Chapter 7

Question 1

what are the three stages of memory?

Answer 1

sensory, short-term, long-term

Question 2

how long is information retained in sensory memory?

Answer 2

a few seconds

Question 3

how long is information retained in short-term memory?

Answer 3

a short time

Question 4

how long is information retained in long-term memory?

Answer 4

relatively permanent

Question 5

how does information from sensory memory pass to short-term memory?

Answer 5

through selective attention

Question 6

how does information from short-term memory pass to long-term memory?

Answer 6

through rehearsal

Question 7

how much information is stored in long-term memory?

Answer 7

no known limit on capacity

Question 8

how much information is stored in short-term memory?

Answer 8

around 7 items

Question 9

how much information is stored in sensory memory?

Answer 9

large range

Question 10

which stage is also called “working memory” and why?

Answer 10

short-term memory; because short-term memory is used actively and therefore “working”

Question 11

the unconscious encoding of everyday information, such as space, time, frequency, and well-learned word meanings

Answer 11

automatic processing

Question 12

increase in a synapse’s firing potential

Answer 12

long-term potentiation

Question 13

describe the relationship between intense emotion and memory.

Answer 13

memories that have intense emotion are stronger than memories that do not

Question 14

the tendency to recall best the first and last items in a list

Answer 14

serial position effect

Question 15

retaining learned skills or conditioning, often without conscious awareness of this learning

Answer 15

implicit memory

Question 16

memories of facts and personal events that you can consciously retrieve

Answer 16

explicit memory

Question 17

memory demonstrated by identifying items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

Answer 17

recognition

Question 18

memory demonstrated by identifying items learned earlier, such as on a fill-in-the-blank test

Answer 18

recall

Question 19

what we learn in one state might be easier to recall if we are put again in that state. what is this concept called?

Answer 19

state-dependent learning

Question 20

how does state-dependent learning relate to depression and childhood memories?

Answer 20

when we are depressed, we remember bad memories. when we are happy, we remember better memories.

Question 21

the blocking of recall as old or new learning disrupts the recall of other memories

Answer 21

interference

Question 22

under what conditions is interference most likely to be a problem for memory?

Answer 22

if you’re gathering other information, it has a chance to get encoded and then your memory gets cluttered.

Question 23

why is information learned immediately before sleep usually forgotten?

Answer 23

it is not rehearsed

Question 24

why is human memory not like a “tape recorder”? what does this have to do with false memories?

Answer 24

memory is constructed as we “fill in the blanks”. therefore, false memories can be inserted either intentionally or by accident.

Question 25

which is more likely to be effective: spaced study time or concentrated study time?

Answer 25

spaced study time