Chapter 6 Psych

____________ is the active system that receives information from the senses, organizes and alters it
as it stores it away, and then retrieves the information from storage.
a) Classical conditioning
b) Operant conditioning
c) Learning
d) Memory

Ans: memory Expln: Memory involves the three processes of encoding, storage, and retrieval. The other choices deal with the process of learning.

_____________ is retention of memory for some period of time.
a) Encoding
b) Storage
c) Retrieval
d) Evaluation

Ans: storage Expln: When you store something, you keep it (or retain it) for a certain period of time. In the study of memory, the term storage involves keeping or retaining information for a certain period of time.

Janie is taking an exam in her history class. On the exam, a question asks her to state and discuss the
five major causes of the Trans-Caspian War (whatever that was!). Janie remembers four of them.
She knows there is a fifth but time is up. As Janie is walking down the stairs, all of a sudden, she
remembers that fifth point but it is too late. Janie had a problem with
a) encoding.
b) storage.
c) retrieval.
d) evaluation.

Ans: retrieval Expln: Retrieval is the process of pulling information back out of memory.

The processes of encoding, storage, and retrieval are seen as part of the ____________ model of
memory.
a) information-processing
b) levels-of-processing
c) parallel distributed processing
d) All of the above are correct.

Ans: all of the above are correct Expln: Encoding, storage, and retrieval are the basic processes for memory and are a component of ALL the theories on exactly how memory works

The levels-of-processing concept of Craik and Lockhart suggests that which of the following
questions would lead to better memory of the word frog?
a) "Does it rhyme with blog?"
b) "Is it in capital letters?"
c) "Is it written in cursive?"
d) "Would it be found in a pond?"

Ans: "Would it be found in a pond?" Expln: The levels-of-processing model proposes that the "deeper" the level of processing, the more likely it is to be remembered. This means that the more meaning or significance you can give to a piece of information, the better you remember it. Associating a frog with the place it lives is the most meaningful association of the four choices.

The three parts of the information-processing model of memory include
a) sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
b) CS, UCS, UR, CR.
c) encoding, storage, retrieval.
d) shallow, medium, deep processing.

Ans: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory Expln: All models of memory include the concepts of encoding, storage, and retrieval. The aspects of the information-processing model that make it unique are the concepts of sensory, short-term, and long-term memory

Which memory system provides us with a brief representation of all the stimuli present at a
particular moment?
a) primary memory
b) sensory memory
c) long-term memory
d) short-term memory

Ans: sensory memory Expln: Sensory memory is the briefest of all the memory stages proposed by the information-processing model. Visual sensory memory lasts only about one-half a second.

Your friend asks you a question, and just as you say "What?" you realize what the person said.
Which part of your memory was maintaining your friend’s words?
a) iconic sensory memory
b) echoic sensory memory
c) short-term memory
d) long-term memory

Ans: echoic sensory memory Expln: Echoic memory is the memory of sounds. It should be easy to remember if you just think of an "echo" for echoic.

Someone a short distance away, to whom you have been paying no attention, quietly speaks your
name, and suddenly you are attending to that conversation. This is an
example of
a) Broadbent’s process of selective memory.
b) the Phi phenomenon.
c) the cocktail party phenomenon.
d) cue-controlled inhibition.

Ans: the cocktail party phenomenon Expln: The cocktail party effect is a demonstration of our selective attention abilities. Obviously, you are processing all of the information but you are only "attending to" a small portion of it. One place this phenomenon is likely to occur is at a party, thus the name "cocktail party effect."

Your professor asks you to get up in front of the class and repeat a long list of numbers that she
reads to you. If you are not given a chance to repeat the numbers to yourself as she reads them, what
is the longest list of numbers you will most likely to be able to remember, according to the classic
work of Dr. George Miller?
a) 2
b) 7
c) 12
d) 25

Ans: 7 Expln: The amount of information we can retain in short-term memory was studied by George Miller and presented in a paper called "The magic number 7 plus or minus two."

You try to remember a phone number by repeating it over and over to yourself. What type of
rehearsal are you using?
a) condensed
b) permanent
c) elaborative
d) maintenance

Ans: maintenance Expln: Maintenance rehearsal is one of the most basic methods to remember something and involves simply repeating the information over and over. Elaborative rehearsal is more complex and involves forming an association with the information.

Long-term memories are encoded in terms of
a) sounds.
b) visual images.
c) meanings of words and concepts.
d) all of the above.

Ans: all of the above Expln: Memories are encoded in terms of all these components. One theory suggests that each component of a memory is actually stored in a different place in the brain.

Procedural memories are to __________ memories as declarative memories are to ________
memories.
a) implicit; explicit
b) explicit; implicit
c) general knowledge; personal facts
d) personal facts; general knowledge

Ans: implicit; explicit Expln: Procedural memories (such as how to ride a bike) are hard to verbalize just as implicit memories are hard to verbalize. If something is explicit, that means it is very clear and obvious, just as declarative memories (like the memory of your first kiss) are very easy to identify.

Which of the following types of LTM are forms of explicit memory?
a) procedural
b) semantic
c) episodic
d) both semantic and episodic

Ans: both sematic and episodic Expln: Semantic memories are memories of facts such as the capital of the United States. Episodic memories are memories of episodes, such as your last birthday celebration.

As a young child, you spent hours on your skateboard. After several years of not skating, you jump
on your board as if you never missed a day. The long-term memory of how to skate is an example of
what type of memory?
a) explicit
b) episodic
c) semantic
d) procedural

Ans: procedural Expln: Procedural memories are memories for procedures (or habits and skills).

As you are skating down the street on your skateboard, you think back to the day you accidentally
skated into a parked car and had to go the hospital to get stitches. The memory of this event would
be described as a(n) __________________ memory.
a) procedural
b) implicit
c) episodic
d) semantic

Ans: episodic Expln: This is a memory of a specific episode.

According to the semantic network model, it would take more time to answer "true" to which
sentence?
a) "A salmon is an animal."
b) "A salmon is a fish."
c) "A canary is a bird."
d) All of these would take the same time.

Ans: "A salmon is an animal." Expln: For this answer, you need to move across two categories: salmon to fish to animal.

Which of the following concepts describes why it is best to take a test in the same room in which
you learned the material?
a) state-dependent learning
b) encoding specificity
c) tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
d) cocktail party effect

Ans: encoding specificity Expln: Encoding specificity refers to your physical surroundings and how they can act as retrieval cues for information.

While you were studying for your history final, you were angry at your roommate for playing her
music too loud. If you wanted to maximize your ability to remember the information on the final,
what mood should you be in while you are taking the final?
a) happy
b) sad
c) angry
d) surprised

Ans: angry Expln: State-dependent learning refers to your emotional state and how being in the same mood during retrieval as you were during the encoding process can help you remember more information

Under most circumstances, when you are intentionally trying to remember an item of information,
_______________ is an easier task than ____________.
a) recognition; recall
b) recall; recognition
c) priming; the savings method
d) the savings method; priming

Ans: recognition; recall Expln: Recognition simply requires "recognizing" the right answer. This means you are given all the options and you simply select the correct choice.

The test you are taking right now requires which type of memory retrieval process?
a) recall
b) recognition
c) encoding
d) echoic

Ans: recognition Expln: You are given the right answer and you simply have to select it from choices a-d.

Is eyewitness testimony usually accurate?
a) Yes, because seeing is believing.
b) No, because eyewitnesses are not usually honest.
c) Yes, because eyewitnesses are very confident about their testimony.
d) No, because there is a great possibility of a "false positive" identification.

Ans: No, because there is a great possibility of a "false positive" identification. Expln: Although eyewitness testimony can be accurate, there is always the possibility of false positives.

In this view, memories are literally "built" from the pieces stored away at encoding. This view is called
a) constructive processing.
b) hindsight bias.
c) adaptation of memory traces.
d) flashbulb integration.

Ans: constructive processing Expln: Constructive processing assumes that all the pieces of a memory are stored in different locations and "re-assembled" every time the memory is retrieved.

. Which of the following phenomena provides support for the concept that memories are
reconstructed as they are retrieved or remembered?
a) tip of the tongue
b) hindsight bias
c) cocktail party effect
d) retrograde amnesia

Ans: hindsight bias Expln: In hindsight bias, our memory of a past event is influenced by new information.

Which of the following is an example of the misinformation effect?
a) forgetting where you left your keys
b) falsely remembering that a friend was wearing a jacket after being asked what color your friend’s jacket was
c) remembering a traumatic event from childhood
d) telling someone a lie

Ans: falsely remembering that a friend was wearing a jacket after being asked what color your friend’s jacket was Expln: The misinformation effect occurs when a leading question or statement actually alters your memory of an event.

Ebbinghaus found that information is forgotten
a) more rapidly as time goes by.
b) gradually at first, then increasing in speed of forgetting.
c) quickly at first, then tapering off gradually.
d) most quickly one day after learning.

Ans: quickly at first, then increasing in speed of forgetting Expln: Most forgetting occurs within the first hour after the material is learned

. Retroactive interference as used in the study of memory refers to when
a) older information already in memory interferes with the retrieval of newer information.
b) newer information interferes with the retrieval of older information.
c) the information is not attended to and fails to be encoded.
d) information that is not accessed decays from the storage system over time.

Ans: newer information interferes with the retrieval of older information Expln: Retroactive interference occurs when the new information gets in the way or "interferes" with the already learned material.

Shalissa has two exams today. One is in French and the other is in history. Last night she studied
French before history. When she gets to her history test, all she can remember is French! Shalissa’s
memory is suffering from
a) cue-dependent forgetting.
b) proactive interference.
c) decay.
d) retroactive interference.

Ans: proactive interference Expln: Proactive interference occurs with the already learned material interferes with the new information.

In the famous case of H. M., after having part of his brain removed, he could no longer
a) pay attention to specific stimuli.
b) retrieve memories.
c) form new memories.
d) make sense of memories.

Ans: form new memories Expln: After H. M’s hippocampus was removed, he lost the ability to move memories from short-term to long-term memory.

The physical processes that occur when a memory is formed are called
a) consolidation.
b) actuation.
c) potentiation.
d) depolarization.

Ans: consolidation Expln: The term consolidation refers to the physical basis of memories. Researchers are still working to determine the precise details of consolidation.

When a person’s ____________is damaged or removed, anterograde amnesia results.
a) hippocampus
b) prefrontal lobe
c) amygdala
d) Cerebellum

Ans: hippocampus Expln: Anterograde amnesia is described as the inability to form any new memories. Just like the case of H. M., when a person’s hippocampus is removed or damaged, anterograde amnesia is often the result.

anterograde amnesia

loss of memory from the point of injury or trauma forward, or the inability to form new long-term memories.

autobiographical memory

the memory for events and facts related to one’s personal life story.

automatic encoding

tendency of certain kinds of information to enter long-term memory with little or no effortful encoding.

consolidation

the changes that take place in the structure and functioning of neurons when an memory is formed

constructive processing

referring to the retrieval of memories in which those memories are altered, revised, or influenced by newer information

curve of forgetting

a graph showing a distinct pattern in which forgetting is very fast within the first hour after learning a list and then tapers off gradually.

decay

loss of memory due to the passage of time, during which the memory trace is not used.

declarative memory

long-term memory containing information that is conscious and known.

distributed practice

spacing the study of material to be remembered by including breaks between study periods.

disuse

another name for decay, assuming that memories that are not used will eventually decay and disappear.

echoic memory

the brief memory of something a person has just heard.

eidetic imagery

the ability to access a visual memory for 30 seconds or more.

elaborative rehearsal

a method of transferring information from STM into LTM by making that information meaningful in some way.

encoding failure

failure to process information into memory.

encoding specificity

the tendency for memory to be improved if related information (such as surroundings or physiological state) that is available when the memory is first formed is also available when the memory is being retrieved.

episodic memory

type of declarative memory containing personal information not readily available to others, such as daily activities and events.

explicit memory

memory that is consciously known, such as declarative memory

false positive

error of recognition in which people think that they recognize some stimulus that is not actually in memory.

flashbulb memory

type of automatic encoding that occurs because an unexpected event has strong emotional associations for the person remembering it.

hindsight bias

the tendency to falsely believe, through revision of older memories to include newer information, that one could have correctly predicted the outcome of an event.

iconic memory

visual sensory memory, lasting only a fraction of a second.

implicit memory

memory that is not easily brought into conscious awareness, such as procedural memory

infantile amnesia

infantile amnesia the inability to retrieve memories from much before age 3.

information-processing

model of memory that assumes the processing of information for memory

model

storage is similar to the way a computer processes memory, in a series of three stages.

levels-of-processing model

model of memory that assumes information that is more "deeply processed," or processed according to its meaning rather than just the sound or physical characteristics of the word or words, will be remembered more efficiently and for a longer period of time

long-term memory (LTM)

the system of memory into which all the information is placed to be kept more or less permanently

maintenance rehearsal

practice of saying some information to be remembered over and over in one’s head in order to maintain it in short-term memory.

memory

an active system that receives information from the senses, puts that information into a usable form, and organizes it as it stores it away, and then retrieves the information from storage.

memory trace

physical change in the brain that occurs when a memory is formed.

misinformation effect

the tendency of misleading information presented after an event to alter the memories of the event itself

parallel distributed processing (PDP) model

a model of memory in which memory processes are proposed to take place at the same time over a large network of neural connections.

primacy effect

tendency to remember information at the beginning of a body of information better than the information that follows

proactive interference

memory problem that occurs when older information prevents or interferes with the learning or retrieval of newer information.

procedural (nondeclarative) memory

type of long-term memory including memory for skills, procedures, habits, and conditioned responses. These memories are not conscious but are implied to exist because they affect conscious behavior.

recall

type of memory retrieval in which the information to be retrieved must be "pulled" from memory with very few external cues.

recency effect

tendency to remember information at the end of a body of information better than the information at the beginning of it

recognition

ability to match a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored image or fact

retrieval

getting information that is in storage into a form that can be used.

retrieval cue

a stimulus for remembering.

retroactive interference

memory problem that occurs when newer information prevents or interferes with the retrieval of older information

retrograde amnesia

loss of memory from the point of some injury or trauma backwards, or loss of memory for the past.

selective attention

the ability to focus on only one stimulus from among all sensory input.

semantic network model

model of memory organization that assumes that information is stored in the brain in an connected fashion, with concepts that are related stored physically closer to each other than concepts that are not highly related

sensory memory

the very first stage of memory, the point at which information enters the nervous system through the sensory systems

serial position effect

tendency of information at the beginning and end of a body of information to be remembered more accurately than information in the middle of the body of information

short-term memory (STM)

the memory system in which information is held for brief periods of time while being used.

storage

holding onto information for some period of time.

working memory

an active system that processes the information in short-term memory.