In a Classic Experiment on Forgetting, College Students Learned Lists

question 357

Multiple Choice

In a classic experiment on forgetting, college students learned lists of nonsense syllables. After studying, students in one group slept for eight hours and then were tested for memory of the lists. A second group stayed awake for eight hours after studying the lists. The results of the experiment revealed that

• A)the group that slept performed better on the memory test.
• B)the group that stayed awake performed better on the memory test.
• C)both groups performed equally well on the memory tests.
• D)neither group could remember any of the nonsense syllables after eight hours.

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Definitions:

Skinner

An American psychologist best known for his work in behaviorism and the development of the theory of operant conditioning.

Response Deprivation Theory

The idea that when a contingency restricts access to an activity, it causes that activity to become a reinforcement.

Premack's Principle

A principle stating that more probable behaviors can serve as reinforcers for less probable behaviors.

High-Probability Activities

Activities that an individual is highly likely to engage in, often used in behavior modification by allowing access to them as a reward.