults make decisions in the same way
c. Older adults make decisions more quickly than younger adults
Martha, a 63-year-old woman, receives criticism on her annual review, suggesting that she lacks
customer service skills. As an older adult, how is she most likely to respond?
a. She will think about how to improve her customer service skills
b. She will react emotionally with hurt feelings
c. She will think about whether or not the criticism is valid
d. She will enroll in a class to develop her customer service skills
c. She will think about whether or not the criticism is valid
After breaking up her twin sons’ fight, Mary asks her mother, Georgia, what she did when Mary and
her sister argued. Georgia answers that Mary and her brother never fought and that she only
remembers the children playing well. This situation is an example of:
a. avoidance-denial strategy
b. working memory
c. prospective memory
d. positivity bias
d. positivity bias
Studies show that when older adults are reminded of stereotypes related to forgetfulness and age, they
perform worse on memory tasks. Researchers hypothesize this is due to:
a. the fact that this stereotype is often accurate
b. older adults experience greater anxiety about their performance
c. awareness of stereotypes consumes working-memory capacity
d. an over-reliance on semantic memory
c. awareness of stereotypes consumes working-memory capacity
Which of the following are activities that would best delay cognitive decline?
a. Crossword puzzles and chess
b. Taking classes and traveling
c. Specific training and running
d. Playing Go and Sudoku
c. Specific training and running
Based on the Netherlands study (Ponds et al., 2000), which is most likely to be true of an adult, over
the age of 50, who reports significant cognitive decline:
a. He/she will show a similar decline on objective tests of intellectual functioning
b. He/she will show no relationship between actual abilities and subjective assessments
c. He/she will show no change in perceptions of cognitive ability after age 50
d. He/she will attribute intellectual declines to causes other than aging
b. He/she will show no relationship between actual abilities and subjective assessments
Jack, a 72-year-old man, takes a speed-of-processing training. As a result, he is likely to show an
improved:
a. cognitive reading ability
b. useful field of view
c. physical stamina
d. working memory
b. useful field of view
How do young adults compare to middle-aged adults in terms of decision making?
a. Younger adults and middle-aged adults both consider all of the information at hand before
making a decision
b. Younger adults are prone to snap decisions, while middle-aged adults take their time
c. Younger adults make decisions that make them feel good, while middle-aged adults consider
others’ feelings
d. Younger adults examine all of the facts, while middle-aged adults start to consider the
emotions involved
d. Younger adults examine all of the facts, while middle-aged adults start to consider the emotions involved
