Exam PPQ's

Question 1

Baddely and Hitch’s working memory model consists of a central executive, which controls and co-ordinates the three subsystems.
Outline the role of each subsystem: (3)

Answer 1

Phonological loop = Controls what you see and hear and where you focus your senses.
Visuo-spatial sketchpad = A mental workbench for 3D models.
Episodic buffer = Controls how attention is divided between the other slave systems.

Question 2

Reaction time is important in effective decision making for many sport performers.
Explain the factors that affect reaction time. (4)

Answer 2

Name and briefly explain 4 of the following:
1 - Stimulus intensity
2 - Stage of learning
3 - Anticipation
4 - No. Choices
5 - Age
6 - Gender
7 - Temperature
8 - Drugs / alcohol
9 - Fatigue
10 - Arousal
11 - Body size

Question 3

Identify the correct relationship between reaction time, response time and movement time.
A. Reaction x Movement = Response
B. Reaction + Movement = Response
C. Response x Reaction = Movement
D. Response + Movement = Reaction

Answer 3

B. Reaction time + Movement time = Response time.

Question 4

Define simple reaction time and choice reaction time. (2)

Answer 4

Simple reaction time - One stimulus and one response.

Choice reaction time - Several stimuli and or several responses.

Question 5

When considering transfer of learning, a skill learnt in netball may aid the learning of another skill in basketball.
Which one of the following types of transfer is best described by this statement? (1)
A. Bilateral
B. Negative
C. Positive
D. Progressive

Answer 5

C - Positive

Question 6

Which of the following classifications accurately describe the skill of taking a football penalty kick? (1)
A. Closed, externally-paced, complex and discrete
B. Closed, externally-paced, simple and discrete
C. Closed, self-paced, complex and discrete
D. Closed, self-paced, simple and discrete

Answer 6

B - Closed, externally-paced, simple and discrete

Question 7

In order to improve performance, an athlete needs to be able to store and retrieve important
information.
How can a coach ensure that strategies and tactics are stored in the long-term memory? (4)

Answer 7

• Relevant practise / overlearning.
• Make it meaningful / associate / link to past experience / memorable / transfer of learning.
• Guidance / good demonstrations / highlight cues.
• Make experience fun / enjoyable.
• Mental rehearsal / visualisation.
• Chunking / chaining.
• Improve capacity of STM.
• Reinforcement / feedback.

Question 8

Baddeley and Hitch devised a model of the working memory.
Which subsystem in this model deals with auditory information from the senses to help produce a
memory trace? (1)
A Episodic buffer
B Phonological loop
C Visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 8

B - Phonological loop.

Question 9

Identify the four main components of Baddeley and Hitch’s working memory model. (4)

Answer 9

• Central Executive.
• Visuo-spatial sketch pad.
• Phonological loop.
• Episodic buffer.

Question 10

Effective decision making is an important factor in the execution of skills.
Outline the terms chunking and chaining and explain how they can improve the decision making
process. Use examples to support your answer. (4)

Answer 10

• Chunking involves storing information in larger units.
• Chaining involves linking together pieces of information.
• Chunking/Chaining improves decision making because there are fewer single pieces of
information to be processed (1)
• Which improves short term/working memory/makes
recalling information from long-term memory faster (1).

Question 11

What is a simple skill? (1)
A. A novice skill.
B. A basic skill.
C. A skill with low perceptual load.
D. An easy skill.

Answer 11

C - A simple skill is a skill with a low perceptual load. This means there are few decisions to make.